The Dutch housing association Rochdale has completely replaced its Microsoft security environment with the TrendAI platform in just six weeks. Led by CIO Ed de Myttenaere, the migration was successfully completed just before last year’s NATO summit in The Hague. The decision to choose TrendAI, a platform centered around managed XDR and Vision One, stems from a combination of advanced security technology and a strong, long-standing business relationship.
The urgency of the rapid migration was partly driven by geopolitical factors. Early last year, De Myttenaere joined Rochdale, one of the larger housing associations in the Netherlands with over 40,000 homes. It soon became clear that the upcoming NATO summit in The Hague would increase cyber risk. According to the CIO, this meant the organization had to account for potential additional attacks from, for example, Russia. This immediately prompted a critical review of the existing security licenses. The company relied primarily on Microsoft’s security tools to secure its endpoints, cloud, and networking.
De Myttenaere explains that, in addition to the geopolitical situation, the nature of the organization itself was a key reason for modernizing its security infrastructure. After all, housing associations fall into a high-risk category. Because large amounts of money flow through them, they attract criminal organizations more quickly than average companies. Rochdale’s goal, therefore, is to build a wall against attackers that is as high and sturdy as possible. Although De Myttenaere realizes that there is no foolproof guarantee against incidents, he wants to protect the organization as effectively as possible without openly provoking cybercriminals.
Technological transition
The new environment was up and running within six weeks. One week before the international summit, the organization had successfully migrated, making the transition happen right on time. Rochdale now uses virtually the entire TrendAI suite, in which detection, risk insight, and response are seamlessly integrated. The new security architecture is built around Trend Vision One, a centralized XDR platform that reduces risks for the hybrid IT environment. It consolidates data from endpoints, servers, email, identities, and the network into a single console, enabling security teams to respond much more quickly.
This central foundation is reinforced by a managed XDR service that provides round-the-clock monitoring through TrendAI’s Security Operations Center. This enables immediate action in the event of threats, such as instantly disabling compromised devices. The platform also supports hybrid integrations through vulnerability scans, cloud security posture management, and cloud access management for environments such as AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure. At the same time, the software integrates seamlessly with third-party platforms like Microsoft Sentinel and Splunk.
The results of these interventions are immediately visible on the work floor. The IT department now features a large dashboard that continuously displays the organization’s current risk profile and digital health. In the unlikely event that an employee is hacked, for example, by accidentally sharing login credentials and a verification code, the system detects this immediately. The IT department can then immediately see what steps are needed to fend off the attack.
The key role of AI
The beating heart of the new architecture is the AI engine. This engine continuously correlates internal business data and telemetry with threats detected in the outside world. By incorporating the vendor’s own threat analyses into this process, Rochdale’s risk profile is updated every minute.
TrendAI also offers an AI assistant to help with cybersecurity. For example, it summarizes alerts and can provide immediate response recommendations. The company is also working with cybersecurity digital twins capable of simulating threats before they occur. This is complemented by a comprehensive solution that covers the full spectrum of AI environments, from initial model development through to the final deployment phase.
With these developments, Rochdale is looking firmly toward the future. The data in the Azure cloud environment is now securely protected. Once the housing corporation’s own AI predictive model goes into production, the explicit goal is to optimally protect that specific component against data breaches and potential hacks as well.
Culture, relationship, and timing
The housing association’s choice of this partner was driven not only by technological considerations but also by strong cultural and relational factors. During his previous role as CIO for the Noordwest Hospital Group and Dijklander Hospital, De Myttenaere had already successfully collaborated with a dedicated contact person at TrendAI. Since 2017, he has taken the platform with him every time he changed jobs and moved to a new employer. The CIO places great value on the way business is conducted and the human touch involved. He describes Microsoft as a highly commercial American organization, where relationship management sometimes takes a back seat. According to him, the Japanese company TrendAI has a fundamentally different commercial character, with a much greater emphasis on long-term, sustainable relationships. Especially now that sovereignty and autonomy are high on the government IT agenda, he believes an Asian supplier offers a welcome alternative to established American players.
For other organizations also considering a switch, the CIO has some clear advice. First and foremost, he emphasizes the importance of choosing the right timing. From a financial perspective, such a major migration is particularly advantageous just before a major contract expires, for example, a few months before an agreement with Microsoft nears its end date. Those still bound by a long-term contract for years to come will find it difficult to justify the financial burden of that transition period.
In addition, the RFP should stipulate adoption of the new system. Before the organization makes a final decision on the purchase, its own security experts must already be involved in the process and trained by the relevant implementation partners. De Myttenaere often works with security experts who are familiar with TrendAI. This also helps with the transition to new security tools. Thanks to these factors, the entire migration at Rochdale was successfully completed in just six weeks, rather than the usual several months.