CIONET and Hitachi Vantara reconvened senior technology leaders to take the resilience conversation further. From rethinking recovery and testing for chaos to treating AI agents as insider threats, here are the key takeaways from our September roundtable.
Surviving the AI-Driven Cyber Battlefield: From Nation-State Attacks to Board-Level Resilience
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CIONET and Confluent brought public sector technology leaders together to explore the shift from batch processing to data in motion. From integration hurdles and lessons from financial services to security across Whitehall, here are the key observations from the evening.
For today’s organisations, cyber threats such as ransomware remain top concerns but resilience goes beyond security. It’s about ensuring data availability and integrity even during moments of disruption. It’s about planning and recovery. It’s about continuity in times of crisis.
A recent CIONET Community gathering of senior technology leaders, which featured expert speakers from luxury goods, energy, government and professional services, made that pattern hard to miss: even with different regulatory pressures, and different starting points, they had almost identical diagnoses of where their AI ambitions were actually getting stuck.
From AI-Adoption to AI-Transformation
On Tuesday, 16 June 2026, CIONET, in close partnership with LCL Data Centres, hosted an exclusive roundtable discussion titled "Transforming Public Services without Breaking the System: From AI-adoption to AI- transformation ".
These were among the key questions considered during a mid-June CIONET executive roundtable, convened in association with Cisco. The event provided a perfect opportunity to take stock of AI objectives and for senior IT and security leaders to compare notes.
The conversation technology leaders are having about agentic AI is not quite the one they think they are having. The surface debates concern governance frameworks, talent acquisition, and adoption pace. What keeps surfacing underneath is more awkward: a gap between what organisations can picture and what they can actually deliver. That gap has less to do with technology than most of the discussion assumes.
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Enterprise organisations appear increasingly willing to sanction meaningful budgets for projects led by cloud transformation, platform modernisation and – most notably – artificial intelligence (AI). That’s the good news. But with financial commitment comes greater accountability and increasingly difficult questions. Among those questions are these: when your board asks what AI is actually costing, do you have a credible answer? And can you identify the value that is likely to follow?
In today’s increasingly digital and interconnected world, cyber security has become a critical business imperative. Organisations face a growing array of cyber threats that can disrupt operations, damage reputations, and result in significant financial losses. As cyber risk continues to evolve in complexity and scale, effectively communicating the business value of cyber security to executive leadership is essential—especially in an environment of challenging budgets and competing priorities. The purpose of this study was to assess how cyber security leadership is articulating the business value of cyber security to senior decision-makers. Through interviews with a diverse group of organisations, the report explores how cyber risk is assessed, how budgets are allocated, and how cyber maturity is developed and communicated within the business context. It also examines the emerging impact of artificial intelligence on cyber risk and investment decisions. By analysing current practices and future expectations, this report provides a comprehensive overview of how cyber security leaders are navigating the complexities of demonstrating value, securing resources, and advancing capabilities. The findings highlight the need for pragmatic, flexible approaches that balance ambition with feasibility, enabling organisations to build resilience and protect business value in an increasingly complex cyber landscape.
On 18 November 2025, the Telenet Business Leadership Circle, organised and moderated by CIONET and Hendrik Deckers at the invitation of Telenet Business, took an in-depth look at the challenges and opportunities presented by the transformation of IT operating models.
This is not a neutral investment note, nor is it an exercise in short-term market forecasting. It is a personal reflection, shaped by more than five decades spent living through successive waves of technological optimism, excess, disappointment, and renewal – from the early digital era of the seventies and eighties, through dot-com euphoria of the nineties, to today’s AI-fuelled moment
The session explored the technological, organisational and cultural challenges of running one of the UK’s most complex operational infrastructures: the national rail IT and telecommunications estate. The discussion centred on leadership during disruption, the role of partners across a vast supply chain, and the increasing pressures of cyber resilience in a highly regulated environment.
To better understand industry sentiment – and to assess the barriers and opportunities on the path to adoption – CIONET, in partnership with Thoughtworks, brought together a dozen IT leaders for an in-depth discussion on Agentic AI in financial services.
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Throughout the Coping in Chaos series from Cognizant, Google Cloud and CIONET, the goal has remained the same: to understand how volatility – economic, geopolitical, and technological – impacts today’s IT leaders and the businesses they serve. In the third event of the series, a dozen or more senior technology leaders considered the customer. Coping in chaos. Navigating Market Dynamics explored how uncertainty is affecting consumer behaviour and how, in turn, that changing behaviour requires a response.
The role of the CIO has evolved from managing systems to shaping outcomes: growth, resilience, and competitive edge are now won or lost in the technology arena. Today ’ s CIOs must balance stability with innovation, control costs while attracting scarce talent, and modernise legacy infrastructure while adopting emerging technologies.
As AI transitions from a specialised tool to an all-pervasive force, understanding its profound implications for our human lives is no longer merely academic but an urgent imperative for social well-being and strategic preparedness.
Geopolitical tensions have dominated the headlines for over two years now. In this context, the cyber threat landscape is also evolving rapidly. The protection and security of critical infrastructure – both physical and digital – is becoming increasingly important.
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A dinner explored integrating digital and robotic tech in surgery, its NHS impact, and solutions for long waiting lists. Sponsored by Johnson & Johnson, it gathered NHS leaders, clinicians, and tech experts to share insights on current uses and future planning for digital healthcare delivery.
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From economic uncertainty to governance, security and trade concerns, today’s IT leaders face unprecedented challenges that require them to navigate, and thrive, in chaos. That, at least, is the proposition of a new sequence of events from Cognizant and CIONET.
This high-energy panel event explored how artificial intelligence is transforming enterprise strategy, operations, and culture. Industry leaders from AstraZeneca, Orange Business, Strategy and Soho House shared how they are reimagining their organisations to stay competitive in the AI era.
The evolution of AI is comparable to that of IT, but it’s happening much faster. As with IT in its early days, AI is becoming deeply embedded in almost every business function. Amara’s Law also applies here: we tend to overestimate AI’s short-term effects and underestimate its long-term impact. This makes it essential to embed AI across your company in a structured way.
