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Welcome to CIONET Belgium

Realise your ambition! Connect with your local community of digital leaders.

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Upcoming Events

 
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Belgium 9-6-26 Invitation Only Virtual english

From Dashboards to Decisions: Restoring alignment, ownership, and confidence in enterprise reporting

Data availability keeps growing, but decision-making often feels slower. Every function builds its own dashboards, metrics multiply, and reports begin to contradict each other. What was meant to improve transparency now creates confusion. The problem is not access to data but alignment on interpretation. When information becomes noise, confidence in reporting collapses. People hesitate to act, functions challenge each other’s numbers, and trust in analytics erodes. The challenge lies in restoring clarity: deciding which metrics matter, who owns them, and how reporting connects back to action. Let’s discuss how to simplify information flows, define consistent metrics, and reconnect dashboards with decision-making. How ownership, cadence, and shared understanding bring alignment back. A closed conversation on rebuilding confidence in data, where clarity replaces overload and information once again supports action.

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Belgium 10-6-26 Invitation Only Physical english

Man Overboard: A VIP Evening on the Human and Digital Anatomy of a Crisis

In the middle of the night, 200 miles from the coast, the alarm sounds. The "Man Overboard" cry isn't just about a person in the water; it’s the ultimate test of a crew’s preparation, psychological grit, and split-second communication. For the modern European CIO, the "Man Overboard" moment happens in the data centre, the boardroom, or the headlines. When the system fails, the pressure doesn't just sit on the servers; it sits on you. Join CIONET for an exclusive VIP evening at the coast, a deep dive into the Human and Digital Anatomy of a Crisis. We will explore why some leaders thrive under the crushing weight of a "Black Swan" event while others capsize, and how data serves as the steady keel that keeps the ship upright. 

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Belgium 12-6-26 Invitation Only Physical english

AI Governance at Scale: Defining boundaries, ownership, and accountability for AI at scale

AI started small: a few pilots, some dashboards, a couple of chatbots. But then it spread, quickly. Now every department wants a model, every vendor adds “AI-powered” to their pitch, and every regulator is asking about risk and transparency. Governance suddenly went from a nice idea to a full-time job. Scaling governance is harder than launching AI. Policies look great on slides, but in practice, ownership blurs and enforcement stalls. Central control slows things down, while local freedom invites risk. Everyone agrees AI should be safe and ethical, but no one agrees on who signs off when something goes wrong, all leading to AIs living as permanent PoCs. So how do you scale oversight without creating bureaucracy? How do you distribute responsibility between IT, business, and compliance? And what controls actually hold up when AI keeps changing after deployment? Let’s explore how organisations make governance part of daily operations, not an afterthought. A closed conversation for those trying to keep AI credible, compliant, and under control while it spreads across the enterprise.

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Upcoming TRIBE Events

 
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June 9, 2026 Squad Session Invitation Only Virtual english

From Dashboards to Decisions: Restoring alignment, ownership, and confidence in enterprise reporting

Data availability keeps growing, but decision-making often feels slower. Every function builds its own dashboards, metrics multiply, and reports begin to contradict each other. What was meant to improve transparency now creates confusion. The problem is not access to data but alignment on interpretation.

Read More
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June 12, 2026 Squad Session Invitation Only Physical english

AI Governance at Scale: Defining boundaries, ownership, and accountability for AI at scale

AI started small: a few pilots, some dashboards, a couple of chatbots. But then it spread, quickly. Now every department wants a model, every vendor adds “AI-powered” to their pitch, and every regulator is asking about risk and transparency. Governance suddenly went from a nice idea to a full-time job.

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June 18, 2026 Squad Session Invitation Only Physical english

Building the Event-Driven Enterprise: Managing flow, context, and control in event-driven systems

Becoming event-driven sounds like the logical next step: real-time visibility, faster response, tighter integration. The promise is appealing, no? But turning that vision into reality is another story. Where do you start, with technology, operating model, or mindset?

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CIONET Partner Updates

CIONET Partner Updates

Recent Cases

Please Log In with your CIONET account first

How DiscoverCars saves €128k annually and upskills agents with generative AI

Learn why Carla, DiscoverCars’ chatbot, is a valuable member of their support team who simultaneously saves agents 110 hours per week while also improving their CSAT.

 

DiscoverCars at a glance

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The customer

DiscoverCars is an online platform that provides rental car bookings.

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The market

They serve customers around the world in 19 languages.

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The support team

A team of 66 agents provides support to customers with the help of their bot, Carla.

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The channels

DiscoverCars offers support via email and chat. Ultimate seamlessly integrates with their support stack and with Zendesk, their CRM.

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The situation

With growing consumer demand but limited resources, DiscoverCars was looking to speedily scale their support in a cost-effective way.

