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Welcome to CIONET Belgium

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Upcoming Events

 
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Belgium 21-4-26 Invitation Only Physical english

From Victim to Victor: Cyber resilience is a means, providing Business Continuity the goal

In an era where every outage, audit, and cyberattack is a test of organisational survival, resilience has become the new currency of trust. While traditional perimeter security with: firewalls, intrusion detection, and scanners, remains essential, it is no longer a sufficient guarantee against modern threats that bypass these layers to penetrate your core systems. Today, enterprises require security and continuity that are built-in, not bolted-on. This CIONET roundtable focuses on the shift from reactive disaster recovery to proactive Business Continuity. Together with experts from HPE Zerto, we will explore how organisations can transform their recovery strategies into seamless continuity models.

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Belgium 23-4-26 Country Members Physical & Virtual english

CIOFEST BELGIUM: Leadership in the Agentic Era

AI is no longer confined to supporting human tasks. We are entering the agentic era, where autonomous systems act on behalf of people and organisations. These agents can gather information, make decisions, negotiate terms, and even complete transactions. The implications extend well beyond technology; they touch the very foundations of business models, governance, and leadership. For CIOs and their peers, the rise of “machine customers” and autonomous partners poses new questions: Market impact: How do you compete and create value when some customers and suppliers are machines? Governance: What trust, compliance, and accountability structures are needed when AI acts independently in financial, procurement, or customer-facing processes? Leadership: How should CIOs guide their organisations in redefining roles, responsibilities, and decision-making when agents take over parts of the value chain?Business strategy: What opportunities emerge for new revenue models, platforms, and ecosystems shaped by autonomous interaction? This session shifts the focus from the mechanics of AI agents to the decisions that will shape leadership in the next decade. It is a call for CIOs to prepare for a future where relationships, markets, and strategies are no longer limited to human-to-human interactions, but also extend to human-to-machine and machine-to-machine interactions.

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Belgium 29-4-26 Invitation Only Physical english

Building Future-Ready Application Ecosystems in the Age of Intelligent Automation

This CIONET workshop is a collaborative deep-dive into the practicalities of"rewiring the building" while it’s still occupied. Drawing onKyndryl’s deep heritage in mission-critical infrastructure and their latestresearch, we will dismantle the "hidden costs" of legacyenvironments. The conversation will focus on the transition from static,monolithic structures to composable architectures that allow intelligent agentsto operate seamlessly across hybrid landscapes.

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Upcoming TRIBE Events

 
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April 2, 2026 Squad Session Invitation Only Virtual english

Taming the SaaS Sprawl: Tracking spend, ownership, and usage before it slips out of control

SaaS gave business units freedom: quick onboarding, no infrastructure, and instant results. But over time, that freedom turned into fragmentation. Each team now buys, renews, and configures its own stack. HR has one platform, finance has another, and marketing probably has ten. The invoices keep coming, usage keeps dropping, and no one is sure who’s accountable for what.

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May 12, 2026 Squad Session Invitation Only Physical english

Product-Centric IT 2.0: Blending product and project thinking

Everyone says they’ve gone product-centric. In reality, most organisations live in a hybrid world where projects, products, and platforms overlap. Teams manage releases while still chasing deadlines, and governance still thinks in milestones rather than outcomes. The shift is underway, but the mindset hasn’t caught up.

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May 19, 2026 Squad Session Invitation Only Physical english

AI vs AI in Cybersecurity: When defenders and attackers both use AI

The game has changed, clearly. Attackers have AI, defenders have AI, and both sides are learning faster than anyone expected, or maybe the attackers are just a bit faster. What used to take hours now happens in seconds, and detection windows close before alerts even appear. It’s adaptation beyond automation, and no one gets to sit still.

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CIONET Partner Updates

CIONET Partner Updates

Recent Cases

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How Storytel offers 24/7 support in 13+ languages

Swedish audiobook subscription service Storytel knows that offering excellent customer support is key for building brand loyalty. Here’s how they scaled their support across over a dozen languages without compromising on the quality of their CX.

 

Storytel at a glance

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The customer

Storytel is a Swedish audiobook and ebook subscription service.

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The market

Storytel is available in more than 25 countries with core markets in the Nordics.

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The support team

26 agents provide localized support to customers throughout Europe and beyond.

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The channels

Customer care is available 24/7 via both ticket and chat.

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The situation

Their business was growing, and Storytel needed to find a way to scale their support without compromising on the quality of their CX.

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The solution

Storytel now provides support in 13+ languages via ticket automation as well as chat, a channel they launched from scratch using Ultimate.

 

Getting started with Ultimate

Storytel believes in making it easy for customers to get help because they know that a good CX is key for building brand love. As their business began to grow, more subscribers meant more queries. They wanted to scale their support by offering customers more options to self-serve without skimping on their high standards for quality customer care. Being that they serve markets in 25 countries and counting, they needed to do all this in a localized, multilingual way.

To meet these challenges, they turned to Ultimate. It was easy for Storytel to start (and scale!) ticket automation, thanks to Ultimate's quick and easy integration with their CRM, Zendesk. In fact, they were able to go live in just 15 days. From there, they have expanded to serve customers in 13+ languages through automation. They have even added a new channel: chat, which has led to faster response times and the ability to offer their customers round-the-clock support. As a result, Storytel has achieved a 22% automation rate, and their bot has taken on 20% of their agents’ workload  enabling them to focus on more complex queries. 

