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Belgium 10-3-26 All Members Physical english

The Composable Enterprise: Engineered with AI

From modular business design to AI-driven pipelines, architectures, and operationsA composable enterprise is built on modular processes, API-driven ecosystems, low-code platforms, and cloud-native services. It promises speed and adaptability by allowing organisations to reconfigure their capabilities as conditions change. However, modular design alone does not guarantee resilience; the way these systems are engineered and operated is just as important.This is where AI is beginning to make a difference. Beyond generating snippets of code, AI is already influencing how entire systems are developed and run: accelerating CI/CD pipelines, improving test coverage, optimising Infrastructure-as-Code, sharpening observability, and even shaping architectural decisions. These changes directly affect how quickly new business components can be deployed, connected, and retired.In this session, we will examine how CIOs can bring these two movements together:Composable design is the framework for flexibility and modularity.AI-augmented engineering is the force that delivers the speed, quality, and intelligence needed to sustain it.The pitfalls of treating them in isolation: composability that collapses under slow engineering cycles, or AI that only adds complexity without a modular structure.The discussion goes beyond concepts to practical implications: how to architect organisations that can be recomposed at speed, without losing control or reliability. The outcome is an enterprise that is not only modular in design but also engineered to adapt continuously under real-world conditions.

Belgium 12-3-26 Physical english

The Third-Party Risk Reckoning: How far can you trust your vendors?

Tomato! Tomato! Tomato! Get your tomato now! Every vendor sells security. And every company depends on vendors, partners, and suppliers. The more digital the business becomes, the longer that list grows, and so does the attack surface. One weak link, and there is always one, or one missed update, and trust collapses faster than any firewall can react. What used to be a procurement checklist has become a full-time discipline. Questionnaires, audits, and endless documentation prove that everyone’s “compliant,” yet incidents keep happening. So it’s clear: the issue isn’t lack of policy, or maybe a bit, but mostly lack of visibility. Beyond a certain point, even the most secure organisation is only as safe as its least prepared partner (or an employee who hadn’t had their morning coffee). So how far can you trust your vendors? How do you check what you can’t control? And when does assurance become theatre instead of protection? Does it come at a different cost? Let’s exchange what works and what fails in third-party risk management: live monitoring, shared responsibility models, contractual levers, and the reality of building trust in a chain you don’t own. A closed conversation for those redefining what partnership means when risk is shared but accountability isn’t.

Belgium 19-3-26 Country Members Physical french

Vendor Detox: La consolidation vaut-elle le risque ?

Moins de Partenaires : La consolidation vaut-elle le risque ? Le problème est la prolifération des fournisseurs : trop d'outils causant de la complexité, une taxe d'intégration paralysante et de la redondance. La Taxe d'Intégration est le coût caché (en temps, en échecs et en ressources) d'essayer de faire fonctionner ensemble des systèmes disparates. Cet échange se concentre sur des stratégies éprouvées pour simplifier de manière agressive le parc technologique, consolider les fournisseurs et élever certains fournisseurs clés au rang de partenaires stratégiques.

March 12, 2026 Squad Session Invitation Only Physical english

The Third-Party Risk Reckoning: How far can you trust your vendors?

March 24, 2026 Squad Session Invitation Only Physical english

Killing Zombie Projects: Knowing when to stop, restart, or quietly let go

Every organisation has them, projects that keep running long after their purpose has faded. No one remembers who asked for them, but shutting them down feels riskier than keeping them alive. And eventually, people stay assigned, budgets stay allocated, and energy drains into work that no longer matters. Inertia at its finest.

March 26, 2026 Squad Session Invitation Only Physical english

Measuring Value in AI Initiatives: Defining ROI, accountability, and measurable outcomes in complex environments

AI projects continue to multiply, but proving their value remains difficult. Most organisations can track activity, not impact. Dashboards count pilots and models, yet few translate to measurable business outcomes. The result is familiar: success stories without clarity on what they actually delivered.

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United Arab Bank leverages Trend Micro Security’s Automated and Integrated Solutions

To safeguard its sensitive customer data and ensure operational resilience, United Arab Bank, a leading financial institution in the UAE, sought a robust security solution. Trend Micro's advanced protection, integrated approach, and automation capabilities proved to be the ideal fit.

OVERVIEW

United Arab Bank, P.J.S.C. (UAB) is among the longest-standing and most innovative banking and financial services firms in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Based in Sharjah, one of the seven emirates of the UAE, United Arab Bank was incorporated in 1975. United Arab Bank operates seven corporate and retail branches throughout the country.

