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!

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8:00am CDT

Case Study: Improving performance in RPG programs with SQL

Thursday April 30, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT

Balcony K

Evaluation Survey

SQL has become an essential tool for modern RPG development, but knowing how to apply it effectively can be a game-changer. In this session, drawn directly from real-world experience, I’ll walk you through how I introduced SQL into my RPG applications, from the thought process behind the changes, to the incremental steps, and finally the results that transformed performance and maintainability. Along the way, you’ll see working examples and take home simple code you can use immediately to compare, test, and fine-tune your own embedded SQL.

Learning Objectives:

Understand the practical steps for introducing SQL into RPG applications. Learn how incremental changes can simplify the adoption of SQL in existing codebases. Discover the performance and maintainability benefits of SQL-driven RPG. Gain access to sample code you can use to experiment with and optimize your own embedded SQL.

Speakers

Gregory Simmons

Software Engineer, PC Richard & Son

Gregory Simmons is a Software Engineer at P.C. Richard & Son. He is a COMMON certified Application Developer – ILE RPG on IBM I on Power. He is also a registered instructor with IBM’s Academic Initiative and an RPG and IBM i instructor at Scott Regional Technology Center, where... Read More →

Thursday April 30, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Balcony K

RPG, Database, Programming: RPG

9:15am CDT

VS Code and Code4i - The one stop shop for developers

Thursday April 30, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT

Balcony K

Evaluation Survey

Visual Studio Code has quickly become one of the most popular development environments, and with the Code4i extension it’s a powerful option for IBM i developers. In this session, I’ll show you why VS Code is my tool of choice and how Code4i, along with a handful of other must-have extensions, can transform your development workflow. Most of these tools are free, and my entire setup runs for about $20 a month. If the stars align, I’ll also do a live demo of my environment so you can see firsthand how these tools fit together into a cost-effective, productivity-boosting toolkit.

Learning Objectives:

Understand the key features of Visual Studio Code that make it a strong option for IBM i development. Explore the capabilities of the Code4i extension and how it integrates with VS Code. Identify additional extensions that enhance productivity and streamline development. Learn how to build a highly effective development environment at little to no cost.

Speakers

Gregory Simmons

Software Engineer, PC Richard & Son

Thursday April 30, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Balcony K

Programmer Tools, Programmer Tools, Programming: RPG

10:45am CDT

The IBM Power Clean Room

Thursday April 30, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT

Balcony K

Evaluation Survey

This session describes how to design and configure a 'Clean Room' Lpar for an IBM Power systems environment. This introduces users to the theory and considerations required to implement an 'IBM Power Cyber Vault' solution. It empowers users with the knowledge of the IBM FlashSystem storage and IBM Power operational resilience features that can be used to create a safe place to validate and recover safeguarded copy backups and prepare for recovery in case of a Cyber event or data corruption. I will explain the Power VM technology that makes a 'Clean Room' Lpar easy and lightweight to create and manage whilst still ensuring a logical air-gap from production data. I will also encourage a discussion around the benefits of planning Cyber resilience and recovery procedures and provide a high level of the IBM and ISV 'Power Cyber Vault' offerings.

Learning Objectives:

How to use Power VM virtualization techniques to create a 'Clean Room' Lpar. How to plan for and configure IBM Safeguarded Copy for IBM Flash System and DS storage. How to take an immutable backup and validate or recovery data into the Clean Room Lpar.

Speakers

Ed Yeates

Professional Services Manager, Celerity

Thursday April 30, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Balcony K

Systems Management, Security, Storage Technologies, Systems Management, Technologies Integrated with IBM i, Virtualization

1:00pm CDT

SQL for the RPG Programmer “How To”: Working with SQL Services

Thursday April 30, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT

Balcony K

Evaluation Survey

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

Speakers

Vern Hamberg

Senior iSeries Developer, OneMain Financial

Vern has worked on IBM midrange systems for over 35 years, beginning with the System/38 and AS/400. At present he is a Senior iSeries Developer at OneMain Financial. He serves on the Strategic Education Team (SET) of COMMON and is one of the SMEs for Db2. He is also honored to have... Read More →

Thursday April 30, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT
Balcony K

General Programming, Database

3:00pm CDT

RPG and the IFS

Thursday April 30, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT

Balcony K

Evaluation Survey

How to get started using the Integrated File System from your RPG programs. The IFS is typically used for reading and writing "PC-style" (stream) files on the IBM i, and is an important tool for integrating with open source software, other platforms and and business partners. In today's world, it is indispensible.

Learning Objectives:

1. How to open stream files in your RPG program 2. How to read/write data to stream files with and without CCSID translation 3. How to process directory entries

Speakers

Scott Klement

Managing Partner, ORC LLC

Thursday April 30, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
Balcony K

RPG, Integrated File System (IFS), Programming: RPG, Technologies Integrated with IBM i

4:15pm CDT

I never thought of THAT, so I DO Need HA!

Thursday April 30, 2026 4:15pm - 5:15pm CDT

Balcony K

Evaluation Survey

There are MANY things that you did NOT plan for that would cause you to need an HA, or at LEAST a DR system. Virtually every one of these are items from my personal customers, not made up or 'read it on the internet!' You will be surprised and potentially even shocked by some of these occurrences.. Despite your security policies, the quality of your building, reliability of power and cooling, you cannot think of everything.

Learning Objectives:

You will realize that you cannot prevent every disaster, so you MUST have (at least!) a "Plan B!"

Speakers

Larry Bolhuis

Principal IBM Power Systems Architect, Service Express

Larry has grown up with computers since his father became a CE in 1967. He obtained a bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Calvin College in 1982.After 2 years working with early PCs and servers her began working on IBM midrange equipment with the S/34 and S/36 He moved to AS/400 at its introduction In 1988. Early in his career he was a developer, then migrated to networking, system design, upgrades and general systems... Read More →

Thursday April 30, 2026 4:15pm - 5:15pm CDT
Balcony K

High Availability Resilience, High Availability Resilience, Systems Management

COMMON POWERUp 2026

8:00am CDT

Gregory Simmons

9:15am CDT

Gregory Simmons

10:45am CDT

Ed Yeates

1:00pm CDT

Vern Hamberg

3:00pm CDT

Scott Klement

4:15pm CDT

Larry Bolhuis

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