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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!
Sunday, April 26
 

1:00pm CDT

Invitation Only: ISV Meeting
Sunday April 26, 2026 1:00pm - 5:00pm CDT
Galerie 3

Speakers
avatar for Tim Rowe

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 →
Sunday April 26, 2026 1:00pm - 5:00pm CDT
Galerie 3
  IBM Event

3:00pm CDT

CANCELLED: C/M and DevOps for SQL PL Stored Procedures using a Dual Source Model
Sunday April 26, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
TBA
Evaluation Survey
**update**  Tegratecs apologizes for their speaker representative not being able to make it to the conference.  Rexford is still dealing with 2 significant and separate dental issues that came up over the last two weeks. Conference attendees are entitled to the presentation PDF and attachments and USB stick (for in person attendance or by request), but since the session was cancelled,...
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Speakers
avatar for Rexford Smith

Rexford Smith

Sr. Developer, ERP & Web, Tegratecs Development Corp.
Sunday April 26, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
TBA
  Programmer Tools, Database, DevOps, Integrated File System (IFS), Programmer Tools, Technologies Integrated with IBM i

5:00pm CDT

Student Session
Sunday April 26, 2026 5:00pm - 6:00pm CDT
Studio 9-10
Evaluation Survey
This session is a welcome and introduction for students to help set expectations for POWERUp 2026. We will go over events not to miss, COMMON questions at conference, and provide ways to POWERUp your experience.
Speakers
avatar for Manzoor Siddiqui

Manzoor Siddiqui

Executive Director, COMMON
Manzoor Siddiqui is the Executive Director of COMMON. He oversees all Operations for the organization, and has responsibility and oversight of all areas and Staff. He joined COMMON in 2006, and has over 30 years of multi-disciplinary business, marketing and IT experience across a broad range of industri... Read More →
avatar for Pete Massiello

Pete Massiello

IBM i Advisor, Massiello Holding Corp.
Pete Massiello has been working with the AS/400, iSeries, IBM i since 1989, focusing on systems management and technical support. He has held numerous technical positions through out his career. He is the President of iTech Solutions Group, an IBM Premier Business Partner delivering... Read More →
avatar for Peter Kasper

Peter Kasper

Education Manager, COMMON, a users group
I'm the Education Manager at COMMON. I work on anything and everything to do with education; from our online offerings to our in-person educational events, and more!

If you see me on-site at a conference, say hello! Just be careful not to look away -- I may be gone when you look back... Read More →
avatar for Shelly Petty

Shelly Petty

Application Support, Profound Logic
I am a Full Stack Developer at Profound Logic. We run our production applications on the IBMi Power Server. Primary languages are CL, RPG, DB2 SQL and Java, and the UI: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Drupple, React, and Sencha.
My position is a fast paced job and it includes Help Desk pho... Read More →
avatar for Floyd Del Muro

Floyd Del Muro

Board President, COMMON

avatar for Donna Del Muro

Donna Del Muro

Community Outreach Manager, COMMON
Retired IBM i solution‑based sales professional with over 25 years in the IBM i ecosystem. My career spans sales, sales management, and project management across both hardware and software environments, helping organizations align technology with real business needs. I’m currently... Read More →
Sunday April 26, 2026 5:00pm - 6:00pm CDT
Studio 9-10
  Conference Events

6:30pm CDT

COMMON Kick-off
Sunday April 26, 2026 6:30pm - 8:00pm CDT
River-View Room
While there aren’t any sessions happeningon Sunday, we just can’t wait to connectwith you all again! Join us Sunday evening forour kick-off, there will be food, drinks, andplenty of company to get yourconference started off on the right foot. Grabyour badge from registration and join us inthe River-View Room!
Sunday April 26, 2026 6:30pm - 8:00pm CDT
River-View Room
  Conference Events
 
Monday, April 27
 

8:00am CDT

Opening Session
Monday April 27, 2026 8:00am - 9:30am CDT
Mardi Gras Ballroom

Speakers
avatar for Pete Massiello

Pete Massiello

IBM i Advisor, Massiello Holding Corp.
Pete Massiello has been working with the AS/400, iSeries, IBM i since 1989, focusing on systems management and technical support. He has held numerous technical positions through out his career. He is the President of iTech Solutions Group, an IBM Premier Business Partner delivering... Read More →
avatar for Steve Bradshaw

Steve Bradshaw

Friendly Techie, RowtonIT.com
My latest work as the Friendly Techie, includes assisting IBM i with the design and testing with IBM i 7.6 as both Beta Tester and Redbook Author, and as assistant in the design and testing of the new IBM i Migrate While Active tool and the AI based RPG Code Assistant.

I have worked in the IBM Business Partner world for over thirty years now and despite IBM's best attempts I still love them ;-) My career started as an RPG developer but for the last twenty years I have specialised in System Design, installation and management. In 2008 I founded my

... Read More →
avatar for Jack Woehr

Jack Woehr

Senior Engineer / Senior Consultant, Consulting to Procern Technology Solutions and Seiden Group LLC
40+ years development. IBM Champion 2021-2026.
IBM Qiskit Advocate since 2019. Secretary, OpenQASM Technical Steering Committee. MongoDB Creator status. Prolific Open Source creator/contributor. Former Contributing Editor, Dr. Dobb's Journal.
Consult on IBM i AI modernization... Read More →
avatar for Floyd Del Muro

Floyd Del Muro

Board President, COMMON

avatar for Hillery Hunter

Hillery Hunter

General Manager IBM Power, IBM
Hillery is the General Manager for IBM Power and serves as IBM Infrastructure CTO.  In this role, she is focused on setting the global strategy for both Power and Infrastructure Platform in addition to driving cross-functional innovation and growth across IBM's Infrastructure portfolio... Read More →
Monday April 27, 2026 8:00am - 9:30am CDT
Mardi Gras Ballroom
  Conference Events

9:30am CDT

Coffee Break
Monday April 27, 2026 9:30am - 10:00am CDT
Preservation Foyer

Monday April 27, 2026 9:30am - 10:00am CDT
Preservation Foyer
  Conference Events

10:00am CDT

Intro to SQL
Monday April 27, 2026 10:00am - 11:00am CDT
Studio 1-2
Evaluation Survey
If you're new to SQL or just need a refresher in the basics, this sessoin is for you. We'll explore how to use basic SQL commands to make your everday life easier.

Learning Objectives:

Understand 1. How to create an SQL statement 2. How to run an SQL statement 3. Some "gotcha" when using SQL
Speakers
avatar for Kent Milligan

Kent Milligan

Senior Db2 for i Consultant, IBM
Kent Milligan is a Senior Db2 for i Consultant in IBM Technology Expert Labs. Kent has over 25 years of experience as a Db2 for IBM i consultant and developer working out of the IBM Rochester lab. Prior to re-joining the Db2 for i Expert Labs practice in 2020, Kent spent 5 years... Read More →
Monday April 27, 2026 10:00am - 11:00am CDT
Studio 1-2
  Database, Database

10:00am CDT

Code for IBM i & Co : contribute to an Open Source project !
Monday April 27, 2026 10:00am - 11:00am CDT
Balcony L
Evaluation Survey
Code for IBM i, the popular open source extension that brings modern IBM i development to VS Code is developed and maintained by developers, for developers. Why not join that community driven project ? More than 50 people already did and contributed to it, so, come on, join the fun ! There are many ways to contribute, not only through code but also by submitting ideas or bug reports, writing...
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Speakers
avatar for Sébastien Julliand

Sébastien Julliand

Tech Lead R&D, I AND ME - IT TRAINING
Hi, I'm Seb! I am the R&D Tech Lead for i and me - IT Training and Solutions GmbH and an active contributors to IBM i open source projects.

Let's talk about anything related to software development, on IBM i or not, it doesn't mater to me. RPGLE, Java, TypeScript...I love them all... Read More →
Monday April 27, 2026 10:00am - 11:00am CDT
Balcony L
  General Programming, Personal Development, Programming: General

10:00am CDT

IBM i Networking Overview
Monday April 27, 2026 10:00am - 11:00am CDT
Balcony I-J
Evaluation Survey
IBM i OS network communications has changed a lot since the AS/400 primarily communicated to workstations and printers using Twinax and to other computer systems using specialized communications lines. In some ways things are more complex because our IBM i OS systems communicate to a lot of other devices in many different ways, but in other ways things are simpler today because nearly all network...
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Speakers
avatar for Wayne Bowers

Wayne Bowers

IBM i Global Support, IBM
Wayne Bowers has been with IBM since 1997, where he works with the IBM i Global Support Center in Rochester MN. He is an Advisory Software Engineer specializing in the support of the IBM i Access (aka Client Access) products, Console, the TCP Telnet communications server, and the... Read More →
Monday April 27, 2026 10:00am - 11:00am CDT
Balcony I-J
  Networking

10:00am CDT

PHP Best practices and New and Exciting Updates on IBM i
Monday April 27, 2026 10:00am - 11:00am CDT
Studio 7-8
Evaluation Survey
PHP is moving fast these days. In this session, Alan will share his favorite techniques for creating APIs and web apps with PHP, plus introduce new PHP 8.5 features and how to prepare for them. Alan will also cover tips on upgrading from older releases, the risks of not upgrading, recent security enhancements, and best practices for PHP on IBM i. As a bonus, Alan offers a peek into how PHP is made...
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Speakers
avatar for Alan Seiden

Alan Seiden

Principal Consultant, Seiden Group
How to modernize and create something new while leveraging your valuable business logic. Supporting developers, mentoring, staff augmentation, architecture, development and programming. Seiden PHP+ Server for IBM i, 
APIs, IBM i, open source, web, PHP, Node.js, Python, RPG, ERPs... Read More →
Monday April 27, 2026 10:00am - 11:00am CDT
Studio 7-8
  PHP, Programming: PHP

10:00am CDT

What's New and Exciting in RPG
Monday April 27, 2026 10:00am - 11:00am CDT
Galerie 2
Evaluation Survey
With each new release of the IBM i operating system and with Technology Refreshes, IBM has given us some new features in RPG. This session tells you about the new and exciting features of RPG and how you might like to use each feature in your own applications. Learning Objectives: 1. Overview of what is new in RPG 2. Quick examples of each new feature 3. Discussion of the PTFs and OS levels...
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Speakers
avatar for Scott Klement

Scott Klement

Managing Partner, ORC LLC
Monday April 27, 2026 10:00am - 11:00am CDT
Galerie 2
  RPG, Programming: RPG

10:00am CDT

DS8000 Enterprise Storage Product Overview
Monday April 27, 2026 10:00am - 11:00am CDT
Galerie 5
Evaluation Survey
This session provides a focused overview of the DS8000 Enterprise storage server and dives into details of the recently released functionality.  Attendees will gain practical insight into how these updates improve security, performance, and operational efficiency.
Speakers
avatar for Clint Hardy

Clint Hardy

Senior Technical Staff Member, DS8000 Storage Architecture and Development, IBM
Monday April 27, 2026 10:00am - 11:00am CDT
Galerie 5
  Systems Management

10:00am CDT

IBM i Licensing 101
Monday April 27, 2026 10:00am - 11:00am CDT
Galerie 4
Evaluation Survey
Understanding IBM i licensing doesn't have to be complicated. In this session, the IBM i Product Management Team will break down key concepts, terms, and definitions to help you navigate IBM i licensing with confidence. We will clarify topics such as license transfers, Group SWMA, and the differences between non-expiring and subscription licenses. You will also hear answers to the most common...
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Speakers
avatar for Brandon Pederson

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 →
Monday April 27, 2026 10:00am - 11:00am CDT
Galerie 4
  Systems Management, IT Leadership & Management, IT Strategy, Systems Management

10:00am CDT

IBMi Myth busters: Transforming Bad Habits in Best
Monday April 27, 2026 10:00am - 11:00am CDT
Galerie 1
Evaluation Survey
Best Practices is all about meeting IBM system compliance to achieve optimal results. Don’t let old myths or newly formed bad habits be the difference between success or a failure in service delivery. This session will examine V7R4/R5 System configurations, BRMS Backups, Disaster Recovery, and Security Management. Examine assumptions, technical gaps, blunders, and recommendations. Hear actual...
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Speakers
avatar for Richard Dolewski

Richard Dolewski

VP, Hybrid Enterprise Solutions, Lightedge
avatar for Josh Patterson

Josh Patterson

Sr. Solutions Architect, Lightedge
Josh is a Senior Solutions Architect and IBM Champion at Lightedge, focused on modernizing enterprise cloud solutions for IBM Power platforms.  Subject matter expertise in designing resilient, cost-effective hybrid-cloud strategies and high-availability architectures that align technology... Read More →
Monday April 27, 2026 10:00am - 11:00am CDT
Galerie 1
  Systems Management, Systems Management

10:00am CDT

Introduction to the Navigator for i Performance Tasks
Monday April 27, 2026 10:00am - 11:00am CDT
Balcony M-N
Evaluation Survey
Navigator for i has a rich set of tools to help you understand the performance of your IBM i. This session will review these performance tasks; from traditional performance management tasks, to System Monitors for real-time monitoring, the Performance Data Investigator to understand your performance signature, and Graph History for long-term trending. Attend this session to learn about these...
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Speakers
avatar for Dawn May

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 →
Monday April 27, 2026 10:00am - 11:00am CDT
Balcony M-N
  Systems Management, Systems Management

10:00am CDT

AI with IBM Power - portfolio and strategy
Monday April 27, 2026 10:00am - 11:00am CDT
Studio 9-10
Evaluation Survey
This topic will cover the point-of-view for AI with IBM Power. We will talk about the challenges that the industry is facing with AI, how this is relevant to Power customers and the portfolio that we are building to address these challenges.

Learning Objectives:

n/a
Speakers
avatar for Ashwin Srinivas

Ashwin Srinivas

Senior Product Manager AI for IBM Power, IBM
I am responsible for the driving AI SW offerings on IBM Power servers supporting use cases that are relevant to IBM Power customers. I am  responsible for the strategy, product roadmap and market success of AI with IBM Power products related to our ecosystem of ISV solutions and... Read More →
Monday April 27, 2026 10:00am - 11:00am CDT
Studio 9-10
  Technologies Integrated with IBM i, Artificial Intelligence (AI)

10:00am CDT

Futureproof your Business as it Relates to your IBM i
Monday April 27, 2026 10:00am - 11:00am CDT
Galerie 3
Evaluation Survey
This session will evolve around your choices for future proofing your IBM i. With limited resources and stretched budgets, how do you get the most out of your system. Many companies face the challenge of improving or modernizing their IT environment. What does that really mean? What are your choices? • Modernize your applications? • Modernize your Infrastructure? • Modernize data management?...
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Speakers
avatar for Mike Stein

Mike Stein

COO, Integrative Systems
Helping You Succeed First with your IBM i & Microsoft Software Applications
avatar for Stephanie Rabbani

Stephanie Rabbani

Engagement Manager, Integrative Systems
A manager for Integrative Systems, Stephanie Rabbani has been helping customers on the IBM i for over 20 years. She previously worked for BCD Software Professional Services.

In her IBM i career, she has developed a large range of applications such as APIs, shopping carts, ordering... Read More →
Monday April 27, 2026 10:00am - 11:00am CDT
Galerie 3
  Technologies Integrated with IBM i

10:00am CDT

Quantum Computing: an overview
Monday April 27, 2026 10:00am - 11:00am CDT
Galerie 6
Evaluation Survey
Certainly, quantum computing seems to be a major evolution in computing, but what does that mean to you? What IS it? Why is it so important? Who is actually using it? Why should I care? This session aims to answer all of these questions and more!

Learning Objectives:

An overview of quantum computing and a summary of IBM's quantum technologies.
Speakers
avatar for Jack Woehr

Jack Woehr

Senior Engineer / Senior Consultant, Consulting to Procern Technology Solutions and Seiden Group LLC
40+ years development. IBM Champion 2021-2026.
IBM Qiskit Advocate since 2019. Secretary, OpenQASM Technical Steering Committee. MongoDB Creator status. Prolific Open Source creator/contributor. Former Contributing Editor, Dr. Dobb's Journal.
Consult on IBM i AI modernization... Read More →
Monday April 27, 2026 10:00am - 11:00am CDT
Galerie 6
  Technologies Integrated with IBM i, Technologies Integrated with IBM i

10:00am CDT

What is new on IBM Power Virtual Server
Monday April 27, 2026 10:00am - 11:00am CDT
Studio 3-4
Evaluation Survey
During the last year a lot has happened. IBM Power Virtual Server has also made some major improvements. In this session we are going to discuss the updates and improvements that has been done on IBM Power Virtual Server, and how this helps you in archiving your business goals. This session is useful for current IBM Power Virtual Server customers, but also if you are currently not using IBM Power...
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Speakers
avatar for Dan Sundt

Dan Sundt

IBM i Product Manager, IBM
Dan Sundt is an IBM i product manager. He has the responsibility for the IBM i business, including defining and guiding future directions and strategies. He works with the IBM i sales, marketing, and development teams as well as customers and partners to ensure that the IBM i operating... Read More →
avatar for Tonny Bastiaans

Tonny Bastiaans

Product Manager IBM Power Virtual Server (PowerVS), IBM Netherlands

Monday April 27, 2026 10:00am - 11:00am CDT
Studio 3-4
  Virtualization, IT Leadership & Management, IT Strategy, Systems Management

10:00am CDT

IBM i Security Basics
Monday April 27, 2026 10:00am - 12:15pm CDT
Balcony K
Evaluation Survey
This is an "IBM i Security 101" double-session. We will cover IBM i security topics from the basics (user profiles, system values, and object authority) through more advanced topics (adopted authority, authority checking, IFS considerations, audit journaling, and a multi-layer defensive posture). We'll cover some of these topics from the traditional "greenscreen" as well as Navigator for i. This...
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Speakers
avatar for Steve Riedmueller

Steve Riedmueller

Director of Security Services, Kisco
Monday April 27, 2026 10:00am - 12:15pm CDT
Balcony K
  Security, Security, Systems Management

11:15am CDT

Beyond Modernization: The Year Ahead for AI and Power Systems
Monday April 27, 2026 11:15am - 12:15pm CDT
Balcony M-N
Evaluation Survey
As enterprise AI shifts from experimentation to execution, Power Systems are becoming central to how organizations deploy and scale AI alongside mission‑critical workloads. This panel looks ahead at what’s next for AI on Power - examining emerging architectures, the impact of IBM Spyre, and how AI is shaping modernization efforts across applications and data. Panelists will share...
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Speakers
avatar for Charles Guarino

Charles Guarino

CEO & IBM Champion, Central Park Data Systems
Charles Guarino believes in the “power” of IBM Power Systems. His career reflects his dedication and interest in bringing the platform and its solutions to others and as a result has been recognized as an IBM Champion.

He is a member of COMMON’s Speaker Excellence Hall of Fame and a proud recipient of the Al Barsa Memorial Scholarship Award. Additionally, he participates on COMMON’s Strategic Education Team. Other professional endeavors have included the roles of President and monthly Q&A host... Read More →
avatar for Dave Wiseman

Dave Wiseman

The Large User Group
avatar for Ashwin Srinivas

Ashwin Srinivas

Senior Product Manager AI for IBM Power, IBM
I am responsible for the driving AI SW offerings on IBM Power servers supporting use cases that are relevant to IBM Power customers. I am  responsible for the strategy, product roadmap and market success of AI with IBM Power products related to our ecosystem of ISV solutions and... Read More →
avatar for Chris Chapman

Chris Chapman

Director of AI and Engineering, PMsquare
Chris manages PMsquare’s AI and engineering teams, bringing nearly two decades of experience architecting and deploying advanced analytics, enterprise applications, and AI systems for enterprises of all sizes.
Monday April 27, 2026 11:15am - 12:15pm CDT
Balcony M-N
  Artificial Intelligence (AI)

11:15am CDT

Run Away Queries Got You Down?
Monday April 27, 2026 11:15am - 12:15pm CDT
Studio 1-2
Evaluation Survey
Having negative performance impacts from query tools like Query/400, QMF, Showcase, Tableau and others because of the "query from heck" eating up system resources? Is your system open to security exposures from wide-open ODBC type connections? This session will cover options including using the new-ish Db2 Query Supervisor to control and/or audit long-running queries. Learning Objectives: 1....
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Speakers
avatar for Kent Milligan

Kent Milligan

Senior Db2 for i Consultant, IBM
Kent Milligan is a Senior Db2 for i Consultant in IBM Technology Expert Labs. Kent has over 25 years of experience as a Db2 for IBM i consultant and developer working out of the IBM Rochester lab. Prior to re-joining the Db2 for i Expert Labs practice in 2020, Kent spent 5 years... Read More →
Monday April 27, 2026 11:15am - 12:15pm CDT
Studio 1-2
  Database, Database

11:15am CDT

VS Code for i - Database Extension
Monday April 27, 2026 11:15am - 12:15pm CDT
Galerie 3
Evaluation Survey
This session is a review of the newest and most awesome features added to the VS Code4i Database Extension. This is designed to be an interactive, with questions and comments from the attendees, so be ready to interact, cheer, jeer, or inspire us with your good ideas. Learning Objectives: 1) Understand what's possible today with the VS Code4i Database Extension. 2) Understand when to use VS...
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Speakers
avatar for Scott Forstie

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 →
avatar for Sanjula Ganepola

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 →
Monday April 27, 2026 11:15am - 12:15pm CDT
Galerie 3
  Database, Database, Programmer Tools

11:15am CDT

AI Won't Take Your Job: How to Become Irreplaceable in the AI Era
Monday April 27, 2026 11:15am - 12:15pm CDT
Balcony L
Evaluation Survey
The fear is real. AI can now write code, generate documentation, and handle tasks that once required skilled developers. So what happens to your career? Here's the truth: AI won't replace developers who know how to leverage it - it will only make them more valuable. In this session, we'll show you exactly how AI can multiply your value rather than diminish it. You'll see live demonstrations of...
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Speakers
avatar for Aaron Magid

Aaron Magid

Chief Architect, Eradani
Aaron Magid, Chief Architect at Eradani, has over a decade of experience in software development and technology. He specializes in modernizing legacy systems like IBM i/AS400 using Python, Node.js, and Java. Aaron excels in bridging old and new technologies together for clients, helping... Read More →
Monday April 27, 2026 11:15am - 12:15pm CDT
Balcony L
  Developing Business Skills

11:15am CDT

AI and IBM i Trends and Directions
Monday April 27, 2026 11:15am - 12:15pm CDT
Balcony I-J
Evaluation Survey
In a world where artificial intelligence is becoming more and more prominent, how will your business adapt and thrive? Your journey can start here, with an exploration of IBM's strategy and offering set. In this session, we will explore the available AI technologies and what they mean for IBM i.

