CIO Summit
The Rise of Agentic Systems
Modernize. Secure. Innovate. Lead with the power of Agentic-AI
Modernize. Secure. Innovate. Lead with the power of Agentic-AI
The IDC CIO Summit Benelux 2026 is the leading event for senior technology and business executives shaping enterprise strategy and digital leadership in one of Europe’s most digitally mature and innovation-driven economies. Designed for CIOs, CTOs, and transformation leaders, this one-day summit delivers actionable insights on top priorities for 2026: modernization, cybersecurity, sustainability, AI and Agentic AI adoption, and aligning IT investments with measurable business value in an increasingly regulated environment.
As Benelux organizations accelerate their digital transformation agendas, CIOs face rising pressure to modernize legacy systems, manage complex hybrid and multi-cloud infrastructures, and ensure compliance with the EU AI Act and NIS2Directive. Balancing innovation with governance, cost efficiency, and talent development is now central to maintaining competitiveness and trust across both public and private sectors.
The next stage of transformation will be driven by the rise of Agentic AI. For CIOs in the Benelux, the focus will be on implementing these technologies responsibly, ensuring transparency, and developing the workforce skills and governance models needed to scale AI safely and strategically.
Agenda
IDC analysts and industry experts will share practical guidance on building resilient, sustainable IT foundations, reducing technical debt, and operationalizing AI, including Agentic AI, responsibly and at scale. Through keynote presentations, panels, and peer discussions, the Summit equips the CIO community in the Benelux with the research, frameworks, and leadership insights to drive trusted innovation, strengthen resilience, and accelerate digital progress through 2026 and beyond.
2026 Prediction
By 2027, 55% of G1000 CIOs will be tasked to create enterprise AI value playbooks, featuring expanded ROI models to define, measure, and showcase AI impact across efficiency, growth, and innovation.
Main Themes
The CIO as Business Strategist
CIOs have evolved from operational leaders to enterprise strategists. As digital transformation reshapes every business model, technology leadership now defines competitiveness. Today’s CIO must align IT priorities with business outcomes, influence the boardroom agenda, and drive innovation that delivers measurable value.
Modernization, Legacy and Technical Debt
Managing technical debt is no longer just a maintenance concern, it’s a strategic priority. Modernizing legacy systems, simplifying architectures, and optimizing cost structures allow organizations to shift resources from upkeep to innovation. Streamlined technology portfolios create the agility needed to compete in a digital economy.
The Agentic AI Revolution
Agentic AI marks a shift from automation to autonomy. How CIOs can govern, scale, and integrate autonomous AI systems responsibly (balancing opportunity with oversight to create intelligent, self-directed enterprises.
Resilience by Design
Resilience is emerging as the defining capability of modern enterprises. Adaptive architectures, secure infrastructure, and integrated continuity planning enable organizations to withstand disruption (whether from economic uncertainty, regulatory shifts, or cyber threats) while sustaining growth and trust.
Cybersecurity, Trust, and Digital Sovereignty
As digital ecosystems expand, trust becomes a critical currency. CIOs must address cybersecurity, data sovereignty, and compliance in tandem, ensuring that cloud strategies and cross-border operations align with evolving regulations. Building digital trust creates both protection and competitive advantage.
Building the Intelligent Enterprise
Data is the foundation of every intelligent organization. Reliable, governed, and accessible data architectures enable AI, automation, and analytics to operate at scale. Enterprises that invest in strong data foundations are better positioned to extract insight, anticipate change, and deliver smarter, faster business outcomes.
2026 Prediction
By 2027, G1000 organizations will face an up to 30% rise in underestimated AI infrastructure costs, driving CIOs to expand the scope of FinOps teams to optimize expenses and enhance business value.
Speakers
Gian Carlo De La Paz
Senior Event Manager, IDC
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Gian Carlo De La Paz
gdelapaz@idc.com
Andrea Siviero
Senior Research Director, AI-fueled Business Strategies
IDC
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Andrea Siviero
Andrea Siviero leads IDC’s European Digital Business and Future of Work Research group. The group provides market research insights to foster a purposeful and fair adoption of technologies supporting digital societies, businesses and workforce and empower tech providers in strategic decision making, planning and go-to-market activities. Siviero also co-leads the IDC Worldwide MacroTech Research program, focused on the intertwined connection between the Economical and Digital worlds – analyzing the impact key MacroEconomic factors have on the digital landscape and viceversa, how technologies are impacting economies around the world.
Siviero advises IT players on building a forward-looking digital business and workforce strategy, while providing an in-depth view on future of work technology adoption, key digital use cases, macroeconomic digital impact, and digital regulations and emerging technology, via qualitative subscriptions and custom consulting projects. He has extensive experience with large strategy and go-to-market projects with IT providers. He is a member of IDC’s global Tech Storytellers taskforce and he is passionate about public speaking and customer engagement opportunities.
He joined IDC’s European team in 2014 and has become a recognized independent analyst across Europe and beyond in the vertical markets and digital business space. He is based in Italy and he holds a joint PhD in mathematics between the Université Bordeaux I (France) and the Universiteit Leiden (the Netherlands). During his PhD, he covered scientific research, academic teaching, and vocational training. He is a native Italian speaker and he is fluent in English and French.
Bill Dirk
Head of HR
ABB
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Bill Dirk
Knowledge Hub
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Meet Our Partners
1Password
Trusted by over 180,000 businesses, millions of consumers, and 1 million developers, 1Password is redefining identity security for the way people and AI agents work today. Our mission is to unleash productivity without compromising security. The 1Password Extended Access Management product suite delivers zero trust security that protects, manages, and governs access to all SaaS applications, whether managed by IT or not. Built on 1Password’s Enterprise Password Manager, which secures more than 1.3 billion credentials, 1Password’s Agentic AI capabilities extend identity security to AI agents and other non-human identities. Leading companies such as Asana, Associated Press, Browserbase, Canva, Cresta, Golden State Warriors, Hugging Face, MongoDB, Octopus Energy, Salesforce, SandboxAQ, Slack, Stripe, and Under Armour trust 1Password to provide the right person or AI agent the right access to the right app from a trusted device.
Insight
Insight Enterprises is a leading Solutions Integrator that helps clients solve technology challenges by combining the right hardware, software, and services. As a Fortune 500 technology company, backed by 35+ years of expertise and a deep network of 6,000+ partners, we deliver secure, end-to-end IT solutions for organizations around the world.
Ping Identity
Ping makes it possible to trust every digital moment. Our enterprise-grade identity platform secures customers, employees, partners, and non-human identities at scale across cloud, hybrid, and on-prem. From passwordless to AI-ready, we help you fight fraud, simplify access, and accelerate growth.
With us, trust is built in.
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