NetApp Directions - Brussels
Constant Vanden Stockstadion, Brussels
22 March 2018
Join NetApp Directions - Brussels
Change the world with data!
Please join us for the 1st edition of NetApp Directions, NetApp’s premier customer event in Belgium. This year the event will focus on “Data Thrivers” and how data changes the world. Use your data to get valuable insights into your business and hear how the industry’s broadest data management portfolio can help you get a competitive advantage.
Why Attend?
- Hear how Data Thrivers are attracting new customers and develop new revenue streams faster
- Discuss about the challenges and opportunities of a Multi-Cloud solution
- Understand how NetApp’s industry leading Next Generation Datacenter portfolio can help you meet the demands of increasing data growth
NetApp Directions offers great networking opportunities, NetApp and Partner expertise and technical insights from our experts. Our local NetApp teams are involved in the event planning and invitation process to ensure that you can make the connections that really matter to you. We tailor the agenda to current business trends and aim to provide unique insights that help you understand trends.
Read the session descriptions here.
12.00 – 13.00 | Registration & Walking Lunch | ||
13.00 – 13.30 | Thrive Through Digital Transformation | ||
13.30 – 13.50 | Digitalization everywhere: How the sports industry makes it real | ||
13.50 – 14.10 | Unleash the Power of Microsoft Azure Intelligent Cloud through Azure & NetApp Data Fabric Integrations | ||
14.10 – 14.30 | Break– Sponsor & Demo Area | ||
14.30 – 15.00 | Enabling digital transformation: the intent-Based Data Center for a Multi-Cloud world | ||
15.00 – 15.30 | Human Centric Innovation | ||
15.30 – 16.00 | Break – Sponsor & Demo Area | ||
16.00 – 16.30 | EnCo: a toolbox for smart integration of your digital assets in cloud applications: | Modernize Data Protection: On-Premise and in a Multi-Cloud Era | What is a Next Generation Data Center? |
16.30 – 17.00 | Digital acceleration through multi-cloud strategies | Keeping Control of your Data in a Multi-Cloud Environment | Are you ready for GDPR? |
17.00 – 17.30 | Make machine data accessible, usable and valuable to everyone! | NVMe – A Step into the Future | OCI: An open Platform for on-premises and Hybrid Cloud Data Center Management |
17.30 – 20.00 | Networking Drinks & Walking Dinner |

Alexander Wallner
Alexander Wallner is Senior Vice President & General Manager EMEA of NetApp since 2016. In this position, he is responsible for all data management, distribution and marketing activities of NetApp in the EMEA markets. These include the countries of Europe with Russia / CIS, Turkey as well as the Middle East and Africa.

Bert van der Auwera
- Head of UEFA & EU Affairs, Contract Management & Match Organisation | New Stadium Development Lead, RSC Anderlecht
Since May 2017, I became also responsible for the Digital Transformation team at RSC Anderlecht, overviewing all projects leading the club's automatisation and digital touchpoint efforts. In this role he represents RSCA at CIONET. Main contact of RSC Anderlecht at UEFA for match operations of UEFA Europa League, UEFA Champions League & UEFA Youth League; for all disciplinary cases (legal) & regulations; and for the UEFA programs. Lecturer and public speaker about digitalisation, sports management, sports law, economy & marketing and UEFA procedures and regulations.

Kristof Rennen
- Azure Program Manager, Microsoft
Kristof Rennen is Program Manager in the Microsoft Azure Storage team, with over 15 years of experience in software development, architecture and design. As program manager, Kristof manages large scale storage customers and owns the medical imaging strategy globally. Being in Cloud and Microsoft Azure for the past 7 years, his passion is building high quality, scalable and maintainable solutions, both on Microsoft and open source technology.

Geert van Teylingen
- Global Black Belt Technology Solutions Professional, Microsoft
Empowering every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more, with data. Geert is a senior consultant with over 20 years of international experience in the Cloud & Data Management Industry. He helps define cloud and data management visions and strategies to set out innovative agendas for their customers’ futures, in order to improve their direction and success.

Stefano Testa
- Data Center Sales Lead, EMEAR, Cisco
Stefano is currently responsible for Cisco’s Data Center business in EMEAR. He has held positions in engineering, product management, business development and sales, with a focus on innovation in the Data Center and Cloud.
Stefano holds a master in electrical engineering from Politecnico di Torino and Ecole Centrale Paris, and an Executive MBA from IESE business school in Barcelona.

Glenn Fitzgerald
- CTO Product Business EMEIA, Fujitsu
Glenn joined ICL in 1979 as an apprentice and has worked for the company, now Fujitsu, throughout a varied career, during which he has gained expertise in a wide range of IT fields, including manufacturing and production test, hardware, software and firmware design, infrastructure implementation, project management and business and ITC architecture.
In his role Glenn is responsible for ensuring that the technologies utilised within Fujitsu are an optimum balance of capability and function, delivering industry leading coherent solutions that balance a supporting vision for clients’ varied businesses with the “art of the possible” at any point in time; technical feasibility, cost, timescales, risk and flexibility.