Learning Objectives:

An understanding of AI tools to build out your company's strategy with AI
Speakers
avatar for Jesse Gorzinski

Jesse Gorzinski

STSM and Senior Business Architect - AI and Open Source, IBM
Experienced business architect from IBM and a specialist in the IBM i platform. My passion is enabling enterprises to adopt artificial intelligence and open source technologies.
Monday April 27, 2026 11:15am - 12:15pm CDT
Balcony I-J
  General Programming, Artificial Intelligence (AI), IT Strategy

11:15am CDT

OAuth: What it is, how it works and why you want to use it
Monday April 27, 2026 11:15am - 12:15pm CDT
Galerie 6
Evaluation Survey
OAuth is a critical security framework for modern web and mobile applications, enabling secure access to resources without sharing user credentials. We will start with the history, foundational concepts and terminology of OAuth. We then describe the different types of OAuth clients and the appropriate authorization flows, grant types, and scopes. We will explore the different types of tokens,...
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Speakers
avatar for Patrick Behr

Patrick Behr

Senior Consultant & Instructor, Seiden Group & imPower Technologies
Monday April 27, 2026 11:15am - 12:15pm CDT
Galerie 6
  General Programming, Programming: General

11:15am CDT

What's New in PowerHA?
Monday April 27, 2026 11:15am - 12:15pm CDT
Studio 7-8
Evaluation Survey
PowerHA for IBM i continues to evolve, with new capabilities and enhancements delivered multiple times each year. In this session, we’ll explore the latest features and improvements that simplify high availability and disaster recovery management. Stay up to date, gain practical insight into deployment strategies, and ensure you’re getting the most from the latest PowerHA innovations. ...
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Speakers
avatar for Brian Nordland

Brian Nordland

Director of Development, Fortra
Brian Nordland is the Director of Development for IBM Power Development at Fortra. Brian has been a prominent speaker at events, webinars, and user groups, including COMMON and LUG for over a decade. He is a co-inventor on multiple patents and has authored technical publications in... Read More →
Monday April 27, 2026 11:15am - 12:15pm CDT
Studio 7-8
  High Availability Resilience

11:15am CDT

IBM i in 2026 - Collaborative Strategy in the Era of AI
Monday April 27, 2026 11:15am - 12:15pm CDT
Galerie 5
Evaluation Survey
The pace of change and innovation is accelerating with the advent of AI. IBM i, as an integrated solution platform, has a strong strategy and roadmap for the future. In this session, Steve Will, IBM i CTO and Chief Architect will partner with Kris Whitney, IBM i Chief Engineer, to explain the strategy, show the roadmap, and highlight the ways in which IBM collaborates with the IBM i community to...
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Speakers
avatar for Steve Will

Steve Will

IBM i CTO & Chief Architect, IBM

avatar for Kris Whitney

Kris Whitney

IBM
Kris Whitney is a Senior Technical Staff Member at IBM Rochester. He is currently the IBM i Chief Engineer
Monday April 27, 2026 11:15am - 12:15pm CDT
Galerie 5
  IT Leadership and Management

11:15am CDT

Modernizing Applications on IBM i: From Maintenance to Momentum
Monday April 27, 2026 11:15am - 12:15pm CDT
Galerie 1
Evaluation Survey
IBM i shops are at a crossroads. Core applications continue to run the business reliably—but aging architectures, monolithic code, and skill gaps are slowing innovation. Executives are asking for speed and flexibility, while developers are stretched maintaining decades of business logic. The good news? Modernization doesn’t mean starting over. It means unlocking new value from what you already...
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Speakers
avatar for Todd Stewart

Todd Stewart

Application Architect, Heartland Co-op
Todd has worked in IBM midrange computing since 1989, developing applications from the System/34 to IBM i on Power. He has held roles including Developer, Analyst, Project Lead, Solutions Delivery Manager, and Application Development Director in the retail, and bonding/insurance industries... Read More →
avatar for Steven Wolk

Steven Wolk

CTO, PC Richard & Son
Steven Wolk is the CTO for PC Richard & Son. Founded in 1909, PC Richard is a family owned and operated chain of over 65 appliance, electronics, and mattress superstores located throughout NY, NJ, CT, and PA. Steve's deep background in retail began on the sales floor while in college... Read More →
avatar for Amy Blea

Amy Blea

Senior Product Manager, IBM i Modernization, IBM
Monday April 27, 2026 11:15am - 12:15pm CDT
Galerie 1
  IT Strategy, Artificial Intelligence (AI), DevOps, IT Strategy, Programmer Tools, Programming: RPG

11:15am CDT

An Overview of IBM i Migrate While Active
Monday April 27, 2026 11:15am - 12:15pm CDT
Studio 9-10
Evaluation Survey
IBM i Migrate While Active makes it easy to transition between systems and platforms with minimal service disruption, supporting seamless migrations to new hardware, private cloud environments, or public cloud infrastructure. In this session, you'll get a comprehensive overview of IBM's latest release of Migrate While Active. Discover how this solution enables near-zero downtime migrations, and...
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Speakers
avatar for Shauna Rollings

Shauna Rollings

Senior Software Engineer - IBM i Performance Tools & High Availability Development, IBM
Shauna joined the IBM i development team in 2008. She has developed and supported IBM i performance data collector tools throughout her entire IBM career. From the very beginning of the Db2 Mirror for i project, she has also been the technical team lead for the Db2 Mirror Configuration... Read More →
avatar for Ann Wilkerson

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.
Monday April 27, 2026 11:15am - 12:15pm CDT
Studio 9-10
  Systems Management

11:15am CDT

BRMS First Steps
Monday April 27, 2026 11:15am - 12:15pm CDT
Studio 3-4
Evaluation Survey
This session will run through the installation, configuration, implementation, and some of the landmines in most BRMS installations. You can install and be up and running with a simple back up plan (most likely what you do now) in less than a day. Both BR2's GUI and BR1 configuration will be covered. Learning Objectives: 1.Know how to install and maintain BRMS in a production environment 2. Know...
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Speakers
avatar for Sarah Jacob

Sarah Jacob

VP of Customer Experience, Agile Technology Architects
Sarah Jacob is the Vice President of Customer Experience at Agile Technology Architects. She is a Subject Matter Expert in Power Systems Administration and a volunteer for COMMON. Sarah specializes in Backup and Recovery planning and recovery testing. Additionally, she acts as primary... Read More →
Monday April 27, 2026 11:15am - 12:15pm CDT
Studio 3-4
  Systems Management, High Availability Resilience

11:15am CDT

What you need to Know to Successfully Upgrade to IBM i 7.6 or 7.5
Monday April 27, 2026 11:15am - 12:15pm CDT
Galerie 4
Evaluation Survey
When upgrading to IBM I, the planning stage requires more effort than the actual upgrade. Once the planning is complete, the upgrade itself is simple. We will discuss at length the planning tips, prerequisites, and all preparation. Plus the post-installation requirements. Everything you need to know to do a successful upgrade. Your upgrade is not fully complete until this final step is done. ...
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Speakers
avatar for Pete Massiello

Pete Massiello

IBM i Advisor, Massiello Holding Corp.
Pete Massiello has been working with the AS/400, iSeries, IBM i since 1989, focusing on systems management and technical support. He has held numerous technical positions through out his career. He is the President of iTech Solutions Group, an IBM Premier Business Partner delivering... Read More →
Monday April 27, 2026 11:15am - 12:15pm CDT
Galerie 4
  Systems Management, Systems Management

11:15am CDT

UNIXCMD: Integrating RPG with Open Source
Monday April 27, 2026 11:15am - 12:15pm CDT
Galerie 2
Evaluation Survey
Applications in the PASE environment (Java, Ruby, PHP, Python, Node.js and more) have taken the IBM i community by storm. Naturally, you'll want to integrate them with your traditional RPG and CL programs... but it's not as easy as it sounds! The model of calling Unix-based programs is very different from the traditional model. The Open Source (free!) UNIXCMD project makes it easy. With UNIXCMD,...
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Speakers
avatar for Scott Klement

Scott Klement

Managing Partner, ORC LLC
Monday April 27, 2026 11:15am - 12:15pm CDT
Galerie 2
  Technologies Integrated with IBM i, Integrated File System (IFS), Programmer Tools, Programming: RPG

12:30pm CDT

Jeff Carey NOLA Session
Monday April 27, 2026 12:30pm - 1:00pm CDT
Third Floor, near Mardi Gras Ballroom
Jeff Carey, who's been volunteering and speaking at COMMON for years, happily talks about his deep personal connection to COMMON and the contagious energy of New Orleans — plus he shares friendly, upbeat tips to help you make the most of every minute in this awesome city.
Speakers
avatar for Jeff Carey

Jeff Carey

Midrange Engineer III - IBM i, Lightedge
Jeff Carey is an IBM i professional with over 30 years of experience on the platform, specializing in system administration. He currently is a Midrange Engineer for Lightedge, a company providing managed services for IBM i, VMware, Nutanix, AIX, AWS and Azure. He is on the Board of... Read More →
Monday April 27, 2026 12:30pm - 1:00pm CDT
Third Floor, near Mardi Gras Ballroom
  Conference Events

1:15pm CDT

Keynote: IBM Bob - Your IBM i AI Development Partner
Monday April 27, 2026 1:15pm - 2:15pm CDT
Mardi Gras Ballroom
Evaluation Survey
IBM Bob is an AI-powered development partner for IBM i. Your IBM i runs everything. Bob helps you run faster. Bob accelerates initiatives that traditionally take months like converting fixed-format RPG to free-form, migrating DDS to SQL DDL, refactoring monolithic programs into modular services, and generating comprehensive documentation and tests.  Bob bridges the skills gap and ensures the...
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Speakers
avatar for Tim Rowe

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 →
Monday April 27, 2026 1:15pm - 2:15pm CDT
Mardi Gras Ballroom
  Conference Events

2:15pm CDT

COMMON Problem Solving
Monday April 27, 2026 2:15pm - 3:15pm CDT
Mardi Gras Ballroom
Ready for problem-solving without the programming?Join us Monday for a laid-back, analog team challenge. Step away from the screens and work together to crack word puzzles and brain teasers. It’s a fun way to connect with the COMMON community while putting your teamwork skills to the test.
Monday April 27, 2026 2:15pm - 3:15pm CDT
Mardi Gras Ballroom
  Conference Events

3:15pm CDT

COBOL TO SQLRPGLE - Reducing Technical Debt using AI
Monday April 27, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Galerie 4
Evaluation Survey
In this session, Tim will go over:

  1. Why COBOL shops are facing a talent and maintenance crisis
  2. How to use Claude to accelerate modernization
  3. Flattening COBOL: copybooks, file defs, I/O expansion
  4. Generating free-format SQLRPGLE from expanded source
  5. Prompt tuning, context limits, hallucinations & lessons learned
  6. Results ^ Q/
Speakers
TS
Monday April 27, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Galerie 4
  Artificial Intelligence (AI)

3:15pm CDT

Stepping through SQL Performance
Monday April 27, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Studio 3-4
Evaluation Survey
Every SQL statement has a predefined steps that it must go through before it can complete you data base requests.  Each step taken can positively or negatively impact SQL performance - especially on transactional applications that are running the same set of SQL statements over and over again. This session will explain each step needed to run an SQL statement and the structures that Db2...
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Speakers
avatar for Kent Milligan

Kent Milligan

Senior Db2 for i Consultant, IBM
Kent Milligan is a Senior Db2 for i Consultant in IBM Technology Expert Labs. Kent has over 25 years of experience as a Db2 for IBM i consultant and developer working out of the IBM Rochester lab. Prior to re-joining the Db2 for i Expert Labs practice in 2020, Kent spent 5 years... Read More →
Monday April 27, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Studio 3-4
  Database

3:15pm CDT

Avoid Distractions, Get Focused
Monday April 27, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Studio 1-2
Evaluation Survey
We live in a world of endless distractions. Get distracted and you lose focus. According to research, it takes around 23 minutes to refocus after a distraction. Should we manage the distractions? Or let ourselves get distracted? Or learn to focus despite the distractions? If you can’t focus your attention, how can you accomplish anything? This session will teach you how to identify when and why...
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Speakers
avatar for Kim Greene

Kim Greene

President, Kim Greene Consulting, Inc.
Kim Greene is president of Kim Greene Consulting, Inc. specializing in providing consulting services for the HCL Collaboration Solutions portfolio for IBM i, Windows, and Linux. Kim has over 20 years of experience with IBM Domino and over 25 years of experience with the AS/400, iSeries... Read More →
Monday April 27, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Studio 1-2
  Developing Business Skills, Developing Business Skills, Personal Development

3:15pm CDT

How to Make the Most Out of Advisory Connect and Expert Labs Assets in IBM i Subscription Bundles
Monday April 27, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Galerie 5
Evaluation Survey
Organizations running IBM i environments are increasingly looking for ways to accelerate modernization, strengthen resilience, and maximize the value of their platform investments. IBM i subscription bundles include valuable services such as Advisory Connect and IBM Expert Labs assets, but many clients are not fully aware of how to take advantage of them. In this session, you will learn how to...
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Speakers
avatar for Eric Barsness

Eric Barsness

Global Resiliency Practice Leader, IBM
Eric Barsness is theGlobal Resiliency Practice Leader for IBM i in Expert Labs and an IBM Master Inventor. Eric specializes in IBM i resiliency, performance and scalability and has led various IBM i performance teams for most of his career. Eric has been improving customer's IBM i... Read More →
avatar for Yan Zhuo

Yan Zhuo

IBM i Product Management Leader, IBM
Monday April 27, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Galerie 5
  Developing Business Skills

3:15pm CDT

N2i (New to IBM i) - Foundational Concepts of IBM i
Monday April 27, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Studio 7-8
Evaluation Survey
Newcomers to the IBM i platform commonly find themselves with a lot of questions, and may not know where to turn. If you're new to this platform, whether you're a recent graduate or an experienced IT pro who has found yourself responsible for supporting the i, COMMON's N2i program exists to help you! In this session we'll introduce terminology and concepts, how to navigate the "greenscreen", and...
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Speakers
avatar for Megan Olson

Megan Olson

Software Developer and Product Manager, Fortra
Megan Olson is a Software Engineer and Product Manager at Fortra. Megan began her career at Fortra in 2021 as a Software Engineer Intern after earning her degree in Software Development in 2020. She has a strong technical focus on system security, product development, and driving... Read More →
Monday April 27, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Studio 7-8
  Developing Business Skills, Database, Integrated File System (IFS), Personal Development, Systems Management

3:15pm CDT

Introduction to Open Source on IBM i
Monday April 27, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Galerie 3
Evaluation Survey
Introductory and survey level discussion that looks at the installation of the Open Source solutions on IBM i. We'll also review many of the components available via open source and discuss the PASE environment. If you've been on the outside looking in at Open Source, this is the place to start.. Learning Objectives: 1) Understand how to install open source solution on IBM i. 2) PASE basic...
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Speakers
avatar for Mike Pavlak

Mike Pavlak

Solution Architect, Programmers.io
Mike Pavlak has been working with IBM midrange solutions since 1992 and IBM Mainframes before that. After years of developing applications using RPG, CL and PHP he managed IT development and IT for power protection manufacturer Tripp Lite. Later Mike was instrumental in developing... Read More →
Monday April 27, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Galerie 3
  General Programming, Systems Management

3:15pm CDT

Understanding LLM and Transformer
Monday April 27, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Balcony I-J
Evaluation Survey
A beginner level and generalized explanation of the modern face of Artificial Intelligence: the Large Language Model (LLM) coupled with the Transformer architecture. Fairly rigorous in places (Danger! Math!), but the overall tone of the presentation is a colloquial and metaphoric. Learning Objectives: 1. Understanding LLM architecture 2. Understanding Transformer architecture 3. Understanding...
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Speakers
avatar for Jack Woehr

Jack Woehr

Senior Engineer / Senior Consultant, Consulting to Procern Technology Solutions and Seiden Group LLC
40+ years development. IBM Champion 2021-2026.
IBM Qiskit Advocate since 2019. Secretary, OpenQASM Technical Steering Committee. MongoDB Creator status. Prolific Open Source creator/contributor. Former Contributing Editor, Dr. Dobb's Journal.
Consult on IBM i AI modernization... Read More →
Monday April 27, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Balcony I-J
  General Programming, Artificial Intelligence (AI)

3:15pm CDT

You Next Power Server is just around the corner. For Storage, you have options!
Monday April 27, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Galerie 1
Evaluation Survey
Do you love you some internal storage? You know it, you’ve used it, and it’s served you well! But times they are a changin’! what do you know about external storage? What can it do that internal storage can’t do? Come and see us compare the current generation of internal storage to the current generation of external storage. We’ll compare relative costs, capacities, and compare which...
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Speakers
avatar for Larry Bolhuis

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 →
avatar for Richie Palma

Richie Palma

Senior Solution Consultant, Service Express
A Tech Solutions Consultant for Service Express (Previously iTech Solutions Group), IBM Champion for Power, IBM Fresh Face, founder of the “Midrange Meetup” in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on the steering committee for YIP’s (Young i Professionals), and on the board for SEMIUG (South... Read More →
Monday April 27, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Galerie 1
  Hardware, Hardware, Storage Technologies, Systems Management, Technologies Integrated with IBM i, Virtualization

3:15pm CDT

The basics of moving from fixed format RPG to complete free form RPG.
Monday April 27, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Balcony K
Evaluation Survey
Fixed format is still a heavily used code base and many developers need to be able to at least read it. But, what if you were able to read it and translate that into complete free form RPG? we will look at how to read fixed form RPG and give you the skills to actually translate into a more modern RPG.Learning Objectives:Understanding the difference between the syntax between complete free form and...
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Speakers
avatar for Marina Schwenk

Marina Schwenk

Senior Programmer/Analyst IBM i Admin, Innovative Software Solutions

Monday April 27, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Balcony K
  RPG

3:15pm CDT

Crack the Code IBM i Security Essentials
Monday April 27, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Balcony L
Evaluation Survey
IBM i security doesn’t have to be a black box. This session empowers you to take control of your system’s security using the built-in tools of Navigator for i. Whether you're just starting out or refining your expertise, we’ll guide you through essential elements like authority management, object security, audit trails, function usage, and authentication. You’ll learn best practices, how...
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Speakers
avatar for Amy Williams

Amy Williams

Principal Security Consultant, Fortra LLC
Amy Williams is a Principal Security Services Consultant at Fortra, where she has worked since 2015. She holds CISSP, CISA, and PCI-P certifications and has nearly 30 years of experience on the IBM i platform across system administration, architecture, and application security in... Read More →
Monday April 27, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Balcony L
  Security, Security

3:15pm CDT

IBM i 7.6 and the latest TRs by the Architects
Monday April 27, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Balcony M-N
Evaluation Survey
The IBM i development team has just delivered a brand new release - IBM i 7.6 along with several Technology Refreshes. These deliveries are just full of new enhancements targeted to help your business applications run more securely. In this session, Scott and Tim will detail a number of the new enhancements, helping you understand what's new and be ready to target the sessions throughout the...
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Speakers
avatar for Scott Forstie

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 →
avatar for Tim Rowe

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 →
Monday April 27, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Balcony M-N
  Systems Management, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Client Connectivity, Database, Programming: General, Security, Systems Management, Technologies Integrated with IBM i

3:15pm CDT

I’m Interested in Deploying IBM Db2 Mirror for i … Now What?
Monday April 27, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Galerie 2
Evaluation Survey
The IBM Db2 Mirror for i product provides synchronous replication of Db2 for i, which makes your database highly available between two nodes. Having a highly available database allows you to deploy applications in such a way that there is zero downtime required to do system maintenance that has traditionally been disruptive. In this session, you will learn about some of the considerations and...
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Speakers
avatar for Shauna Rollings

Shauna Rollings

Senior Software Engineer - IBM i Performance Tools & High Availability Development, IBM
Shauna joined the IBM i development team in 2008. She has developed and supported IBM i performance data collector tools throughout her entire IBM career. From the very beginning of the Db2 Mirror for i project, she has also been the technical team lead for the Db2 Mirror Configuration... Read More →
Monday April 27, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Galerie 2
  Systems Management

3:15pm CDT

Turnkey AI for Key Enterprise Use-Cases with IBM Spyre on IBM Power
Monday April 27, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Galerie 6
Evaluation Survey
This session will talk about the new IBM off-chip accelerator called IBM Spyre for Power. This solution is intended for easy-to-setup and run, turnkey gen AI inference use cases.

