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Belgium 27-8-26 AB Members Physical english

Summer Festival: Advisory Board

CIO agendas are crowded: cost pressure, cyber, regulation, talent, data, AI, vendor dependency, business expectations. Most organisations are trying to do too much at once, and the “must-do” work often blocks the strategic work. CIONET only creates value if its agenda matches what CIOs truly need, in the right format, at the right time. The challenge Pick the few priorities that matter most for 2027, then translate them into a clear CIONET agenda. Outcome we leave with A ranked CIO agenda for 2027, and a directly aligned CIONET programme outline (themes, formats, cadence), with a shortlist of speaker and case targets.

Belgium 27-8-26 Country Members Physical english

Summerfest: From Story to Habit

How to align people, shift routines, and prove value Technology transformations often fail not because the tools don’t work, but because people don’t change their work habits. Boards want proof of value, executives want business outcomes, IT wants clarity, and employees want ease. Between these expectations, the CIO’s role is no longer just to deliver platforms; it is to tell the story that motivates people and turn that story into daily habits. This session will explore: The narrative: how to craft a simple, repeatable story that explains the “why” behind change for every stakeholder. From story to routine: practical ways to embed new behaviours through manager rituals, team incentives, and visible leadership. Reskilling and new expectations: preparing teams for evolving roles, from cross-department collaboration to AI-enhanced workflows. Measuring what matters: showing progress in speed, quality, and resilience — not just in licences bought or trainings completed. The aim is to equip CIOs with a leadership toolkit: a story that unites, habits that endure, and proof that convinces even the toughest boardroom.

Belgium 8-9-26 Invitation Only Virtual english

What an AI Architect Actually Does in Practice; Skills, responsibilities, interfaces, and career moves behind one of the most misunderstood emerging roles.

The AI architect role is becoming more visible, and the scope varies across organisations. The challenge is defining what the role owns, where it sits, and how it works with existing architecture, data, security, risk, and business teams. Three pressure points need clarity. - Role definition matters because the position can span solution architecture, data architecture, governance, integration, security, vendor selection, and business process design. - Interfaces matter because the role must connect teams while respecting existing responsibilities. - Skills matter because technical depth needs to be combined with judgement around controls, delivery choices, and operational boundaries. The working question is simple: how do we define the AI architect role so it becomes useful, credible, and connected to delivery? If this role is emerging in your organisation, let’s compare how others are defining it and where they are placing it.

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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

The customer

Storytel is a Swedish audiobook and ebook subscription service.

The market

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

The support team

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

The channels

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

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.

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.

Start saving agent effort

“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%

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.

Learn about our multilingual AI

Storytel_CaseStudy_ContentBlock_2_chatChange_2x

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.

See our chat solution in action

The success story

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.

Time efficient

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

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.

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.

Technologies

Ultimate: Chat automation Ultimate: Ticket Automation Zendesk: A CRM Platform

Partners

CIONET Business Circles

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.

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.

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.