This report provides a comprehensive overview of the event's insights and reflections from industry leaders, along with actionable takeaways for IT professionals aspiring to reach leadership positions.
In this report, Roger Camrass reviews the financial events of 2024 and presents his opinion on investment prospects for 2025 Roger has followed global finance markets closely for over 40 years and summarises trends in investment reports annually1 As former Research Director at CIONET, Europe’s largest community of digital leaders2, Roger has first-hand knowledge of digital trends
CIONET, in partnership with Cognizant and Google Cloud, has conducted an interview-based survey of CIOs, CTOs, or equivalents from leading retail and consumer packaged goods (CPG) organisations . The results show multiple factors disrupting peak trading patterns, including the transition to online retailing and the impacts of climate change, global conflicts, and macroeconomic pressures .
Our first Business Community Event of 2025 explored the challenges B2B startups face in scaling through enterprise contracts, particularly with FTSE 100 companies. Moderated by Craig Walker, CIONET UK, the panel discussed key strategies for success. Insights included the need for business leaders to prioritize partnerships with innovative startups, and for startups to align their value propositions with enterprise needs. Participants also explored how frameworks like design thinking can define objectives, and how governance hurdles can be streamlined. Other topics included the importance of clear timelines for proof-of-concept studies, simplified integration via APIs, and the role of stakeholder commitment in driving innovation. The event highlighted the value of ecosystem partnerships with incubators and universities in supporting startup growth.
At our final Community Event for 2024, experts from academia, government and industry discussed and debated the critical success factors in the AI economy. During a keynote and panel session, our members discovered the state of play in Digital Britain and learnt how the UK can succeed in the coming AI era.
Defining good leadership is not straightforward—it doesn’t exist as a standalone concept but rather as part of a broader framework. Leadership is closely tied to how an organization defines its strategic direction and executes it. In some companies, a strict top-down approach is the norm, while others allow their business units greater autonomy to chart their own course. Regardless of the approach, one constant remains: business and IT must work hand in hand to achieve the organization’s goals.
This report analyzes the state of Generative AI adoption in enterprises, highlighting the challenges and opportunities, with a specific focus on Belgium's lagging adoption rate.
In early 2008 there was a local outbreak of the chikungunya virus in Southeast Asia. Strict quarantines of patients – especially in Singapore – prevented the further spread of the virus. At the time, anyone who was paying attention probably thought the chance that the outbreak would lead to a long-term pandemic was pretty low. Yet a good decade or so later, the Covid-19 pandemic put the business continuity of almost the entire global economy to the test.
Our fifth Community Event of 2024 considered how CIOs can help guarantee success when digitalisation calls for disruptive change. The event, which took place on September 18 in the medieval Crypt at St Etheldreda’s in London, was convened by CIONET International Research Director Roger Camrass and included Keynote, Digital Campfire and Panel sessions.
ServiceNow can be implemented as the backbone for workflow automation across multiple business processes but is often perceived as an IT service management tool. The event discussed perceptions of ServiceNow and its applicability as an enterprise-wide platform.
The world of payments is transforming, driven by instant transactions, open ecosystems, and emerging technologies. While opportunities abound, many institutions are hampered by siloed processes and legacy infrastructures.
This article is written by Mark Samuels, Chief Editor at CIONET UK. The content is based on an event sponsored by Cognizant and Google Cloud held on 25 June at the Andaz in London.
This article was written by Mark Samuels, Chief Editor at CIONET UK, and Roger Camrass, director of research at CIONET International. The content is based on the EY & CIONET UK Digital Leaders Forum event held on 24 April in the Temple Room at Andaz, London. Executive sponsor for Digital Leader Forum is Asheesh Malhotra, partner, technology strategy and transformation lead, Ernst & Young LLP
Legacy IT continues to stifle agility and innovation in many organisations. This event considered how digital leaders can accelerate legacy modernisation and deliver rapid benefits. CIONET UK Associate Editor Jon Bernstein hosted the evening.
Subject matter experts, Natasha Davydova, CIO at AXA, and Peter Laflin, Director of Data & Analytics at Morrisons, joined CIONET Editor-in-Chief John Bernstein for a fireside chat. In-depth conversations across two tables followed this chat. This article presents a summary of the evening and was written by Mark Samuels, Chief Editor at CIONET UK, and Roger Camrass, Director of Research at CIONET International.
Our second event in this series analysed the transformative power of open ecosystems. In a moderated session led by CIONET UK Director Mark Foulsham, delegates from the financial services industry were joined by Ashish Bhatnagar
Modern organisations face the challenge of implementing future-ready business strategies. In this event sponsored by BT and Cisco.
Like the iPhone 15 years ago, Generative AI (Gen AI) tools like Gemini are poised to create a business revolution. These tools will change purchasing patterns, disrupt organisational operations and create new opportunities.
Upon introducing the debate participants, it immediately became clear that sustainability can be interpreted differently depending on the particular context of a company. For a parcel delivery service, for example, it’s important to scale up capacity very quickly in response to peaks in demand such as Black Friday or the end-of-year period.
CIONET and Telenet Business teamed up again for what proved to be another fascinating Leadership Circle. Moderated by Hendrik Deckers, the CIOs and CISOs around the table took a closer look at the delicate balance between user autonomy and organisational safety. This dynamic tension presents a significant dilemma, particularly when managing device control across diverse technologies and environments.
This article was written by Mark Samuels, Chief Editor at CIONET UK, and Roger Camrass, Director of Research at CIONET International. The content is based on an event sponsored by Telstra and Cisco held on 12 June at the Savoy Hotel in London
Outsourcing cybersecurity has never been as high on the agenda of companies and organizations than it is today. And that’s a curious situation when you think about it. Why would you outsource something as vital as cybersecurity? That’s why CIOs and CISOs gathered round the table to share their experience, insights, and thoughts on why, what, and how to outsource cybersecurity. They also explored what would be the right timing and where to find the best partners for these tasks.
This article is written by Mark Samuels, Chief Editor at CIONET UK, and Roger Camrass, Director of Research at CIONET International. The content is based on the EY & CIONET UK Digital Leaders Forum event held on 24 April in the Temple Room at Andaz, London.