Learning Objectives:

n/a
Speakers
avatar for Ashwin Srinivas

Ashwin Srinivas

Senior Product Manager AI for IBM Power, IBM
I am responsible for the driving AI SW offerings on IBM Power servers supporting use cases that are relevant to IBM Power customers. I am  responsible for the strategy, product roadmap and market success of AI with IBM Power products related to our ecosystem of ISV solutions and... Read More →
Monday April 27, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Galerie 6
  Technologies Integrated with IBM i, Artificial Intelligence (AI)

3:15pm CDT

Why and When Moving Workload from Linux (and maybe Windows) to IBM i on IBM POWER Makes Sense and How You Can Do That
Monday April 27, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Studio 9-10
Evaluation Survey
We have some customers that run a lot of different Linux Servers (unfortunately on x86 Hardware still...) and I heard there should be still some of them out there running Windows Servers for hosting different kind of layers like Database instances, Backend Programs, Web Server and so on.  Most of them do, what they used to do. They use a different VM or Docker Container for each of these...
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Speakers
avatar for Markus Litters

Markus Litters

CEO, i and me - IT Training and Solutions GmbH
I start working with IBM POWER Servers and IBM i since I was 19 back in 1990 when it was called IBM AS/400 and from the beginning I was focused on Integrating the System with everything else (first of all DOS PC's, then Windows PC's and HP Unix and so on) and to modernize the existing... Read More →
avatar for Jesse Gorzinski

Jesse Gorzinski

STSM and Senior Business Architect - AI and Open Source, IBM
Experienced business architect from IBM and a specialist in the IBM i platform. My passion is enabling enterprises to adopt artificial intelligence and open source technologies.
Monday April 27, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Studio 9-10
  Technologies Integrated with IBM i

4:30pm CDT

20 Hidden Gems of Db2 for i in 20 minutes
Monday April 27, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Studio 9-10
Evaluation Survey
In this new session you'll discover 20 features of Db2 for i that are typically less known or under used. Your presenter is the Db2 for i Architect and he's lead the Db2 for i development team for decades. Invest 20 minutes to raise for your Db2 for i and SQL capabilities! Learning Objectives: 1) Discover features, tools, or capabilities within Db2 for i 2) Improve how you leverage or use Db2...
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Speakers
avatar for Scott Forstie

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 →
Monday April 27, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Studio 9-10
  Database, Database

4:30pm CDT

How to Become a Speaker at COMMON
Monday April 27, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Galerie 2
Evaluation Survey
You have a wealth of experience and expertise. Have you thought about sharing your know-how by speaking at COMMON? Speaking at COMMON is fun and a great way to get involved with other members as well as the organization at large. Come join this session to learn how to submit a session for speaking at a COMMON event along with tips and tricks for putting together a session abstract and learning...
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Speakers
avatar for Kim Greene

Kim Greene

President, Kim Greene Consulting, Inc.
Kim Greene is president of Kim Greene Consulting, Inc. specializing in providing consulting services for the HCL Collaboration Solutions portfolio for IBM i, Windows, and Linux. Kim has over 20 years of experience with IBM Domino and over 25 years of experience with the AS/400, iSeries... Read More →
Monday April 27, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Galerie 2
  Developing Business Skills, Personal Development

4:30pm CDT

CL 2025: What’s New and Useful
Monday April 27, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Studio 1-2
Evaluation Survey
Control Language (CL) remains a core tool for IBM i system operations, and recent releases have added features that make scripting faster, cleaner, and more powerful. In this 20-minute session, Simon Hutchinson will provide a hands-on look at the most useful new CL commands, built-in functions, and SQL integration techniques. Attendees will learn how to modernize legacy scripts, automate system...
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Speakers
avatar for Simon Hutchinson

Simon Hutchinson

Founder & author, RPGPGM.COM
Simon Hutchinson has worked with IBM midrange servers and the RPG programming language since 1988—starting in the U.K. and continuing in the U.S. for over 35 years. He is best known for his long-running blog, RPGPGM.COM, where for more than 12 years he has shared practical insi... Read More →
Monday April 27, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Studio 1-2
  General Programming, Programming: General

4:30pm CDT

Intro to Modern Application Integration via API
Monday April 27, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Studio 3-4
Evaluation Survey
We no longer live in a world where we have one system of record that is used for all business functions. IT is an everchanging blend of tools, applications, and platforms. Integration is top of mind for most businesses. If there is one common way to link all these systems, it is an API layer. Your IBM i should speak the language of APIs, both consuming and hosting. In this session, let’s look at...
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Speakers
avatar for Brian May

Brian May

Principal Technology Evangelist, Profound Logic
Professional IT Leader, Speaker and WriterSpecialties:Team Building, Development and RetentionTechnical SalesSolutions ArchitectureSoftware DevelopmentEnterprise Systems Manufacturing ProcessesApparel IndustryAccounting Principles
Monday April 27, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Studio 3-4
  General Programming, Programming: General, Technologies Integrated with IBM i

4:30pm CDT

Recursion, Recursion, Recursion
Monday April 27, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Galerie 6
Evaluation Survey
Why write endless loops when your code can elegantly call itself? This session will demystify recursion and show practical examples in RPG and SQL - perfect for cracking hierarchical data problems. With this superpower in your toolkit, you'll be ready to replace clunky iteration with clean, powerful recursion. Learning Objectives: 1. Understand what recursion is 2. Use recursion in RPG 3. Use...
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Speakers
avatar for Patrick Behr

Patrick Behr

Senior Consultant & Instructor, Seiden Group & imPower Technologies
Monday April 27, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Galerie 6
  General Programming, Database, Programming: RPG

4:30pm CDT

IBM i DR Modernization Playbook: A Client Story
Monday April 27, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Galerie 1
Evaluation Survey
Are you managing an IBM i environment that hasn’t been updated in years, struggling to meet modern regulatory requirements, or facing disaster recovery (DR) challenges that put your business continuity at risk? In this fast-paced, practical session, we’ll walk through how a large regional retailer, processing $Ms in transactions per day, modernized IBM i DR after 20+ years of “don’t touch...
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Speakers
AK
BO
Monday April 27, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Galerie 1
  High Availability Resilience, High Availability Resilience, IT Strategy, Security, Systems Management

4:30pm CDT

PHP Tips in 20 Minutes
Monday April 27, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Balcony I-J
Evaluation Survey
Inspired by longtime presenters at the Summit, this discussion looks at the most popular tweaks, hacks and just plain good practices the for IBM i PHP community to enjoy. Sometimes you just need a shopping list of things to watch out for and many of the tips that are scattered throughout these presentations are consolidated in a single place. Performance, security and best practices and more will...
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Speakers
avatar for Mike Pavlak

Mike Pavlak

Solution Architect, Programmers.io
Mike Pavlak has been working with IBM midrange solutions since 1992 and IBM Mainframes before that. After years of developing applications using RPG, CL and PHP he managed IT development and IT for power protection manufacturer Tripp Lite. Later Mike was instrumental in developing... Read More →
Monday April 27, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Balcony I-J
  PHP

4:30pm CDT

A Hackers View of You
Monday April 27, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Balcony L
Evaluation Survey
This session is designed to allow you to look through the eyes of a former black hat. Learning Objectives: In this session you will learn more about the different type of attackers and what there motivations are. How the large cyber crime organizations operate. Tactics and tools that hackers use to gain access to environments How quantum computers are going to change the data protection and...
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Speakers
avatar for Tony Owens

Tony Owens

Enterprise Architect, Direct Systems Support
Tony Owens is a recognized figure in the IT industry, particularly known for his expertise in IBM Storage solutions. He has been an IBM Champion since 2020 and has worked with various storage technologies and has contributed to the development and promotion of IBM's storage products... Read More →
Monday April 27, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Balcony L
  Security, Hardware, Security

4:30pm CDT

Using Navigator for i to Set Up Your TOTP
Monday April 27, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Balcony M-N
Evaluation Survey
Think that setting up a time-based one-time password (TOTP) for your IBM i 7.6 profile is complicated? It’s easier than you think! Join us to discover how quick and seamless it is using Navigator for i. This session will demonstrate how both traditional and non-traditional users of Navigator can generate a TOTP key and validate authentication codes using a client authenticator. Learning...
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Speakers
avatar for Ann Wilkerson

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.
Monday April 27, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Balcony M-N
  Security, Systems Management

4:30pm CDT

20 Tips in 20 Minutes
Monday April 27, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Studio 7-8
Evaluation Survey
On many IBM i systems, there are a number of configuration settings that are not optimal for today's environment. Whether it be system values, job descriptions, memory pools, many shops have configuration settings at the system's shipped default value, or settings that were done years ago and need to be revisited. This session is a fast-paced session going over 20 configuration tips in 20 minutes....
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Speakers
avatar for Dawn May

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 →
Monday April 27, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Studio 7-8
  Systems Management, Systems Management

4:30pm CDT

Best Practices for Collecting IBM i Performance Data
Monday April 27, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Galerie 5
Evaluation Survey
IBM i performance data collection using Collection Services is enabled by default, but you may still be using default configuration settings. In this session, you will learn why you may want to adjust the Collection Services configuration settings for your performance analysis or trending needs.Learning objectives:1. How to use Navigator for i to configure Collection Services 2....
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Speakers
avatar for Shauna Rollings

Shauna Rollings

Senior Software Engineer - IBM i Performance Tools & High Availability Development, IBM
Shauna joined the IBM i development team in 2008. She has developed and supported IBM i performance data collector tools throughout her entire IBM career. From the very beginning of the Db2 Mirror for i project, she has also been the technical team lead for the Db2 Mirror Configuration... Read More →
Monday April 27, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Galerie 5
  Systems Management

4:30pm CDT

Demo of IBM i ACS Multi System Capabilities
Monday April 27, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Galerie 4
Evaluation Survey
IBM i ACS has several capabilities that are targeted for users who interact with multiple systems.  Join Wayne Bowers, IBM Support Team Lead, as he presents a quick, live demo over viewing these capabilities
Speakers
avatar for Wayne Bowers

Wayne Bowers

IBM i Global Support, IBM
Wayne Bowers has been with IBM since 1997, where he works with the IBM i Global Support Center in Rochester MN. He is an Advisory Software Engineer specializing in the support of the IBM i Access (aka Client Access) products, Console, the TCP Telnet communications server, and the... Read More →
Monday April 27, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Galerie 4
  Systems Management

4:30pm CDT

Why is my disk filling?
Monday April 27, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Balcony K
Evaluation Survey
The threat of DASD filling is real and can bring a system down. Learn common threats to good disk management and and how to respond.

Learning Objectives:

What happens when DASD runs out What can you do when this happens What to do after the immediate threat is gone
Speakers
avatar for Jeff Carey

Jeff Carey

Midrange Engineer III - IBM i, Lightedge
Jeff Carey is an IBM i professional with over 30 years of experience on the platform, specializing in system administration. He currently is a Midrange Engineer for Lightedge, a company providing managed services for IBM i, VMware, Nutanix, AIX, AWS and Azure. He is on the Board of... Read More →
Monday April 27, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Balcony K
  Systems Management, Systems Management

4:30pm CDT

Agentic AI and IBM Storage FlashSystems
Monday April 27, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Galerie 3
Evaluation Survey
This session will cover future and existing applications of Agentic AI use cases for IBM Storage and specific implementation examples with FlashSystem and IBM Storage Insights.
Speakers
YS

Yves Santos

STSM IBM Storage Development, IBM
Monday April 27, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Galerie 3
  Technologies Integrated with IBM i

5:05pm CDT

SQL - Merge Statement
Monday April 27, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Studio 3-4
Evaluation Survey
Add another tool to your SQL toolbelt with this session on the SQL Merge statement. Discover how a single SQL statement can handle Inserts, Updates, and Deletes. Learning Objectives:
  1. Learn how and when to use an SQL Merge statement

Speakers
avatar for Mike Zaringhalam

Mike Zaringhalam

Developer, PC Richard & Son
Have you ever wanted to meet someone who started Hawaiian Shirt Fridays at their work place? 
If the answer is 'Yes!', then feel free to reach out with any questions you have regarding Hawaiian shirts... Or IBM i related topics. 
My main focuses are RDi, DB2, Modernization, and D... Read More →
Monday April 27, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Studio 3-4
  Database, Database, Programming: General

5:05pm CDT

Using SQL Triggers to Track File Changes on IBM i
Monday April 27, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Studio 1-2
Evaluation Survey
Need to know who changed what — and when — in your IBM i files? SQL triggers make it easy! In this fast-paced 20-minute session, you’ll learn how to use SQL triggers to automatically capture file changes (inserts, updates, and deletes) and write them to an output or audit file. Simon will demonstrate how to create, test, and manage SQL triggers using Db2 for i. You’ll see real examples of...
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Speakers
avatar for Simon Hutchinson

Simon Hutchinson

Founder & author, RPGPGM.COM
Simon Hutchinson has worked with IBM midrange servers and the RPG programming language since 1988—starting in the U.K. and continuing in the U.S. for over 35 years. He is best known for his long-running blog, RPGPGM.COM, where for more than 12 years he has shared practical insi... Read More →
Monday April 27, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Studio 1-2
  Database, Database

5:05pm CDT

Build a secure Wordpress site on your IBM i in 20 minutes or less
Monday April 27, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Studio 7-8
Evaluation Survey
Sometimes all you need is a simple CMS to host information for internal and/or external users. You don't want to spend hours getting there...Wordpress is a popular open source CMS that has both fans and critics but is highly useful when a quick and dirty solution is needed to get some content on the web. This session walks through the installation and setup process for the HTTP server on IBM i and...
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Speakers
avatar for Pete Helgren

Pete Helgren

Owner/Consultant, Value Added Software
Pete is a developer with broad experience across multiple languages and platforms, including over 30 years of system 3X/AS400/iSeries/IBM i experience. He holds certifications as a GIAC Cloud Penetration Tester, GIAC Secure Software Programmer-Java, AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner... Read More →
Monday April 27, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Studio 7-8
  Frameworks, Database, Middleware, Programming: General

5:05pm CDT

Using Distributed File System (DFS) with the Network Client File System (QNTC)
Monday April 27, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Galerie 1
Evaluation Survey
The IBM i Network Client File System (QNTC) is used to communicate with servers that support Microsoft’s Server Message Block (SMB) network file system protocol. Distributed File System (DFS) is a protocol layer that sits atop of SMB and provides extra functionality like data integrity, data accessibility, and load balancing. Attend this session to learn more about QNTC, and the SMB and DFS...
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Speakers
avatar for Justin Nelson

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 →
Monday April 27, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Galerie 1
  IFS

5:05pm CDT

SSL vs SSH - More Different than One Letter
Monday April 27, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Galerie 4
Evaluation Survey
SSL, now commonly referred to as TLS, and SSH are both important approaches to secure, encrypted, network communication. Though they do have some similarities, they are not interchangeable and there are reasons why one should be used vs. the other.In this brief session, we will compare and contrast how they communicate across the network and discuss when and why they should be used.Learning...
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Speakers
avatar for Wayne Bowers

Wayne Bowers

IBM i Global Support, IBM
Wayne Bowers has been with IBM since 1997, where he works with the IBM i Global Support Center in Rochester MN. He is an Advisory Software Engineer specializing in the support of the IBM i Access (aka Client Access) products, Console, the TCP Telnet communications server, and the... Read More →
Monday April 27, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Galerie 4
  Networking

5:05pm CDT

COBOL to Modern RPG: Using Static Analysis, Automation, and AI Assistance
Monday April 27, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Balcony I-J
Evaluation Survey
Modernizing COBOL applications to RPG IV can be faster and safer with static analysis, automation, and AI —but it still requires solid engineering. This session explains how analysis tools identify data flow, dependencies, and shared logic before conversion begins. We’ll explore how to combine AI automation with proven analysis and programming discipline to transform COBOL business logic into...
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Speakers
avatar for John Rhodes

John Rhodes

CTO, CM First Group
Long time IBM i and z engineer. Work with Broadcom software primarily (CA 2E, Synon, CA Plex, CA Gen). Also Java and VSCode.
Monday April 27, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Balcony I-J
  Programmer Tools, Artificial Intelligence (AI)

5:05pm CDT

New Outline Feature in VS Code with Code4i that looks and behaves like the RDi outline but better!
Monday April 27, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Galerie 3
Evaluation Survey
One of the most important Features in IBM Rational Developer for i is the Outline Feature. When you - like my Team and I - need to work with a lot of large (and very large) and old (and very old) RPG programs the Outline is such a time saver. But I also miss some features which I send IBM in the RDi "wish list" some years ago... The Outline is also the most important reason why we are still using...
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Speakers
avatar for Sébastien Julliand

Sébastien Julliand

Tech Lead R&D, I AND ME - IT TRAINING
Hi, I'm Seb! I am the R&D Tech Lead for i and me - IT Training and Solutions GmbH and an active contributors to IBM i open source projects.

Let's talk about anything related to software development, on IBM i or not, it doesn't mater to me. RPGLE, Java, TypeScript...I love them all... Read More →
avatar for Markus Litters

Markus Litters

CEO, i and me - IT Training and Solutions GmbH
I start working with IBM POWER Servers and IBM i since I was 19 back in 1990 when it was called IBM AS/400 and from the beginning I was focused on Integrating the System with everything else (first of all DOS PC's, then Windows PC's and HP Unix and so on) and to modernize the existing... Read More →
Monday April 27, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Galerie 3
  Programmer Tools, Programmer Tools, Programming: RPG

5:05pm CDT

What the Heck is Binder Source and Why Do I Care?
Monday April 27, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Galerie 2
Evaluation Survey
Discover what binder source is, what it's used for, and why you definitely want to use it with your service programs. We'll talk about binding, signatures and signature violations, and how to change service programs without having to recompile all your programs. Learning Objectives: 1. Learn about binding 2. Learn about signatures and signature violations 3. How to change service programs...
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Speakers
avatar for Patrick Behr

Patrick Behr

Senior Consultant & Instructor, Seiden Group & imPower Technologies
Monday April 27, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Galerie 2
  RPG

5:05pm CDT

Explore the Audit Journal Data Mart
Monday April 27, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Balcony M-N
Evaluation Survey
The IBM i Audit Journal contains a wealth of security and system activity data, but accessing and analyzing that information efficiently can be a challenge. The Audit Journal Data Mart simplifies this process by transforming raw audit data into a structured format that’s easy to query and visualize. In this session, we’ll explore how the Data Mart enables deeper insights into system events,...
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Speakers
avatar for Ann Wilkerson

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.
Monday April 27, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Balcony M-N
  Security, Systems Management

5:05pm CDT

Using Function Usage to Add another Layer of Security to your IBM i Configuration
Monday April 27, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Balcony L
Evaluation Survey
The importance of using Function Usage was magnified in IBM 7.6. During this session Carol will describe Function Usage (formerly known as Application Administration) and how to use it to add another layer of security to your IBM i Security strategy.


