Which project will you vote for?

Millions of Essent and energiedirect.nl customers use digital services every day that rely on secure and reliable sign-in. For years, these services ran on an outdated Identity Provider that was becoming increasingly difficult to scale, maintain and keep ready for the future. At the same time, replacing it could not be allowed to affect the millions of users who depend on these systems.

Together with Team Rockstars IT, Essent carried out a large-scale modernisation of its entire identity landscape. Auth0 was selected as the new identity solution, supported by a new architecture based on Domain-Driven Design and event-driven principles. Instead of a traditional migration in which all users are transferred at once, the team chose an innovative lazy migration strategy. Users were automatically migrated when they signed in, making the transition virtually invisible and avoiding the risks of a large-scale "big bang" migration. This allowed the old and new environments to coexist temporarily until all users had been successfully transferred.

Alongside the migration of millions of accounts, the underlying business logic was completely redesigned. Domain-Driven Design and an event-driven architecture created a flexible, future-proof platform in which authentication, authorisation and user management became easier to manage and scale. At the same time, outdated applications and databases were phased out, and the security of customer data was strengthened at a structural level.

The result is a modern digital foundation used by millions of customers every day. Essent completely renewed one of the most critical parts of its digital services without any significant impact on end users. This case demonstrates how technical innovation, smart architectural choices and careful execution can come together in a project of enormous scale and societal relevance.

The use of AI at TenneT grew rapidly over recent years. Teams experimented with tools such as ChatGPT, Claude and other AI services to develop faster and explore new possibilities. However, this also introduced risks. There was insufficient visibility into which AI services were being used, where company data was going, which contracts were active and how compliance with regulations such as the GDPR, NIS2 and the European AI Act was being ensured. For an organisation responsible for a large part of Europe's electricity infrastructure, this created a growing need for control, governance and transparency.

Together with Team Rockstars IT, TenneT therefore developed a central AI Gateway that serves as the access point for all AI applications within the organisation. Instead of restricting or prohibiting AI use, the team chose an approach that enabled innovation within clear boundaries. The gateway centralises authentication, authorisation, logging, cost management and compliance checks, allowing development teams to use approved AI models quickly and securely. The platform was also designed around open standards, so models, providers and future technologies can easily be replaced or added without affecting connected applications.

The AI Gateway grew into an organisation-wide platform that allows development teams to deploy AI functionality for both proofs of concept and business-critical applications. It also provides the foundation for new innovations such as Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), agentic AI solutions and AI-assisted software development. By organising compliance, security and governance centrally, teams no longer have to address these issues individually, allowing new AI initiatives to be delivered considerably faster. The platform also provides full visibility into usage, costs, audit logging and data processing, simplifying accountability to auditors and regulators.

As a result, TenneT has transformed AI from a fragmented landscape of individual initiatives into a shared, controlled capability for the entire organisation. Development teams can experiment and innovate safely while demonstrably meeting strict compliance and security requirements. Where AI previously often prompted discussions about risks and prerequisites, TenneT now has a future-proof foundation that brings innovation and governance together. This case demonstrates how technical architecture, platform thinking and organisational change can jointly enable responsible AI adoption at scale.

VodafoneZiggo is undertaking one of the largest upgrades to its fixed network in recent years. A key part of this is replacing and commissioning approximately 15,000 Remote PHY Devices (RPDs), network components that bring capacity closer to end users and support the further rollout of high-speed internet connections. Installing and activating this equipment involved a complex chain of manual steps spread across different systems, teams and technical domains. At scale, this caused delays, limited control and an increased risk of errors.

Together with VodafoneZiggo, Team Rockstars IT developed a solution that automates this entire chain. It uses advanced asynchronous workflows to orchestrate processes across multiple platforms and network domains. The solution accounts for dependencies, waiting times and disruptions in individual systems without requiring entire processes to restart. Where existing systems were not yet fully suited to end-to-end automation, the team developed controlled solutions to keep the automation chain reliable and transparent. The platform therefore does more than automate a single technical task: it connects software, processes, physical network equipment and users within one integrated way of working.

Alongside technical delivery, there was a strong focus on adoption within the organisation. Network engineers and end users were involved in designing, validating and testing the solution from the outset. Testing under production-like conditions and with physical hardware allowed the team to align the automation with day-to-day operations. The project also brought software development, architecture, product management and network expertise closer together, so decisions were increasingly made from the perspective of the entire chain rather than individual systems.

The result is a scalable solution that makes an important contribution to upgrading the VodafoneZiggo network. Manual handovers between teams have been significantly reduced, progress in network processes has become more visible, and large-scale rollouts can take place with greater control. The approach is now also used as a reference for other network domains within VodafoneZiggo. The solution therefore goes beyond the original RPD challenge and provides a foundation for further network automation. This case demonstrates how innovative software development, in-depth domain knowledge and close collaboration can lead to a practical, scalable solution for one of the most complex operational challenges in modern telecom networks.