10 reasons CIOs choose OutSystems for digital transformation

Achieving successful digital transformation is a critical imperative for nearly all CIOs worldwide. But another, equally important imperative is achieving digital momentum. That’s the ability to keep your transformation moving despite shrinking budgets, staffing shortages, and growing demand for more and better applications.

How are leaders building their digital momentum? They’re adding the OutSystems low-code platform to their tech stacks. Let’s look at 10 reasons why leaders are choosing OutSystems to fuel their company-wide digital transformations and take a peek at the results they’re experiencing.

1. To build trust between the IT team and lines of business

When Ingo Paas joined Green Cargo as its CIO in 2019, the rail logistics company needed to modernize legacy IT systems that were holding back innovation. “To digitize this company, we had to bring innovation and development in-house and get the business and IT working in unison,” he said. “OutSystems gives us the ability to make that happen.”

Today, Green Cargo is well on its way to turning off its mainframe and SAP systems. It’s also using OutSystems to build a digital composable enterprise.

2. To reimagine complex business processes

Sogrape, a top Portuguese family-owned wine company, receives 40,000 tons of vintage grapes each year. But it lacked the end-to-end visibility it needed to plan resources and optimize the reception of grapes.

Carlos Alves, CIO, weighed the “build vs. buy” question and soon realized he needed a custom solution. Alves chose OutSystems for its rapid development capabilities and its ability to fully integrate with Sogrape’s existing SAP finance and logistics systems. Now, Sogrape has digitized its entire winemaking process.

3. To achieve faster time to market

Snowboarding equipment and apparel company Burton needed to revamp its logistics operations and capture more sales during peak winter months. But it had to clear two hurdles: a small development team with limited expertise and a tight deadline to get it done.

According to Matt Burns, Director of Data, Development, and Architecture at Burton, when he and his small team evaluated low-code platforms, “we decided to go with the OutSystems platform. That was the only way it could get done.” Today, the app Burton built—in one-third of the development time with OutSystems—processes 56 shipments a day on average, delivering 10x ROI in revenue.

4. To create mission-critical software

Energias de Portugal (EDP), the principal shareholder of EDP Renewables North America, is the world’s fourth-largest wind energy producer. However, up until recently, EDP processed most of its 55 million annual transactions (the equivalent of 6 billion Euros) through an outdated legacy system that lacked agility.

EDP chose OutSystems to build a modular app called Collect and integrate it with SAP, Oracle, and the systems of several different EDP business units. A few weeks after launch, Collect was already processing 80% of all collections and catching errors before they reached customers.

“It was impressive how the team was able to put Collect online without any commercial interruption,” says Marcelo Reis, EDP Commercial Director. “The robustness and control that the new app gave to operations led to a new confidence in the process. Now, people trust the system.”

5. To gain flexibility (and even save lives)

As the largest global medical device company, Medtronic has some unique considerations when choosing a technology partner. Not only does it need iron-clad security to protect patient and provider data, but it also requires flexibility.

“With digital health solutions, you can’t be sure how many patients are going to use the app,” says Karel Nouwen, Senior IT Director of Digital Business and Digital Health at Medtronic.

Because OutSystems offers enterprise-grade security and a flexible licensing model, it fit Medtronic’s needs perfectly. With OutSystems, Medtronic built a digital heart monitoring service that saves clinical staff time and creates better outcomes for patients.

6. To boost agility

When Ragupathi (“Ragu”) Srinivasan was Manager of Rapid Delivery Services for leading reinsurer Gen Re, he had one item on the top of his to-do list. He wanted to embrace an agile development method that could give his IT team rapid iterative development and continuous user feedback. This would enable the firm to modernize at scale. Following an exhaustive evaluation, Gen Re selected OutSystems as its strategic low-code application development platform.

“Rapid development with OutSystems shortens the feedback loop, which drives faster iterative development and improved user engagement,” Ragu said in a past interview. “That’s a recipe for successful innovation.” He added that it gave Gen Re the “agility to modernize at scale and meet fast-evolving business and regulatory requirements.” Because of that agility, the reinsurer delivered 30 applications in its first nine months with OutSystems.

7. To achieve operational efficiency

Mercy Ships, a non-profit organization, deploys hospital ships to some of the world’s poorest countries. It was ready to bring a second ship online and sought to double its volunteer workforce. But its paper-based recruitment process caused headaches for potential volunteers and recruitment staff alike.

The team at Mercy Ships was already familiar with OutSystems and used the platform to build an end-to-end digital recruitment system. The powerful application reduced applicant review preparation time by 92% and created a 20% efficiency gain in time-to-hire.

8. To increase developer productivity

Eduardo Romano, CIO of telco giant Entel, encountered a challenge shared by many other CIOs: a shortage of modern application development talent. So, when choosing a low-code platform, Romano sought a partner that could help Entel deliver complex customer-facing apps and boost developer productivity.

“Adopting low-code and OutSystems enabled us to deliver complex customer-facing apps with high-quality standards in a fraction of the time it used to take,” Romano says. He estimates that Entel has increased developer productivity “by a factor of three to four, so we make the best use of such precious resources.” Find out what else Entel has accomplished.

9. To work with a proven low-code application platform leader

AmTrust, a leading global property and casualty insurance company, had used traditional software development methods for years. But, the pressure to drive competitive differentiation in a crowded industry, maintain compliance, and cut its software development backlog was mounting. To alleviate these burdens, AmTrust wanted an alternative application development approach.

“We wanted to make sure we were investing in a stable, recognized platform,” says Voytek Janisz, Senior Vice President of IT at AmTrust. The platform would also have to improve app dev efficiency and augment traditional development practices – without sacrificing security, compliance, or reliability. Janisz reviewed analyst reports— including the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Low-Code Application Platforms—and chose OutSystems. Together, AmTrust and OutSystems delivered six apps in 15 months and built an Agile Center of Excellence.

10. To use low-code that has no limits

One of the largest drugstore chains in Europe, Rossmann operates 4,000 stores in about 400 cities. Since 2020, it’s used OutSystems to run its business-critical logistics app, S-Hub, along with 24 other applications.

“We were concerned about hitting a wall with low-code,” says Pitor Jugiel, Deputy Director, IT, Rossmann. “But we’ve found no limits to what we can do with OutSystems. The ability to modify or extend code at the front-end or back-end means we can deliver apps precisely tailored to our needs.”

What else is on the minds of CIOs and other digital transformation leaders?

For more insight into how your peers are transforming their enterprises using high-performance low-code, read “Mission-critical software: Delivered.”

Want to see what’s possible with OutSystems? Schedule a free demo today.