Learning Objectives:

  • Understand how to access Function Usage
  • Learn what Function Usage controls
  • Understand what was added in IBM i 7.6

Speakers
avatar for Carol Woodbury

Carol Woodbury

IBM i Security SME and Senior Advisor, Kisco
Monday April 27, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Balcony L
  Security

5:05pm CDT

Navigating IBM i Performance Guides: What to Use When
Monday April 27, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Galerie 6
Evaluation Survey
IBM provides a rich set of performance guides and documentation to help users understand and optimize their IBM i environments. In this 20-minute session, we’ll demystify key resources such as the IBM i Performance Capabilities Reference Guide, the IBM i Performance FAQ, and the IBM Power Performance Optimization for IBM i guide. You’ll learn the purpose of each document, how they complement...
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Speakers
avatar for Eric Barsness

Eric Barsness

Global Resiliency Practice Leader, IBM
Eric Barsness is theGlobal Resiliency Practice Leader for IBM i in Expert Labs and an IBM Master Inventor. Eric specializes in IBM i resiliency, performance and scalability and has led various IBM i performance teams for most of his career. Eric has been improving customer's IBM i... Read More →
Monday April 27, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Galerie 6
  Systems Management

5:05pm CDT

SQL Services save the day at Heartland Co-op
Monday April 27, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Galerie 5
Evaluation Survey
By now, many of us are familiar with IBM SQL Services and how they can super-charge system management tasks.  But have you thought about how these powerful tools can be used in business applications?  This case study will take you through how SQL services were used to make a business-critical application at Heartland Co-op available 24/7 while allowing an important nightly batch process...
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Speakers
avatar for Todd Stewart

Todd Stewart

Application Architect, Heartland Co-op
Todd has worked in IBM midrange computing since 1989, developing applications from the System/34 to IBM i on Power. He has held roles including Developer, Analyst, Project Lead, Solutions Delivery Manager, and Application Development Director in the retail, and bonding/insurance industries... Read More →
Monday April 27, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Galerie 5
  Systems Management

5:05pm CDT

What is SYSTOOLS and How Can You Leverage it?
Monday April 27, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Studio 9-10
Evaluation Survey
Db2 for i provides useful tools and examples in the SYSTOOLS schema. Come to this session to learn what shiny gems lie within this unopened treasure chest. You need not be an SQL programmer to gain tremendous value from SQL tools! https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/i/7.6?topic=optimization-systools Learning Objectives: 1) Understand what SYSTOOLS-based tools exist 2) Learn the basics of how to use...
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Speakers
avatar for Scott Forstie

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 →
Monday April 27, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Studio 9-10
  Systems Management, Database, Integrated File System (IFS), Security, Storage Technologies, Systems Management

5:05pm CDT

When Job Tables Attack!
Monday April 27, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Balcony K
Evaluation Survey
There are very few issues that can threaten the stability of an IBM i LPAR, but one of them is filling of the system job tables. Circumstances can make this happen quickly even though you may not see it very often if at all! Even if you have seen the dreaded job table message, it may have been so long ago you don't recall what to do. Time may be of the essence when taking corrective action, so...
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Speakers
avatar for Jeff Carey

Jeff Carey

Midrange Engineer III - IBM i, Lightedge
Jeff Carey is an IBM i professional with over 30 years of experience on the platform, specializing in system administration. He currently is a Midrange Engineer for Lightedge, a company providing managed services for IBM i, VMware, Nutanix, AIX, AWS and Azure. He is on the Board of... Read More →
Monday April 27, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Balcony K
  Systems Management, Systems Management

5:30pm CDT

Welcome Reception in the Expo
Monday April 27, 2026 5:30pm - 8:00pm CDT
Grand Ballroom

Monday April 27, 2026 5:30pm - 8:00pm CDT
Grand Ballroom

5:40pm CDT

Partner Solution Corner inside Expo
Monday April 27, 2026 5:40pm - 7:55pm CDT
Partner Solution Corner in Grand Ballroom
Get the most up to date tools to maximize your systems.  Vendor Partner experts will be presenting 15 min Solution Sessions during mid-day and evening expo hours.  The Partner Solutions Corner is across from booth 111 and the daily schedule will be in your daily morning email.  Get all of your questions answered by knowledge leaders in POWER.
Monday April 27, 2026 5:40pm - 7:55pm CDT
Partner Solution Corner in Grand Ballroom
  Conference Events
 
Tuesday, April 28
 

8:00am CDT

Watch it Live: A Full AI Application Built on the IBM i in Less Than an Hour
Tuesday April 28, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Galerie 1
Evaluation Survey
Your IBM i isn't going anywhere, but the systems around it keep growing. You have cloud platforms, third-party tools, and APIs that all need to talk to your core data and business logic. Getting them all to work together was already a challenge. Now, AI needs to fit in too.In this session, we’ll show you how to bring AI to your current tech stack. We'll build a working AI application that...
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Speakers
avatar for Rick Hurckes

Rick Hurckes

Services Director, mrc
Tuesday April 28, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Galerie 1
  Artificial Intelligence (AI)

8:00am CDT

SQL Plan Cache Uncovered
Tuesday April 28, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Balcony L
Evaluation Survey
This session explains how the SQL Plan Cache is used by Db2 for i to support the execution of your SQL & non-SQL queries. In addition, the session will review Plan Cache related tools & services that can help you identify query performance problems. Learning Objectives: Understanding of how Db2 uses the SQL Plan Cache Learn how to use Plan Cache tooling to identify and remedy query performance...
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Speakers
avatar for Kent Milligan

Kent Milligan

Senior Db2 for i Consultant, IBM
Kent Milligan is a Senior Db2 for i Consultant in IBM Technology Expert Labs. Kent has over 25 years of experience as a Db2 for IBM i consultant and developer working out of the IBM Rochester lab. Prior to re-joining the Db2 for i Expert Labs practice in 2020, Kent spent 5 years... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Balcony L
  Database

8:00am CDT

Web Services: Pull useful external data into your IBM i applications
Tuesday April 28, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Balcony I-J
Evaluation Survey
Obtaining information from external systems or data servers has come a long way since the introduction of EDI in the 1980s! Today, heaps of publicly available web service APIs offer a much more flexible and easier-to-integrate method for pulling pertinent data into your IBM i applications. Whether it be commodity prices, financial data, current weather information, demographic statistics or...
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Speakers
avatar for Robert Swanson

Robert Swanson

Senior Partner, CNX
Rob has worked as an in-the-trenches IBM i developer since 1992, with the past 15 years focused on developing modernization efforts for legacy systems written in RPG. Currently serving as Senior Partner for CNX Corporation in Chicago, Rob is a strong advocate of introducing highly... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Balcony I-J
  Database

8:00am CDT

AI Throughout Your Day!
Tuesday April 28, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Balcony K
Evaluation Survey
Tired of all the hype surrounding AI? Would you like to be more productive using AI - today – but you’re not sure where to start? Or maybe you’ve scratched the surface with AI, but want to learn more? Either way, this is the session for you! Here we skip the theory and dive straight into real-world applications that boost productivity and streamline daily tasks using AI based tools. Join us...
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Speakers
avatar for Steven Wolk

Steven Wolk

CTO, PC Richard & Son
Steven Wolk is the CTO for PC Richard & Son. Founded in 1909, PC Richard is a family owned and operated chain of over 65 appliance, electronics, and mattress superstores located throughout NY, NJ, CT, and PA. Steve's deep background in retail began on the sales floor while in college... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Balcony K
  Developing Business Skills, Artificial Intelligence (AI)

8:00am CDT

Tame the IFS with SQL Services
Tuesday April 28, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Galerie 6
Evaluation Survey
In this updated and award-winning session, you will discover how SQL and IBM i (SQL) Services can be used to bring order to the IFS. Whether you aim to further secure, manage, or utilize the IFS, SQL can help get the job done. The Db2 for i team has made consistent and noteworthy investments to bring SQL capabilities that can be used with the IFS. Come to this session to see, understand, and be...
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Speakers
avatar for Scott Forstie

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 →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Galerie 6
  IFS, Database, Integrated File System (IFS), Security, Systems Management

8:00am CDT

Building the Next Generation of IBM i Talent
Tuesday April 28, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Studio 3-4
Evaluation Survey
Technical excellence alone doesn’t build strong teams. Sustainable success on IBM i depends on leadership that inspires collaboration, creativity, and continuous learning. In this session, we’ll explore how empowering developers and encouraging innovation helps attract and retain IBM i talent. Through real-world stories and practical discussion, you’ll learn how a culture of curiosity,...
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Speakers
avatar for Brian Nordland

Brian Nordland

Director of Development, Fortra
Brian Nordland is the Director of Development for IBM Power Development at Fortra. Brian has been a prominent speaker at events, webinars, and user groups, including COMMON and LUG for over a decade. He is a co-inventor on multiple patents and has authored technical publications in... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Studio 3-4
  IT Leadership and Management, Personal Development

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...
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Speakers
avatar for Brandon Pederson

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 →
avatar for Heather Lavergne

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)

8:00am CDT

Code for IBM i – What’s New, What’s Next
Tuesday April 28, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Studio 1-2
Evaluation Survey
The Code for IBM i family of extensions continues to grow with new tools and powerful enhancements. In this session, we will showcase recent improvements, highlight community contributions, and share a glimpse of upcoming features on the roadmap for 2026. Learning Objectives: • Share newly released features across all IBM i VS Code extensions • Showcase new tips and tricks to improve the...
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Speakers
avatar for Alan Seiden

Alan Seiden

Principal Consultant, Seiden Group
How to modernize and create something new while leveraging your valuable business logic. Supporting developers, mentoring, staff augmentation, architecture, development and programming. Seiden PHP+ Server for IBM i, 
APIs, IBM i, open source, web, PHP, Node.js, Python, RPG, ERPs... Read More →
avatar for Sanjula Ganepola

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 →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Studio 1-2
  Programmer Tools, Programmer Tools

8:00am CDT

Introduction to Python on IBM i
Tuesday April 28, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Galerie 4
Evaluation Survey
Come get your first look at Python and learn some of the basics! Also, learn about the product offerings that enable you to do software development with the language on the platform. Upon completing this class, you will be able to acquire, install, and use the language on IBM i, as well as extend its power using contributions from the larger open source community. We will also explore Db2 Data...
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Speakers
avatar for Mike Pavlak

Mike Pavlak

Solution Architect, Programmers.io
Mike Pavlak has been working with IBM midrange solutions since 1992 and IBM Mainframes before that. After years of developing applications using RPG, CL and PHP he managed IT development and IT for power protection manufacturer Tripp Lite. Later Mike was instrumental in developing... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Galerie 4
  Python, Programming: Python

8:00am CDT

RPG Excellence: Writing for Readability and Maintainability on the IBM i - The Code Style and Quality Standards Every Modern RPG Developer Needs.
Tuesday April 28, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Studio 9-10
Evaluation Survey
Stop coding like it's 1985. Your legacy RPG habits are a financial drain and a massive headache for the next generation of developers. Kill the Clutter! Permanently eliminate fixed-format and arcane shorthand. This session is your urgent intervention. Learning Objectives: • Master Fully Free-Format RPG to write code that looks and behaves like a modern language. • Name Names: Adopt...
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Speakers
avatar for Doug Artis

Doug Artis

Manager, Managed Services, Fresche Solutions
Tuesday April 28, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Studio 9-10
  RPG

8:00am CDT

IBM i Security – What’s new in IBM i 7.6
Tuesday April 28, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Studio 7-8
Evaluation Survey
Come learn about the security features included in the latest operating system release IBM i 7.6. Whether exciting, mundane, or even a little scary to consider, there is something that will pique your interest.

Learning Objectives:

Understand new features of IBM i 7.6 including *SYSBAS encryption and a high level overview of the new integrated MFA.
Speakers
avatar for Robert Andrews

Robert Andrews

Principal Security Consultant, IBM
Robert Andrews is a Principal Security Consultant, Senior Technical Staff Member (STSM), and Team Lead for the IBM i Security Expert Labs team in Rochester, MN. An IBM Certified Thought Leader and The Open Group Distinguished Technical Specialist, Robert has specialized in IT security... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Studio 7-8
  Security, Security

8:00am CDT

Navigator for i, The tools within!
Tuesday April 28, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Galerie 5
Evaluation Survey
As an IBM i administrator you’ve either used Navigator for I, or you’re living under an AS/400! While you’re getting this done though, you’ve likely missed many of the capabilities built into Navigator to make your job easier and a better fit for your specific needs and environment. In this session, Tim and Larry will go beyond the basic capabilities of Navigator and show you the buttons...
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Speakers
avatar for Larry Bolhuis

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 →
avatar for Tim Rowe

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 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Galerie 5
  Systems Management, Programmer Tools, Systems Management

8:00am CDT

Intro to MCP (Model Context Protocol)
Tuesday April 28, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Galerie 3
Evaluation Survey
Discover how Model Context Protocol (MCP) is making it easier than ever to integrate intelligent AI capabilities with your existing business applications. In this introductory session, you'll learn what MCP is, why it matters, and how this game-changing technology allows AI models and tools to tap into data and applications you already have in place. We'll explore practical examples of how MCP can...
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Speakers
avatar for Brian May

Brian May

Principal Technology Evangelist, Profound Logic
Professional IT Leader, Speaker and WriterSpecialties:Team Building, Development and RetentionTechnical SalesSolutions ArchitectureSoftware DevelopmentEnterprise Systems Manufacturing ProcessesApparel IndustryAccounting Principles
Tuesday April 28, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Galerie 3
  Technologies Integrated with IBM i, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Technologies Integrated with IBM i

8:00am CDT

Live Demo of No-Touch Modernization: RESTful Microservices for Legacy Files Using IBM Rational Open Access + noxDB Access Layer
Tuesday April 28, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Galerie 2
Evaluation Survey
Many IBM i teams face a dilemma: decades-old physical files (some internally described, no DDS) are accessed by hundreds of RPG and COBOL programs — many without source. Redesigning files breaks logic. Rewriting programs takes years. But modern apps need clean JSON APIs — now!This session shows how to expose any legacy file as a full-featured REST/JSON microservice — without changing a...
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Speakers
avatar for Markus Glaser

Markus Glaser

IBM Champion | Software Developer, i and me - IT Training and Solutions GmbH
Proud to be IBM Champion! I am also a Software-Developer and coding enthusiast
Tuesday April 28, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Galerie 2
  Technologies Integrated with IBM i, Database, Middleware, Programming: RPG

9:00am CDT

Student Job Fair
Tuesday April 28, 2026 9:00am - 12:00pm CDT
Mardi Gras Ballroom
Don't miss the Student Job Fair if you are interested in hiring an intern, or your next colleague.Over 40 students and educators are attending POWERUp 2026, many of whom are looking for employment opportunities, so don't miss out on your chance to meet with them and connect.It will be set up in a Reverse Job Fair format, where each student will be assigned a table and potential employers can go...
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Speakers
avatar for Donna Del Muro

Donna Del Muro

Community Outreach Manager, COMMON
Retired IBM i solution‑based sales professional with over 25 years in the IBM i ecosystem. My career spans sales, sales management, and project management across both hardware and software environments, helping organizations align technology with real business needs. I’m currently... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 9:00am - 12:00pm CDT
Mardi Gras Ballroom
  Conference Events

9:15am CDT

Elevate your SQL Capabilities with Lateral Joins, Pivots, and Window Functions
Tuesday April 28, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Studio 3-4
Evaluation Survey
Take your SQL skills to the next level with this session on Lateral joins, Window functions, and Pivoting. Discover how LATERAL joins simplify complex queries, learn new insights with Window Functions, and master the art of pivoting data for dynamic reporting. Whether you're an SQL pro or beginner, join us to unlock the full potential of these powerful tools and techniques (and get free code). ...
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Speakers
avatar for Mike Zaringhalam

Mike Zaringhalam

Developer, PC Richard & Son
Have you ever wanted to meet someone who started Hawaiian Shirt Fridays at their work place? 
If the answer is 'Yes!', then feel free to reach out with any questions you have regarding Hawaiian shirts... Or IBM i related topics. 
My main focuses are RDi, DB2, Modernization, and D... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Studio 3-4
  Database, Programmer Tools

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...
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Speakers
avatar for Jacob Anderson

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

9:15am CDT

Getting Started with SQL Functions and Procedures
Tuesday April 28, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Studio 7-8
Evaluation Survey
SQL includes a full-fledged programming language, SQL PL. Come learn about the programming constructs, including error handling, that this language contains. You will leave with all the knowledge you need to start writing your own SQL functions and procedures. Learning Objectives: `- Understand the difference between SQL procedures, scalar functions, and table functions. - Become familiar with...
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Speakers
avatar for Ryan Moeller

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.
Tuesday April 28, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Studio 7-8
  General Programming, Database

9:15am CDT

The Technology Has Arrived. Is Your Organization Ready?
Tuesday April 28, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Studio 1-2
Evaluation Survey
The numbers are in — and they tell a story most AI vendors don't want you to hear. 79% of enterprises are experimenting with AI. Only 8.6% have made it to production. 94% have adopted AI tools, but fewer than half have the governance frameworks to support them. 72% have scaled pilots — but only 33% have governed what they scaled. And after everything, only 6% can point to measurable EBIT...
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Speakers
avatar for Reggie Britt

Reggie Britt

CTO, American First Finance
30+ years on various Midrange platforms from IBM S/36 through the current IBM i platform.  My primary focus has been developing Fintech software solutions in Banking, Consumer Finance and BNPL.  I have been involved in all aspects of IT including Full Stack Development, DevOps... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Studio 1-2
  IT Strategy

9:15am CDT

DEVELOPMENT LIFECYCLES AND HOW TO TEST THEM
Tuesday April 28, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Balcony K
Evaluation Survey
As businesses modernize there are multiple types of software requiring support. We will discuss the types of software lifecycles all needing different testing. Specifically covered are the development types V-model, Waterfall model, and Iterative model. From there we will talk about component, integration, system, and acceptance testing and where and how to use each. Learning Objectives: ...
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Speakers
avatar for Yvonne Enselman

Yvonne Enselman

Owner, Yvonne Enselman Professional Services
Tuesday April 28, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Balcony K
  Program Testing, IT Strategy

9:15am CDT

Meet Bob - Your New AI Software Development Partner
Tuesday April 28, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Galerie 3
Evaluation Survey
Join me in exploring Project Bob, a new AI-powered software development partner. We’ll look at how Bob supports the entire software development cycle through intelligent modes, tools, commands, and workflows that understand your code, intent, and standards. We’ll also dive into practical demos for IBM i developers, showcasing how Bob can explain, understand, refactor, transform, and test even...
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Speakers
avatar for Sanjula Ganepola

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 →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Galerie 3
  Programmer Tools, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Programmer Tools

9:15am CDT

Handling JSON with DATA-INTO and DATA-GEN in ILE RPG
Tuesday April 28, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Galerie 4
Evaluation Survey
Two of the most significant features added to ILE RPG recently are the DATA-INTO and DATA-GEN opcodes. The most common use case is to read and/or create JSON files. Since JSON has become crucial to IBM i businesses, these are must-know features!