United Arab Bank’s offerings include corporate and retail banking, trade finance, and treasury services. The bank is seeing strong feedback on its “Sadara” premium banking service and Islamic banking services and aims to further grow its retail customer bank.

Over the past year, United Arab Bank has strengthened its core business and optimized costs to position for future growth.

United Arab Bank’s security transformation shows how banks can leverage Trend Micro’s security integration and automation to defend against cyber threats, enhance business processes, and keep customers’ trust.

Ayman AlQudsi

Chief Information Officer
United Arab Bank

CHALLENGES

Major challenges in the banking and finance sector include minimizing operational risk from internal processes and meeting strict government and industry compliance regulations. United Arab Bank’s legacy anti-malware software was not robust enough to monitor employee and customer behavior, or to prevent the wide range of increasingly complex cyberattacks. Managing encryption was also time consuming, with lost credentials taking eight hours on average.

Due to the evolving threat landscape, including banking malware, United Arab Bank conducted a survey of cybersecurity vendors and decided to upgrade its solutions with Trend Micro.

Trend Micro’s automated and integrated security solutions, and its strong research and development, are key for our competitiveness, our compliance, and staying ahead of the curve.

Mahmoud Yassin

Head of Information Security
United Arab Bank

WHY TREND

One of the main selling points has been Trend Micro’s research and development— especially Trend Micro Research security roundups and predictions reports. In addition, Trend Micro XGen™ security capabilities provide United Arab Bank with a layered security approach that can quickly protect, detect, and respond to new threats. In addition, UAB have improved visibility and streamlined investigation across their entire IT infrastructure by adding an endpoint detection and response layer on top of the same agent.

“Connectivity, smart devices, and e-commerce are all fueling the record number of threats in the Middle East’s banking sector,” says Ayman AlQudsi, Chief information Officer at United Arab Bank. “United Arab Bank’s security transformation shows how banks can leverage Trend Micro’s security integration and automation to defend against cyber threats, enhance business processes, and keep customers’ trust.”

SOLUTION

United Arab Bank has replaced its legacy anti-malware software with Trend Micro’s secure digital platform, which includes full network visibility and management of cyber threats, including advanced persistent threats (APTs). In particular, United Arab Bank has deployed Trend Micro solutions: Smart Protection Complete covers user protection including endpoint security and email to protect UAB’s internal email exchange as well, Deep Security software for workload runtime security, and EDR for real-time threat detection and response. United Arab Bank has also integrated Trend Micro solutions with the VMware NSX virtualization software.

RESULTS

United Arab Bank is already seeing impressive results—with virtual patching, malware protection, user behavior, and malicious activity monitoring applied for 500 users running 60 systems and apps across 1,000 servers. For example, United Arab Bank reduced time to manage encryption from eight hours to two hours, detects over 80% of cyber threats, and quickly and easily deploys security agents.

“In the face of rising cyber threats against banks in the region, United Arab Bank’s security transformation with Trend Micro assures our customers that they are banking on the most secure banking platform,” says Mahmoud Yassin, Head of Information Security at United Arab Bank.

WHAT'S NEXT

United Arab Bank is continuing to implement industry best practice and develop shared services and product offerings with its partner banks across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Central to United Arab Bank’s mission is to adopt an innovative banking approach that can continue to deliver a superior customer experience.

United Arab Bank is working closely with Trend Micro on next-generation solutions such as Trend Micro™ Intrusion Protection to protect the environment from known and undisclosed vulnerabilities, Trend Micro™ Deep Discovery™ Inspector to detect targeted attacks and ransomware anywhere in the network (including north-south and east-west network traffic) and detect zero-day exploits and malicious communications, as well as Trend Micro™ Deep Discovery™ Analyzer to extend the value of their Trend Micro solutions by using a centralized custom sandbox to send suspicious files for analysis and share that intelligence to achieve a connect threat defense strategy.

As both the UAE and United Arab Bank are set to mark their 50th anniversary Golden Jubilees in the 2020s, United Arab Bank is ideally-positioned to continue to play a leading role in securing the banking and financial services for customers in the UAE and the GCC for years to come.

“Trend Micro’s automated and integrated security solutions and its strong research and development are key for United Arab Bank’s competitiveness, our compliance, and staying ahead of the curve,” says Mahmoud Yassin, Head of Information Security at United Arab Bank

Technologies

Apex One™ Trend Micro™ Deep Security™ Trend Micro™ Smart Protection Complete Vision One™ with Managed XDR

Partners

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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?

Telenet Business Leadership Circle

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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 !

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.