WHY VISIT ABISS

WHY YOU SHOULD MARK ABISS IN YOUR AGENDA

CONNECTING EVERY DOT – THAT IS THE REAL CHALLENGE – WHY REINVENT THE WHEEL

Manufacturing companies in the Benelux embrace digital transformation and AI not as a luxury. It is an urgency, and there is no longer any debate about that. While frontrunners aim to at least maintain their lead, the large group of SMEs is sometimes still completely disoriented. Why? Not because there is a lack of suppliers and expertise in the Benelux to transform processes autonomously and digitally, but because the puzzle for many beginners is so complex that they understand neither the expertise nor the methodology. Many manufacturing companies face limited budgets from upper management, a lack of vision and alignment, and a strong fear of waste and failure.

With expensive consultants and experts, these companies often do not receive the feedback they need, and among industry peers, expertise usually remains internal and is not shared. The real challenge lies in finding the right partners, gathering expertise specifically tailored to your type of company and processes, and above all connecting the dots.


+95 technology partners showcasing their solutions	14 Expert Classes within 3 thematic routes	Only 1300 free tickets available	Concrete solutions, insights, and sector expertise


+95 technology partners showcasing their solutions	14 Expert Classes within 3 thematic routes

Only 1300 free tickets available	Concrete solutions, insights, and sector expertise

Visitors at ABISS find in one single day all available technological expertise and benefit from shared knowledge of manufacturing companies during the Expert Classes. That is the core of the challenge. In industry, we call this IT/OT convergence. In the past, these were two completely separate worlds: IT was in the office with the servers, and OT (Operational Technology) was on the factory floor with the machines. IIoT forces these two worlds into a "marriage", and that is not always without friction.

The IT-perspective: The Data-Architects

The IT department is the expert in processing large volumes of information, but often does not understand the "language" of the factory floor.

What IT brings: Cloud computing, cybersecurity, database management and analytics capabilities.
The challenge: IT is used to the CIA triad (Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability). For them, data security (privacy and encryption) is often more important than whether a system is offline for five minutes during an update.
Why they need OT: Without OT, IT does not know what the data means. A value of "85" means nothing if you do not know whether it is degrees Celsius, conveyor speed, or pressure in bar.

The OT-Perspective: The guards of the production

The OT department (engineers, operators) ensures the factory keeps running. For them, only one thing matters: uptime.

What OT brings: Knowledge of PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers), SCADA systems and physical processes. They know exactly when a machine "sounds" unusual.
The challenge: OT often works with AIC (Availability, Integrity, Confidentiality). Here, availability comes first. A machine must never stop. A security patch requiring a reboot? "Forget it, that costs us 50,000 euros per hour."
Why they need IT: Traditional OT systems are often isolated islands. Without IT, they cannot share their data with the rest of the organisation or the outside world, making predictive maintenance or optimisation impossible.

In concrete terms, you visit ABISS with a champions team from both OT and IT, preferably with people who have insight into every relevant process within the company and how this flows further through your value chain. Where to start, with what, how and with whom, while you remain in the driver’s seat, that is the proposition of a visit to ABISS 2026.

BECOME A PARTNER

MARK IN AGENDA

MARK ABISS IN YOUR AGENDA

BECOME A PARTNER

	Kortrijk XPO Doorniksesteenweg 216
	8500 Kortrijk
	>> navigate to ABISS

	8 October 2026 \| 09.00 - 17.00 >> Plan your ABISS visit

VISITOR PROFILE

ABISS specifically targets the following visitor profiles:

Executive management
Owners
Board members
C-level to senior management
Department heads or leads
...

Looking for relevant digital applications, tools and platforms to make their organisation, partially or from a holistic perspective, smarter, more autonomous, data-driven, connected and secure.