This is a summary of the second Female Leaders Forum event held at Balthazar in London and sponsored by EY and CIONET. Lopa Ghosh, EY UK Cybersecurity Leader and Partner, introduced the event.
This article was written by Mark Samuels, Chief Editor at CIONET UK, and Roger Camrass, Director of Research at CIONET International. Designed by Sebastian Hartland, Art Director. The content is based on CIONET UK’s Fourth Community Event of 2024. The event was held on 19 June at EY, 1 More London Place, London
Organizations are constrained because additional business value has to be delivered with the same resources. This pressure is increasing in both business and IT. Driving business value has become more important than ever before. Organizations are on a journey where they need to make value trade-offs in the backlog of use cases and projects. The challenge is to choose the most valuable backlog items, taking the perspective of all stakeholders into consideration, while (re-)using the data products and IT artifacts in the landscape in a clever way. Balancing short-term benefits and long-term contributions to a more sustainable business model provides an additional challenge.
This article looks at what was discussed during what proved to be a truly fascinating evening, dedicated to exploring business resilience and sharing insights in that topic. The event was organized and moderated by CIONET and Hendrik Deckers at the invitation of Telenet Business.
This article is written by Mark Samuels, Chief Editor at CIONET UK, and Roger Camrass, Director of Research at CIONET International. The content is based on CIONET UK’s Third Community Event of 2024. The event was held on 17 April at EY, 1 More London Place, London. The event was sponsored by CIONET UK business partners, including EY, Hitachi Vantara, Infogain, CloudBees, Entelect, Thoughtworks, Orange Business Services, and Cognizant.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has been with us for decades but the launch of Open AI’s ChatGPT in late 2022 created a tsunami of interest. While there is considerable hype about generative AI (Gen AI) tools like ChatGPT, organisations are confused about how to harness the technology. Responses vary from comprehensive bans on popular tools to limited experimentations and top-down, CEO-sponsored initiatives.
This report delves into the strategic integration of legacy systems with cutting-edge technologies, a critical imperative for any modern organisation aiming to remain competitive and innovative.
This article is based on conversations that took place during a Telenet Business Leadership Circle roundtable event by CIONET at Telenet HQ in Mechelen on 2 May 2023, when the topic was human-centred digitalisation. This event was organised and moderated by CIONET and Hendrik Deckers at the initiative of Telenet Business. Digital transformation is essential for any company today. At the same time, that term can be misleading. The transformation doesn’t stop with the digital element; the human element is also critical.
This article is written by Roger Camrass, Director of Research at CIONET International and Mark Samuels, Chief Editor at CIONET UK. The content is based on the second UK Community Programme event of 2024, held on 21 March at BMA House, London
We brought together senior executives from multiple industries to explore where to begin with Generative (Gen) AI and the possible outcomes for businesses. It was the second event in an annual CIONET series sponsored by Google and Cognizant around the theme of new technologies.
A discussion dinner was held on the 18 October 2023, which was sponsored by Cognizant and Google. The event was attended by senior executives from a range of sectors. Phil Matthews, a business leader at Cognizant, and John Abel, Technical Director in the Office of the CTO at Google Cloud, introduced the session, which was moderated by Roger Camrass, Research Director of CIONET International.
EY and CIONET join forces to bring to you the CIO Circle – a joint forum exploring end-to-end organisational transformation
The 2023 programme covered our community’s main topics of interest, which were confirmed by our UK Advisory Board of senior IT leaders. The six events were Emerging Technologies in January, Data Strategies in March, Sustainability in April, Leadership for a Digital World in June, Collaborating Across Boundaries in September, and Cyber Wars in November. Each event was attended by an audience of more than 100 digital leaders and the content was highly rated.
In this report, Roger Camrass reviews the financial events of 2022 and 2023 and presents his personal view on investment prospects for 2024 Roger has followed global finance markets closely for more than 40 years and summarises trends in annual investment reports1 As the research director of CIONET, Europe’s largest community of digital leaders2, Roger has firsthand knowledge of digital trends
This article is written by Roger Camrass, Director of Research for CIONET International. The content is based on the sixth UK Community Programme event of 2023, held on 22nd November 2023 at HMS Belfast, which was attended by 130 digital leaders.
A discussion dinner was held on the 9th of November, sponsored by Genpact. Senior executives attended from several different sectors. The event’s title was ‘Discussing AI Plans and Opportunities’. Tarun Chopra, SVP and segment lead for Consumer Goods, introduced the event together with his colleague, V-K, who is CTO of Genpact. The session was moderated by Roger Camrass, Research Director of CIONET International.
This article is written by Roger Camrass, Director of Research for CIONET International. The content is based on the fifth UK Community Programme event of 2023, held on 3rd October 2023 at Bleeding Heart, The Crypt of St Etheldreda’s.
A discussion dinner was held on the 15th of November, 2023, sponsored by Accenture and IBM. Senior executives from banking, insurance, and wealth management attended. The event’s title was ‘FinOps – Adopting New Economic Models for Cloud Operations. Sinead Glynn of IBM and Dean Oliver of Accenture introduced the topic and responded to delegate questions and comments. The session was moderated by Roger Camrass, Research Director of CIONET International.
In bringing IT and business leaders together in early autumn Stockholm, CIONET and Hitachi Vantara wanted to put an idea to the test. Namely, that the IT department finds itself at the centre of one of the most challenging issues facing 21st Century enterprise. That challenge can be simply put: how do large organisations successfully decarbonise and hit mid-century net zero targets? The answer is far from simple.
Ransomware Recovery: Be Prepared, Not Scared’ – a CIONET executive dinner in association with Hitachi Vantara – took place on 9 November 2023 at the Hotel Villa Dagmar, Stockholm.
