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Reading back newsletters:

2023:
April 2023: Chat GPT | Quantum computing | Citizen development | CMDB | AI
March 2023: Happy Spring
February 2023: IT Circle Netherlands update

2022:
June 2022: Future of data storage, Hybrid office setup, Security & Privacy ...
March 2022: Visiting Shell, ABN Amro, KPN, Royal FloraHolland, Municipality of Amsterdam,...
January 2022: Lookback 2021

2021:
October/November 2021: Digital Skills, Human Centered AI, Data & Boundaries...
September 2021: Data matters, Sustainable procurement, DaaS, Diversity & inclusion,...
July 2021: Breaking the year, summer ahead!
June 2021: News IT Circle Netherlands
April 2021: Update activities
March 2021: Start spring with a fresh start
February 2021: IT Circle Netherlands update

CLICK has been launched! The online community platform of IT Circle Netherlands.
Come connect with your professional colleagues and learn from and be inspired by each other!

Together with our members, we have spent the past few months setting up a new IT Circle Community platform to be even better connected! Within the expert groups you will soon be able to communicate with your peers, share content, view the event calendar and stay up to date with the latest information.

Ambassadors from different organizations shared their ideas, brainstormed and helped set up the platform.

To optimally connect and make use of CLICK, we would also like to send you the registration link. You can then fill out your profile so that you can be easily found by your peers, you can ask questions and you will automatically be kept informed of all activities within IT Circle Netherlands.

You can fill your profile with work-related information and you can also share social information such as hobbies, social issues or other topics that interest you. This way you will find people with similar interests and areas of interest, you may also be found, and you can share meaningful (and/or fun) knowledge and information.

Then join your expertise group and feel free to also take a look at other groups you can join and stay up to date on all the "ins & outs" of these groups. Sign up quickly by over here click.

Marjolein van den Bos joins IT Circle Netherlands team - imagine....
You wake up slide the curtains slightly aside and see that it is still just dark, the light is underwork. You walk barefoot to the living room open your laptop and start up the webcam and see the beach with fantastic waves rolling in and falling forward with their foam on the beach....You think no longer, give your husband a kiss and grab your surfboard, wax on it and put on your suit. Out with your board, braces on your bike and while The Hague is still starting up you cycle to the beach with your board. There is a serene calm until you reach the sea, you hear the waves rolling and crashing on the beach. What a gift to be standing here early in the morning with your surfboard in your hand...you walk into the sea, smile at the waves and dive on your board while paddling through the surf into the open sea, ready for the first wave. Starting your day this way is liberating, enriching and delightful!
So where does Marjolein come from and what else does she do besides surf.
Growing up in a hospitality family, I was brought up on entrepreneurship and connecting people. After many beautiful life lessons, the common thread in my life focuses on: Going for the things that come your way, fully living through all your experiences, taking lessons, enjoying and looking back on what you have experienced with the necessary self-mockery. That is typical of Marjolein.
Over the past 20 years, I have held a variety of wonderful leadership roles in Corporate business, with the last 8 years now focused on change management with a keen eye for the people side of change.

I started in IT (now 52 years old) when the hype in IT was going on. Started as a hardcore IT-er, MSCE-er, programmed, built and configured servers. During that period it turned out that I had more talents in supervising and leading, so that resulted in management positions at Rabobank, Pink Roccade and after some time in a management position at Getronics. A super nice job in a time of wealth where we served clients such as Gem. Amsterdam, Port of Rotterdam, ANWB and PCM newspapers (to name a few). At that time Getronics was acquired by KPN and I made the step to go more into the change side of the organization and studied Behavioral Sciences at Nyenrode. A great Master course that brought me to supervising large change projects within KPN and shortly after that I started my own company. (believing in what you do) where I did great projects at LUMC, ABN AMRO and Rabobank (See also my linked in profile).
Now in the present time I get to execute beautiful change projects a few days a week at Rabobank and since October I joined IT Circle Netherlands for 1 day a week. I already knew IT Circle because I regularly shared knowledge about Digital Transformation and Generation Management (another passion of mine). Then I got into a conversation with Karen van der Zanden and it was such a lovely conversation that we said; one day we are going to do something together. And that`s how it came about. I bring to IT Circle a lot of humor and fun in life, a broad knowledge of HR Management, a large network and a great desire to put this beautiful organization even more and better on the map with our current and new members.
I look forward to meeting you.
Marjolein van den Bos / 06-29525296 / marjolein.van.den.bos@itcircle-nederland.nl

📣

Norbert Derickx starts Aug. 1
as Operational Director at IT Circle Netherlands. After many management positions at leading companies such as VGZ, YACHT to Saxion, we welcome Norbert to IT Circle Netherlands.