Learning Objectives:

1. Learn the basics of the JSON format. 2. Learn about DATA-INTO and how to use it. 3. Learn about DATA-GEN and how to use it.
Speakers
avatar for Scott Klement

Scott Klement

Managing Partner, ORC LLC
Tuesday April 28, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Galerie 4
  RPG, Programming: RPG

9:15am CDT

Securing Your System Without Destroying Your Business
Tuesday April 28, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Galerie 6
Evaluation Survey
The potential to break a critical process when changing your security configuration is real. But with the proper investigation and analysis, security changes can occur without disrupting your business. During this session Steve Riedmueller and Carol Woodbury will provide the methods they use to investigate a system prior to making changes. Their goal is to give you the confidence to make system...
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Speakers
avatar for Steve Riedmueller

Steve Riedmueller

Director of Security Services, Kisco
avatar for Carol Woodbury

Carol Woodbury

IBM i Security SME and Senior Advisor, Kisco
Tuesday April 28, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Galerie 6
  Security

9:15am CDT

Wizardry & Security: Using Navigator for i to Manage TLS and Certificates
Tuesday April 28, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Galerie 5
Evaluation Survey
In today’s evolving threat landscape, securing your IBM i environment is no longer optional—it’s essential. Unencrypted sessions invite credential theft and often violate compliance standards. This session will guide you through practical, step-by-step strategies to secure your IBM i using TLS encryption, with a special focus on the powerful capabilities of Navigator for i. We’ll also...
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Speakers
avatar for Ann Wilkerson

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.
avatar for Amy Williams

Amy Williams

Principal Security Consultant, Fortra LLC
Amy Williams is a Principal Security Services Consultant at Fortra, where she has worked since 2015. She holds CISSP, CISA, and PCI-P certifications and has nearly 30 years of experience on the IBM i platform across system administration, architecture, and application security in... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Galerie 5
  Security, Security

9:15am CDT

BRMS Beyond the Basics
Tuesday April 28, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Balcony L
Evaluation Survey
This session will discuss some of the advanced topics in using BRMS for your back up and recovery. Featured topics will be tape and library management, BRMS Networking, control group and list controls, BRMS Policies and how they affect the overall operation of BRMS, and using SQL to manage BRMS. Recovering from a BRMS back up can be extremely easy, but it can also present some opportunities for...
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Speakers
avatar for Sarah Jacob

Sarah Jacob

VP of Customer Experience, Agile Technology Architects
Sarah Jacob is the Vice President of Customer Experience at Agile Technology Architects. She is a Subject Matter Expert in Power Systems Administration and a volunteer for COMMON. Sarah specializes in Backup and Recovery planning and recovery testing. Additionally, she acts as primary... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Balcony L
  Systems Management, High Availability Resilience

9:15am CDT

The IBM i Benefits of “Instant Disk Copy” and the Differences Between ‘FlashCopy’ and ‘Snapshots’ External Storage Features Explained
Tuesday April 28, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Galerie 1
Evaluation Survey
All IBM external storage units can perform “instant copy” of all the disks of your IBM i LPAR.Historically made using the ‘FlashCopy’ technology, these “instant copies” are now possible with a new method called ‘Snapshot’ or ‘Policy based FlashCopy’.Discover the differences and how to use those two technologies to simplify and secure operations on your IBM i partitions:To...
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Speakers
avatar for Pascal Ruckebusch

Pascal Ruckebusch

Président, Technical Director, M81
Pascal Ruckebusch adopted IBM i at the exact beginning of AS/400, three decades ago, and never left it … Pascal's experience on IBM i covers system and application development, training and operations. Twice CTO of 2 major IBM business partners in France, his technical skills and... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Galerie 1
  Systems Management

9:15am CDT

Understanding Various Parts of the Save Process
Tuesday April 28, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Balcony I-J
Evaluation Survey
Understand the different ways to save your system, such as using BRMS, Flashcopy, or traditional native commands. Along the way, tips will be given on best practices and ensuring you have what it takes to recover. Your recovery is only as good as your backup, lets make sure you are backing up the right stuff. Learning Objectives: 1) The various Save commands 2) Restricted state and your...
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Speakers
avatar for Pete Massiello

Pete Massiello

IBM i Advisor, Massiello Holding Corp.
Pete Massiello has been working with the AS/400, iSeries, IBM i since 1989, focusing on systems management and technical support. He has held numerous technical positions through out his career. He is the President of iTech Solutions Group, an IBM Premier Business Partner delivering... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Balcony I-J
  Systems Management, Systems Management

9:15am CDT

IBM i: The First Agentic Native Operating System
Tuesday April 28, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Galerie 2
Evaluation Survey
While the tech industry races to retrofit systems for AI agents, IBM i has been quietly agent-ready for decades. This session uncovers how IBM i's core design principles, established long before the AI revolution, make it remarkably well-suited for today's agentic workloads. We'll explore IBM i's integrated database architecture, object-based security model, and unified storage architecture,...
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Speakers
avatar for Adam Shedivy

Adam Shedivy

Software Developer, IBM
Adam is a software Developer working on Agentic AI solutions for IBM i
Tuesday April 28, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Galerie 2
  Technologies Integrated with IBM i, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Database, Integrated File System (IFS), IT Leadership & Management, IT Strategy, Middleware, Networking, Programmer Tools, Security, Storage Technologies, Systems Management, Technologies Integrated with IBM i

9:15am CDT

Modernizing IBMi Applications - From Monolith to Future-Ready
Tuesday April 28, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Studio 9-10
Evaluation Survey
According to Fortra Survey 2026, IBM i Skills & Modernizing Applications figure in “Top 3” concerns of IBM i shops. In this session, we explore a framework to help customers modernize their core IBM i applications in-place leveraging their existing IBM i infrastructure & engineers. Start with an IBM i monolithic application written in fixed RPG with display files for menus and Db2 as the...
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Speakers
avatar for Kuldip Vikram

Kuldip Vikram

Senior Technical Staff Member, Architecture & Technology, Rocket Software
Kuldip is a Senior Technical Staff Member at Rocket Software responsible for modernizing IBMi applications/workloads and their development through a combination of Generative AI and pure/hybrid cloud deployments. He has a rich and diverse experience architecting, designing, developing... Read More →
avatar for Andrew Clark

Andrew Clark

Andrew Clark is the Senior Principal Software Engineer for IBM i at Rocket Software.  Andrew has over 35 years of experience on IBM i beginning with the "secret Mankato Project" on a pre-release version of OS/400, and an internship at IBM Rochester working on the Query team.  He... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Studio 9-10
  Technologies Integrated with IBM i, Artificial Intelligence (AI), DevOps, IT Strategy, Program Testing

10:15am CDT

Coffee Break
Tuesday April 28, 2026 10:15am - 10:45am CDT
Grand Ballroom

Tuesday April 28, 2026 10:15am - 10:45am CDT
Grand Ballroom
  Conference Events

10:45am CDT

Code to Clarity: AI You Can Trust in Production
Tuesday April 28, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Galerie 5
Evaluation Survey
AI for IBM i is everywhere - AI you can trust in production is rare. IBM i teams don’t struggle because they can’t run analyzers or generate diagrams; they struggle because critical logic is scattered across code, data, and workflows - and “best‑guess” answers create validation loops, rework, and surprise blockers. This becomes even more visible as teams start introducing AI-generated...
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Speakers
JS

Josef Schiefer

Product Lead
RM

Robert Moratti

VP Sales North America

Tuesday April 28, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Galerie 5
  Artificial Intelligence (AI)

10:45am CDT

Revving up SQL Performance with Indexes
Tuesday April 28, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Studio 3-4
Evaluation Survey
One of the most important things needed to improve SQL performance is to have the proper indexing over tables, especially as table grow in size. Indexes are so important that the database provides index advice for assistance. However, advice is no substitute for knowledge and proper understanding of indexes. As with all advice, it must be reviewed and good judgment applied on when to create them. ...
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Speakers
avatar for Kent Milligan

Kent Milligan

Senior Db2 for i Consultant, IBM
Kent Milligan is a Senior Db2 for i Consultant in IBM Technology Expert Labs. Kent has over 25 years of experience as a Db2 for IBM i consultant and developer working out of the IBM Rochester lab. Prior to re-joining the Db2 for i Expert Labs practice in 2020, Kent spent 5 years... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Studio 3-4
  Database

10:45am CDT

Modern CL Programming
Tuesday April 28, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Balcony I-J
Evaluation Survey
IBM Made a huge number of enhancements to the CL language starting with V5R3 through i 7.1. WHile the changes slowed after that most CL programmers ignore all these changes and continue to write unreadable code with gotos and tags. Come to get a detailed look at examples of the new functions including DOFOR, DOWHILE, DOUNTIL and SELECT, and how they allow programming CL in a much more structured...
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Speakers
avatar for Larry Bolhuis

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 →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Balcony I-J
  General Programming, Systems Management

10:45am CDT

Secure Coding on IBM i: Fortify Your Applications Against Real-World Threats
Tuesday April 28, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Balcony L
Evaluation Survey
Even well-designed IBM i applications can harbor hidden vulnerabilities. This session, built for developers working in ILE languages such as RPG, C, CL, and related languages, dives into the security nuances often overlooked during development. Through real-world examples drawn from sample applications, we’ll identify and correct issues involving object authority, adopted authority, and library...
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Speakers
avatar for Brian Nordland

Brian Nordland

Director of Development, Fortra
Brian Nordland is the Director of Development for IBM Power Development at Fortra. Brian has been a prominent speaker at events, webinars, and user groups, including COMMON and LUG for over a decade. He is a co-inventor on multiple patents and has authored technical publications in... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Balcony L
  General Programming, Security

10:45am CDT

DR Planning Yearly Checkup - Ensure your DR Plan Works in the Era of Cloud
Tuesday April 28, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Studio 9-10
Evaluation Survey
You have a disaster recovery plan? Are you really prepared? We are now in the Cloud ! How does this affect my DR Plan going forward ? The difference in surviving depends on how well you prepare for the unexpected. This session breaks down the components of disaster recovery planning as it relates to the availability and recovery of your systems. Testing is essential to examining critical points of...
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Speakers
avatar for Richard Dolewski

Richard Dolewski

VP, Hybrid Enterprise Solutions, Lightedge
avatar for Josh Patterson

Josh Patterson

Sr. Solutions Architect, Lightedge
Josh is a Senior Solutions Architect and IBM Champion at Lightedge, focused on modernizing enterprise cloud solutions for IBM Power platforms.  Subject matter expertise in designing resilient, cost-effective hybrid-cloud strategies and high-availability architectures that align technology... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Studio 9-10
  High Availability Resilience, High Availability Resilience

10:45am CDT

A primer for business professionals on Information and Cyber Security (a.k.a “Crash course on security from a security nerd”)
Tuesday April 28, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Galerie 4
Evaluation Survey
A primer for business professionals on Information and Cyber Security (a.k.a “a crash course on security from a security nerd”) This hour session is intended as a fast-paced background primer for the business or IT profession who wants to understand the big picture of “security” (everything outside the IBM i server). Terms, roles and why it’s important to the businesses to understand and...
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Speakers
avatar for Robert Nettgen

Robert Nettgen

Senior Consultant, Briteskies
Robert Nettgen wanted a career in radio broadcasting, but saw that profession declining and found better pay working in IT.  A PC developer in the ‘80’s, Rob started administering AS/400s in the early ‘90s for a Radio/TV group owner.  In 1999 Rob accepted a job as IT director... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Galerie 4
  IT Leadership and Management, Developing Business Skills, High Availability Resilience, IT Leadership & Management, IT Strategy, Personal Development, Systems Management

10:45am CDT

How to Think Like a Tester
Tuesday April 28, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Balcony K
Evaluation Survey
Unit testing is one of the most valuable skills developers can have but, not all developers can unit test properly. Its a learned skill and a paradigm shift. This session will go over Unit testing, development practices and thought processes in relation to unit testing and finally how to break apart your code and unit test it!Learning Objectives:Develop the paradigm shift that will allow you to...
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Speakers
avatar for Marina Schwenk

Marina Schwenk

Senior Programmer/Analyst IBM i Admin, Innovative Software Solutions

Tuesday April 28, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Balcony K
  Program Testing, Programming: RPG

10:45am CDT

Let's Build an RPG Service Program
Tuesday April 28, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Studio 1-2
Evaluation Survey
Service programs have been around for quite some time. Perhaps you’ve even bumped into one in your professional travels. You will certainly find them on the road to application modernization. This session focuses on what they are, how to implement them and making them a regularly used asset during your application development. In this session we will discuss service programs, program signatures...
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Speakers
avatar for Charles Guarino

Charles Guarino

CEO & IBM Champion, Central Park Data Systems
Charles Guarino believes in the “power” of IBM Power Systems. His career reflects his dedication and interest in bringing the platform and its solutions to others and as a result has been recognized as an IBM Champion.

He is a member of COMMON’s Speaker Excellence Hall of Fame and a proud recipient of the Al Barsa Memorial Scholarship Award. Additionally, he participates on COMMON’s Strategic Education Team. Other professional endeavors have included the roles of President and monthly Q&A host... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Studio 1-2
  RPG, Programming: General

10:45am CDT

Case Study on Subsystem Configuration for HTTP Server instances and QSQSRVR Server Jobs
Tuesday April 28, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Galerie 1
Evaluation Survey
As applications are modernized, it is common to move from green screen interfaces to browser-based applications. In many cases, the associated HTTP server runs on the IBM i in the QHTTPSVR subsystem. These web applications access the database, perhaps directly, but also by using SQL CLI, which results in the database access running in an QSQSRVR jobs in the QSYSWRK subsystem. As environments...
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Speakers
avatar for Dawn May

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 →
avatar for Matthew Neill

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 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Galerie 1
  Systems Management, Systems Management

10:45am CDT

Compliance and Security on i - Automation is the Key
Tuesday April 28, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Studio 7-8
Evaluation Survey
 As digital threats evolve and regulatory pressures intensify, organizations running IBM i must adopt proactive, real-time strategies to safeguard their systems and ensure compliance. This session explores the cutting-edge technologies and practical techniques that enable continuous cybersecurity monitoring and enforcement on IBM i platforms.Attendees will gain actionable insights into...
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Speakers
avatar for Tim Hill

Tim Hill

Distinguished Engineer, Rocket Software
Tim Hill is a Distinguished Engineer and VP of Engineering at Rocket Software.  He’s responsible for security, cloud, and AI/ML products on Power and Z.  Technology areas of personal focus include model-based reasoning, deep learning, complex event correlation, network management... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Studio 7-8
  Systems Management

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,...
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Speakers
avatar for Ryan Moeller

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.
avatar for Justin Nelson

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 →
avatar for Scott Forstie

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 →
avatar for Ann Wilkerson

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.
avatar for Sanjula Ganepola

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 →
avatar for Tim Rowe

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

10:45am CDT

AI and Merge Conflicts in Git for RPG
Tuesday April 28, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Galerie 2
Evaluation Survey
AI has finally progressed to the point where it can be a useful tool for maaaging merge conflicts. Let's take a look at popular options and see how they can be used for the RPG language. What works and what doesn't? Ho can I optimize what's available for the best results? We will use real world examples and the currently available tooling to look at the options we have for dealing with the biggest...
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Speakers
avatar for Jeffrey Tickner

Jeffrey Tickner

Consultant, ARCAD Software
Jeff Tickner has worked in Change Management on the IBM I for 27 years at different companies. He  has long experience with all kinds Source Control and Change Management packages from SourceSafe to Subversion and of course, Git. Jeff currently works for ARCAD Software, an international... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Galerie 2
  Technologies Integrated with IBM i, DevOps, Programming: RPG, Technologies Integrated with IBM i

10:45am CDT

Power Processor Roadmap: Power11, Memory Architecture, Enterprise AI, and Chiplets
Tuesday April 28, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Galerie 6
Evaluation Survey
In this talk, Power Processor Chief Architect, William Starke, will describe the Power11 processor and the value drivers in the Power11 stack, including its advanced packaging technology, innovative memory architecture, and expanded AI strategy. Looking beyond Power11, he will provide details on the strength of Power’s emerging chiplet-based architecture, with comparisons to industry chiplet...
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Speakers
avatar for Bill Starke

Bill Starke

Power Processor Chief Architect, IBM
William Starke is an IBM Distinguished Engineer and Chief Architect for Power microprocessors. Since graduating from Michigan Tech University, Bill has been employed by IBM for over 30 years in several roles, spanning mainframe and Power systems performance analysis, logic design... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Galerie 6
  Technologies Integrated with IBM i, Hardware

10:45am CDT

Best Practice Design Principles for Browser-Based UIs on IBM i
Tuesday April 28, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Galerie 3
Evaluation Survey
Most seasoned RPG developers have mastered the principles behind 5250-based (green screen) display files, deftly incorporating function keys, multi-line folding subfiles, overlaying windows and creative field abbreviations into text-based interfaces. But today's users — particularly younger ones — tend to demand more intuitive, browser-based interfaces to get their work done. To be effective...
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Speakers
avatar for Robert Swanson

Robert Swanson

Senior Partner, CNX
Rob has worked as an in-the-trenches IBM i developer since 1992, with the past 15 years focused on developing modernization efforts for legacy systems written in RPG. Currently serving as Senior Partner for CNX Corporation in Chicago, Rob is a strong advocate of introducing highly... Read More →
avatar for Richard Milone

Richard Milone

Managing Partner, CNX
Richard Milone has worked as an application developer on the IBM i platform and its predecessors of various names for over 25 years. Richard served as Director of IT for Packaging Resources until co-founding CNX Corporation in Chicago in 1996, where his initial focus was on ERP enhancements... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Galerie 3
  UI, Programming: Frameworks, Programming: General, Programming: UI

11:45am CDT

Expo Open with Lunch
Tuesday April 28, 2026 11:45am - 1:45pm CDT
Grand Ballroom
We’re bringing a full pickleball court right to the Expo floor! The court will be available throughout the conference - even outside of official Expo hours. Whether you’re a seasoned player or picking up a paddle for the first time, come rally with fellow attendees. Watch social media and your inbox for details on joining the tournament bracket and competing head-to-head!Lunch will be served...
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Tuesday April 28, 2026 11:45am - 1:45pm CDT
Grand Ballroom
  Conference Events

11:50am CDT

Partner Solution Corner inside Expo
Tuesday April 28, 2026 11:50am - 1:45pm CDT
Partner Solution Corner in Grand Ballroom
Get the most up to date tools to maximize your systems.  Vendor Partner experts will be presenting 15 min Solution Sessions during mid-day and evening expo hours.  The Partner Solutions Corner is across from booth 111 and the daily schedule will be in your daily morning email.  Get all of your questions answered by knowledge leaders in POWER.
Tuesday April 28, 2026 11:50am - 1:45pm CDT
Partner Solution Corner in Grand Ballroom
  Conference Events

1:45pm CDT

Keynote: From Core to Catalyst: How IBM i Teams Can Lead the Next Wave of AI-Ready Modernization
Tuesday April 28, 2026 1:45pm - 2:45pm CDT
Mardi Gras Ballroom
Evaluation Survey
IBM i has been the backbone of enterprise stability, but shifting expectations now demand more. IT modernization has become a strategic priority, driving efficiency, innovation, and enhanced customer experiences. In the next two years, 25–30% of IT budgets will focus on AI readiness, cybersecurity, automation, and data optimization. For IBM i teams, this is both a challenge and an opportunity to...
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Speakers
avatar for Jeroen van Dun

Jeroen van Dun

IBM Champion & Product Manager, Rocket Software
avatar for Rashmi Agrawal

Rashmi Agrawal

Vice President – Engineering, App Mod Vice President – Engineering, App Mod, Rocket Software
Rashmi is a highly accomplished Global R&D leader with 26 years of experience driving product innovation and execution at enterprise-grade companies like IBM, Dell/EMC, and Rocket Software. Her expertise spans a wide range of products, including datacenter, cloud, AI, storage, developer... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 1:45pm - 2:45pm CDT
Mardi Gras Ballroom
  Conference Events

2:45pm CDT

Coffee Break
Tuesday April 28, 2026 2:45pm - 3:15pm CDT
Grand Ballroom

Tuesday April 28, 2026 2:45pm - 3:15pm CDT
Grand Ballroom
  Conference Events

3:15pm CDT

Beyond the Copilot: How Agentic Coding Automates Your Engineering Workflow
Tuesday April 28, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Galerie 1
Evaluation Survey
Most AI coding tools make you faster at writing code. CoderFlow does something different: it finishes the work — and it keeps working while you don't. In this webinar, we will walk through how CoderFlow, Profound Logic's enterprise agentic coding platform, executes the full engineering workflow autonomously. From compiling and testing to fixing failures and iterating until acceptance criteria...
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Speakers
avatar for Gary Jones

Gary Jones

Futurization Strategist, Profound Logic
Gary Jones believes in the transformative potential of the IBM i platform — not just as a legacy asset, but as a modern foundation for AI-driven business innovation. His career has been dedicated to helping IBM i shops move forward without leaving behind what makes the platform... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Galerie 1
  Artificial Intelligence (AI)

3:15pm CDT

IBM Bob: A Day in the Life of an IBM I Developer
Tuesday April 28, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Galerie 5
Evaluation Survey
Ann and Ryan are both developers in the IBM i development lab. They both have access to IBM Bob and have been exploring ways to leverage AI development assistance as a part of their daily development activities. Ann and Ryan will share areas of success and even things that did not work well. This session is intended to help you gain insight into how IBM Bob can be a valuable development partner.

