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Welcome to CIONET Belgium

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Upcoming Events

 
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Belgium 3-7-25 Invitation Only Physical english

CIONET Round Table - Digital Sovereignty

Digital Sovereignty - Securing Corporate Autonomy in a Fragmented World In an era marked by geopolitical instability and escalating digital dependencies, corporate leaders face a critical imperative: reclaiming control over their digital ecosystems. This exclusive CIONET executive dinner offers a platform for CIOs, CTOs, and digital leaders to delve into strategies for achieving digital sovereignty. Key discussion points include: Redefining Digital Sovereignty for Enterprises: Exploring how digital sovereignty extends beyond national borders to encompass corporate control over digital assets, infrastructure, and data. Infrastructure Independence: On-Premises vs. Cloud: Evaluating the trade-offs between on-premises infrastructure and cloud services in the context of control, scalability, and sovereignty. Sovereign AI: Building Autonomous Intelligence: Discussing strategies for developing AI capabilities that align with corporate values and operate independently of external platforms. Vendor Lock-In and Technological Autonomy: Identifying risks of dependency on specific vendors and exploring approaches to achieve technological independence. Investing in Sovereign Digital Capabilities: Strategising investments in infrastructure, talent, and processes to build and sustain digital sovereignty. Join us for an evening of insightful discussions, shared experiences, and actionable strategies to navigate the complexities of digital sovereignty. Secure your organisation's future by understanding and implementing the pillars of digital autonomy.

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Belgium 28-8-25 Country Members Physical english

20 Years CIONET - CIONET Belgium: Summer Festival

A special celebration marking 20 years of CIONET—two decades of empowering digital leaders and driving innovation in the technology landscape. This exclusive event will bring together our members to reflect on the incredible journey we've shared and look ahead to the future of digital leadership.Featuring keynote presentations from visionary CIOs, industry pioneers, and founding members, we’ll explore how far we’ve come and what lies ahead in the ever-evolving world of technology. Together, we will honour the contributions of our members who have shaped CIONET’s legacy while offering insights into how the community will continue to lead in the years to come.This is more than a celebration—it’s an opportunity to reconnect, reflect, and recharge with your fellow digital leaders. Don't miss this exclusive experience packed with inspiring talks, networking opportunities, and special recognitions that highlight the best of CIONET’s history and future.Let’s celebrate the past, present, and future of the digital community you helped build.

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Belgium 2-9-25 All TRIBERS Virtual english

What Does It Cost to Host an App? ; A practical guide to calculating hosting costs across infra, licenses, and operations

You’ve been asked a simple question: “What does it cost to host this application?” But the answer is anything but simple. The platform sits across multiple data centres. The app spans a few VMs, shares a backup system, uses licensed monitoring, and touches five different teams. Your CMDB should help, but it’s rigid, outdated, or incomplete. And yet, you still need to provide a number, clear, explainable, and grounded in reality.

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Upcoming TRIBE Events

 
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July 3, 2025 Squad Session Invitation Only Virtual polish

Własny SOC czy outsourcing? Analiza modeli operacyjnych w bezpieczeństwie IT

Zapraszamy na praktyczną dyskusję o wadach i zaletach różnych modeli utrzymania Security Operations Center. Dawid Wachowiak (TDJ) podzieli się doświadczeniami z wdrożenia i funkcjonowania modelu outsourcingowego. Porozmawiamy o tym, co wpływa na skuteczność SOC-a – od decyzji strategicznej po reakcję na incydent – i jak dopasować model operacyjny do potrzeb organizacji.

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July 14, 2025 Squad Session Invitation Only Virtual polish

Platforma KSEF – Krajowy System eFaktur

Ministerstwo Finansów zapowiedziało wdrożenie platformy KSeF na 2026 rok. Przygotowanie firm i ich systemów wymaga wiedzy o zakresie KSeF i elementach integracji na poziomie IT. Zapraszamy na kontynuację spotkania z udziałem przedstawicieli Centrum Informatyki Resortu Finansów (CIRF) i Ministerstwa Finansów.

