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Belgium 10-3-26 All Members Physical english

The Composable Enterprise: Engineered with AI

From modular business design to AI-driven pipelines, architectures, and operationsA composable enterprise is built on modular processes, API-driven ecosystems, low-code platforms, and cloud-native services. It promises speed and adaptability by allowing organisations to reconfigure their capabilities as conditions change. However, modular design alone does not guarantee resilience; the way these systems are engineered and operated is just as important.This is where AI is beginning to make a difference. Beyond generating snippets of code, AI is already influencing how entire systems are developed and run: accelerating CI/CD pipelines, improving test coverage, optimising Infrastructure-as-Code, sharpening observability, and even shaping architectural decisions. These changes directly affect how quickly new business components can be deployed, connected, and retired.In this session, we will examine how CIOs can bring these two movements together:Composable design is the framework for flexibility and modularity.AI-augmented engineering is the force that delivers the speed, quality, and intelligence needed to sustain it.The pitfalls of treating them in isolation: composability that collapses under slow engineering cycles, or AI that only adds complexity without a modular structure.The discussion goes beyond concepts to practical implications: how to architect organisations that can be recomposed at speed, without losing control or reliability. The outcome is an enterprise that is not only modular in design but also engineered to adapt continuously under real-world conditions.

Belgium 12-3-26 Physical english

The Third-Party Risk Reckoning: How far can you trust your vendors?

Tomato! Tomato! Tomato! Get your tomato now! Every vendor sells security. And every company depends on vendors, partners, and suppliers. The more digital the business becomes, the longer that list grows, and so does the attack surface. One weak link, and there is always one, or one missed update, and trust collapses faster than any firewall can react. What used to be a procurement checklist has become a full-time discipline. Questionnaires, audits, and endless documentation prove that everyone’s “compliant,” yet incidents keep happening. So it’s clear: the issue isn’t lack of policy, or maybe a bit, but mostly lack of visibility. Beyond a certain point, even the most secure organisation is only as safe as its least prepared partner (or an employee who hadn’t had their morning coffee). So how far can you trust your vendors? How do you check what you can’t control? And when does assurance become theatre instead of protection? Does it come at a different cost? Let’s exchange what works and what fails in third-party risk management: live monitoring, shared responsibility models, contractual levers, and the reality of building trust in a chain you don’t own. A closed conversation for those redefining what partnership means when risk is shared but accountability isn’t.

Belgium 19-3-26 Country Members Physical french

Vendor Detox: La consolidation vaut-elle le risque ?

Moins de Partenaires : La consolidation vaut-elle le risque ? Le problème est la prolifération des fournisseurs : trop d'outils causant de la complexité, une taxe d'intégration paralysante et de la redondance. La Taxe d'Intégration est le coût caché (en temps, en échecs et en ressources) d'essayer de faire fonctionner ensemble des systèmes disparates. Cet échange se concentre sur des stratégies éprouvées pour simplifier de manière agressive le parc technologique, consolider les fournisseurs et élever certains fournisseurs clés au rang de partenaires stratégiques.

March 12, 2026 Squad Session Invitation Only Physical english

The Third-Party Risk Reckoning: How far can you trust your vendors?

March 24, 2026 Squad Session Invitation Only Physical english

Killing Zombie Projects: Knowing when to stop, restart, or quietly let go

Every organisation has them, projects that keep running long after their purpose has faded. No one remembers who asked for them, but shutting them down feels riskier than keeping them alive. And eventually, people stay assigned, budgets stay allocated, and energy drains into work that no longer matters. Inertia at its finest.

March 26, 2026 Squad Session Invitation Only Physical english

Measuring Value in AI Initiatives: Defining ROI, accountability, and measurable outcomes in complex environments

AI projects continue to multiply, but proving their value remains difficult. Most organisations can track activity, not impact. Dashboards count pilots and models, yet few translate to measurable business outcomes. The result is familiar: success stories without clarity on what they actually delivered.

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Toyota’s 10-Year Journey for a Faster and More Efficient App Dev Strategy

Toyota Motor Corporation is one of the world's leading automakers. The company adopted OutSystems in 2014 to modernize legacy systems. Starting with small-scale departmental applications, Toyota slowly expanded the use of OutSystems. By 2020, OutSystems has become one of the basic IT tools in the Toyota Group.

Challenge

Digital transformation is changing what people expect from a car manufacturer

At a significant turning point described as a once-in-a-century event, Toyota is moving at full-speed in its transformation from being a car manufacturer to becoming a mobility company.

