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Belgium 01-10-2026 Squad Only Virtual english

Letting Teams Build Safely with Low-Code, No-Code, and AI Tools. ; How to enable business-led development while keeping security, architecture, and support under control.

Low-code, no-code, and AI tools are giving business teams more ability to build solutions themselves. The challenge is setting the right boundaries before fast local solutions become important operational assets. Three pressure points need attention. - Boundaries must be clear: teams need to know what they can build alone and what requires IT, security, or architecture review. - Supportability matters when a quick solution becomes business-critical. - Risk control remains necessary around data access, compliance, security, process dependency, and maintenance. The working question is simple: how do we enable business-led development while keeping security, ownership, and support under control? If you are trying to enable this safely, let’s compare approaches with others facing the same balance.

Belgium 06-10-2026 All Members Physical english

The Token Trap: Reclaiming Control of Enterprise AI

As enterprise AI transitions from experimental Proofs of Concept (POCs) into real implementations, digital leaders are encountering a shared challenge: consumption-based public cloud token billing models do not fit neatly into traditional IT budgeting. Daily token consumption can rise unexpectedly, pushing expenses through the roof while arbitrary caps quickly kill momentum for innovation. For many CIOs, this raises an open strategic question: How do we keep costs under control while further stimulating innovation? During this interactive CIONET roundtable, we will explore among peers how to navigate AI tokenomics. Rather than treating public cloud LLMs as the default path, we will investigate how different execution environments, ranging from hybrid cloud setups and targeted on-premise models to specialised edge hardware, can help balance cost with performance. This session is intentionally designed as an open peer-to-peer exchange; a space to compare notes, challenge current ways of working and architectural setups, and discuss practical approaches to building predictable, scalable AI models.

Belgium 08-10-2026 All Members Physical english

The Permanent (R)evolution

Every large organisation has been through a major transformation, and most through several. The word transformation is misleading because it suggests a beginning and an end. But organisations that do well are the ones that have given up on the idea of arriving and realise that constant change has become the new norm, and missing a single cycle leaves you permanently behind. This evening, two leaders will share how they think about this, coming from opposite directions. John Porter led Telenet through a sustained period of reinvention spanning the pandemic, a full reorganisation into tribes, M&A, and a shift to a performance driven culture. Along the way, the IT department was dissolved and technology was embedded inside autonomous tribes that run as small businesses. There is no CIO at Telenet. It is Telenet Group’s purpose to become a digital-first, customer-centric organisation. To deliver on this ambition, it has embarked on a transformation journey built on three pillars: (i) the implementation of a scaled-agile operating model (organisation), (ii) the acceleration of digitisation and automation underpinned by optimised IT systems, platforms, and strategic technology partnerships (digitisation), and (iii) a performance leadership culture focused on accountability, ownership, and a change mindset (culture). Kris Vervaet, on the other hand, has just become CIO at KBC, the bank whose mobile app has been ranked best in the world three times and whose AI assistant Kate now handles 70% of customer queries on its own. But Kris is no ordinary CIO: he ran DPG Media Belgium as CEO, and KBC went looking for someone who has led transformation rather than someone who manages technology. So while one organisation got rid of the CIO role, the other reinvented it, and both are thriving. The conversation will range across organisational and IT redesign, the rise of digital-first customer experience, the impact of AI on how every business is run, and the harder questions of culture, talent and leadership. The question for every leader in the room is what that tells you about your own role, your own operating model, and the pace at which you are prepared to keep evolving.

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PhotoRoom Partners with Google Cloud to Make Generative AI Helpful to Small Businesses

PhotoRoom will increase content delivery speeds for customers with Google Cloud infrastructure.

The leading AI photo-editing app will use Google Cloud's ability to scale large AI models to help more businesses take advantage of the opportunities generative AI offers, by enabling them to create high-quality images faster than ever before

SUNNYVALE, Calif, and PARIS, June 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- PhotoRoom, an artificial intelligence (AI)-based photo editing app designed for e-commerce businesses, announced a new partnership with Google Cloud today. PhotoRoom will use the power of Google Cloud A3 instances based on NVIDIA graphics processing units (GPUs), and its expertise in scaling large AI models, to offer studio-quality images to more businesses than ever before.

As a result, PhotoRoom will be able to increase the speed of content delivered to its customers and maintain its position as the fastest generative AI provider in the commerce space, reducing the time needed to create product content from days to less than an hour–without compromising accuracy or quality. Small businesses and entrepreneurs will benefit from PhotoRoom's speed and scale by significantly reducing the time and costs requested to produce and edit commercial photography.

"We're already processing 2 billion images per year, and we expect that to double in 2024, as more businesses adopt PhotoRoom's generative AI technology. We clearly need a partner who can help us scale and meet the needs of our customers over the next few years," said Matthieu Rouif, CEO of PhotoRoom. "Google Cloud fits perfectly with PhotoRoom's growth philosophy and provides the ideal foundation for our continued success with its capacity to scale, its flexibility, and its sustainable infrastructure. We are thrilled to work with this generative AI pioneer as we realize our vision of making amazing product photography available to everyone."

Generative AI presents incredible opportunities for small businesses. Partnering with Google Cloud is one of the steps PhotoRoom is taking to provide its customers with quality images at an affordable price. This partnership builds on the recent launch of PhotoRoom's Instant Backgrounds and Instant Shadows features, which use AI to enhance product shots. With these product developments, PhotoRoom aims to expand the use of generative AI and make it more accessible to smaller businesses and entrepreneurs: allowing them to imagine new business opportunities with breakthrough technology.

Since the beginning of the year, numerous companies using PhotoRoom have shared their feedback on improved performance and efficiencies. For example, Campsider, a marketplace for second-hand equipment and clothing, saw a 15% decrease in their Google Ads CPC (cost-per-click) since they started using PhotoRoom to edit their product images.

"Google's long-term focus on AI and investments in infrastructure are unlocking the full potential of generative AI for businesses and individuals alike," said Mark Lohmeyer, vice president and general manager, Google Cloud. "We're thrilled to offer Google Cloud's industry leading infrastructure, foundation models and AI tooling to PhotoRoom so the company can build, train, and deploy AI creatively, reliably and at scale."

Downloaded more than 10 million times globally from mobile app stores and with a review score of 4.7 out of 5 on the Google Play Store, PhotoRoom will increase its servers' processing power thanks to Google Cloud and will further support small businesses around the world.

About PhotoRoom

PhotoRoom was founded in 2019, and over the past 3 years has carved out a niche in the commerce photography space. PhotoRoom first found success with its best-in-class background remover. It has now expanded its offering to include a batch photo editor, magic retouch tool, and its latest offering, an AI tool that instantly generates backgrounds and shadows. The company is headquartered in Paris and now employs more than 40 employees and growing. The company's mission is to break down the barriers to doing business by making commerce photography easy. PhotoRoom's customers already include Warner Brothers, List Perfectly, and Wolt.

For more information on PhotoRoom, visit www.photoroom.com

About Google Cloud

Google Cloud accelerates every organization's ability to digitally transform its business. We deliver enterprise-grade solutions that leverage Google's cutting-edge technology – all on the cleanest cloud in the industry. Customers in more than 200 countries and territories turn to Google Cloud as their trusted partner to enable growth and solve their most critical business problems.

SOURCE Google Cloud

Technologies

Google Cloud A3 instances Google Cloud's Generative AI

Partners

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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.

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.