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Digital is transforming the marketplace at an accelerating pace. Most public and private organisations have adjusted successfully to an era of mobile apps, e-commerce channels and social media. However, this is merely a foretaste of what might come next. Take, for instance, ChatGPT, which is recognised as an ‘iPhone’ moment. Generative AI is sweeping across the Globe at a pace never experienced before. At the same time, macroeconomic factors such as inflation, national debt, sustainability and outbreaks of war are reshaping the customer landscape. Within this context, CIONET brought together digital leaders from organisations such as Carrefour, Bridgestone, DHL Express, BT and Cisco to discuss how they are reshaping their business models and supporting digital platforms to cope with accelerating change in the marketplace. In our report ‘The Fabric of the Future-Proof Organisations’, we summarise the CIONEXT discussion on the 18th of October and an Exclusive CXO Exchange on the 25th of October to provide vital insights into how digital leaders need to synchronise developments in the marketplace with their organisational structures and digital capabilities.
Over the last decade, the technological landscape of many organisations has seen a transformative shift. Cloud computing delivered by hyperscalers has emerged as a driving force to enhance the IT value proposition. This has triggered larger transformations from both a technological and a governance perspective, enabling ground-breaking business digital transformation.
So, is Nvidia’s massive growth in net income a break from the past? Are we entering a new investment era driven by the development of artificial intelligence (AI)? In this short article, we argue that this may well be the case. If so, it would be wise to position your investments for a white-water ride.
To get a better understanding how organisations across the economy are approaching process automation, CIONET brought together a group of senior executives in early July. The event - ‘Transforming Operations Through Digital Low-Code Process Automation’ – was convened in association with Bizagi.
The technology leader’s new agenda: Cyber resilience, sustainability and digital transformation through hybrid cloud’ – a CIONET Executive Dinner in association with Hitachi Vantara – took place on 12 July 2023 at Baur au Lac, Zurich.
As the complexity of technology is on the rise, so are the tactics, techniques, and procedures used by adversaries. While novel technologies such as cloud, AI, and IoT enable increased productivity and efficiency, they also lead to a larger attack surface. Maintaining a resilient organisation in this context requires a mature cybersecurity posture and awareness throughout. This places cybersecurity on top of mind for many business leaders.
These Cookbooks showcase the very best of European IT leadership: the ‘Master Chefs’. They present the techniques of the Master Chefs as a set of recipes for long-term success. These talented CIOs run technology organisations like five-star restaurants, providing all the IT ingredients for digitally enabled business transformation.
This article is written by Roger Camrass, Director of Research for CIONET International, based on a dinner at the Savoy Hotel on the 24th of July, 2023. The event was attended by business leaders and sponsored by Infogain. Vivek Sharma, Infogain Europe CEO, welcomed the delegates and described how new client expectations on AI could help deliver improved core services.
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This article is based on conversations during a CIO Circle roundtable in London on 5th April 28, 2023, discussing how digital leaders can increase trust in technology to protect vital revenues. The event was sponsored by EY UK&I and chaired by Louisa Perry of ZRG Partners. Lopa Ghosh and Lucy Rosemont of EY UK&I introduced the topic.
This article was written by Roger Camrass, Director of Research for CIONET International, and is based on the conversations held during an event on 6th December 2022 sponsored by Adobe and Insight and entitled ‘promoting collaboration and innovation in the hybrid workplace.
This article is written by Roger Camrass, Director of Research for CIONET International. The content is based on the fourth UK Community Programme event of 2023, held on 5th July 2023 at the Institute of Directors in London and attended by 100 digital leaders.
A discussion dinner was held on the 28 of June, sponsored by Hitachi Vantara titled ‘How cloud smart is your business? Cloud digitalisation and business transformation’. The session was introduced by Giuseppe Gagliardi, Cloud Expert at Hitachi Vantara in the magnificent surroundings of Dukes Hotel in London.
This article was written by Roger Camrass, Director of Research for CIONET International, and is based on the conversations held during an event on 29th June 2022 sponsored by Infosys and entitled ‘Banking on the Cloud’. It is an in-depth analysis of challenges and opportunities banks face in the migration to the Cloud.
Accelerating value from strategic vendor partnerships
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CIONET Healthcare Circle event – powered by Johnson & Johnson – at Voizine in Haaltert on 9 May 2023
New technology has made it possible to work remotely. Mobile apps pass information about the patient to an online platform – automatically or otherwise. The doctor can monitor the patient’s condition via the platform. If a certain parameter exceeds a critical threshold, the app notifies the doctor and/or patient.
This article is based on the conversations held during an event on 24th November sponsored by Citrix and entitled pathways to digital transformation in retail. Leaders within this sector recognise that the digital workplace is the foundation for a successful digital transformation journey, whether this relates to high street stores, warehouses, online channels, call centres or mobile working.
This article is written by Roger Camrass, Director of Research for CIONET International. The content is based on the third UK Community Programme event of 2023, held on 17 May 2023 at the Institute of Directors in London and attended by 120 digital leaders.
A discussion dinner was held on the 2nd March, sponsored by Interos and Whyaye and attended by senior executives from the financial services sector including AXA, Deutsche Bank and Northern Trust. The title of the event was ‘Eliminating supply chain risks in the financial services sector’ and was moderated by Roger Camrass, Research Director of CIONET International.
This article is based on the conversations held during an event on 30th November 2022 sponsored by Mendix and entitled ‘accelerating digital services across UK public agencies’.
In today’s data-driven world, organisations must embrace analytics to unlock unprecedented value and gain a competitive edge. This study explores the adoption of analytics and its implications for delivering business value. It sheds light on the vital role of the CIO and/or CDO, the challenges they face, and the shift from technology-centric to business-centric approaches. By extracting actionable insights from analytics, organisations can make informed decisions and drive strategic planning.
A discussion dinner was held on the 23rd of May, sponsored by Mendix, a subsidiary of Siemens AG, and attended by senior executives from across the insurance sector. The event’s title was ‘Using low code to modernise the insurance sector’. The session was introduced by Paul Fondie, Global Industry Principle at Mendix, and moderated by Roger Camrass, Research Director of CIONET International.
A discussion dinner was held on the 27 of April, sponsored by BT and Palo Alto Networks and attended by senior executives from the public sector, energy, legal services, pharmaceuticals, and investment management. The event’s title was ‘How to secure a net-zero future’. The session was introduced by Jim Butler of Palo Alto Networks and Simon Warner of BT, and moderated by Roger Camrass, Research Director of CIONET International.