“In the 10 years since its introduction, OutSystems has become the obvious choice for development projects within the Toyota Group. We feel that the speed and quality of delivery have improved, and user satisfaction has also increased.” - Atsushi InagakiGeneral Manager IT BPR Promotion Div. , Information Systems Group

"I feel that the value people seek in this product we call 'cars' has undergone significant changes," says Toshiyuki Hibi, Chief Officer of the Information Systems Group at Toyota.
"We've transitioned from an era where there was inherent value in owning a car, to an era where cars are perceived as a means to enjoy the value created through the experience of mobility. What people want in a car is also changing."

One of the factors accelerating this change in values is the rapid development of digital technology. This wave of digital transformation (or "DX" for short), which seeks to leverage the latest technologies to change the world for the better, poses an important challenge of how to effectively respond. Toyota recognizes this initiative as one of its crucial business challenges.

“While skillfully leveraging digital solutions as a tool, we're thinking about what kind of transformation we can bring to the automotive industry and to society as a whole through cars. What new value can we create? We're striving to build the infrastructure required for considering and implementing such changes.” - Toshiyuki HibiChief Officer, Information System Group Toyota Motor Corporation

Solution

Implementing a productive and flexible IT environment free from legacy development

The Toyota Group, with Toyota Motor Corporation at its core, adopted OutSystems to tackle projects that are essential for pursuing digital transformation. Toyota launched its proof-of-concept activities in 2014.

Atsushi Inagaki, General Manager of DX Promotion Division at Toyota Motor Corporation and one of the key figures in the implementation of OutSystems, expressed the following at the time. "I felt that my mission was to establish a framework that allows us to swiftly modernize our legacy systems and enact digital reforms in the surrounding areas."

Inagaki's initial mission was to modernize large-scale legacy systems, including long-standing applications used at Toyota, such as parts catalogs.

"We were seeing warning signs of the decline of the labor force in Japan. In particular, the shortage of IT talent was said to become an increasingly serious issue on a global scale,” Inagaki explained. “In addition to modernizing our legacy systems, we wanted to create an environment that could adapt to changes in the future labor environment using IT solutions. We were looking for the tools that could achieve this."

Toyota evaluated various products to establish such an environment, including what were then referred to as "ultra-high-speed development tools." OutSystems was one of the leading candidates.

Inagaki described: "Toyota's legacy systems use a variety of programming languages, including PL/I and COBOL. The engineers who are adept at these languages will soon reach retirement age. We wanted to create a world where these engineers could easily adapt to new environments at a low learning cost, and where even those with limited knowledge and experience could easily comprehend the framework and create systems. OutSystems, which allows us to build a variety of applications based on a visual environment, was exactly what we needed."

Inagaki also valued OutSystems for its ability to allow for flexible and high-quality post-release system improvements by incorporating user feedback. Inagaki explained that what users want out of a system like this is a product that is "fast, reasonably priced, and efficient." In this context, "fast" means shorter development periods, "reasonably priced" means reduced development costs, and "efficient" means high-quality deliverables.

"In addition to these requirements, as a global company, we also had to consider the scalability of a tool like this when looking to expand the scope to overseas locations. We determined that OutSystems aligns exceedingly well with our criteria." - Atsushi InagakiGeneral Manager IT BPR Promotion Div. , Information Systems Group

Prior to the full-scale implementation of OutSystems, Inagaki personally visited the company’s headquarters in Portugal. The main reason for this visit was to learn the corporate culture and the thoughts of the people involved in the development. After meeting with OutSystems executives and engineers, Inagaki was thoroughly convinced that this was the right choice.

Results

Setting up a low-code Center of Excellence at Toyota Group

Toyota's first full-fledged use case with OutSystems was a relatively small application used in the User Department, called the "Sheet Metal System." Development work with OutSystems achieved approximately a 30% reduction in work hours compared to conventional development methods.

Building on the successful results of this project, Toyota began to accelerate the full-scale deployment of OutSystems. The scope of application was gradually expanded, starting with the migration of a system for managing the production of procured parts.

"Initially, there was some resistance from engineers who complained that they can't work with a tool like this,” Inagaki explained. “Incidentally, around the same time, Toyota was starting to work on activities aimed at improving development productivity and reducing lead times, and OutSystems was introduced as a tool for these efforts. This marked the beginning, as more and more teams started to show interest in OutSystems for their projects. This trend extended beyond the engineering IT domain to include corporate IT.”

toyota-figure-1

Regarding the deployment of OutSystems, Inagaki said, "If your goal is to improve development productivity, then give OutSystems a try. If there's anything you don't understand, the in-house help desk will answer your questions anytime." He also explained that this has not changed significantly since Toyota introduced OutSystems. However, as more projects continued to demonstrate positive results, the amount of interest in OutSystems also grew. This led to the need for a more robust help desk and better training for development personnel.

