Mixing low-code and AI for global impact: HEINEKEN’s formula

Global brands face mounting pressure to deliver applications faster while maintaining security and quality standards. HEINEKEN, one of the world's most renowned beer companies, found a solution that transforms how enterprise applications are built at scale.

At the recent Gartner Application Innovation and Business Solutions Summit in Las Vegas, Giada Binelli, Global Low-Code Product Owner at HEINEKEN, joined Andy Pemberton, CRO at OutSystems, to share HEINEKEN's transformative journey with low-code development. Their session provided practical insights into how this iconic brand successfully scales application development across global operations. This blog captures key takeaways from their presentation and HEINEKEN's ongoing digital transformation.

Scaling without chaos

The Dutch brewing giant serves over 190 countries with more than 500 beer brands. Their EverGreen strategy aims to future-proof the business through digital transformation. One of its key goals is to give back one million hours to the organization by 2025 through automation and improved processes. And its EverGreen strategy focuses on becoming the best-connected brewer. Hyperautomation is one of the areas that supports the organization in reaching this goal.

Meeting these ambitious automation targets in the timeframe that the company set meant seeking new ways to accelerate application development, as well as opportunities to:

• Standardize the different requirements and workflows used by each operating company.
• More efficiently use IT resources across global operations.
• Enable local teams to customize solutions quickly.
• Ensure that applications work across more than 80 operating companies while supporting local customization.

So HEINEKEN created a federated IT model powered by several low-code platforms, including OutSystems. In a federated model, a central team provides standardized application structures and reusable components while empowering local IT teams to customize and complete the applications according to their specific needs.

Federated development delivers

HEINEKEN's federated development model works through a central team that provides platforms, governance, and reusable components. Decentralized units in different regions can then build solutions autonomously while following established guidelines.

The central team handles:

• Platform governance and security
• Infrastructure maintenance
• Development of reusable components and templates
• Quality assurance and compliance reviews

The regional teams can:

• Build applications using pre-approved components.
• Customize solutions for local requirements.
• Access internal libraries of tested code.
• Deploy applications quickly.

The reusability of components is popular with the regional teams. Often, before they even start, the app has reusable components that increase the speed to delivery.

Building for the generative AI future

AI has been part of HEINEKEN for a while. HEINEKEN uses AI features such as those in the OutSystems low-code platform and other low-code offerings to boost the productivity of the development of their solution. HEINEKEN’s established governance framework and reusable component library can accelerate deployment.

The strategic advantages of using AI features in low-code platforms include:

• Faster time-to-market for applications
• Consistent security and compliance across regions
• Reduced development costs through component reuse

Enabling faster prototyping and reducing the technical barrier for less experienced developers, all OutSystems AI capabilities are a great fit for a federated model. For example, OutSystems offers Mentor, which uses generative AI to enable developers to describe what they need in plain English and then creates functional applications while suggesting improvements throughout the process. This could be helpful for less experienced developers on local teams.

Key takeaways for enterprise leaders

HEINEKEN's transformation offers practical insights for organizations considering similar approaches:

• Start with clear governance: Establish security standards, compliance frameworks, and quality processes before scaling development. The central team must act as guardians of these standards.
• Invest in reusable components: Building a library of tested, approved components accelerates future development. Each new application becomes an investment in the platform's capabilities.
• Focus on UX: Revolutionary user interfaces drive adoption and satisfaction. Intuitive design reduces training requirements and increases productivity.
• Measure real business impact: Track metrics like time savings, cost reductions, and process improvements. HEINEKEN's goal of returning one million hours demonstrates clear value.

The future belongs to organizations that can rapidly adapt to changing markets while maintaining operational excellence. HEINEKEN's federated low-code approach provides a blueprint for achieving both goals simultaneously. The technology they adopted made all the difference.

Here’s what Giada Binelli says: "As businesses face increasing pressure to innovate and adapt to shifting market demands, the right technology model is essential. In collaboration with OutSystems and other technology companies, we’ve embraced a development model that empowers our local teams to create and deploy applications rapidly. Now, we can adjust to market dynamics and drive business results across our global operations—at the speed of innovation.”