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July 16, 2025 Squad Session Physical polish

TRIBES LEADERSHIP CIRCLE

Tribes Leadership Circle to cykliczne, wysokopoziomowe spotkania wyłącznie dla dyrektorów obszarowych, posiadających dostęp w ramach wykupionego członkostwa.

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CIONET Partner Updates

CIONET Partner Updates

Recent Cases

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Thiele Kaolin increases endpoint protection, reduces costs 60% by switching to Trend Micro

Increases endpoint protection, reduces costs 60% by switching to Trend Micro

OVERVIEW

As a leading manufacturer of kaolin clay, a mineral chiefly used in papermaking, Thiele Kaolin Company stays competitive by acquiring companies and expanding into new markets. The strategy has driven growth and success, but it has also added complexity to their security infrastructure. With Trend Micro as its security partner, Thiele Kaolin has evolved their security posture along with the growing needs of the organization.

 

We were reluctant to leave our current security provider, but after doing the deep dive, it became clear that moving to Trend Micro was in our best long-term interest.

Mark Bailey

Manager of Information Services
Thiele Kaolin Company

 

CHALLENGES

With the coated paper industry in decline, Thiele Kaolin started to move into new markets, the company needed to improve their security posture while tightly controlling costs. Mark Bailey, Manager of Information Services, was charged with securing a newly diverse and dispersed network of assets with his small security team without increasing costs.

To add to the challenge, the contract for Thiele Kaolin’s incumbent security provider was up for renewal. “Our incumbent provider was changing the way their relationships with mid-size companies were managed and that was going to increase costs for us. Their customer support was slow, which made us uneasy. New threats emerge constantly, so you can’t be complacent. We felt the incumbent was focused more on revenue than on security,” says Bailey.

 

Our relationship with Trend Micro helps us control the cost of endpoint protection, reducing it by approximately 60%.

Mark Bailey

Manager of Information Services
Thiele Kaolin Company

 
 

WHY TREND

Bailey’s team decided to conduct a deep-dive investigation of three security companies who appeared in the leadership position of the Gartner® Magic Quadrant, which included Trend Micro. “Trend Micro’s reputation put them at the top of our short list,” says Bailey.

After a thorough examination of all three solutions, Thiele Kaolin selected Trend Micro. “We were reluctant to leave our current security provider, but after doing the deep dive, it became clear that moving to Trend Micro was in our best long- term interest,” says Bailey.

In addition to Trend Micro’s complete data and endpoint protection, their responsiveness and dedication was a differentiator. “The passion Trend Micro personnel had for innovating and providing a great solution was clear. Trend Micro had an openness and willingness to talk with us about our needs,” says Bailey. “It was our best long-term solution.”

 
 

SOLUTION

Thiele Kaolin launched a proof of concept of Trend Micro Apex One for their endpoints, which offers advanced automated threat detection and response against a wide variety of threats. “Trend Micro Apex One’s automation is important to my team, as is the customizable dashboard that makes it easy to monitor threats and anomalies. The incumbent provider’s endpoint protection did not include any investigative tools other than notification that specific activity occurred on an endpoint,” says Ed Harper, Senior Security Systems Administrator at Thiele Kaolin.

Trend Micro Apex Central, the solution’s central management control makes it quick and easy to create and modify policies. “The simplified administration is very important because we have the same threats to manage as larger companies. Being able to drill down and see the details with Trend Micro Apex One is huge for us,” says Bailey. The addition of endpoint detection and response (EDR) also extended greater visibility for the IT Team.

Bailey’s team also appreciated the easy way the Trend Micro team uninstalled Thiele Kaolin’s previous solution. “Trend Micro has a tool that looks for competitive agents to reduce resource contention and that made it easier. They helped us ensure all the old software was gone, to prevent any conflict with the new software,” says Bailey.