"For a while after introducing the tool, our main problem was that there were very few engineers who could actually use OutSystems. I remember struggling with educating engineers and figuring out how to create a standard system to increase productivity using OutSystems," Inagaki recalled.

Toyota Motor Corporation, in collaboration with Toyota Systems and partner companies, has made efforts to simultaneously strengthen the help desk framework, accumulate and disseminate case studies and practical know-how, and organize common components used in development. By 2020, the scope of implementation of OutSystems had expanded to cover the entire Toyota Group, and the system that was established is now functioning as a Center of Excellence (CoE).

"As the scope of use expands and scales throughout the entire group, the demand for the use of OutSystems grows not only for direct users, but also for development partners,” said Inagaki. “To meet this demand, we need to build a framework that allows our partners who aren't as familiar with OutSystems to have an accurate understanding of the tool and to create applications that adhere to the group's standards. To achieve this, we've organized a consortium to facilitate close communication among stakeholders, and made efforts to strengthen the capacity of the help desk and the CoE in collaboration with Toyota Systems and partner companies."

toyota-figure-2

The information exchanges and technology sharing for improving development productivity with OutSystems are not limited to employees of Toyota Motor Corporation, Toyota Systems, and others in the Toyota Group. It also includes partner companies. There is also an ongoing initiative to create educational programs that involve accepting temporary transfers from partner companies to train their employees.

Furthermore, within the Toyota Group, in addition to the traditional waterfall model of development, there has been a gradual shift toward the more compatible Agile approach since the company introduced OutSystems.

To achieve results in an Agile development, it is essential to not only use suitable tools, but also to undergo a shift in mindset among team members regarding team composition and system development. Yuki Matsunaga, Group Manager of the Business Innovation Support department in the DX BPR promotion division of Toyota Motor Corporation, is one of the leaders working on enacting these changes. Matsunaga has been trained in Scrum and is currently serving as a Scrum Master for an Agile development project in the Corporate Department.

“In my experience in system development, I wasn't particularly fond of the waterfall approach, which often felt like a one-sided transaction where the user leaves everything up to the developers. In Agile, there's more of an equal relationship between users and developers. Along the development process, we verify that what we're building is actually valuable to users. I feel strongly that OutSystems is an excellent development foundation for facilitating this kind of framework, and I feel that our efforts to incorporate its use company-wide have been a major turning point for us.” - Yuki MatsunagaGroup Manager Business Management Support Gr. Business Innovation Support Dept. IT BPR Promotion Div. , Information Systems Group

As of October 2023, 23 companies in the Toyota Group have begun using OutSystems, both in Japan and overseas offices. Particularly at Toyota Motor Corporation, it is used in over 70 projects across various business domains. Utilization extends beyond legacy modernization, including front-end development to connect legacy systems with users.

In the span of nearly 10 years since OutSystems was first introduced, a wealth of practical know-how has been accumulated through many projects. At the same time, organizational support structures for systematic utilization through proof-of-concept activities and consortiums have also begun to form. Looking back at these efforts, Inagaki reflects, "I feel that OutSystems has finally become everyone's go-to tool within the organization."

This initiative is planned to be further strengthened in the future. Establishing evaluation indicators for projects adopting OutSystems, as well as strengthening the operational and maintenance structure utilizing the features of OutSystems as a platform, are among the immediate areas of focus.

"There's also been a recent movement to promote a shift toward the cloud wherever possible. We think there's a feasible direction we can take in utilizing the cloud for infrastructure, while leveraging OutSystems as the development and execution environment to avoid lock-in by cloud vendors", explained Inagaki.

OutSystems is becoming one of the essential tools in driving digital transformation within the Toyota Group. Inagaki, who has been leading the efforts since the initial introduction, concluded:

“I would like to see OutSystems approach the issues Japan is currently facing, such as a declining workforce and a shortage of IT talent, from the perspective of improving development productivity. While technologies like generative AI have been gaining attention in recent years, incorporating such technologies into OutSystems could potentially create a world where even beginners with limited programming language skills can implement applications in a short period. With a focus on how the latest technologies can contribute to improving development productivity, I look forward to seeing your continued excellence in product development in the future.” - Atsushi InagakiGeneral Manager IT BPR Promotion Div. , Information Systems Group

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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 !

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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.