A discussion dinner was held on the 20th of April, sponsored by Software AG and attended by senior executives from across the public sector including central departments, education, estates, and healthcare. The event’s title was ‘A Case for a Closer PublicPrivate Partnership’. The session was introduced by Steve McReavy, Director of Government at Software AG, and moderated by Roger Camrass, Research Director of CIONET International.
A discussion dinner was held on the 23rd of May, sponsored by Mendix, a subsidiary of Siemens AG, and attended by senior executives from across the insurance sector. The event’s title was ‘Using low code to modernise the insurance sector’. The session was introduced by Paul Fondie, Global Industry Principle at Mendix, and moderated by Roger Camrass, Research Director of CIONET International.
“To measure is to know”, as the timeworn maxim has it. But do we know what to measure? When calculating business outcomes in 2023, do tried and trusted key performance indicators (KPIs) still apply? Or do we need to adapt to a world of products as well as projects, a world of agile timelines?
This article is written by Roger Camrass, director of research for CIONET International, and is based on the second UK community programme event of 2023, which was held at the Institute of Directors in London and attended by more than 100 digital leaders.
A discussion dinner was held on the 8th of March, sponsored by Hitachi Vantara and attended by senior executives from multiple sectors such as education, healthcare, media retail, manufacturing and construction. The title of the event was ‘Data management in a decarbonised world’. The speaker was Tom Christensen, Global Technology Advisor and Technology Analyst at Hitachi Vantara, and the session was moderated by Roger Camrass, Research Director of CIONET International.
Data is become a primary resource of value in the emerging global digital economy. CIOs are helping their organisations and value chains to become digitalised and ‘data-driven’ as part of their digital transformation programme. Digitalisation and ‘data-driven’ approaches resulted in a lot of advantages such as improved digital cooperation, costs savings, more transparent and resilient value chains, new business models etc.
This article is based on conversations during a CIO Circle roundtable event at The Institute of Directors in London on February 28, 2023, which discussed how digital leaders can optimise their software assets. The event was sponsored by EY UK&I and chaired by Roger Camrass. Krati Laad, SAM Practice Leader, EY UK, introduced the topic.
A discussion dinner was held on the 23rd February, sponsored by Infogain and attended by senior executives from the retail, financial services, telecom, media, search and education. The title of the event was ‘Power to the People – optimising the customer experience’ and was moderated by Roger Camrass, director of research for CIONET.
This article is written by Roger Camrass, Director of Research for CIONET and is based on the first UK community programme event of 2023, which was held at the Institute of Directors in London and attended by 140 digital leaders.
A discussion dinner was held on the 24th January, sponsored by Dynatrace and attended by senior executives from the telecommunications (Telco) sector. The title of the event was ‘optimising the digital experience in today’s multi-cloud world’ and was moderated by Fotis Karonis, Executive Vice President, Capgemini, former head of 5G at BT and CTIO of EE.
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It’s sometimes easy to forget that the digital transformation of the past two decades has been enabled by just four technologies – Social media, Mobility, data Analytics, and Cloud computing (what MIT refers to as SMAC). However, we believe a tipping point has now been reached and a far more radical shift is afoot. New research by CIONET suggests the digital transformation that’s gone before is merely a prelude to a revolution brought about by three emerging techniques – Artificial Intelligence (AI), Immersive technologies, and Decentralised Autonomous Organisations (DAO). Such is the potential impact of this revolution that we believe these three technologies could initiate a digital renaissance that is equivalent to – or which even surpasses – the Renaissance in Europe 500 years ago.
In this report, we give an overview of how successful Belgian organisations are in their endeavours to become agile.
"Throw off your shackles: Low-code in industry and manufacturing". The title of the roundtable was indeed meant to be somewhat provocative. After all, low-code would allow the CIO to break down the chains with ERP or other legacy systems. Low-code would allow building bridges between IT and the business by strongly involving or even entrusting the latter with part of the development work. These and other claims were confronted with concrete Low-code experiences of CIOs such as Chris Borremans of Komatsu and Bert Schoofs and Steven Vansteenkiste, respectively Global Head of Applications and Head of Manufacturing Applications at the ETEX Group. It resulted in an animated roundtable discussion with a dozen CIOs over a delicious dinner from top chef Jeroen Storme in the beautiful Ter Ham castle in Londerzeel.
The 2022 Nash Squared Digital Leadership Report is the world’s largest and longest-running survey of senior technology decision makers. Launched in 1998 and previously called the CIO Survey, it has been an influential and respected indicator of major trends in technology and digital for over two decades. This year a survey of almost 1800 digital leaders took place between 6 July and 9 October 2022, across 82 countries.
We live in a time of spiking energy costs, soaring inflation, broken supply chains and climate change dominating the news headlines. Long term business planning becomes incredibly complex. Cognizant and CIONET organised a roundtable discussion with Belgian Digital Leaders on how to make their business future proof and how to set their 2023 business and IT priorities right.
This article was written by Daniel Eycken, Partner COO for CIONET, and is based on the conversations held during an exclusive dinner on September 27th. The event was sponsored by NBN, The Bureau of Normalisation is the Belgian national organisation for standardisation and is the country's ISO member body.
In this report, Roger Camrass presents his personal views on investment prospects for 2023 with a review of the remaining year (2022). There have been few moments in the last thirty years when the investment outlook has been more uncertain. The question today is how to balance investment between growth and value stocks to achieve inflation busting returns (now in double figures across Europe).
In this paper, we examine why data assets and related analytics are crucial to success in a rapidly changing and uncertain economy. We look at the key business outcomes that organisations are seeking and link these to the critical decision-making processes that data can help to transform.
This article was written by Roger Camrass, Director of Research for CIONET International, and is based on the conversations held during an event on 12th July sponsored by Dynatrace and entitled ‘Optimising the digital experience in today’s complex, multi-cloud world’.
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This article was written by Roger Camrass, Director of Research for CIONET International, and is based on the conversations held during an exclusive CXO update on 6th July. The event was sponsored by UiPath, a global leader in automation for good.
This article was written by Roger Camrass, Director of Research for CIONET International, and is based on the conversations held during an event on 30th June sponsored by Hitachi Vantara entitled ‘Living in a multi-cloud world’.
