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Belgium 29-4-26 Invitation Only Physical english

Building Future-Ready Application Ecosystems in the Age of Intelligent Automation

This CIONET workshop is a collaborative deep-dive into the practicalities of"rewiring the building" while it’s still occupied. Drawing onKyndryl’s deep heritage in mission-critical infrastructure and their latestresearch, we will dismantle the "hidden costs" of legacyenvironments. The conversation will focus on the transition from static,monolithic structures to composable architectures that allow intelligent agentsto operate seamlessly across hybrid landscapes.

Belgium 5-5-26 All Members Physical english

Women of CIONET - The Female Edge in Digital Transformation

Why many transformations fail is not about technology, but about people and culture. Female leaders often excel in stakeholder alignment, empathy, and habit change; qualities that can make the difference between rollout and real adoption.So, where do those who drive digital transformation, often women, belong? Why are they labeled as “change leaders” and not CIOs?

Belgium 7-5-26 All Members Physical english

Resilience by Design - The Design Choices Behind Infrastructure That Cannot Fail

The most consequential security decisions are not made in the SOC. They are made at the drawing board, when architects choose who will manage their network fabric, where sovereignty will reside, and what dependencies they are prepared to accept. This roundtable brings together technology leaders who recognise that network and infrastructure design is no longer a technical decision but a strategic one. Rather than reviewing the threat landscape, we focus on the foundational choices that determine resilience long before the first incident occurs. Participants will explore how geopolitical fragmentation is turning technology and partner selection into a strategic act, what it means to engineer resilience into infrastructure rather than layer it on afterwards, and whether AI is changing the architectural calculus or simply raising the stakes.

May 12, 2026 Squad Session Invitation Only Physical english

Product-Centric IT 2.0: Blending product and project thinking

Everyone says they’ve gone product-centric. In reality, most organisations live in a hybrid world where projects, products, and platforms overlap. Teams manage releases while still chasing deadlines, and governance still thinks in milestones rather than outcomes. The shift is underway, but the mindset hasn’t caught up.

May 19, 2026 Squad Session Invitation Only Physical english

AI vs AI in Cybersecurity: When defenders and attackers both use AI

The game has changed, clearly. Attackers have AI, defenders have AI, and both sides are learning faster than anyone expected, or maybe the attackers are just a bit faster. What used to take hours now happens in seconds, and detection windows close before alerts even appear. It’s adaptation beyond automation, and no one gets to sit still.

May 22, 2026 Squad Session Invitation Only Physical english

Managing Vendor Lock-In: Balancing dependence, cost, and control in strategic partnerships

Every vendor swears their platform is open, flexible, and built for freedom. Then comes the renewal date. The price goes up, migration looks painful, and “strategic partnership” starts to feel more like dependency. Most organisations don’t get trapped overnight, they walk into it one contract at a time. Broadcom, anyone?

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BT Keeps Engineers Safe with a Mobile App Built on OutSystems

BT Group plc is the UK’s largest provider of fixed-line, broadband, and mobile services. In just two months, three developers and a tech lead delivered a mobile app and web app. By their estimates, delivering the app with OutSystems was three times faster than their previous mobile app development approach.

"With OutSystems, we're replacing an enormous number of legacy systems while reducing the cost of development across the board. We're also making business operations more efficient by providing mobile support for a wide range of applications." - Seiichi ShinagawaTechnical Leader IT Department, Mazda Motor Corporation

Challenge

Staring Over a "2025 Digital Cliff"

Mazda Motor Corporation recently celebrated its 100-years anniversary, selling nearly 1.5 million vehicles in the year ended March 2020. Mazda is justly proud of its engineering strength and design-focused products, but back in 2016, its IT department needed to escape from a burning platform.

"We called this as our "2025 Digital Cliff," says Seiichi Shinagawa, Technical Leader IT Department at Mazda Motor Corporation. "For the previous decade, we'd relied heavily on the Java Platform SE version 8, for most in-house application development. Support for that runs out in 2025. We had around 500 legacy systems to migrate to a new technology stack, and that looked impossible."

“We selected OutSystems because of its complete feature set, including visual design and assembly, high productivity for developers, high [integration] compatibility with existing systems, support for mobile apps, and the ability to deliver refined user experiences.” - Seiichi ShinagawaTechnical Leader IT Department, Mazda Motor Corporation

Mazda knew that it would take an army of developers and cost many (millions of dollars) to migrate all the applications in time unless they could dramatically improve their app dev efficiency.

Moreover, their software engineers found it difficult to keep up with the demand for new features with their current development tools. Plus, it was hard to provide users with modern, mobile-friendly experiences that would raise productivity.

Mazda started looking for a new IT framework. After considering various options, including general development frameworks, code generators, and low-code tools, Mazda settled on OutSystems as its modern application platform.

Why Mazda chose OutSystems:

Full-stack visual development with no limits
Speed-up development and improve agility
Deliver web and mobile applications

Solution

Establishing Mazda's Software Development Factory and OutSystems Center of Excellence

Given the mammoth development backlog and Mazda's engineering excellence culture, the IT team decided to plan carefully, rather than rushing headlong into development. They wanted to ensure they had strong foundations to ensure consistent, efficient, and high-quality software engineering in the future.

"We aimed to use OutSystems for core systems across Mazda, so before starting a wide-scale roll-out, we needed to prepare an environment for repeatable success," says Shinagawa. "This included making interfaces with existing systems, a framework for authorization and security, and modular software architecture standards."

Most of 2018 was spent setting up this environment, but the investment has paid back ever since. "Our standards enable a consistent level of productivity and quality across projects," says Shinagawa.