 
“I firmly believe that making it easy for customers to get help in using our product and services makes them even more loyal and therefore, I wanted to provide 24/7 support for our customers. Ultimate helped us do that.”

Christopher Nørskov
Head of Customer Support Operations, Storytel

 

 

Agent workload saved: 20%
Languages offered: 13+
Chat bot-handled rate (BHR): 40%
 
 
 
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AI use case spotlight #1: How Storytel automated support in over a dozen languages

  • It was critical that Storytel could offer support in all the language markets they serve – and their automated options were no exception. 

  • Ultimate enabled them to integrate with Sunshine Conversations in Zendesk to offer support in their choice of 109 languages. They started with Danish and Swedish and then gradually added more to reach a total of 13+ languages within the first 9 months. 

  • This gradual approach allowed them to enhance their CX by offering support to customers around the world, 24/7.
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AI use case spotlight #2: Scaling support by launching a new channel from scratch

  • Storytel was looking to offer their customers more options for resolving their queries. This is why they turned to chat automation – a completely new channel they launched from scratch.
     
  • From goal setting through execution and maintenance, they were supported in bringing their bot, Stella, to life. Their contacts on Ultimate's CS team were available to answer questions on Slack and provided Storytel with numerous touch points and check-ins along the way. 

  • With chat, Storytel has achieved a 40% bot handled rate (BHR) with their bot, Stella. 

 

 

The success story

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Seamlessly integrated

It was easy for Storytel to get started with our ticket automation solution because of its fast-and-easy integration with their CRM, Zendesk.

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Time efficient

Storytel launched ticket automation in just 15 days. This resulted in a 20% reduction in agents' workload.

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Scalable

Storytel scaled their support by offering chat automation, an entirely new channel they launched from scratch. They felt supported every step of the way thanks to their hands-on CS contacts at Ultimate.

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Multilingual

Over the last 9 months, Storytel rolled out automated support in 13+ languages and counting, as our industry leading conversational AI offers 109 languages to choose from.

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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Check out our latest news

Testimonials

Geert Goethals
Geert Goethals
CIO
Sibelga
Bahadir Samli
Bahadir Samli
CIO
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2-Feb-29-2024-11-35-00-9309-AM
Bart Kerkhofs
Director Digital Technology
Tata Steel Nederland
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Group CIO
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Manfred Boudreaux-Dehmer
Chief Information Officer
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Annick Faes
Vice President IT and CIO Medical Devices EMEA
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Global IT Director
Melexis
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Stef Schampaert
Country Managing Director BeLux
Red Hat
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Kevin Ledegen
Group IT director
SDWorx
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Gunter Van Craen
Chief Digital & Information Officer
Bekaert
Thomas Kessler
Thomas Kessler
Partner | CIO Programme Leader
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Emmanuel Gob
Emmanuel Gob
CIO
DPD
pascal pauwels
Pascal Pauwels
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Colruyt
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Koen Segers
Managing Director Belgium and Luxembourg
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benoit dewaele
Benoît Dewaele
Group IT Director
Vandemoortele
Dirk Deridder-1
Dirk Deridder
CTO - Technology Services & Practices
SMALS
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Koen Vandaele
CIO
Delen Private Bank
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Liesbet D'hoker
Managing Director
Kyndryl BeLux
steven-vermeulen
Steven Vermeulen
CIO
Digitaal Vlaanderen
Jack Hamande
Jack Hamande
Director General Digital Transformation
Federale Overheidsdienst Beleid en Ondersteuning
Tom Tomczak
Tom Tomczak
Chief Commercial Officer (CCO)
NRB
an swalens
An Swalens
Head Of IT (CIO)
National Bank of Belgium
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Elke Laeremans
Chief Technology & Transformation Officer
Krëfel
CIONET Belgium - Advisory Board Member - Koen Van Loo
Koen Van Loo
CIO
Group S.
CIONET Belgium - Advisory Board Member - Steven De Haes
Steven De Haes
Dean
Antwerp Management School
Marleen Thorré
Marleen Thorré
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Christel Plessers
Head of IT European Markets
Mercedes-Benz Europe
bauduin cor
Baudouin Corlùy
Chief Market Development Officer
LCL Data Centers
Steven Soers b&w
Steven Soers
VP Marketing
Telenet Business
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Carl Tilkin-Franssens
Expert Consultant
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CIO
KU Leuven
bart van de walle b&w
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DHL

Team

Luc Hendrikx
Luc Hendrikx
Partner - CEO
Inès De Bien
Inès De Bien
Partner - CCO
1-Feb-08-2022-10-22-08-68-AM
Daniel Eycken
Partner - COO
Hendrik Deckers
Hendrik Deckers
Partner - Founder
foto Herman
Herman Roelandts
Tribe Master
Joseph Antoun
Joseph Antoun
Senior Programme Director
1-Dec-16-2021-02-15-57-02-PM
Eman De Sutter
Programme Manager
4-Feb-08-2022-10-22-09-03-AM
Shelly Deracourt
Programme Manager
Untitled design (5)-Sep-01-2022-02-47-55-60-PM
Charlotte Coen
Partner Success Manager
Untitled design (1)-Nov-22-2023-08-56-42-6802-AM
Ivana Bradvica
Programme Manager
Vlera Berishaa (1)
Vlera Berisha
Community Manager
Stanislav Mosan
Stanislav Mosan
Financial Director

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!