As attacks become more frequent, legacy approaches such as firewalls may fail to meet the current challenges. It is time to re-evaluate cyber defences. Do boards take this seriously enough? This article is based on conversations during a virtual event on how to manage the escalating cyber risk. The event was sponsored by Zscaler.
Clouded in Uncertainty
In this report, we examine the demand factors promoting change together with associated developments in infrastructure technologies, such as software-defined networks. We conclude that today’s tower structures and private network technologies, such as virtual private networks and multiprotocol label switching, are no longer relevant within a digital economy.
Roundtable Report CIONET and LCL.
Thursday 28 April 2022: CIONET, in collaboration with LCL, organises a unique event under the title “Manifesto for sustainable data centres”. With nearly 1,000 members, CIONET Belgium leads the community of CIOs and Top Digital Leaders in Belgium. LCL is the Belgian specialist provider of data centre facilities with a high sustainability value. With this roundtable, both organisations are joining forces to organise a brainstorming session between sustainability managers on the one hand and CIOs on the other, on the role IT - the IT team, the systems, and digital transformation - (already) plays in the sustainability programmes of companies.
Seven key steps towards a flexible platform for digital business
Our research suggests that CIOs and CTOs must plot the roadmap towards a next-generation infrastructure. We suggest there are seven key steps that digital leaders can take to help their organisations transition from an old world of legacy technologies and contracts to a new world of flexible services and partnerships.
IT currently represents 4% of all global carbon emissions. Within ten years this could rise to between 5 to 10% as we enter a truly digital economy. Data Centre efficiency lies at the heart of a Net Zero strategy.
Over the last months CIONET and BRITEFLO sat down with more than twenty Belgian CIOs to discuss their practical experiences with AI. They all understand this technology has a huge potential. At the same time the road ahead is not fully charted, there are many questions to answer and decisions to be made. In the end there is no better way to learn than by sharing and discussing with peers and partners. That is what this document is about.
Discussion Summary
This article was written by Roger Camrass, Director of Research for CIONET, and is based on conversations during a virtual event on 23rd March 2022 on how retail and hospitality can improve the customer experience. The event was sponsored by Hitachi-Vantara.
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Data has little or no intrinsic value unless it is applied to addressing real business problems and opportunities. Care must be taken in selecting data projects as up to 80% end up in failure.
Practical Advice For Managing Your Automation Roadmap
This playbook, in partnership with UiPath, examines how to undertake a successful automation journey by adopting a comprehensive governance model that supports selective pilots and subsequent large-scale deployments. The model touches on people, processes and technologies, giving guidance for business leaders on the most productive areas to address based on recent case studies.
This article was written by Roger Camrass, Director of Research for CIONET International, and is based on the conversations held during two virtual events in February 2022 sponsored by Fujitsu and Hitachi on Why organisations are opting for hybrid cloud strategies.
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So, What’s New for 2022?
The next social innovation will be the “Intelligent Era”. Advances in communication such as 5G and device intelligence such as IoT will help shift today’s agenda from “hyper-connectivity” to “hyper-personalisation”.
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The Emerging CIO Imperative
This 2021 CIONET research, in partnership with UiPath, interviews 15 leading CIOs and surveys into the CIONET community. It addresses the role and responsibilities of the CIO to accelerate and orchestrate the fundamental changes that the deployment of intelligent automation brings along and analyses where new automation tools are heading and how they might be harnessed.
A radical manifesto for digital leaders
Just imagine you are back in 2000 the 2000 dotcom boom. Could you foresee the rise of Big Tech then? Now look forward twenty years from 2021. We are all in for a big surprise. This three-part series of papers outlines the disruptive forces that take us from the industrial structures of the twentieth century to a post-industrial age of decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs) and the rise of the digital artisan.
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EY and CIONET have joined forces to bring you the CIO Circle – a forum exploring end-to-end organisational transformation
This article was written by Roger Camrass, of CIONET UK and is based on the conversations that took place during a virtual wine tasting event in December 2021 sponsored by Citrix on the topic of ‘how can we innovate effectively in a hybrid marketplace?’.
Many HBR articles and books have been written about the ‘style’ of the corporate centre and its associated governance. Some group CEOs choose to adopt a bearhug grip on every aspect of corporate strategy and finances. Others prefer a loser style of management, letting the business units self-determine their strategies and manage day-to-day operations. In this article, Roger Camrass, Director of Research for CIONET, describes a framework that illustrates how IT structures should align with the prevailing style of the corporate centre. It is based directly on his consulting experience over forty years.
This article was written by Roger Camrass, of CIONET UK and is based on the conversations that took place during a virtual wine tasting event in November 2021 sponsored by Citrix on the topic of ‘how can we innovate effectively in the hybrid workplace?’.
This article was written by Roger Camrass, of CIONET UK. Stephan Ehman of Hitachi Vantara and Jonathan Martin of WekaIO participated as sponsors of a virtual wine tasting event held in November 2021 on the topic of ‘In a data-driven world, time to market is everything’.
The 2021 Harvey Nash Group Digital Leadership Report is the world’s largest and longest-running survey of senior technology decision makers. Launched in 1998 and previously called the CIO Survey, it has been an influential and respected indicator of major trends in technology and digital for over two decades. This year a survey of over 2,100 digital leaders took place between 8th July 2021 and 11th October 2021, across 87 countries.
On 3rd September the Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC) hosted a webinar of thought leaders from the USA and Europe to discuss the subject of digital transformation. The exchange demonstrated a clear distinction between the progressive but largely incremental changes fostered by digital techniques amongst most Fortune 1000 corporates, and the distinctly disruptive transformations taking place amongst a few highly visible players such as Amazon and Google.
This article was written by Roger Camrass, Director of Research for CIONET, and is based on conversations during a virtual event on 21st July 2021 on the topic of sustainability and how the IT organisation can contribute to this critical agenda item. The event was sponsored by ADOBE Enterprise.
This article was written by Roger Camrass, Director of Research for CIONET, and is based on conversations during a virtual event on 14th July 2021 on the relationship between public cloud and on-premises. The event was sponsored by Hitachi-Vantara.
