Programme

The Heliview employees will welcome you to the conference in Van der Valk Hotel **** in Mechelen. Parking at Parking Keerdok is accessible from the N16 via a direct exit lane. Via the bicycle and pedestrian bridge, you get to the Van der Valk hotel just a 2-minute walk away. The address to reach Parking Keerdok is Antonia Wolversstraat 1, Mechelen.

Of course the coffee or tea is ready for you!

Brandon Smeets joined Canon to replace their Software Asset Manager in 2017. After several years he decided to focus on magic entertainment. Brandon opens the conference with “The Connection Kickoff”. This interactive networking session will break the ice and is the starting point of meaningful connections. The Connection Kickoff is the perfect opportunity to meet fellow security leaders, share your interests, and start expanding your network of peers who can inspire and support you during and beyond the conference. Let’s make the first connection count!

Discover how the National Bank of Belgium approaches the evolving landscape of IT and Software Asset Management (SAM). In this session, Dany Simone, Software Asset Manager, shares practical insights into the day-to-day challenges and best practices of managing complex IT and software environments. Explore how AI-driven tools can transform SAM processes—improving accuracy, cost efficiency, and decision-making.

Additionally, learn how compliance requirements and regulatory frameworks are shaping modern SAM strategies, and how organizations can stay ahead of audits and licensing risks. This session offers actionable lessons from one of Belgium’s most regulated and data-driven institutions.

In this keynote, Sonal Gupta, Senior Manager of FinOps & Hosting Service Delivery for Western Europe at Carlsberg, shares Carlsberg’s FinOps journey, highlighting key achievements and explaining how FinOps principles are embedded into the company’s cloud governance model to drive financial accountability, transparency, and operational efficiency across the organization.

Enjoy fresh coffee, tea and snacks on the network square. And the first 1-to-1 meetings take place. Check your EventManager for your personal programme.

Unlock Efficiency and Opportunity: The importance of  Contract Management..

Are you looking to boost your bottom line, minimize risk, and maximize collaboration within your partnerships? Then this session on Carrefour Contract Management is for you!

What’s in it for you?

• Gain a competitive edge: Understand Carrefour’s contract management processes inside and out.
• Minimize costly errors: Learn how to navigate potential pitfalls and ensure compliance.
• Optimize contract terms: Discover strategies for negotiating favorable agreements and maximizing value.
• Strengthen partnerships: Foster better communication and collaboration  through transparent contract management.
• Streamline processes: Improve efficiency and reduce administrative burdens related to contracts.
• This session will provide you with actionable insights and practical tools to transform your approach to conclude contracts, leading to increased profitability and stronger, more successful partnerships.

In this session, Danielle Jacobs will share Beltug’s latest insights from ongoing dialogues with CIOs and ICT decision-makers, focusing on key strategic challenges in Software Asset Management (SAM).

Topics include:

• Vendor Management Priorities: Insights from the Beltug Vendor Observatory, where CIOs and vendor managers exchange best practices.
• Digital Sovereignty: How organisations are tackling reliance on non-EU providers, with joint initiatives such as a practical checklist on sovereignty.
• Cloud Contract Power Imbalance: Addressing the unequal relationship between cloud providers and customers, A significant regulatory development in this area is the Data Act. Companies need to fully grasp its implications for cloud contracts, especially with the use of the Standard Contractual Clauses from the EU.
• AI & SAM: Exploring how artificial intelligence intersects with and supports SAM strategies.

This session encourages discussion on actionable steps to strengthen digital autonomy and improve vendor relationships.

Enjoy various richly filled sandwiches. During lunch there is enough time for 1-on-1 meetings and networking with colleagues, solution providers, peers and speakers.

As more and more organizations are moving to as-a-service models, there is often a false sense of safety. Product owners and other key stakeholders often suppose that there is no longer a non-compliance risk and that built-in tools of the software vendor will deliver real-time insights on license consumption. Our session will zoom in on several examples where we have seen a mismatch between built-in measurement tools and contractual use rights, both in overstating consumption as well as understating consumption. We will also provide tips & tricks on how to better manage such scenarios and avoid running into surprises at a later stage.

Java licensing has become one of the most pressing challenges for ITAM and SAM. Evolving terms, complex licensing models, and the hidden sprawl of Java instances across hybrid estates make compliance a moving target. Add to this the rising risk of security vulnerabilities from outdated or unsupported versions, and ITAM/SAM teams are being asked to manage more than contracts — they are now on the front line of risk, security, and cost optimization.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) provides a way forward. By applying machine learning models to real-time asset and usage data, AI can detect underutilized or unauthorized Java deployments, predict future license demand, and highlight vulnerabilities long before they become audit findings or incidents. Supervised learning models can forecast licensing trends, unsupervised models can uncover shadow IT or anomalous usage, and reinforcement learning agents can recommend proactive remediation and migration paths.

In this session, we will cover:

• The evolving challenges of Java licensing compliance and why traditional approaches fall short.
• How AI-powered ITAM and SAM practices can reduce audit exposure, optimize license spend, and enhance security posture.
• Real-world approaches to gathering high-quality runtime and usage data to fuel better compliance and vulnerability management.
• The expanding role of ITAM/SAM teams: from managing entitlements to driving security resilience, risk mitigation, and business value.

You will walk away with practical insights into how AI can help you not only manage Java licensing compliance more effectively but also elevate your ITAM/SAM function into a strategic enabler of cost savings, security, and operational agility.

Enjoy the afternoon break at the network square with 1-to-1 meetings, meet colleagues, solution providers, peers and speakers and share your gained knowledge!

While enjoying a drink and snack, we close the day in an appropriate way. Discuss what you have learned with colleagues, peers and speakers.