 
 

RESULTS

Since implementing Trend Micro Apex One, Bailey’s team has seen the number of detected threats drop substantially. “We have not had any malicious activity on our endpoints since installing Trend Micro,” says Harper. Using Trend Micro Apex One is also helping the company reduce expenses as its customer base and the industry evolves. “Our relationship with Trend Micro helps us control the cost of endpoint protection, reducing it by approximately 60%,” says Bailey.

Finally, automated updates ensure that Thiele Kaolin clients always have up-to-date security protection. “We updated the server recently and all the clients started updating automatically. Keeping the software up to date is essential and seeing this work effectively was important to us,” says Bailey.

 
 

WHAT'S NEXT

Thiele Kaolin’s manufacturing division is currently exploring TXOne, Trend Micro’s industrial intrusion prevention system, through another proof of concept. “COVID-19 reinforced the need to look at solutions that give manufacturing employees more flexibility. We are excited about TXOne because it will enable better security and remote management so we’ll be better prepared for any future disruptive events,” says Bailey.

Beyond that, Thiele Kaolin leaders are looking for opportunities to grow and diversify the business. “We acquired two companies in the past few years and we anticipate more in the future. Trend Micro makes us more flexible. As we acquire new businesses and our networking becomes more complex, Trend Micro will help us ensure a smooth and

CIONET Circles

CIONET Business Circles

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Healthcare Circle

Digital Transformation is redefining the future of health care and health delivery. All stakeholders are convinced that these innovations will create value for patients, healthcare practitioners, hospitals, and governments along the patient pathway. The benefits are starting from prevention and awareness to diagnosis, treatment, short- and long-term follow-up, and ultimately survival. But how do you make sure that your working towards an architecturally sound, secure and interoperable health IT ecosystem for your hospital and avoid implementing a hodgepodge of spot solutions? How does your IT department work together with the other stakeholders, such as the doctors and other healthcare practitioners, Life Sciences companies, Tech companies, regulators and your internal governance and administrative bodies?

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Telenet Business Leadership Circle

The Telenet Business Leadership Circle powered by CIONET, offers a platform where IT executives and thought leaders can meet to inspire each other and share best practices. We want to be a facilitator who helps you optimise the performance of your IT function and your business by embracing the endless opportunities that digital change brings.

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Les Rencontres

Découvrez la dynamique du leadership numérique aux Rencontres de CIONET, le programme francophone exclusif de CIONET pour les leaders numériques en Belgique, rendu possible grâce au soutien et à l'engagement de nos partenaires de programme : Deloitte, Denodo et Red Hat. Rejoignez trois événements inspirants par an à Liège, Namur et en Brabant Wallon, où des CIOs et des experts numériques francophones de premier plan partagent leurs perspectives et expériences sur des thèmes d'affaires et de IT actuels. Laissez-vous inspirer et apprenez des meilleurs du secteur lors de sessions captivantes conçues spécialement pour soutenir et enrichir votre rôle en tant que CIO pair. Ne manquez pas cette opportunité de faire partie d'un réseau exceptionnel d'innovateurs numériques !

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Female Leadership Circle

CIONET is committed to highlighting and celebrating female role models in IT, Tech & Digital, creating a leadership programme that empowers and elevates women within the tech industry. This initiative is dedicated to showcasing the achievements and successes of leading women, fostering an environment where female role models are recognised, and their contributions can ignite progress and inspire the next generation of women in IT. Our mission is to shine the spotlight a little brighter on female role models in IT, Tech & Digital, and to empower each other through this inner network community.

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Check out our latest news

Testimonials

Geert Goethals
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CIO
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Bahadir Samli
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Thomas Kessler
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Koen Segers
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Thierry Driesens
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Managing Director
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Chief Commercial Officer (CCO)
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Directeur général
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Team

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CEO
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Partner - CCO
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Daniel Eycken
Partner - COO
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Founder - MD
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Jelte Scheys
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Herman Roelandts
Tribe Master
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Senior Program Director
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Program Manager
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Shelly Deracourt
Program Manager
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Junior Event Manager
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Contact us

Would you like to know more about CIONET Belgium, membership or partnership opportunities? Do you have feedback or any other question? Send us a message!