On 7th July eleven speakers and 120 digital leaders joined CIONET for the fourth Community Event of 2021 in the UK. The event was moderated by Roger Camrass, Research Director of CIONET International, and organised by Jenniffer Tang, Director of the UK Community Programme. It was sponsored by GitLab, EY, Hitachi Vantara and UiPath. Here is a summary of the discussion.
Following a six-month study that included interviews with fifteen of Europe’s leading CIOs on the topic of Intelligent Automation, sponsored by UiPath, CIONET convened an elite round table of study participants on 23rd June to review and confirm the findings prior to publication. Here is a summary of the discussion.
This article was written by Roger Camrass, Director of Research for CIONET International, and is based on the conversations during a virtual event on 7th June 2021, sponsored by ADOBE on the relationship between operational excellence and customer experience.
On 26th May twelve speakers and 125 digital leaders joined CIONET for the third Community Event of 2021 in the UK. The event was moderated by Roger Camrass, Research Director of CIONET International and Trevor Didcock, ex-CIO (easyJet, the AA, HomeServe, RAC) and currently Chair of Futurice UK, and organised by Jenniffer Tang, Director of the UK Community Programme. It was sponsored by GitLab and UiPath. Here is a summary of the discussion.
This article was written by Roger Camrass, global research director for CIONET and a visiting professor at the University of Surrey, and is based on the conversations during an event on the 13th May 2021 on ‘Modern alchemy – turning data into gold’, sponsored by DOMO, a leading player in data platforms.
This article was written by Roger Camrass, director of CIONET UK and a visiting professor of the University of Surrey, and is based on the conversations during an event on how to improve creativity and collaboration in a post-COVID world.
Marta Cagnola of radio24.it introduces Roger Camrass as a Keynote speaker for CIONET Italia’s Community Event on 15th April 2021.
This article was written by Roger Camrass, research director at CIONET International and a visiting professor of the University of Surrey, and is based on the conversations during a CIONET Advisory Board meeting of leading UK CIOs on 14th April to agree an agenda for Digital Britain.
This article was written by Roger Camrass, director of CIONET UK and a visiting professor of the University of Surrey, and is based on a UK panel discussion with Mark Foulsham, COO of Kensington Mortgage, Mike Gibbons , CIO of Aggregate Industries and Craig Walker, SVP, Salesforce.
This article was written by Roger Camrass, global research director for CIONET and a visiting professor at the University of Surrey, and is based on the conversations during an event in February 2021 on ‘unifying your communications for anywhere working’ sponsored by RingCentral, a leading player in cloud based unified communications.
The Critical Imperative Post COVID-19
Up until this year the majority of large corporates have been pursuing a digital transformation agenda that has been about delivering operational excellence within the organisation. The recent pandemic has changed fundamentally the trust of this effort by focusing all investment on the customer journey. In this report we describe how Boards and CIOs have responded to the pandemic crisis by reducing the number of internal change projects and concentrating instead on seeking higher levels of agility and customer focus in order to face an uncertain future.
Before and after COVID-19
This research has been supported by the collective experience of our Innovation Council, which draws on 40 digital leaders. This report presents the findings of our research and describes the contrast between work in the pre- and post-COVID eras. We analyse the role that intelligent automation and digital talent will play in helping corporations to adapt to the new normal.
This article was written by Roger Camrass, of CIONET UK and a visiting professor of the University of Surrey, and is based on the conversations during an event on’ unleashing your corporate assets – co-creation is the best way forward’, at a dinner sponsored by Fujitsu and held in November 2020.
This article was written by Roger Camrass, director of CIONET UK and a visiting professor of the University of Surrey, and is based on the conversations during an event on how to get to grips with DevOps and Cloud Native environments, sponsored by Gitlab in October 2020.
This article was written by Roger Camrass, director of CIONET UK and is based on the conversations led by Dr Ben Eaton of the University of Surrey during the first CIONET UK discussion dinner with 25 senior business and IT executives that took place in London this October.
It is a year ago this October when China unwittingly released a deadly virus into the World, decimating western economies and causing millions of deaths (accounted and unaccounted). Is it possible to believe that in such dire circumstances there is anything to gain from this global calamity?
This article was written by Roger Camrass, director of CIONET UK and a visiting professor of the University of Surrey, and is based on the conversations during an event on how innovation should drive cloud migration, sponsored by CloudHealth by VMware in September 2020.
This article was written by Roger Camrass, director of CIONET UK and a visiting professor of the University of Surrey, and is based on the conversations during an event on how innovation should drive cloud migration, sponsored by AWS in September 2020.
As we are propelled by COVID-19 into home working, online shopping and contact restricted to Zoom and social media, we might ponder where we end up during the new decade. In this paper Roger Camrass, Director of CIONET UK and visiting professor of the University of Surrey, draws comparisons between the colonisation of the ‘New World’ five hundred years ago and the colonisation of the digital ‘New World’ today.
This article was written by Roger Camrass, director of CIONET UK and a visiting professor of the University of Surrey, and is based on the conversations during a dinner on ‘data security and back-up in the cloud’ sponsored by Solutions and Veritas in London this November.
This article was written by Roger Camrass, director of CIONET UK and a visiting professor of the University of Surrey, and is based on the conversations during a virtual meeting on ‘Rethinking Workplace security’ held in July 2020 and sponsored by Avanade.
This article was written by Roger Camrass, director of CIONET UK and a visiting professor of the University of Surrey, and is based on conversations during a virtual event ‘A new data centric era – what does this mean for the IT organisation’, sponsored by New Signature and Microsoft.
This article was written by Roger Camrass, director of CIONET UK and a visiting professor of the University of Surrey, and is based on conversations during a breakfast on Cyber related topics sponsored by Okta in London this June.
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This article was written by Roger Camrass, director of CIONET UK and a visiting professor of the University of Surrey, and is based on the conversations during a dinner on ‘Enterprise Mobility’ sponsored by BlackBerry in May.
This article was written by Roger Camrass, director of CIONET UK and a visiting professor of the University of Surrey, and is based on the conversations during a virtual lunch session ‘How to cope with remote working in turbulent times’ sponsored by BlackBerry in May, 2020.