Speakers
avatar for Ryan Moeller

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.
avatar for Ann Wilkerson

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.
Tuesday April 28, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Galerie 5
  Artificial Intelligence (AI), DevOps

3:15pm CDT

Client Server Communications in a Modern Secure World
Tuesday April 28, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Balcony K
Evaluation Survey
Host Servers are the servers you likely use, but don’t notice. They offer functionality that ranges from remotely running commands to managing data queues. Attend this presentation to learn about these important servers on your IBM i and how your application and workflows are likely utilizing them. Included in the presentation is the newest host server that enables Multi-Factor Authentication...
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Speakers
avatar for Wayne Bowers

Wayne Bowers

IBM i Global Support, IBM
Wayne Bowers has been with IBM since 1997, where he works with the IBM i Global Support Center in Rochester MN. He is an Advisory Software Engineer specializing in the support of the IBM i Access (aka Client Access) products, Console, the TCP Telnet communications server, and the... Read More →
avatar for Justin Nelson

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 →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Balcony K
  Client Connectivity

3:15pm CDT

SQL Views and UDTFs – Powerful Features for masking SQL Complexity
Tuesday April 28, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Balcony L
Evaluation Survey
SQL has become very powerful. It includes for example recursions, multi-dimensional grouping, OLAP specifications, IFS and Webservice access ... But not everybody will be able to code those complex queries ... and this is not necessary as long as the average programmer or analyst can easily use the queries. With SQL Views complexity can be hidden. Since a SQL View can be used in a SELECT statement...
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Speakers
avatar for Birgitta Hauser
Tuesday April 28, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Balcony L
  Database, Database

3:15pm CDT

Writing Programs with SQL Procedural Language
Tuesday April 28, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Galerie 6
Evaluation Survey
SQL includes a full-fledged programming language, SQL PL. Come learn about the programming constructs, including error handling, that this language contains. You will leave with all the knowledge you need to start writing your own SQL functions and procedures. Learning Objectives: Learn how to code in SQL PL (Procedural Language) from an RPG programmer perspective. You know how write an RPG IF,...
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Speakers
avatar for Kent Milligan

Kent Milligan

Senior Db2 for i Consultant, IBM
Kent Milligan is a Senior Db2 for i Consultant in IBM Technology Expert Labs. Kent has over 25 years of experience as a Db2 for IBM i consultant and developer working out of the IBM Rochester lab. Prior to re-joining the Db2 for i Expert Labs practice in 2020, Kent spent 5 years... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Galerie 6
  Database

3:15pm CDT

DB2 Mirror - Continuous Availability with Proven Business Outcomes
Tuesday April 28, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Studio 9-10
Evaluation Survey
Db2 Mirror for IBMi enables continuous availability for your mission-critical applications. Learn how Db2 Mirror synchronously mirrors database updates between two separate nodes in an active-active or active-passive (with read access on the secondary) mode. Presenting 2 case studies deigned to deliver near zero downtime and optimal application availability to their business. Learning Objectives:...
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Speakers
avatar for Richard Dolewski

Richard Dolewski

VP, Hybrid Enterprise Solutions, Lightedge
avatar for Scott Forstie

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 →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Studio 9-10
  High Availability Resilience, Database

3:15pm CDT

Beyond Legacy: Thriving in a Modern IBM i Career
Tuesday April 28, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Studio 7-8
Evaluation Survey
The IBM i platform is often seen as a legacy system, powerful but dated. As a young developer entering this space, I encountered that perception head-on. But what I found was a vibrant, evolving platform with modern tools, active communities, and incredible opportunities for growth. In this session, I’ll share my journey into the IBM i ecosystem: how I got started, the learning curve I faced...
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Speakers
avatar for Megan Olson

Megan Olson

Software Developer and Product Manager, Fortra
Megan Olson is a Software Engineer and Product Manager at Fortra. Megan began her career at Fortra in 2021 as a Software Engineer Intern after earning her degree in Software Development in 2020. She has a strong technical focus on system security, product development, and driving... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Studio 7-8
  IT Leadership and Management, Developing Business Skills, IT Strategy, Personal Development

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,...
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Speakers
avatar for Brandon Pederson

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 →
avatar for Heather Lavergne

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 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Balcony M-N
  NDA

3:15pm CDT

Pythonic Containers for Module Management (VENV)
Tuesday April 28, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Galerie 4
Evaluation Survey
Dependency management when operating multiple python projects can get crazy without a solid plan. In this session we will explore the world of Virtual Environments on IBM i and also the application of Jupyter Notebooks. These tools facilitate stable development and production of Python implementations. Learning Objectives: 1) Explore some of the complexities of Python Module version management....
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Speakers
avatar for Mike Pavlak

Mike Pavlak

Solution Architect, Programmers.io
Mike Pavlak has been working with IBM midrange solutions since 1992 and IBM Mainframes before that. After years of developing applications using RPG, CL and PHP he managed IT development and IT for power protection manufacturer Tripp Lite. Later Mike was instrumental in developing... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Galerie 4
  Python, DevOps

3:15pm CDT

Breaking Up a Monolith
Tuesday April 28, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Studio 1-2
Evaluation Survey
Every RPG shop has them. Most developers avoid them like the plague. Large monolithic programs are a significant source of technical debt in all RPG shops. They limit your agility which in turn is detrimental to your business. So, once you are ready to deal with the issue, where do you start? There is no one answer, but there are steps you can take to begin dismantling and repurposing the code...
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Speakers
avatar for Brian May

Brian May

Principal Technology Evangelist, Profound Logic
Professional IT Leader, Speaker and WriterSpecialties:Team Building, Development and RetentionTechnical SalesSolutions ArchitectureSoftware DevelopmentEnterprise Systems Manufacturing ProcessesApparel IndustryAccounting Principles
Tuesday April 28, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Studio 1-2
  RPG, Programming: RPG

3:15pm CDT

Transforming your Team with Procedure Driven RPG
Tuesday April 28, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Galerie 2
Evaluation Survey
RPG has always been about getting the job done, but shifting to a procedure-driven approach can completely change how you and your team build applications. In this session, we’ll start with the fundamentals of procedures and quickly move into real-world examples that highlight the benefits: improved readability, easier maintenance, and greater reusability. You’ll see how these advantages...
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Speakers
avatar for Gregory Simmons

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 →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Galerie 2
  RPG, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Programming: General, Programming: RPG

3:15pm CDT

A Practical Guide to IBM i Authority Collection
Tuesday April 28, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Studio 3-4
Evaluation Survey
This session explores practical applications for Authority Collection, including standard and "creative" use cases. Authority Collection can be used to reduce the security exposure of privileged user profiles and to lock down objects/libraries/IFS. This session covers the different types of authority collection, how to turn them on/off, how to review and understand the data, and how to turn that...
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Speakers
avatar for Steve Riedmueller

Steve Riedmueller

Director of Security Services, Kisco
Tuesday April 28, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Studio 3-4
  Security, Integrated File System (IFS), Security, Systems Management

3:15pm CDT

Can your IBM i Recover from a disaster
Tuesday April 28, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Balcony I-J
Evaluation Survey
Do you have what you need to recover from a disaster? It is too late to know if you have good backups when a disaster happens. Lets identify various types of disasters, how we store our backups, and what is needed for a recovery. We will start with the save, discuss the people you need, and where and how your recovery will occur. There are more things to a recovery than just your tapes. Learning...
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Speakers
avatar for Pete Massiello

Pete Massiello

IBM i Advisor, Massiello Holding Corp.
Pete Massiello has been working with the AS/400, iSeries, IBM i since 1989, focusing on systems management and technical support. He has held numerous technical positions through out his career. He is the President of iTech Solutions Group, an IBM Premier Business Partner delivering... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Balcony I-J
  Systems Management, Systems Management

3:15pm CDT

AI-Driven Observability for IBM i: From Alerts to Predictive Insights
Tuesday April 28, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Galerie 3
Evaluation Survey
Traditional IBM i monitoring often stops at surface-level events and alerts, such as CPU spikes or disk space warnings, leaving IT teams to diagnose the root cause. But what if you could predict issues well before they even show symptoms? By learning how your system behaves when healthy, AI-powered algorithms can Observe signals, detect subtle “heartbeat” patterns, and correlations between...
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Speakers
avatar for Maciej Wielgus

Maciej Wielgus

Omnilogy
Maciej Wielgus is an IT Architect at Omnilogy, where he spearheads development for i-Rays, the first observability platform developed for the IBM i ecosystem. He spent nearly 27 years as an AS400/IBM i SME and IT architect at IBM and another three years in the same role at Kyndryl... Read More →
avatar for Marek Walczak

Marek Walczak

General Manager for i-Rays, Omnilogy
Marek Walczak is a co‑author and serves as General Manager of i‑Rays, the first observability platform for the IBM i ecosystem, developed by Omnilogy. He has been deeply connected to the AS/400 and IBM i environment since the very beginning of his career. From 1997 to 2007, h... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Galerie 3
  Technologies Integrated with IBM i, Artificial Intelligence (AI), IT Leadership & Management, IT Strategy, Systems Management, Technologies Integrated with IBM i

4:30pm CDT

Demo of IBM i ACS IFS
Tuesday April 28, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Galerie 4
Evaluation Survey
Come and join Joey, IBM i ACS Support Team Member, as he presents a quick, live demo overviewing the usage and capabilities of IBM i Access Client Solutions IFS utility

Learning Objectives:

Gain familiarity with the IBM i ACS IFS utility
Speakers
avatar for Joey Fritz

Joey Fritz

IBM i Global Support, IBM
Joey joined the IBM i Global Support Center in 2021. He is a Technical Support Professional whose areas of expertise include Access Client Solutions, Console, and Navigator for i.
Tuesday April 28, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Galerie 4
  Client Connectivity

4:30pm CDT

Fostering Positive Relationships
Tuesday April 28, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Balcony L
Evaluation Survey
Positive healthy relationships are vital to success in everything you do: whether it is excelling in your career, creating a vibrant and energetic work environment, or having a happy and rewarding personal life. Learning how to interact with others in a way that is respectful and constructive is essential. Learning Objectives: 1) How to connect with others in a positive and proactive way 2) The...
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Speakers
avatar for Kim Greene

Kim Greene

President, Kim Greene Consulting, Inc.
Kim Greene is president of Kim Greene Consulting, Inc. specializing in providing consulting services for the HCL Collaboration Solutions portfolio for IBM i, Windows, and Linux. Kim has over 20 years of experience with IBM Domino and over 25 years of experience with the AS/400, iSeries... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Balcony L
  Developing Business Skills, Developing Business Skills

4:30pm CDT

The Secrets to Making the Most of Online Meetings
Tuesday April 28, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Studio 1-2
Evaluation Survey
Now that virtual meetings have become the new normal for so many of us, it's vital that we learn to make the most of this approach to getting things done. Whether you use Zoom, Teams, Webex, or another product, come to this session to learn the secrets to supercharging your online meeting productivity and getting results!Learning Objectives:In just 20 minutes, you'll learn: - How to plan your...
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Speakers
avatar for Steven Wolk

Steven Wolk

CTO, PC Richard & Son
Steven Wolk is the CTO for PC Richard & Son. Founded in 1909, PC Richard is a family owned and operated chain of over 65 appliance, electronics, and mattress superstores located throughout NY, NJ, CT, and PA. Steve's deep background in retail began on the sales floor while in college... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Studio 1-2
  Developing Business Skills, Developing Business Skills, Personal Development

4:30pm CDT

RPG Unit Testing Made Easy In VS Code
Tuesday April 28, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Galerie 3
Evaluation Survey
Join us for an in-depth look at the IBM i Testing VS Code extension and IBM i Testing CLI. In this session, we will demonstrate how you can now write and execute RPGUnit test suites (supporting both RPG and COBOL) directly within the editor using local files or source members. We will cover the basics of the RPGUnit test framework, showcase how to generate test stubs that make it easy to get...
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Speakers
avatar for Sanjula Ganepola

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 →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Galerie 3
  Program Testing, Program Testing, Programmer Tools

4:30pm CDT

How to Write Code That Doesn't Suck
Tuesday April 28, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Balcony K
Evaluation Survey
Great code doesn't just "work" - it survives change, catches mistakes early, and makes your future self say "thank you" instead of "who wrote this mess?". This session will dig into the habits that separate quick hacks from quality software. You'll learn why testing matters, how Test-Driven Development (TDD) can guide better design, and how to put it into practice with RPGUnit for the IBM i....
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Speakers
avatar for Patrick Behr

Patrick Behr

Senior Consultant & Instructor, Seiden Group & imPower Technologies
Tuesday April 28, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Balcony K
  RPG

4:30pm CDT

The 2040 Date Issue: Preparing IBM i Applications for the Next Pivot Year
Tuesday April 28, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Galerie 2
Evaluation Survey
The year 2040 may seem far off, but for IBM i professionals, it’s closer than you think. Many applications that use six-digit dates still rely on the “1940” pivot year rule — and that assumption will soon start causing real problems. In this session, Simon Hutchinson will explain why this issue matters, what systems and code are most at risk, and how to begin identifying potential trouble...
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Speakers
avatar for Simon Hutchinson

Simon Hutchinson

Founder & author, RPGPGM.COM
Simon Hutchinson has worked with IBM midrange servers and the RPG programming language since 1988—starting in the U.K. and continuing in the U.S. for over 35 years. He is best known for his long-running blog, RPGPGM.COM, where for more than 12 years he has shared practical insi... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Galerie 2
  RPG, Programming: RPG

4:30pm CDT

How AI is Transforming IBM i Security
Tuesday April 28, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Studio 7-8
Evaluation Survey
Artificial intelligence is reshaping the security landscape, and IBM i environments are no exception. As AI-driven technologies become integral to enterprise operations, they introduce both unprecedented opportunities and new vulnerabilities. This session examines how AI is influencing IBM i security—from accelerating threat detection and predictive risk analysis to redefining compliance and...
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Speakers
avatar for Sandi Moore

Sandi Moore

Sr. Solutions Engineer & IBM Power Champion, Fortra LLC
Sandi Moore is a Senior Solutions Engineer at Fortra with over 20 years of experience supporting systems monitoring and security software. She works extensively with IBM i environments and has been involved in product demonstrations, implementations, support, training, research, and... Read More →
avatar for Amy Williams

Amy Williams

Principal Security Consultant, Fortra LLC
Amy Williams is a Principal Security Services Consultant at Fortra, where she has worked since 2015. She holds CISSP, CISA, and PCI-P certifications and has nearly 30 years of experience on the IBM i platform across system administration, architecture, and application security in... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Studio 7-8
  Security, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Security

4:30pm CDT

Simplifying Access: Single Sign-On Strategies for IBM i
Tuesday April 28, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Balcony I-J
Evaluation Survey
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) can feel like a hassle. Users groan at the extra steps, while IT teams wrestle with implementation. On the other hand, Single Sign-On (SSO) is often seen as the holy grail of convenience: one login, seamless access. But what does SSO really look like on the IBM i platform? And how is it different from MFA—not just in function, but in purpose? This session will...
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Speakers
avatar for Hrithik Govardhan

Hrithik Govardhan

IBM Champion & Software Lead, Rocket Software
Long time Rocketeer working in the Security/MFA/Cloud spaces on Power and Z. Ask me anything about MFA and SSO on Z and i!
Tuesday April 28, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Balcony I-J
  Security, Networking

4:30pm CDT

Call Home Automation: Enablement, Enhancements, and Improvements
Tuesday April 28, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Galerie 1
Evaluation Survey
Call Home Automation is changing the way IBM systems detect and respond to issues, cutting down manual work and speeding up resolution. In this session, we will walk through what Call Home is, how the automation works behind the scenes, and how recent enhancements create an improved customer experience by improving accuracy, efficiency, and overall system reliability.We will cover how these...
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Speakers
avatar for Jeff Cummings

Jeff Cummings

IBM Global Power Call Home Lead, IBM
Jeff Cummings joined IBM in 2021. He is currently the IBM Global Power Call Home Lead, responsible for driving automation strategy and enhancing support operations across IBM Power Systems worldwide. He leads initiatives that reduce manual effort, improve response times, and deliver... Read More →
avatar for Karyn Corneli

Karyn Corneli

STSM Product Engineering IBM Power Systems (HMC), IBM
With nearly three decades of technical leadership at IBM,  Karyn specializes in the HMC product line. Her career spans from support center operations to Product Engineering, giving her a unique perspective of the platform.  She transforms real-world client challenges into product... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Galerie 1
  Systems Management

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...
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Speakers
avatar for Dawn May

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 →
avatar for Matthew Neill

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

4:30pm CDT

License Management with Navigator for i
Tuesday April 28, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Galerie 5
Evaluation Survey
With the transition from perpetual to subscription-based licensing, system administrators must stay informed about license expiration dates. Navigator for i has introduced several interface enhancements that make it easier to identify when operating system and other licenses are nearing expiration. In this session, we’ll showcase these improvements through a live demo, helping you stay ahead of...
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Speakers
avatar for Ann Wilkerson

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.
Tuesday April 28, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Galerie 5
  Systems Management

4:30pm CDT

Running Large Language Models (LLMs) on IBM i
Tuesday April 28, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Galerie 6
Evaluation Survey
Learn how to deploy LLMs directly on IBM i and integrate with your Db2 integration.

Learning Objectives:

Learn how to deploy LLMs directly on IBM i and integrate with your Db2 integration.
Speakers
avatar for Adam Shedivy

Adam Shedivy

Software Developer, IBM
Adam is a software Developer working on Agentic AI solutions for IBM i
Tuesday April 28, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Galerie 6
  Technologies Integrated with IBM i, Technologies Integrated with IBM i

4:30pm CDT

Why Power 11 is the best hardware for AI
Tuesday April 28, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Studio 9-10
Evaluation Survey
In this session, Power Processor Chief Architect, William Starke, will discuss Power11's AI-focused hardware capabilities.
Speakers
avatar for Bill Starke

Bill Starke

Power Processor Chief Architect, IBM
William Starke is an IBM Distinguished Engineer and Chief Architect for Power microprocessors. Since graduating from Michigan Tech University, Bill has been employed by IBM for over 30 years in several roles, spanning mainframe and Power systems performance analysis, logic design... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Studio 9-10
  Technologies Integrated with IBM i, Hardware, Technologies Integrated with IBM i

4:30pm CDT

Transforming 5250 Screens to React Framework with AI based tools
Tuesday April 28, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Studio 3-4
Evaluation Survey
While we did a lot of Projects in the past two years where we used various AI Technologies in different ways, we also created a little tool that is able to convert your 5250 Display Files to html and then create React components out of that as well as other target UI Frameworks. Some might say that is not that hard, because 5250 DSPF DDS is not that complicated and you are right. Back in 2009 I...
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Speakers
avatar for Markus Litters

Markus Litters

CEO, i and me - IT Training and Solutions GmbH
I start working with IBM POWER Servers and IBM i since I was 19 back in 1990 when it was called IBM AS/400 and from the beginning I was focused on Integrating the System with everything else (first of all DOS PC's, then Windows PC's and HP Unix and so on) and to modernize the existing... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Studio 3-4
  UI, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Programmer Tools, Programming: Frameworks, Programming: General, Programming: RPG, Programming: UI, Technologies Integrated with IBM i

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...
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Speakers
avatar for Rick Hurckes

Rick Hurckes

Services Director, mrc
Tuesday April 28, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Balcony M-N
  Artificial Intelligence (AI)

5:05pm CDT

Demo of IBM i ACS Printer Output
Tuesday April 28, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Galerie 4
Evaluation Survey
Come and join Wayne, IBM i ACS Support Team Lead, as he presents a quick, live demo over-viewing the usage and capabilities of IBM i ACS Printer Output

Learning Objectives:

Gain Familiarity with IBM i Access Client Solutions Printer Output
Speakers
avatar for Wayne Bowers

Wayne Bowers

IBM i Global Support, IBM
Wayne Bowers has been with IBM since 1997, where he works with the IBM i Global Support Center in Rochester MN. He is an Advisory Software Engineer specializing in the support of the IBM i Access (aka Client Access) products, Console, the TCP Telnet communications server, and the... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Galerie 4
  Client Connectivity

5:05pm CDT

How many indexes is too many?
Tuesday April 28, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Galerie 6
Evaluation Survey
The creation of indexes can have a positive impact on query performance. However, an index also has a cost since it has to be maintained every time rows in the associated table are inserted, deleted and updated. This session will the discuss indexing tradeoffs including the review of a benchmark test created to quantify the positive & negative impacts of indexes. In addition, you will learn about...
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Speakers
avatar for Kent Milligan

Kent Milligan

Senior Db2 for i Consultant, IBM
Kent Milligan is a Senior Db2 for i Consultant in IBM Technology Expert Labs. Kent has over 25 years of experience as a Db2 for IBM i consultant and developer working out of the IBM Rochester lab. Prior to re-joining the Db2 for i Expert Labs practice in 2020, Kent spent 5 years... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Galerie 6
  Database

5:05pm CDT

Make RUNSQLSTM Even Better Using CL Commands
Tuesday April 28, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Balcony L
Evaluation Survey
The RUNSQLSTM command lets you run multiple SQL statements in a single call, like a script. You can do even more now by calling CL commands directly. See how this can expand your options.

Learning Objectives:

1. Learn how to use the RUNSQLSTM command in CL programs 2. Learn how to call CL commands inside RUNSQLSTM scripts 3. Learn how to handle errors raised when using RUNSQLSTM
Speakers
avatar for Vern Hamberg

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 →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Balcony L
  Database, Programming: General

5:05pm CDT

SQL - Final/Old/New Table Statement
Tuesday April 28, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Balcony K
Evaluation Survey
Have you ever wanted the ability to see which records were affected by an Insert, Update, or Delete statement? Data Change Table References (FINAL/OLD/NEW Table) statements were created for this exact purpose. Join me in this session to learn how to use these statements.Learning Objectives:
  1. Learn how and when to use an SQL FINAL/OLD/NEW Table statement

Speakers
avatar for Mike Zaringhalam

Mike Zaringhalam

Developer, PC Richard & Son
Have you ever wanted to meet someone who started Hawaiian Shirt Fridays at their work place? 
If the answer is 'Yes!', then feel free to reach out with any questions you have regarding Hawaiian shirts... Or IBM i related topics. 
My main focuses are RDi, DB2, Modernization, and D... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Balcony K
  Database

5:05pm CDT

The Secrets to Negotiating and Resolving Workplace Conflict
Tuesday April 28, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Studio 1-2
Evaluation Survey
Do you dread the thought of negotiating on your own behalf? Are you unsure of the best ways to handle conflict in the workplace? If you answered yes to either of these questions, then you need to attend this session! We'll cover time-tested techniques for negotiations and conflict resolution that could change your life!Learning Objectives:In just 20 minutes, you'll: - Learn to consider the value...
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Speakers
avatar for Steven Wolk

Steven Wolk

CTO, PC Richard & Son
Steven Wolk is the CTO for PC Richard & Son. Founded in 1909, PC Richard is a family owned and operated chain of over 65 appliance, electronics, and mattress superstores located throughout NY, NJ, CT, and PA. Steve's deep background in retail began on the sales floor while in college... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Studio 1-2
  Developing Business Skills, Developing Business Skills, IT Leadership & Management, Personal Development

5:05pm CDT

Supercharging CL with SQL: Modern Techniques for Everyday Tasks
Tuesday April 28, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Galerie 1
Evaluation Survey
Did you know your CL programs can run SQL statements directly — no RPG required? In this quick, practical session, you’ll learn how to combine the simplicity of CL with the power of SQL to automate and simplify everyday IBM i operations. Simon will demonstrate how to use the RUNSQL and RUNSQLSTM commands to perform tasks such as clearing or updating data, saving results to output files, and...
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Speakers
avatar for Simon Hutchinson

Simon Hutchinson

Founder & author, RPGPGM.COM
Simon Hutchinson has worked with IBM midrange servers and the RPG programming language since 1988—starting in the U.K. and continuing in the U.S. for over 35 years. He is best known for his long-running blog, RPGPGM.COM, where for more than 12 years he has shared practical insi... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Galerie 1
  General Programming

5:05pm CDT

Extend the Integrated File System by Writing Your Own!
Tuesday April 28, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Galerie 5
Evaluation Survey
Do you want a file system that writes and reads data from the cloud? Are you unhappy with the currently provided file systems on the IBM i? Well, now you can your own file systems! Attend this presentation to learn about the newest addition to the IBM i integrated file system (IFS): the User-Written File System (UWFS). This will give you the ability to write your own file systems with their own...
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Speakers
avatar for Justin Nelson

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

5:05pm CDT

Mapping Cross-System Interactions with Static Analysis and AI Assistance
Tuesday April 28, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Studio 3-4
Evaluation Survey
Modern IBM i environments depend on complex data exchanges across systems. Static analysis—and now AI—can help map these interactions, but AI is not magic. This session focuses on combining automated insight with AI techniques to trace and document system connections, whether through messaging (MQ), APIs, or batch managed file transfer processes. We’ll show how to rebuild missing...
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Speakers
avatar for John Rhodes

John Rhodes

CTO, CM First Group
Long time IBM i and z engineer. Work with Broadcom software primarily (CA 2E, Synon, CA Plex, CA Gen). Also Java and VSCode.
Tuesday April 28, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Studio 3-4
  Programmer Tools, Artificial Intelligence (AI)

5:05pm CDT

Why Procedures Are Better Than Subroutines
Tuesday April 28, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Galerie 3
Evaluation Survey
Discover the super powers that procedures have(and subroutines don't) and how they can help you create more reliable and more easily maintained programs. We'll talk about the benefits of input parameters: local variables, and return values, error handling with on-exit, and increased functionality with recursion. Learning Objectives: 1. The benefits of using procedures 2. How to create a...
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Speakers
avatar for Patrick Behr

Patrick Behr

Senior Consultant & Instructor, Seiden Group & imPower Technologies
Tuesday April 28, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Galerie 3
  RPG

5:05pm CDT

IBM i 7.6 System Service Tools (SST/DST) Integrated MFA
Tuesday April 28, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Studio 7-8
Evaluation Survey
This session will cover how to configure and use the new MFA support inside of SST. This is a first great bite to take on the way to full system MFA.

