COMMON POWERUp 2026

DevOps is a long twisting road that has no destination. But even more harrowing can be the tasks needed to prepare before embarking on this life-changing adventure. In the session we will explore several aspects that should be explored before embarking down the DevOps Road, all based upon open source implementations which means there is no price of admission! We will cover concepts like preparing the code, developers, management and users. In additional we will review a basic open source road map for leveraging DevOps features in an IBM i environment.

Learning Objectives:

1) Learn the basics of DevOps. 2) Explore how best to prepare the environment for a DevOps journey. 3) Review open source tooling and references for educating the team on DevOps.

Modernization isn't just about updating user interfaces or moving to the cloud. It's about creating a comprehensive, integrated development environment that brings IBM i into alignment with modern enterprise standards. It’s about future proofing your environment so that you are ready to handle any new technologies that arise. This session explores how leading organizations are building complete development workbenches that combine DevOps automation, API integration, AI-assisted development, and modern tooling into cohesive platforms. You'll see how these integrated approaches enable developers to work more efficiently, how they improve collaboration across teams, and how they allow IBM i systems to participate fully in enterprise architecture. We'll discuss the components of a modern development workbench, show real examples from organizations that have successfully implemented integrated approaches, and provide practical guidance for building your own modernization roadmap. Whether you're just starting your modernization journey or looking to connect existing initiatives, you'll leave understanding how to create development environments where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Learning Objectives:

Attendees will understand how to create integrated development environments for IBM i modernization. They'll learn about key components of modern development workbenches, see examples of successful integrated approaches, and develop strategies for connecting DevOps, integration, AI, and tooling initiatives into cohesive platforms that maximize development productivity.

Generating code with AI is impressive, but it's only half the story. How do you build it? How do you deploy it? How do you manage dependencies when AI creates new components? This session explores the critical connection between AI code generation and DevOps automation for IBM i. You'll see how modern DevOps platforms can automatically identify dependencies in AI-generated code, determine build requirements, and manage deployments across environments. We'll demonstrate how non-IBM i developers can leverage AI to create RPG programs without understanding compilation processes or deployment procedures, because the DevOps infrastructure handles it automatically. You'll learn strategies for creating AI-assisted development/promotion pipelines, understand how to integrate AI-generated code into existing DevOps workflows, and see real examples of organizations using AI throughout their entire development lifecycle. This isn't just about writing code faster. It's about creating a complete, integrated development environment where AI and automation work together to make your team more productive.

Learning Objectives:

Attendees will understand how to integrate AI code generation with DevOps automation for complete development workflows. They'll learn about dependency management for AI-generated code, automated build and deployment strategies, and approaches for creating AI-enhanced development pipelines that handle the entire application lifecycle.

Developing ILE code requires the developer to change their thought processes, gone are the large programs that do complicated processes. ILE requires the developer to think in small easily managed procedures. Reusable procedures, modules, and service programs. This session will not only explain “Why you need to change", it will have examples that are easy to understand, and you can start using immediately.

Learning Objectives:

Why use Model View Controller architecture Improve developers understanding of service programs Learn to write service programs that can easily be used as API's Learn why Service programs should be data centric rather than application centric Learn how correctly designed service programs will make your life easier

What are the strengths of the modern Large Language Model approach to Artificial Intelligence? What are the weaknesses? Where and how is it safe to apply this enticing yet dangerous technology? Where are the usage models headed right now? Inquiring minds want to know!

Learning Objectives:

1. Understanding the strengths of Large Language Model and Transformer architecture 2. Understanding the weaknesses of Large Language Model and Transformer architecture 3. Reviewing the technical, epistemological, and existential critiques of Large Language Model and Transformer architecture 4. Making actionable suggestions on this technology in the enterprise

SQL is THE recommended interface from applications into your data. This session focuses on how using SQL services extends what you can do in these application. This session Includes services added with IBM i 7.6.

Learning Objectives:

1. Learn what SQL services are and where to get more information 2. Focus on SQL services that are most useful for developers

Open source solutions have been on the IBM i platform for many years but recently the number of solutions deployed here has blossomed. Join Mike as he explores the latest news regarding packages and solution features available in IBM i Open Source Package Management and beyond.

Learning Objectives:

1) Review updates to the popular languages like PHP, Python and Node.js. 2) Explore new(er) packages available via the ACS: Open Source Package Management. 3) See examples of how the community is contributing to IBM i open source.

Security is the hottest topic in today's society and yet many developers don't have it in the forefront of their minds. We will look at todays trend, risks and why you as a developer should develop with security in mind.

Learning Objectives:

Understanding security as a developer Bring awareness to some of the possible security bugs you can introduce into your code.

Accessing business logic from Open Source application and off platform has evolved a great deal over the years. In this session we’ll look at some of the reasons for centralizing this business logic in the database via Db2 Stored procedures. We’ll look at RPG and SQL procedures and work through examples of how these are used from exhibit languages like PHP and Python.

Learning Objectives:

1) Learn how to create and execute stored procedures in SQL and HLL (RPG). 2) See examples of how to use Db2 Stored Procedures in OSS languages. 3) Review tips and best practices when working with Db2 Stored Procedures.

While the capabilities of artificial intelligence will drive plenty of new business value, it's important that moral principles are still applied. In this guided (but open) discussion, we will talk about several ethical points to consider, soanning the obvious and hidden.

Learning Objectives:

Ethics in AI