Simultaneously, Mazda set up an in-house OutSystems Center of Excellence (CoE), a central team of OutSystems experts that provides governed standards and best practices to developers.

"The CoE regularly provides one-week lean startup workshops, building UI screens, and processes directly with business representatives. The goal is to clearly understand requirements by prototyping on OutSystems. The users greatly appreciate this approach." - Seiichi ShinagawaTechnical Leader IT Department, Mazda Motor Corporation

Results

Happier Users and up to 75% Saving on Legacy Migration

While Mazda established its development standards and COE, they intentionally kept development projects to a minimum. But during 2019, adoption started to accelerate. Functions were now being implemented on the same level as they had been on the Java framework, and the development team started using OutSystems to replace its legacy Java applications.

Users liked the speed and agility of development and the much-improved user experiences of these new apps. In the second half of 2019, the number of OutSystems projects grew rapidly. The team delivered various applications, including core systems used for car manufacturing and distribution, back-office systems used by employees for internal processes, and systems for managers' daily work logs.

“We've seen a significant increase in development efficiency. We deliver simple applications up to five times faster and more complex apps around two-times faster. The quality of software delivery has improved as well. We've had no bugs attributable to problems with the platform itself.” - Seiichi ShinagawaTechnical Leader IT Department, Mazda Motor Corporation

"We are increasingly using OutSystems to replace legacy systems, including those built with the old .NET Framework and others built using COBOL," says Shinagawa. "The new apps have increased operational efficiency, thanks to the improved user experience and mobile device support, and we're getting high-praise from users on the front line."

OutSystems Development ramped up rapidly in late 2019. By 2020, Mazda had taken the strategic decision to drive broad adoption of OutSystems as the standard modern application platform for future development.

Increasing Mazda's Developer Pool

As part of its strategy to avoid the "2025 digital cliff," Mazda is increasing the proportion of software developed in-house by widening its developer pool. "The goal is to regain skills that we lost due to widespread IT outsourcing, and the OutSystems visual approach to development makes this easier as well," explains Shinagawa.

"OutSystems is now our standard application development approach," says Shinagawa. "And ultimately, we want every member of the IT department to learn at least some development techniques with OutSystems."

The team has been pleasantly surprised at the rapid learning curve for new OutSystems Developers. "We use the free two-week self-study learning paths provided by OutSystems, followed by several days of Mazda specific training to embed our in-house rules and methods. We've found that even IT staff that have never programmed before can easily learn to develop a basic application in a week. So, the cost of training is low," says Shinagawa.

Development with No Limits

Mazda has been impressed by the versatility of the OutSystems platform. "Compared to conventional programming, we've found we can build almost everything we need using OutSystems," says Shinagawa.

Mazda is now rapidly working to end its reliance on legacy systems, retiring those that are no longer needed and extending the lives of others with the help of OutSystems. The company is using OutSystems both to replace legacy systems and create new, innovative applications. The company expects to reduce its legacy migration cost by two-thirds to three-quarters—a multi-million dollar saving.

Looking Ahead

Shinagawa says that the company wants "to continue rolling-out OutSystems, using it to replace the enormous number of legacy systems and reduce development costs across the board. We also want to use it to improve the efficiency of business operations, especially by providing mobile support for a wide range of applications."

He continues, "At Mazda, we see visual development as an important pillar of system development, alongside conventional programming. We look forward to seeing OutSystems continue to evolve as a platform that dramatically improves the productivity and speed of software development."

Technologies

Outsystems

Partners

CIONET Business Circles

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CIONET’s Cyber Circle: a new three-event programme exclusively focusing on the most urgent, complex, and high-impact challenges in cybersecurity today. Launched in 2026, this initiative brings together CISOs, CIOs, and senior IT executives with a strong interest in cybersecurity for three curated gatherings each year. As part of CIONET’s trusted executive community, the Cyber Circle provides a confidential, peer-driven environment to exchange insights, share real-world experiences, and address evolving cyber threats. Each session is designed to foster strategic dialogue, strengthen resilience, and elevate cybersecurity as a core driver of business value.

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The Telenet Business Leadership Circle powered by CIONET, offers a platform where IT executives and thought leaders can meet to inspire each other and share best practices. We want to be a facilitator who helps you optimise the performance of your IT function and your business by embracing the endless opportunities that digital change brings.

Les Rencontres

Découvrez la dynamique du leadership numérique aux Rencontres de CIONET, le programme francophone exclusif de CIONET pour les leaders numériques en Belgique, rendu possible grâce au soutien et à l'engagement de nos partenaires de programme : Deloitte, Denodo et Red Hat. Rejoignez trois événements inspirants par an à Liège, Namur et en Brabant Wallon, où des CIOs et des experts numériques francophones de premier plan partagent leurs perspectives et expériences sur des thèmes d'affaires et de IT actuels. Laissez-vous inspirer et apprenez des meilleurs du secteur lors de sessions captivantes conçues spécialement pour soutenir et enrichir votre rôle en tant que CIO pair. Ne manquez pas cette opportunité de faire partie d'un réseau exceptionnel d'innovateurs numériques !

Female Leadership Circle

CIONET is committed to highlighting and celebrating female role models in IT, Tech & Digital, creating a leadership programme that empowers and elevates women within the tech industry. This initiative is dedicated to showcasing the achievements and successes of leading women, fostering an environment where female role models are recognised, and their contributions can ignite progress and inspire the next generation of women in IT. Our mission is to shine the spotlight a little brighter on female role models in IT, Tech & Digital, and to empower each other through this inner network community.