COMMON POWERUp 2026: Full Schedule

Unlock the Power of IBM i at POWERUp 2026!

Join us in New Orleans, Louisiana for POWERUp 2026, the premier conference for IBM i professionals. Whether you’re an experienced expert or just starting your IBM i journey, this event offers unparalleled education, hands-on workshops, and valuable networking opportunities. Stay ahead of the curve with insights from industry leaders, explore the latest innovations, and connect with a thriving community that shares your passion for IBM i. Don’t miss this opportunity to expand your knowledge, grow your skills, and power up your career!

arrow_back View All Dates

8:00am CDT

From Insight to Autonomy: The Future of Agentic Operations on IBM Power

Tuesday April 28, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT

Balcony M-N

Evaluation Survey

IT operations teams are under constant pressure to manage increasingly complex environments while maintaining the performance, availability, and security that mission-critical workloads demand. For organizations running on IBM Power, the next evolution of operations is emerging through agentic and AI-assisted capabilities that move beyond simple automation toward intelligent operations. In this session, we will explore how insights from telemetry, observability, and operational data are laying the foundation for a new generation of AI-driven operational models. You will learn how agentic systems can analyze system behavior, recommend actions, and increasingly execute operational tasks. Join us to understand the vision for agentic operations on Power, how organizations can begin their journey from insight to autonomy, and what their transformation could mean for the future of enterprise infrastructure management.

Speakers

Brandon Pederson

IBM i and Power Product Marketing Manager, IBM

Brandon Pederson is the Product Marketing Manager for IBM i and Modernization within the IBM Power business. Prior to this role, Brandon was Content Marketing Manager for IBM WebSphere and Content and Community Manager for IBM Power. He has a degree in Marketing from Concordia Uni... Read More →

Heather Lavergne

Product Manager - IBM Power Autonomous IT, IBM

Heather Lavergne is a Product Manager for IBM Power, focusing on Autonomous IT solutions. With over 20 years of experience in business technology, she has held roles spanning sales, consulting, and product management. Prior to her current role, Heather served as Chief of Staff for... Read More →

Tuesday April 28, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Balcony M-N

NDA, Artificial Intelligence (AI)

9:15am CDT

What I Wish I Had Known When I Started My IBM i Career

Tuesday April 28, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT

Balcony M-N

Evaluation Survey

What I wish I knew when I started my IBM i Career is a practical roadmap for early-career and aspiring IBM i professionals looking to build momentum within the ecosystem. Drawing from real-world experience, this session explores how conferences, mentorship, community involvement, and side projects can accelerate growth and create meaningful career opportunities.
Attendees will learn how to engage strategically at IBM i events, approach interviews with confidence, identify skill gaps, and build credibility within the community. The session also addresses common misconceptions about networking and professional development in the IBM i world.
Participants will leave with clear, actionable steps they can immediately apply to strengthen their career trajectory and become active contributors to the IBM i ecosystem.

Speakers

Jacob Anderson

Associate Software Engineer, Fortra

Jacob Anderson is an IBM i developer focused on bridging traditional business systems with modern technologies. He works with RPG, SQL, and IBM i development tools to deliver practical, modern solutions on the platform. Jacob is passionate about integration, modernization, and making... Read More →

Tuesday April 28, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Balcony M-N

Developing Business Skills

Track Student

10:45am CDT

Hidden Gems of IBM i

Tuesday April 28, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT

Balcony M-N

Evaluation Survey

Every few months the IBM i development team delivers new updates and features across the operating system. Keeping track and actually using these changes can be a difficult task at best. This session is the favorite new enhancements from a team of IBM i developers. You get to hear each of our favorite updates to the OS that have been delivered over the past bit. This session is new every time, often lots of fun and for sure there is something for everyone.

Learning Objectives:

Learn about the many new features of IBM i

Speakers

Ryan Moeller

Software Engineer, IBM

Ryan Moeller is a software engineer working on Db2 for i, specifically on the SQL Query Engine (SQE) team. He joined the team in the Rochester, MN development lab in 2020. Ryan specializes in SQL, database development, and query performance analysis.