"We are very pleased with this expansion at the executive level. In addition to his years of IT knowledge and community experience, Norbert especially brings a lot of enthusiasm. He is the right person to responsibly accelerate our growth. It is a natural choice", says Karen van der Zanden.

Norbert Derickx: Every organization, regardless of its sector, goes through a digital transformation. In some this takes place planned and in others ad hoc. This digital transformation impacts organization, people and work where technology is or can be a driver to achieve change goals.

This also makes IT not just about information technology, but how to use the right technology(s) to shape digital transformation and achieve your goals. The change in culture and ways of working is the most exciting thing in this rather than the hard technology. With the advent of Covid-19, organizations and institutions accelerated the transition to online working and learning, as the technology was already available. Now you see mostly the acute questions arising to perpetuate the new way of working and learning in a hybrid landscape. This also means that organizations and employees now benefit from quickly sharing or absorbing new best practices. This is not possible without a well-functioning and dynamic IT community in which knowledge sharing is taken for granted and enjoyed.

IT Circle Netherlands demonstrates that, thanks to a passionate team and committed members, it provides this network at strategic, tactical and operational levels and without interference from IT suppliers and IT consultancy. The connecting and driving role of IT Circle Netherlands entices people to actively share knowledge and contributes to the acceleration of digital transformation in all its facets. With my network, IT knowledge and experience and leadership qualities, I want to build IT Circle Netherlands, together with the team and its members, into the leading IT community in the Netherlands.

Have you been inspired and would like to know what we can do for you and your organization, please contact me at norbert.derickx@itcircle-nederland.nl, LinkedIn or 06 5346 0537.

IT Circle Netherlands, the place to share knowledge safely and securely

Next year they will be ten years old and recently they have a national board: the IT Circles. They are regional networking clubs of end users in various economic segments, who share IT knowledge and expertise quickly, in a confidential setting and, above all, independently. "We are not a place for vendor pitches, commercial ICT parties are excluded from participation," stress Karen van der Zanden and Frits Bussemaker of the now nationwide IT Circle Netherlands.

By Jeroen Bordewijk and Witold Kepinski from Dutch IT Channel, May 22, 2021

IT Circle Netherlands is a community of and for end-user IT professionals who want to stay involved in new developments and innovations through contacts with peers. The first regional communities date back to 2012, and to further grow these "cross-sectoral networks," a national board was recently formed. "The goal has not changed with that," says Karen van der Zanden, general manager of IT Circle Netherlands and former board member of the IT Circles Amsterdam and Utrecht. "The CIOs in our network want their organizations to be agile. To keep up with IT developments, an organization needs to be and stay in motion. This works better with a fresh look outside, rather than just a focus on one's own organization. IT Circle Netherlands prevents organizations from all going through the same process and making the same mistakes. It is better to learn from each other, because the IT challenges at other organizations are usually no different."

In the eminently dynamic field of IT, a networking club is of great value, Van der Zanden believes. "The topics discussed here are constantly changing. Think of the development toward the cloud and the digital transformation our members are going through. Or very topical in corona time: how do you keep employees digital, vital, skilled and fit at home as well? What will we soon be doing physically (again) and what will we continue to do online? Don't forget all the challenges in the area of security, which have taken off tremendously in recent years. By looking beyond the boundaries of one's own organization or even one's own industry and getting knowledge from outside as well, our members prevent everyone from constantly reinventing the same wheel." Members get inspiration from each other and by each other.