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The solution

UltimateGPT, our generative AI-powered automation solution, was easy to use and quick to get started. Carla is now considered a valued member of the team.

 

Getting started with Ultimate

DiscoverCars wanted to scale their support in order to better serve their customers and to meet the demands of seasonal travel spikes. The problem was that, with business busier than ever, they had limited resources to continuously hire and train new support staff. Endorsed on Zendesk's list of top CX automation providers, they chose Ultimate as the best solution to meet their support needs. Guleysha Hasanova, DiscoverCars’ Automation and Helpdesk Manager, was instantly impressed by the intuitive dialogue builder and how our AI tools provided quick time to value without requiring a ton of technical know-how. 

Thanks to their stellar Customer Success Manager, Frances Naguit, within just two months their chatbot, Carla, was fully operational. As Guleysha recalls, “Frances was the best teacher. She took us from baby steps to the advanced level on Ultimate. She helped me to see that I could easily manage our bot without prior technical background.” But the benefits didn’t stop there. Carla is now a valued member of the team who does the work of 1.5 agents. She is helping them to clear their ticket backlog, and saves their human agents an average of 110 hours a week. All of this has resulted in an improved CSAT score, which has jumped from 68% to 73% since launching their bot.

 
 
 
"Guleysha was committed to DiscoverCars' onboarding process and ensured all potential use cases for automation were explored. With her experience and thoughtfulness, she was the perfect person to build and manage the bot."

Frances Naguit
Customer Success Manager, Ultimate

 

Agent hours saved per month: 440
Bot handled rate: 35%
CSAT: 73%
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AI use case spotlight #1: Automation upskills agents

  • Not only has Carla become a big help to DiscoverCars’ support team, but automation has also helped power more rewarding support careers at DiscoverCars. 
  • Guleysha reflects on her career trajectory, noting that, “Before I was purely a customer support agent, and now I’m on the backend overseeing Carla as the person carrying out our automation projects. I have a lot of freedom, and I’m really proud of the work I’m doing.”
  • DiscoverCars even hopes to expand its bot-building team by bringing another agent on board as a bot manager, as the importance of this function within the world of CX continues to grow.

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AI use case spotlight #2: Instantly offering multilingual support with UltimateGPT

  • DiscoverCars wanted to offer support in several languages without the hassle of individually translating pre-programmed replies in each new language. 
  • After watching a demo of our generative AI tool, UltimateGPT, they were excited to give it a try. With UltimateGPT, they were able to instantly automate in 5 languages simply by connecting to their existing knowledge base. 
  • This has contributed to an improved CSAT score, by providing more customers with the ability to make queries in the languages of choice.

 

The success story

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Scaling support, without increasing costs

Automation has helped DiscoverCars to tackle their ticket backlog and meet seasonal spikes, all without having to hire and train new agents.

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Intuitive, no-code solution

Ultimate’s AI solution was easy to learn and accessible without needing previous technical know-how. It also seamlessly integrated with their existing CRM, Zendesk.

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Improving the customer experience

DiscoverCars now offers round-the-clock support thanks to Carla. Since getting started with automation, they’ve seen their CSAT increase too.

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Quick time to value

Thanks to an personalized onboarding experience with a dedicated CSM, DiscoverCars was able to launch their bot – and reap the benefits of automation – both quickly and easily.

“We are a support team of 66 members, but with Carla we are 67. She’s already an agent here, and we even want to promote her! We expect her to take on the work of 4 or 5 agents in the coming years.”

 

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Guleysha Hasanova

Automation and Helpdesk Manager, DiscoverCars

 

 

Next on their automation journey

Having already tried and loved Ultimate’s generative AI offering, UltimateGPT, they’re excited to continue using it as it evolves further. Right now, the latest version is powered by GPT4. They feel so confident in the capabilities of this generative AI solution that they’ve also decided to proudly feature Carla on the front page of their website, rather than gated behind a login. As a forward-thinking business, they know that automation will continue to help future-proof their CX. 

Partners

CIONET Circles

CIONET Business Circles

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Cyber Circle

CIONET’s Cyber Circle: a new three-event programme exclusively focusing on the most urgent, complex, and high-impact challenges in cybersecurity today. Launched in 2026, this initiative brings together CISOs, CIOs, and senior IT executives with a strong interest in cybersecurity for three curated gatherings each year. As part of CIONET’s trusted executive community, the Cyber Circle provides a confidential, peer-driven environment to exchange insights, share real-world experiences, and address evolving cyber threats. Each session is designed to foster strategic dialogue, strengthen resilience, and elevate cybersecurity as a core driver of business value.

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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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Testimonials

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Team

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Luc Hendrikx
Partner - CEO
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Partner - CCO
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Daniel Eycken
Partner - COO
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Partner - Founder
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Tribe Master
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Programme Manager
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Programme 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!