Justin Nelson

Advisory Software Engineer, IBM

Justin Nelson is a software developer within IBM i development. He has worked on the IBM i since joining IBM in 2015. He is a member of the integrated file system & servers (IFS) team and specializes in the Network Client File System (QNTC), host servers, and Network Authentication... Read More →

Scott Forstie

Senior Technical Staff Member, IBM

Scott Forstie is a Senior Technical Staff Member within IBM i development and spends most of his time working as the Db2 for i Architect. He has worked on IBM operating system development since joining IBM in 1989.
Scott is a frequently published author, speaker at industry events... Read More →

Ann Wilkerson

Software Developer, IBM

Ann Wilkerson is a lead user interface developer in IBM i. She joined the Rochester lab in 2021 and has since worked on Navigator, IBM i Services, and IBM i Migrate While Active. Her focus areas include security, networking, and the IFS.

Sanjula Ganepola

Software Developer - IBM i App Dev & AI Toolchain, IBM

Sanjula Ganepola is a Software Developer at IBM working on IBM i application development tools. As an open-source advocate, he is an active contributor and maintainer of several Visual Studio Code extensions including IBM i Project Explorer, Code for IBM i, IBM i Testing, Source Orbit... Read More →

Tim Rowe

STSM - IBM i Business Architect, IBM USA

Tim Rowe is a Senior Technical Staff Member within IBM i development and spends most of his time working as the Architect for Application Development and Systems Management. He has been working on the IBM i operating system since 1989. Tim is a frequent author, industry speaker and... Read More →

Tuesday April 28, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Balcony M-N

Systems Management, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Database, Programming: General, Security, Systems Management

Track Student

3:15pm CDT

AI Use Cases for System Management Workshop

Tuesday April 28, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT

Balcony M-N

Evaluation Survey

As enterprise IT environments grow more complex, system administrators are exploring how artificial intelligence can help them manage infrastructure more efficiently, proactively, and securely. For organizations running mission-critical applications and workloads on IBM Power and IBM i, AI is opening new possibilities for improving system monitoring, performance optimization, capacity planning, and operational resilience. This interactive workshop will explore practical AI use cases for system management, showing how AI-driven insights can help administrators detect anomalies, anticipate issues before they impact users, and automate routine operational tasks. Participants will review real-world examples of how AI and agentic operations can assist with system monitoring, performance analysis, security event detection, and infrastructure optimization. Through guided discussion and hands-on exploration, attendees will learn how to identify high-value opportunities to apply AI within their own environments and how to begin incorporating AI-powered capabilities into their system management practices.

Speakers

Brandon Pederson

IBM i and Power Product Marketing Manager, IBM

Heather Lavergne

Product Manager - IBM Power Autonomous IT, IBM

Tuesday April 28, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Balcony M-N

NDA

4:30pm CDT

Case Study on the Use of QSYS2.Active_Job_Info

Tuesday April 28, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT

Balcony M-N

Evaluation Survey

QSYS2.Active_Job_Info is an easy interface to access information about jobs. But it can have significant overhead if used incorrectly or too often. This session reviews an example of over-use of this service, providing examples of the overhead of frequent invocations, along with the performance results of eliminating this excessive use.

Learning Objectives:

In this session, you will gain insight into the overhead of using QSYS2.Active_Job_Info. This session will also cover alternative solutions to getting similar information in a more efficient manner.

Speakers

Dawn May

Owner, Dawn May Consulting, LLC

Dawn has been involved with COMMON for over 20 years and has been a consistent volunteer since 2008. She's been a member of the strategic education team, a subject matter expert, and a speaker. As Immediate Past President of COMMON, she's focused on leading COMMON as the industry... Read More →

Matthew Neill

DB2 for i Database Engineer, Guild Mortgage

35+ years across IBM i application development, database engineering, modernization, and application integrations.
Expertise in Db2 for i SQL, SQL/PL, Modern ILE RPG AppDev, Service Programs, and IBM iDoctor performance tuning.
Enjoys mentoring teams, teaching modernization pra... Read More →

Tuesday April 28, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Balcony M-N

Systems Management, Systems Management

5:05pm CDT

AI Over IBM i: Concepts, Patterns, and Live Examples

Tuesday April 28, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT

Balcony M-N

Evaluation Survey

Curious what AI actually looks like in an IBM i shop? In this session, we’ll break down key AI concepts and patterns, then show working examples of AI running over IBM i data. You’ll see what happens behind the scenes, what guardrails are needed to keep things safe, and how these patterns can fit into your existing environment. You’ll leave with concrete examples, a mental model you can reuse with any LLM, and a clearer picture of how AI can work with IBM i instead of around it.

Speakers

Rick Hurckes

Services Director, mrc

Tuesday April 28, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Balcony M-N

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

8:00am CDT

9:15am CDT

10:45am CDT

3:15pm CDT

4:30pm CDT

5:05pm CDT

Get help with the event