The whole organization
The member CIOs are not so much members for themselves, but for (the people in) their organizations. Van der Zanden: "We are there for all IT professionals in an organization, from IT security professionals to scrum masters, vendor specialists, people who determine a cloud strategy, you name it. Every member, every organization has a fixed point of contact for us, whom we speak to at least monthly. All kinds of things pass by then, there really is a very strong community feeling there."

The various IT Circles organize more than a hundred events a year. But according to strategic council Frits Bussemaker, who has worked in the Dutch ICT industry since 1988 and is highly experienced in building, maintaining and growing communities, it is at least as important that members know how to find each other throughout the year. "People can always query each other easily and directly through the online platform. As long as you are a member long enough, you know exactly where what knowledge is to be gained. Members share best practices, best failures and exchange business cases. And very important: there is no room for commerce in this kind of contact. Our community must be safe and trusted. Not only successes, but also brilliant failures are shared here. With us, people can meet informally both offline and online to spar, without being bothered by 'vendor pitches' or by subjective advice."

What's in it for me?
New members are always given a "what's in it for me" session so that IT Circle Netherlands knows what an organization is doing and what IT issues are going on there. "Every two to three years we do such a conversation again," Van der Zanden explains. "That's how topics like leadership, change management, testing and applying new technologies and portfolio management come to light. Incidentally, the idea is that members should be active; we don't have sleeping members. If you have just traveled down a road that you know other members need to travel as well, we like to see you proactively share experiences."

Currently, much of the activity is about members' cloud corridor, which requires a transformation from management to direction. "IT professionals have to start working in a different way," Van der Zanden knows. "What does it mean for people in an organization that they are suddenly no longer a functional manager of an application? That's why we pay a lot of attention to change management and culture change. What we get back at all from the CIOs affiliated with us: it's not the technologies, but the people who make the difference. In organizations, it is also about the development of so-called "soft skills. IT professionals, whether developers or portfolio managers, need to be able to work directly with the business more than in the past. We want to contribute to the development of such skills."

Early insight
Also according to Bussemaker, "cloud" is obviously an important topic right now. "A year and a half ago we did a session with the municipality of Almere on Green IT. It's not quite on the minds of IT professionals yet, but cloud IT can contribute significantly to reducing energy consumption. I think that's a great example of how we as a community have early insight into topics of interest to our members. Like sustainability, which we pay a lot of attention to."

Because of corona, the members of IT Circle Netherlands currently meet primarily online. "But as a result, interaction between members is actually increasing," Van der Zanden notes in conclusion. "More frequent and shorter low-threshold meetings, that's the trend. For the future, I hope for a nice hybrid mix: we will continue to approach each other easily, but of course there will be big(er) meetings again. I look forward to the physical peer review sessions, where members talk about their IT strategies. And there will be exchanges and company visits again, which is what the IT Circles started almost a decade ago: people walking around another organization for a while with closed exchanges to transfer knowledge. That takes a lot of trust, but that's exactly what we're working on. We invite end users, who have become curious, to contact the IT Circle directly."

Article: https://dutchitchannel.nl/673436/it-circle-nederland-de-plek-om-veilig-en-vertrouwd-kennis-te-delen.html

IT Circle Netherlands announces new national board

Utrecht, March 16, 2021

Following the transition of all regional IT Circles into a collaborative IT Circle Netherlands, a national board has now been formed. A nice representation from all regions and all industries to further grow the nearly decade-long partnership.

The board consists of the following members:

 Karen van der Zanden and Frits Bussemaker, IT Circle Netherlands board of directors, are responsible in their role to guide the board. With the elected board, IT Circle Netherlands believes it can take great strides in its further development. Corné Mulders (CIO, UMC Utrecht) will fulfill the role as national chairman and, together with Karen and Frits, will present the new national board.

About IT Circle Netherlands
IT Circle Netherlands is an independent partnership where IT Professionals share knowledge and expertise quickly and in a focused way. The experts can develop themselves and arrive at joint solutions. The IT end users can actively participate to strengthen themselves, each other and thus the organization in the field of Information Technology. The national community offers the opportunity to connect with peers from a wide variety of industries. The entire organization benefits from peer interaction. It gets the organization moving and involves all IT Professionals in new developments and innovations.