Learning Objectives:

Understand how to setup and configure MFA in IBM i SST
Speakers
avatar for Robert Andrews

Robert Andrews

Principal Security Consultant, IBM
Robert Andrews is a Principal Security Consultant, Senior Technical Staff Member (STSM), and Team Lead for the IBM i Security Expert Labs team in Rochester, MN. An IBM Certified Thought Leader and The Open Group Distinguished Technical Specialist, Robert has specialized in IT security... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Studio 7-8
  Security, Security

5:05pm CDT

BRMS Recoveries
Tuesday April 28, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Galerie 2
Evaluation Survey
There's so much to cover in BRMS when setting up the backups that discussing recoveries sometimes gets lost. In this 20 minute session we will focus solely on the recovery process for both full system and single item recoveries. A few tips and tricks for making sure that you are able to recover exactly what you need when you need. Learning Objectives: 1. Learn the steps to a full system recovery...
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Speakers
avatar for Sarah Jacob

Sarah Jacob

VP of Customer Experience, Agile Technology Architects
Sarah Jacob is the Vice President of Customer Experience at Agile Technology Architects. She is a Subject Matter Expert in Power Systems Administration and a volunteer for COMMON. Sarah specializes in Backup and Recovery planning and recovery testing. Additionally, she acts as primary... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Galerie 2
  Systems Management

5:05pm CDT

Modernizing IBM i Backups with IBM Cloud Storage Solutions for i
Tuesday April 28, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Balcony I-J
Evaluation Survey
Move on from tape drives, cartridges, and courier services. In this session, you'll learn how Cloud Storage Solutions (ICC) can securely back up your IBM i systems to the cloud—simplifying your backup process and reducing reliance on legacy infrastructure. If you're already in PowerVS, then cloud storage isn't just convenient—it’s essential. We'll walk through how to use Backup,...
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Speakers
avatar for Hrithik Govardhan

Hrithik Govardhan

IBM Champion & Software Lead, Rocket Software
Long time Rocketeer working in the Security/MFA/Cloud spaces on Power and Z. Ask me anything about MFA and SSO on Z and i!
Tuesday April 28, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Balcony I-J
  Systems Management

5:05pm CDT

Using System Monitors in Navigator for i
Tuesday April 28, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Studio 9-10
Evaluation Survey
Learn how to create and work with System Monitors in IBM Navigator for i. Also learn how to use the Performance Data Investigator (PDI) visualization tool to view System Monitor data.

Learning Objectives:
1. How to create a System Monitor
2. How to view system monitor data
Speakers
avatar for Shauna Rollings

Shauna Rollings

Senior Software Engineer - IBM i Performance Tools & High Availability Development, IBM
Shauna joined the IBM i development team in 2008. She has developed and supported IBM i performance data collector tools throughout her entire IBM career. From the very beginning of the Db2 Mirror for i project, she has also been the technical team lead for the Db2 Mirror Configuration... Read More →
Tuesday April 28, 2026 5:05pm - 5:25pm CDT
Studio 9-10
  Systems Management

5:30pm CDT

All Attendee Reception in the Expo
Tuesday April 28, 2026 5:30pm - 8:00pm CDT
Grand Ballroom
We’re bringing a full pickleball court right to the Expo floor! The court will be available throughout the conference - even outside of official Expo hours. Whether you’re a seasoned player or picking up a paddle for the first time, come rally with fellow attendees. Watch social media and your inbox for details on joining the tournament bracket and competing head-to-head!
Tuesday April 28, 2026 5:30pm - 8:00pm CDT
Grand Ballroom
  Conference Events

5:40pm CDT

Partner Solution Corner inside Expo
Tuesday April 28, 2026 5:40pm - 7:55pm CDT
Partner Solution Corner in Grand Ballroom
Get the most up to date tools to maximize your systems.  Vendor Partner experts will be presenting 15 min Solution Sessions during mid-day and evening expo hours.  The Partner Solutions Corner is across from booth 111 and the daily schedule will be in your daily morning email.  Get all of your questions answered by knowledge leaders in POWER.
Tuesday April 28, 2026 5:40pm - 7:55pm CDT
Partner Solution Corner in Grand Ballroom
  Conference Events
 
Wednesday, April 29
 

8:00am CDT

Explain It Like I'm 5 - Strategies for Successful Communication
Wednesday April 29, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Galerie 1
Evaluation Survey
While many developers would love to never speak to another human being, it is inevitable that someday they will have to. When software engineers leave their cubicles or home offices or whatever dark cave they write code in, they'll need the skills to communicate effectively. Communication skills come in handy even if you're sending an email instead of just standing up and walking 10ft to a...
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Speakers
avatar for Anna Marrah

Anna Marrah

Marketing Consultant, Midrange Dynamics
Anna has a background in marketing, communications, sales, and membership promotion. She became acquainted with the IBM i community when she began working for COMMON as their Marketing Manager. During her time at COMMON, she spearheaded the revival of the IBM i professionals’ group... Read More →
avatar for Justin Becker

Justin Becker

Senior Software Developer/Analyst, M.R. Williams, Inc.
I'm a multi-instrumentalist who plays drums in an extreme metal band, a locksport enthusiast, a philosophy nerd, and an avid reader.
I also enjoy hiking, kayaking, archery, and boating.
I'm an advocate for accessible education (Join N2i right now. Do it.) and a member of the COMMON... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Galerie 1
  Developing Business Skills

8:00am CDT

JavaScript 101: First Look from an RPG Perspective
Wednesday April 29, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Studio 9-10
Evaluation Survey
Since its introduction 30 years ago, JavaScript has fast become the most prominent programming language on the Internet. You would be hard-pressed to find a single page on the web today that does not employ some amount of JavaScript code. Learning JavaScript, along with basic HTML and CSS concepts, should thus be at the top of the to-do list for every RPG developer looking to get started with...
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Speakers
avatar for Robert Swanson

Robert Swanson

Senior Partner, CNX
Rob has worked as an in-the-trenches IBM i developer since 1992, with the past 15 years focused on developing modernization efforts for legacy systems written in RPG. Currently serving as Senior Partner for CNX Corporation in Chicago, Rob is a strong advocate of introducing highly... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Studio 9-10
  General Programming

8:00am CDT

SQL Services for the Developer
Wednesday April 29, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Balcony M-N
Evaluation Survey
IBM i offers a wide array of SQL services to allow programmers to interact with database and system resources. In today’s modern SQL world, SQL can replace coding to many APIs, all while being more flexible and easier to use. This session will cover a wide variety of powerful SQL services, including how to view and manage data areas and data queues, an example of interacting with IFS files,...
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Speakers
avatar for Ryan Moeller

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.
Wednesday April 29, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Balcony M-N
  General Programming, Database

8:00am CDT

Navigating the HA/DR Maze: Make the Right Move
Wednesday April 29, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Studio 1-2
Evaluation Survey
In today’s ever-evolving IT landscape, ensuring continuous business operations requires a strategic approach to High Availability (HA) and Disaster Recovery (DR). With a growing array of technologies, both on-premises and in the cloud, choosing the right solution can feel like navigating a maze. This session will guide you through the key considerations for building a resilient HA/DR strategy....
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Speakers
avatar for Brian Nordland

Brian Nordland

Director of Development, Fortra
Brian Nordland is the Director of Development for IBM Power Development at Fortra. Brian has been a prominent speaker at events, webinars, and user groups, including COMMON and LUG for over a decade. He is a co-inventor on multiple patents and has authored technical publications in... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Studio 1-2
  High Availability Resilience

8:00am CDT

Learn How to Identify IBM i Security Gaps and Prove Compliance
Wednesday April 29, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Balcony L
Evaluation Survey
Not sure how secure your IBM i system really is—or how to prove it during an audit? This session is your roadmap to evaluating your system’s security posture with clarity. We’ll break down key IBM i security concepts like authority management, object security, audit trails, function usage, and authentication using Navigator for i. Learn how to interpret audit requests, uncover hidden...
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Speakers
avatar for Amy Williams

Amy Williams

Principal Security Consultant, Fortra LLC
Amy Williams is a Principal Security Services Consultant at Fortra, where she has worked since 2015. She holds CISSP, CISA, and PCI-P certifications and has nearly 30 years of experience on the IBM i platform across system administration, architecture, and application security in... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Balcony L
  Security, Security

8:00am CDT

A Journey to the Truth....with AI and Ansible!
Wednesday April 29, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Studio 3-4
Evaluation Survey
Sometimes, the answer to a tricky problem is right in front of you - you just have to know where to look. That’s what the team at PC Richard & Son discovered while rolling out our next-generation POS solution to our fleet of IBM i systems using Ansible. Everything was going well until we hit a hardware issue on one IBM Power Server. Fixing that single machine was easy, but figuring out if the...
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Speakers
avatar for Steven Wolk

Steven Wolk

CTO, PC Richard & Son
Steven Wolk is the CTO for PC Richard & Son. Founded in 1909, PC Richard is a family owned and operated chain of over 65 appliance, electronics, and mattress superstores located throughout NY, NJ, CT, and PA. Steve's deep background in retail began on the sales floor while in college... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Studio 3-4
  Systems Management, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Programmer Tools, Storage Technologies, Systems Management, Technologies Integrated with IBM i

8:00am CDT

Using Performance Data Investigator in IBM Navigator for i
Wednesday April 29, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Galerie 4
Evaluation Survey
In this session, you will hear about visualizing performance data using Performance Data Investigator (PDI) in IBM Navigator for i. While I demonstrate some of the key features, you will be learning the basics of how to use Performance Data Investigator (PDI) to perform performance analysis and view performance trends over time.Topic teasers: collection services, graph history, export, stacking,...
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Speakers
avatar for Shauna Rollings

Shauna Rollings

Senior Software Engineer - IBM i Performance Tools & High Availability Development, IBM
Shauna joined the IBM i development team in 2008. She has developed and supported IBM i performance data collector tools throughout her entire IBM career. From the very beginning of the Db2 Mirror for i project, she has also been the technical team lead for the Db2 Mirror Configuration... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Galerie 4
  Systems Management

8:00am CDT

AI Is Probabilistic — Your Testing Shouldn’t Be: Mitigating Risk in the Age of Uncertainty
Wednesday April 29, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Galerie 6
Evaluation Survey
As AI becomes part of the enterprise stack, the risk of “black box” behavior grows. This session explores how rigorous, automated testing brings control and clarity to AI-enabled systems — especially when the IBM i is part of the critical infrastructure. We'll discuss: - Why traditional QA doesn’t work on AI-driven processes — and what does - How to validate AI behavior with...
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Speakers
avatar for Pascal Polverini

Pascal Polverini

CTO, POLVERINI & PARTNERS
With thirty years of professional experience in North America, Europe and Australia Pascal Polverini has a strong experience in digital transformation, strategy roadmap and planning, end-to-end software architectures, with expertise on DB, programming languages, communication protocols... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Galerie 6
  Technologies Integrated with IBM i, Artificial Intelligence (AI), IT Leadership & Management, IT Strategy, Technologies Integrated with IBM i

8:00am CDT

IBM i Client Innovation Stories
Wednesday April 29, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Galerie 3
Evaluation Survey
IBM i clients around the world in industries such as retail, distribution, consumer products, and more continued to innovate throughout 2025. These organizations leveraged open source technologies and infused AI into their business processes to modernize operations, automate routine tasks, and boost productivity in new ways. From smarter automation to cloud optimization, IBM i continues to evolve...
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Speakers
avatar for Steve Will

Steve Will

IBM i CTO & Chief Architect, IBM

avatar for Brandon Pederson

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 →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Galerie 3
  Technologies Integrated with IBM i, IT Leadership & Management, IT Strategy, Technologies Integrated with IBM i

8:00am CDT

IBM i ACS: From Soup to Nuts
Wednesday April 29, 2026 8:00am - 10:15am CDT
Studio 7-8
Evaluation Survey
Come and join us for this mini-Workshop on a range of IBM i Access Client Solutions topics.  Some of the topics covered will include Functional Overview; Deployment: Securing Functions; Administration; Scripting Functions and Q&A.

Learning Objectives:  Become more familiar with several IBM i ACS topics like Deployment, Securing Functions, Administration and Scripting Functions
Speakers
avatar for Wayne Bowers

Wayne Bowers

IBM i Global Support, IBM
Wayne Bowers has been with IBM since 1997, where he works with the IBM i Global Support Center in Rochester MN. He is an Advisory Software Engineer specializing in the support of the IBM i Access (aka Client Access) products, Console, the TCP Telnet communications server, and the... Read More →
avatar for Joey Fritz

Joey Fritz

IBM i Global Support, IBM
Joey joined the IBM i Global Support Center in 2021. He is a Technical Support Professional whose areas of expertise include Access Client Solutions, Console, and Navigator for i.
Wednesday April 29, 2026 8:00am - 10:15am CDT
Studio 7-8
  Client Connectivity

8:00am CDT

Getting Started VS Code and IBM i Workshop
Wednesday April 29, 2026 8:00am - 10:15am CDT
Galerie 5
Evaluation Survey
Dive into VS Code and CODE for IBM i / DB2 extensions with this perfect starter Lab. Many RPG developers are unfamiliar with VS Code, and beginning with this IDE can feel daunting. This lab offers a introduction to both VS Code and the Code for IBM i / DB2 development environment. To Participate the attendee MUST BRING A LAPTOP! The attendee will receive access to an IBM i system to engage in lab...
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Speakers
avatar for Michelle Lyons

Michelle Lyons

COO, imPower Technologies


avatar for Jim Buck

Jim Buck

CEO & Head Instructor, imPower Technologies

Jim Buck’s career in IT has spanned more than 35+ years, primarily in college education, manufacturing, and healthcare industries. Past president (13 years) of the Wisconsin Midrange Computer Professional Association (www.wmcpa.org) and has served on several teams developing IBM... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 8:00am - 10:15am CDT
Galerie 5
  Programmer Tools, IT Strategy, Personal Development, Programmer Tools, Programming: General

8:00am CDT

SYSTOOLS Services
Wednesday April 29, 2026 8:00am - 10:15am CDT
Balcony I-J
Evaluation Survey
With the last releases and technology refreshes IBM provided a bunch of new IBM i and Db2 Services. A lot of these Services provide functionalities that are not directly available in RPG or can only be implemented in RPG by calling complex System APIs and/or by using pointer handling for accessing the data. However, IBM provides new SQL services mostly located in the SYSTOOLS schema that can write...
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Speakers
avatar for Birgitta Hauser
Wednesday April 29, 2026 8:00am - 10:15am CDT
Balcony I-J
  RPG, Database, Programming: RPG

8:00am CDT

IBM i Integrated MFA Solution
Wednesday April 29, 2026 8:00am - 10:15am CDT
Galerie 2
Evaluation Survey
The exciting new 7.6 IBM i integrated MFA solution includes multiple features. Come learn what is possible and how the features can be combined to secure your system. We will Deep Dive on TOTP. The integrated IBM i MFA solution's primary new feature is Time-based One Time Password (TOTP) authentication implemented as a user profile attribute. We will discuss details on the implementation and...
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Speakers
avatar for Robert Andrews

Robert Andrews

Principal Security Consultant, IBM
Robert Andrews is a Principal Security Consultant, Senior Technical Staff Member (STSM), and Team Lead for the IBM i Security Expert Labs team in Rochester, MN. An IBM Certified Thought Leader and The Open Group Distinguished Technical Specialist, Robert has specialized in IT security... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 8:00am - 10:15am CDT
Galerie 2
  Security, Security

8:00am CDT

Managing the startup and shutdown of IBM i
Wednesday April 29, 2026 8:00am - 10:15am CDT
Balcony K
Evaluation Survey
In days gone by the IBM supplied program QSTRUP combined with a couple options on CHGIPLA was good enough for most IBM i shops. It started what seemed to be needed and anything else we stumbled through after each IPL. When it was time to shut down a PWRDWNSYS or ENDSBS command took down whatever was running. We were happy. Today though we often see dozens of subsytems running many web servers,...
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Speakers
avatar for Larry Bolhuis

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 →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 8:00am - 10:15am CDT
Balcony K
  Systems Management, High Availability Resilience, Networking, Security, Systems Management, Virtualization

9:15am CDT

Work Faster on IBM i: Using AI to Analyze, Modernize, and Deliver More
Wednesday April 29, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Galerie 4
Evaluation Survey
AI is quickly becoming a practical tool for improving how IBM i teams analyze, modernize and deliver applications. But knowing where it fits and how to apply it effectively is key. In this session, we will examine how AI can be used to interpret complex IBM i code, generate meaningful documentation, and assist in modernization initiatives. We will also cover how these capabilities can be...
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Speakers
avatar for Chris Koppe

Chris Koppe

SVP Strategy Services, Fresche Solutions
Chris Koppe is responsible for developing client transformation strategies at Fresche Solutions. He has led the development of legacy management strategies for hundreds of companies, across a variety of platforms, languages, databases, and technologies. This insight has allowed Chris... Read More →
avatar for Steve Cast

Steve Cast

Practice Director/Treasurer Common Europe, Fresche Solutions
I lead the European team at Fresche Solutions, one of the world's largest IBM i dedicated teams outside of IBM.

In my role as Practice Director of Fresche Europe, I continue to build on the success of my 40+ years of working in this sector, by combining the comprehensive IBM i too

... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Galerie 4
  Artificial Intelligence (AI)

9:15am CDT

Visual Explain - IBM's SQL Performance Show-&-Tell
Wednesday April 29, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Studio 3-4
Evaluation Survey
For many years now IBM have positioned SQL as the primary interface to the database on IBM i. At the same time, new capabilities are being added only to SQL, not to the native database interface. We need a different tool to understand and analyze query implementation plans and feedback from the optimizer – the SQL component that determines the most effective way to deliver the data we ask for in...
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Speakers
avatar for Vern Hamberg

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 →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Studio 3-4
  Database, Programming: RPG

9:15am CDT

AI on Power
Wednesday April 29, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Studio 1-2
Evaluation Survey
The speaker's insights into running AI workloads on Power. Some history of how the Power approach to Machine Learning, Large Language Models, and Transformers evolved up to Power 11 and Spyre.