This article was written by Roger Camrass, director of CIONET UK and a visiting professor of the University of Surrey, and is based on the conversations during a virtual meeting on ‘Managing the shift to Apple’ held in May 2020.
This article was written by Roger Camrass, director of CIONET UK and a visiting professor of the University of Surrey, and is based on the conversations during a dinner on ‘pragmatic steps to becoming a data centric enterprise’ sponsored by Delphix in London this April.
This article was written by Roger Camrass, director of CIONET UK and a visiting professor of the University of Surrey, and is based on the conversations during a dinner on the revolution in end user computing, sponsored by Jamf in February 2020.
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This article was written by Roger Camrass, director of CIONET UK and a visiting professor of the University of Surrey, and is based on the conversations during a dinner on employee’s digital experience, sponsored by VMware in January 2020.
Gresham college invited six prominent futurists to presents their views in 1999 on the prospects for London 2020. This May these six individuals were invited by Gresham College and Z/Zen Group to look back to 2000 and forward to 2040. The intention was to provide a possible framework for future planning. Here is a summary of my contribution.
This article was written by Roger Camrass, director of CIONET UK and a visiting professor of the University of Surrey, and is based on the conversations during a dinner on employee’s digital experience, sponsored by VMware in January 2020.
In September 1998 Roger Camrass was invited to give the first address in a series of Gresham College lectures on the subject of London 2020. In the transcript below he presents a personal vision of City work and life in the early years of the new Millennium. Roger is a respected futurist and is a fellow of the Center for Business Innovation in Boston, a Visiting Fellow of Bristol University and Senior Associate with the Judge Business School, Cambridge University. He led a global multi-client study, Business in the Third Millennium. He was formerly a partner at Ernst & Young, and before this he was European President of SRI International (the Stanford Research Institute). He is a graduate of both Cambridge University and MIT.
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a ‘C’ Suite Imperative
The purpose of this paper is to create a common language around the word ‘innovation’ and offer effective mechanisms that enable technology leaders such as CIOs, CDOs and CTOs to be productive innovation partners to the CEO and other members of the ‘C’ suite.
This article was written by Roger Camrass, director of CIONET UK and a visiting professor of the University of Surrey, and is based on the conversations during a dinner in October, 2019, on Fighting Cybercrime – who is the adversary, sponsored by Phoenix Datacom and FireEye.
This article was written by Roger Camrass, director of CIONET UK and a visiting professor of the University of Surrey. With more than 40 years of experience in the IT sector and working with 50 of the Fortune 500 companies, Roger is a pioneer of today’s Internet and a master at navigating companies through periods of intense technological, social and economic change.
As I graduated from Clare in July 1972, something momentous was happening in a remote production plant in Santa Clara, California. This event was about to transform the world in a way that had occurred only in the European Renaissance and the industrial revolution.
This article was written by Roger Camrass, director of CIONET UK and a visiting professor of the University of Surrey.
This article was written by Roger Camrass, director of CIONET UK and a visiting professor of the University of Surrey. With more than 40 years of experience in the IT sector and working with 50 of the Fortune 500 companies, Roger is a pioneer of today’s Internet and a master at navigating companies through periods of intense technological, social and economic change.
This article was written by Roger Camrass, director of CIONET UK and a visiting professor of the University of Surrey, and is based on the conversations during a government dinner in July on ‘Addressing identity management in a cloud-first world’ sponsored by Zscaler.
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This article was written by Roger Camrass, director of CIONET UK and a visiting professor of the University of Surrey, and is based on the conversations during a dinner in July on ‘Infrastructure as a Service – Managing across multiple territories’ sponsored by NTT Communications and NetApp.
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At a two-day workshop held at the Deloitte Garage in London on the 14th and 15th of February 2019, ten leading CIOs from across Europe discussed how digital transformation could be achieved by taking a customer-centric approach. The workshop was facilitated by Professor Sandra Vandermerwe, a respected academic (Imperial College and IMD) and her colleague, Alison Jacobson.
This article was written by Roger Camrass, director of CIONET UK and a visiting professor of the University of Surrey. It is based on the conversations during a dinner in London which was sponsored by FireEye.
This article was written by Roger Camrass, director of CIONET UK and is based on the conversations led by Neil Berkett, Chair of the Guardian Media Group, during the second 2018 CIONET UK discussion dinner with 25 senior business and IT executives that took place in London this November. Much is spoken today about the increase in business uncertainty, or what is commonly called the VUCA World. At few points in history have we seen such profound change occurring in every aspect of our lives, from political upheavals (Trump and Brexit) and social change (rise of Millennials) to technology-driven innovation (Cloud, Mobile, Blockchain and AI) and economic disruption (FAANG dominance).
This article was written by Roger Camrass, director of CIONET UK and a visiting professor of the University of Surrey. It is based on the speech given during the annual away-day of The Future of Technology consultancy division of Capgemini Invent which gathered over 100 consultants in a funky warehouse in Shoreditch, London. This speech gave a perspective of consultancy past, present and future and described the rapid evolution of this profession over a hundred-year period.
This article was written by Roger Camrass, director of CIONET UK and a visiting professor of the University of Surrey, and is based on the conversations during a dinner on intelligent automation in the UK finance sector, sponsored by Blue Prism, Bizagi and Microsoft.
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A radical manifesto for the digital age
Just imagine you are back in 2000 the 2000 dotcom boom. Could you foresee the rise of Big Tech then? Now look forward twenty years from 2021. We are all in for a big surprise. This three-part series of papers outlines the disruptive forces that take us from the industrial structures of the twentieth century to a post-industrial age of decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs) and the rise of the digital artisan.
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How the Internet will change everything
Over five hundred years something dramatic happened that helped to launch the first European renaissance. A disruptive technology called the Gutenberg printing press enabled knowledge to be democratised, undermining the vice like grip of the Church over human thought and behaviour. Now we are witnessing the second renaissance in which the Internet is transforming every aspect of our lives, from our social and political agendas, to the economic and technological underpinnings of global commerce. In this article, Roger shares his views about how our future might evolve over the coming 500 years.