Robert Heyvaert
- Strategy Manager @ Enterprise Business Unit/Strategy-growth-innovation, Proximus
As strategy manager, Robert is currently responsible for the Enabling Company (EnCo) initiative within Proximus. Next to contributing to the evolution of Proximus towards a digital services provider (DSP) the mission of EnCo consists of developing and marketing an API based platform facilitating their customers’ digital transformation, co-creation Initiatives and the creation of eco-system environments.

Dyon de Bruijne
- System Engineer, CommVault:
Dyon is the Principle System Engineer for the Benelux with over 30 years’ experience in the IT industry focused on enterprise data & information systems. He has a wealth of knowledge on all aspects of data management, advising partners and customers on best practice. Dyon is an advocate of cloud as a business-transforming technology, and currently spends much of his time on the data-related aspects of GDPR compliance. Never short of an opinion, Dyon is a regular speaker at events.

Peter Snauwaert
- Business Development Manager, Sentia
As a trusted advisor by knowledge and experience, Peter consistently fulfilled roles on the crossroads of technology and business within startups and enterprise companies. At Sentia Belgium, he accelerates and enables medium and large enterprises to adopt the digital possibilities of the Cloud in a transparent and trustworthy way, allowing them to focus and continue to lead or differentiate in today’s multi-cloud world.
Peter will be talking about digital transformation, the growing dominance of cloud computing, multi-cloud strategy and their role in revolutionizing business models from a non-technological view.

Timothy Dewin
- Senior System Engineer, Veeam
Timothy is an IT professional with years of experience in the virtualization world. As a Senior Presales System Engineer for Veeam®, he has a technical background, but understands the bridge between technical and business needs. He is passionate for scripting and automation as well as for explaining technical items. That’s why he blogs.
You can find his easy-to-understand, yet thought-provoking posts at blog.dewin.me. Add Timothy on Twitter to get all the updates on Veeam and automation: @tdewin Timothy contributes to github.com/veeamhub and recognizes the importance of this community.

Dominique Dessy
- Senior Sales Engineer, Splunk
Dominique Dessy joined Splunk 3 years ago as a Specialist in Security and is a strong Splunk evangelist ever since. He plays a crucial role in advising Splunk customers, partners and co-workers in their journey of Operational Excellence.

Martin Cooper CITP FBCS
- Senior Director, Cloud Infrastructure Business Unit. NetApp
Martin Cooper is Senior Director, Cloud Infrastructure Business Unit at NetApp. Martin is responsible for all technical go to market activities aligned to NetApp’s CIBU portfolio through the global NetApp sales organisation, network of distributors, alliances and partners.
An experienced executive with broad international experience, working with both technology start-ups and established technology vendors. Most recently prior to acquisition by NetApp in 2016, founding SolidFire's International business and as Senior Director Field Engineering.
As an IT practitioner Martin spent 17 years at the international design consultancy Arup. Where he held various leadership roles with international responsibility, including Global Operations Director and Chief Technology Officer.
Martin is a Chartered Information Technology Professional and a Fellow of the British Computing Society.

Peter Wuest
- Senior Director Emerging Solutions and Innovation Group EMEA, NetApp
Since April 2016, Peter Wuest leads NetApp's cross-functional organization tasked to match businesses' data management challenges with the right business solutions in the newly established role of Director Emerging Solutions and Innovation Group EMEA. Peter's team focusses on four key industry areas: cloud architecture; converged infrastructure with flash for SAP, Microsoft or VMware; software-defined solutions and emerging technologies, including solutions for the Internet of Things, DevOps, analytics platforms, and new consumption models delivered via service providers, hyperscalers, or through the cloud.
In his previous position as Director Cloud @ Alliance CEMA, Peter Wuest was responsible for strategic alliances with manufacturers and global system integrators, as well as cloud and service provider strategy. He joined NetApp in 2001 as Systems Engineer, before leading the company's technical sales team in Germany.

Georg Mey
- Senior Manager Solution Architects, NetApp
Being already 30 years in the IT business including 10 years of storage background Georg Mey joined NetApp in 2007 as Solution architect for core ONTAP, Performance and SAN. With the introduction of NetApp’s All-Flash-Arrays Georg did become the subject matter expert for flash solutions and technology. Since April 2017 Georg leads the Solution Architect team in EMEA.

Ties Beekhuis
- Software Solutions Consultant, NetApp
Ties Beekhuis is Solution Consultant for NetApp Cloud Data Services. Before starting at NetApp he held the position of CTO at Proact Benelux and Head of Cloud Infrastructure for Proact IT Group. He has many years of experience as consultant in the IT market and closely follows the latest developments around technology and innovation. Especially how these developments could be used to solve problems in the B2B market. Beekhuis is an expert in hybrid cloud solutions, information management, storage, virtualization, disaster recovery and managed cloud services. Before NetApp he has worked at Proact, SCC, Getronics and NEC Computers.
NetApp Directions has been made possible by the following sponsors:
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