Learning Objectives:

1. Python libraries for AI on Power 2. CPU/MMA support for AI on Power 3. Spyre on Power
Speakers
avatar for Jack Woehr

Jack Woehr

Senior Engineer / Senior Consultant, Consulting to Procern Technology Solutions and Seiden Group LLC
40+ years development. IBM Champion 2021-2026.
IBM Qiskit Advocate since 2019. Secretary, OpenQASM Technical Steering Committee. MongoDB Creator status. Prolific Open Source creator/contributor. Former Contributing Editor, Dr. Dobb's Journal.
Consult on IBM i AI modernization... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Studio 1-2
  General Programming, Artificial Intelligence (AI)

9:15am CDT

Node 101: Getting started on IBM i
Wednesday April 29, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Studio 9-10
Evaluation Survey
Node.js empowers IBM i developers to build modern web services and APIs, leveraging a vast ecosystem of ready-to-use packages via npm (Node Package Manager). This session introduces Node.js through an RPG perspective, demonstrating a simple web service that queries a physical file on IBM i using the idb-connector module and serves JSON data to a browser. The instructor will showcase Node.js...
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Speakers
avatar for Robert Swanson

Robert Swanson

Senior Partner, CNX
Rob has worked as an in-the-trenches IBM i developer since 1992, with the past 15 years focused on developing modernization efforts for legacy systems written in RPG. Currently serving as Senior Partner for CNX Corporation in Chicago, Rob is a strong advocate of introducing highly... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Studio 9-10
  General Programming

9:15am CDT

Building Your AI-Powered IBM i Knowledge Base: Preserving Expertise Before It Retires
Wednesday April 29, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Galerie 1
Evaluation Survey
Your senior developers hold decades of business logic in their heads. When they retire, that knowledge walks out the door. But what if you could capture that expertise in an AI system that new developers could query? In this session, we'll show you how to build intelligent documentation systems that preserve institutional knowledge. You'll see how AI can analyze existing applications to extract...
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Speakers
avatar for Aaron Magid

Aaron Magid

Chief Architect, Eradani
Aaron Magid, Chief Architect at Eradani, has over a decade of experience in software development and technology. He specializes in modernizing legacy systems like IBM i/AS400 using Python, Node.js, and Java. Aaron excels in bridging old and new technologies together for clients, helping... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Galerie 1
  IT Strategy, Artificial Intelligence (AI), IT Leadership & Management, IT Strategy

9:15am CDT

Agentic AI: Let's Design the Future
Wednesday April 29, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Balcony M-N
Evaluation Survey
The IBM i team wants to try something with the participants of POWERUp. We have a chance, at this conference, to collaborate with you on the kinds of things you'd like to see IBM i accomplish with AI in the future. Come to this session to participate as we use collaboration and design concepts to dream about what IBM i might do in the future.

Speakers
avatar for Steve Will

Steve Will

IBM i CTO & Chief Architect, IBM

avatar for Kris Whitney

Kris Whitney

IBM
Kris Whitney is a Senior Technical Staff Member at IBM Rochester. He is currently the IBM i Chief Engineer
avatar for Adam Shedivy

Adam Shedivy

Software Developer, IBM
Adam is a software Developer working on Agentic AI solutions for IBM i
avatar for Brandon Pederson

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 →
avatar for Jesse Gorzinski

Jesse Gorzinski

STSM and Senior Business Architect - AI and Open Source, IBM
Experienced business architect from IBM and a specialist in the IBM i platform. My passion is enabling enterprises to adopt artificial intelligence and open source technologies.
Wednesday April 29, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Balcony M-N
  NDA, Artificial Intelligence (AI)

9:15am CDT

Making the most of DCM certificate resources
Wednesday April 29, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Balcony L
Evaluation Survey
These days, using TLS to secure connections is a required practice. But if you are unfamiliar with generating public and private keys, working with certificates and using DCM to secure your IBM i apps, things can be a little intimidating. What if I do it wrong? How can I use third party certificate providers and how does it all work with my domain registrar? There are many moving parts in the TLS...
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Speakers
avatar for Pete Helgren

Pete Helgren

Owner/Consultant, Value Added Software
Pete is a developer with broad experience across multiple languages and platforms, including over 30 years of system 3X/AS400/iSeries/IBM i experience. He holds certifications as a GIAC Cloud Penetration Tester, GIAC Secure Software Programmer-Java, AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Balcony L
  Security, Security

9:15am CDT

Basics of System Adminstration for Programmers
Wednesday April 29, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Galerie 3
Evaluation Survey
Are you a programmer now responsible for administrating your IBM I system? Would you happen to know what you need to manage the system successfully? What commands do I need to know? This session will cover the basics of System Administration that you need to know to manage your IBM i. You can learn what you need to know to do your system's daily care and feeding.Learning Objectives:1.) Understand...
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Speakers
avatar for Pete Massiello

Pete Massiello

IBM i Advisor, Massiello Holding Corp.
Pete Massiello has been working with the AS/400, iSeries, IBM i since 1989, focusing on systems management and technical support. He has held numerous technical positions through out his career. He is the President of iTech Solutions Group, an IBM Premier Business Partner delivering... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Galerie 3
  Systems Management

9:15am CDT

How to Validate and Control AI Uncertainty from BOB or Any LLM for Reliable Business Outcomes
Wednesday April 29, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Galerie 6
Evaluation Survey
Artificial Intelligence, by nature, is probabilistic. Even in narrow tolerance bands, AI models can generate varying results for the same inputs — not due to bugs, but because of the statistical nature of learning. While this flexibility allows AI to deal with complex problems, it also introduces uncertainty — a dangerous liability in high-stakes business contexts. In using Project BOB or any...
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Speakers
avatar for Pascal Polverini

Pascal Polverini

CTO, POLVERINI & PARTNERS
With thirty years of professional experience in North America, Europe and Australia Pascal Polverini has a strong experience in digital transformation, strategy roadmap and planning, end-to-end software architectures, with expertise on DB, programming languages, communication protocols... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Galerie 6
  Technologies Integrated with IBM i, Artificial Intelligence (AI), IT Leadership & Management, IT Strategy, Program Testing, Programmer Tools, Programming: Frameworks, Programming: General, Technologies Integrated with IBM i

10:15am CDT

Coffee Break
Wednesday April 29, 2026 10:15am - 10:45am CDT
Grand Ballroom

Wednesday April 29, 2026 10:15am - 10:45am CDT
Grand Ballroom
  Conference Events

10:45am CDT

SQL and IFS
Wednesday April 29, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Balcony L
Evaluation Survey
SQL is great for accessing data located in a relational database. But in a modern world it is also necessary to consume data that is located in the IFS (Integrated File System) or provided by web services With each Technology Refresh IBM introduces and enhances Db2 for i Services. With one of the latest Technology Refreshs provided new SQL Stored Procedures for reading data from and writing Data...
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Speakers
avatar for Birgitta Hauser
Wednesday April 29, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Balcony L
  Database, Database

10:45am CDT

How Should You Maintain Your IBM Platform To Get the Optimal Value for Your Business Needs?
Wednesday April 29, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Galerie 5
Evaluation Survey
Who today is helping you optimize your infrastructure? Do you have the right set-up for zero planned downtime and autonomous error resolution? How about fast visibility to any missing patches or upgrades on your inventory?Come in for a discussion with Technology lifecycle support on what you can get from IBM maintenance. We will touch on the value you obtain through expert care, a technical...
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Speakers
avatar for Lisa Stampe

Lisa Stampe

Leader of Power Support Product Management, IBM
avatar for Radovan Gaher

Radovan Gaher

Premium and Software Lead, Power Support Product Management, IBM
Wednesday April 29, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Galerie 5
  Developing Business Skills

10:45am CDT

Deep Dive with Bob
Wednesday April 29, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Balcony I-J
Evaluation Survey
In this session we will put Project Bob to work. We will do a live demo of Project Bob, how the powerful interaction between the developer and the AI tooling can help you solve problems, gain insight and understanding that was not possible in the past. We will explore several user cases on how Project Bob can be leverage by the Architect as well as the core programmer.Learning Objectives:Project...
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Speakers
avatar for Liam Allan

Liam Allan

Software Advocate, IBM
I am a developer and open-source advocate. Ask me about Node.js, VS Code, app deployment and CICD :) 
avatar for Sanjula Ganepola

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 →
avatar for Tim Rowe

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 →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Balcony I-J
  General Programming, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Programmer Tools

10:45am CDT

Securing Open Source on IBM i
Wednesday April 29, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Galerie 2
Evaluation Survey
Open source software brings innovation, flexibility, and modern development tools to IBM i, but also new security responsibilities. In this session, Alan Seiden explains how to keep your IBM i environment safe while benefiting from open technologies. You’ll learn how to assess and strengthen your open source supply chain, including precautions for VS Code extensions and lessons from recent...
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Speakers
avatar for Alan Seiden

Alan Seiden

Principal Consultant, Seiden Group
How to modernize and create something new while leveraging your valuable business logic. Supporting developers, mentoring, staff augmentation, architecture, development and programming. Seiden PHP+ Server for IBM i, 
APIs, IBM i, open source, web, PHP, Node.js, Python, RPG, ERPs... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Galerie 2
  General Programming, Security

10:45am CDT

The POWER OF READY – Real Disasters, Real Recovery, Lessons Learned
Wednesday April 29, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Studio 3-4
Evaluation Survey
Businesses today demand up-time, and reliability to move product and deliver services. Can your IBM i survive a sudden, unplanned event? Learn from multiple Data Center, Cloud, and regional disasters, to know if your DR Solution works in an actual Disaster. People, Technology and Geography are common critical points of failure. Let's keep our mistakes Original! Learning Objectives: 1. Recognize...
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Speakers
avatar for Richard Dolewski

Richard Dolewski

VP, Hybrid Enterprise Solutions, Lightedge
Wednesday April 29, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Studio 3-4
  High Availability Resilience, High Availability Resilience

10:45am CDT

Embracing Change - A Customer's Journey From Legacy to WOW!
Wednesday April 29, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Balcony M-N
Evaluation Survey
We’ve all heard the saying: Don’t be afraid of change - be afraid of not changing. But let’s be honest - change is hard. Whether it’s outdated technology, entrenched processes, or resistance from within, modernization can feel like an uphill battle. Does it frustrate you when your applications are labeled legacy? You're not alone. This session is a real-world case study of how one retailer...
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Speakers
avatar for Steven Wolk

Steven Wolk

CTO, PC Richard & Son
Steven Wolk is the CTO for PC Richard & Son. Founded in 1909, PC Richard is a family owned and operated chain of over 65 appliance, electronics, and mattress superstores located throughout NY, NJ, CT, and PA. Steve's deep background in retail began on the sales floor while in college... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Balcony M-N
  IT Strategy, IT Leadership & Management

10:45am CDT

Building a Quick Website on IBM i using Python?
Wednesday April 29, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Studio 7-8
Evaluation Survey
There are many tools for building basic web content on IBM I and Python has a few options. We’ll explore Flask briefly and then do a deep dive on Flask and FastAPI.

Learning Objectives:

1) Consider complete solutions vs back end & front end models. 2) See Flask in action with jinja templates. 3) Explore FastAPI and how it can be used to hydrate JavaScript front ends.
Speakers
avatar for Mike Pavlak

Mike Pavlak

Solution Architect, Programmers.io
Mike Pavlak has been working with IBM midrange solutions since 1992 and IBM Mainframes before that. After years of developing applications using RPG, CL and PHP he managed IT development and IT for power protection manufacturer Tripp Lite. Later Mike was instrumental in developing... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Studio 7-8
  Python

10:45am CDT

Diving into the Deep End of IBM i Security
Wednesday April 29, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Studio 1-2
Evaluation Survey
What is an authorized pointer? How does the authority checking algorithm really work? What are the performance aspects of IBM i security? Using her knowledge obtained as IBM i Security team leader, Carol Woodbury answers these questions and more, as she takes you into the depths of IBM i security.

Learning Objectives:

Understand the deeply technical aspects of IBM i Security.
Speakers
avatar for Carol Woodbury

Carol Woodbury

IBM i Security SME and Senior Advisor, Kisco
Wednesday April 29, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Studio 1-2
  Security

10:45am CDT

Farewell Tape…  Long Live Tape!
Wednesday April 29, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Galerie 1
Evaluation Survey
This session will take in a brief review of the history of magnetic media on the IBM i, along with some of the issues along the way.  It will offer a wider variety of options available to backup/archive data from the IBM I today, with a look at techniques that have become more prevalent (and feasible) in current implementations.  Attendees will get information that may provide more...
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Speakers
avatar for Aaron Brown

Aaron Brown

Sr. Solutions Architect, ProActive Solutions Inc.
Aaron Brown is a Sr. Solutions Architect with ProActive Solutions, Inc, an IBM Business Partner based in Mission, Kansas.  

Aaron left a career in retail management to take a computer operator job on some system called an "AS/400" nearly 30 years ago. Over those 30 years, he has been able to work with some very large implementations (and some smaller implementations) of IBM i - giving him a broad scope... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Galerie 1
  Systems Management

10:45am CDT

IBM i Performance Data Collectors
Wednesday April 29, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Galerie 6
Evaluation Survey
The IBM i operating system has several different tools to collect data for performance analysis. In this session, you will learn when and how to use the following tools: Collection Services, Job Watcher, Disk Watcher, and Performance Explorer.Learning Objectives:1. Learn which tool is the right tool to use in different scenarios.2. Learn how to run each tool and use visualization tools to analyze...
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Speakers
avatar for Shauna Rollings

Shauna Rollings

Senior Software Engineer - IBM i Performance Tools & High Availability Development, IBM
Shauna joined the IBM i development team in 2008. She has developed and supported IBM i performance data collector tools throughout her entire IBM career. From the very beginning of the Db2 Mirror for i project, she has also been the technical team lead for the Db2 Mirror Configuration... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Galerie 6
  Systems Management

10:45am CDT

Modern Offsite Data Protection for IBM i: Reducing Risk Without Adding Complexity
Wednesday April 29, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Galerie 4
Evaluation Survey
Many IBM i environments still rely on tape vaulting or backup-only second sites for offsite protection, approaches that struggle to meet today’s recovery, security, and audit requirements. These models introduce operational overhead, slow restores, and increased exposure to ransomware and data integrity issues. This session examines what effective offsite data protection for IBM i should look...
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Speakers
avatar for Dale Hoffman

Dale Hoffman

VP of Product, FalconStor

Wednesday April 29, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Galerie 4
  Systems Management

10:45am CDT

AI and IBM i DevSecOps, the current state of tooling
Wednesday April 29, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Studio 9-10
Evaluation Survey
AI and DevSecOps is a rapidly evolving area of functionality where there is overlap between the open systems world and the IBM i. In this session I will look at tools we can use right now to help us progress on our DevSecOps journey and also areas where the AI knowledge lags behind. I will show actual examples that will speed up your adoption of DevSecOps and enhance you use of these tools to...
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Speakers
avatar for Jeffrey Tickner

Jeffrey Tickner

Consultant, ARCAD Software
Jeff Tickner has worked in Change Management on the IBM I for 27 years at different companies. He  has long experience with all kinds Source Control and Change Management packages from SourceSafe to Subversion and of course, Git. Jeff currently works for ARCAD Software, an international... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Studio 9-10
  Technologies Integrated with IBM i, DevOps, Programmer Tools, Technologies Integrated with IBM i

10:45am CDT

Log Aggregation with Grafana Loki
Wednesday April 29, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Galerie 3
Evaluation Survey
Learn why log aggregation is important, the many features of Grafana Loki (a free, open source log aggregation system), and how to integrate IBM i with it

Learning Objectives:

Learn why log aggregation is important, the many features of Grafana Loki (a free, open source log aggregation system), and how to integrate IBM i with it
Speakers
avatar for Jesse Gorzinski

Jesse Gorzinski

STSM and Senior Business Architect - AI and Open Source, IBM
Experienced business architect from IBM and a specialist in the IBM i platform. My passion is enabling enterprises to adopt artificial intelligence and open source technologies.
avatar for Ashwin Srinivas

Ashwin Srinivas

Senior Product Manager AI for IBM Power, IBM
I am responsible for the driving AI SW offerings on IBM Power servers supporting use cases that are relevant to IBM Power customers. I am  responsible for the strategy, product roadmap and market success of AI with IBM Power products related to our ecosystem of ISV solutions and... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Galerie 3
  Technologies Integrated with IBM i, Technologies Integrated with IBM i

10:45am CDT

Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Virtual IBM i Partitions Hosted by IBM i
Wednesday April 29, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Balcony K
Evaluation Survey
BM I can host an IBM I Logical Partitions (LPAR) to provide virtual disk storage for other IBM I partitions. We will discuss when VIOS or IBM i hosing IBM i makes the most sense. This is a step-by-step process for creating hosted virtual partitions. Learn the requirements, the prerequisites, and all the steps needed to make this once you are back in the office. This will be great for creating a...
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Speakers
avatar for Pete Massiello

Pete Massiello

IBM i Advisor, Massiello Holding Corp.
Pete Massiello has been working with the AS/400, iSeries, IBM i since 1989, focusing on systems management and technical support. He has held numerous technical positions through out his career. He is the President of iTech Solutions Group, an IBM Premier Business Partner delivering... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Balcony K
  Virtualization, Systems Management, Virtualization

11:45am CDT

Expo Open with Lunch
Wednesday April 29, 2026 11:45am - 1:45pm CDT
Grand Ballroom
We’re bringing a full pickleball court right to the Expo floor! The court will be available throughout the conference - even outside of official Expo hours. Whether you’re a seasoned player or picking up a paddle for the first time, come rally with fellow attendees. Watch social media and your inbox for details on joining the tournament bracket and competing head-to-head!Lunch will be served...
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Wednesday April 29, 2026 11:45am - 1:45pm CDT
Grand Ballroom
  Conference Events

11:50am CDT

Partner Solution Corner inside Expo
Wednesday April 29, 2026 11:50am - 1:45pm CDT
Partner Solution Corner in Grand Ballroom
Get the most up to date tools to maximize your systems.  Vendor Partner experts will be presenting 15 min Solution Sessions during mid-day and evening expo hours.  The Partner Solutions Corner is across from booth 111 and the daily schedule will be in your daily morning email.  Get all of your questions answered by knowledge leaders in POWER.
Wednesday April 29, 2026 11:50am - 1:45pm CDT
Partner Solution Corner in Grand Ballroom
  Conference Events

1:45pm CDT

Keynote: Agentic AI and IBM i
Wednesday April 29, 2026 1:45pm - 2:45pm CDT
Mardi Gras Ballroom
Evaluation Survey
IBM i has long been the backbone of mission-critical enterprise workloads, prized for its reliability, security, and integrated database. But as AI evolves beyond simple chat interfaces into autonomous, action-taking agents, the IBM i ecosystem stands at an inflection point. AI agents can now reason, plan, and execute multi-step tasks. Imagine the power when married to a platform with decades of...
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Speakers
avatar for Jesse Gorzinski

Jesse Gorzinski

STSM and Senior Business Architect - AI and Open Source, IBM
Experienced business architect from IBM and a specialist in the IBM i platform. My passion is enabling enterprises to adopt artificial intelligence and open source technologies.
Wednesday April 29, 2026 1:45pm - 2:45pm CDT
Mardi Gras Ballroom
  Conference Events

2:45pm CDT

Pups and Cups
Wednesday April 29, 2026 2:45pm - 5:45pm CDT
Preservation Foyer
There’s no better way to recharge than with a fewfurry friends. We’re partnering with a local shelter to bring you our Pups & Cups event on Wednesday. Grab a coffee, take a break, and spend some time getting to know some adorable local pups. It’s the perfect mix of caffeine and canine connection.
Wednesday April 29, 2026 2:45pm - 5:45pm CDT
Preservation Foyer
  Conference Events

3:45pm CDT

SQL Coding Tips & Techniques
Wednesday April 29, 2026 3:45pm - 4:45pm CDT
Galerie 4
Evaluation Survey
SQL is a very powerful language for processing data. There are many ways to write SQL statements to get the desired results. However, not all queries are created equal. This session will compare different ways to approach a problem from an SQL perspective in terms of code maintenance and performance. Taking the right approach for writing SQL helps Db2 for i help you.Learning...
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Speakers
avatar for Mike Zaringhalam

Mike Zaringhalam

Developer, PC Richard & Son
Have you ever wanted to meet someone who started Hawaiian Shirt Fridays at their work place? 
If the answer is 'Yes!', then feel free to reach out with any questions you have regarding Hawaiian shirts... Or IBM i related topics. 
My main focuses are RDi, DB2, Modernization, and D... Read More →
avatar for Kent Milligan

Kent Milligan

Senior Db2 for i Consultant, IBM
Kent Milligan is a Senior Db2 for i Consultant in IBM Technology Expert Labs. Kent has over 25 years of experience as a Db2 for IBM i consultant and developer working out of the IBM Rochester lab. Prior to re-joining the Db2 for i Expert Labs practice in 2020, Kent spent 5 years... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 3:45pm - 4:45pm CDT
Galerie 4
  Database

3:45pm CDT

DevAITstSecOps - the modern way to do DevOps
Wednesday April 29, 2026 3:45pm - 4:45pm CDT
Studio 9-10
Evaluation Survey
The definition of "DevOps" has changed tremendously over the last few years; no longer is it simple Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD), but rather an interwoven process that begins with the typical Compile/Debug/Edit cycle, but that now also leverages Artificial Intelligence; Testing and Security steps that many supposed DevOps adopters are ignoring; and then and only then does...
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Speakers
avatar for Kuldip Vikram

Kuldip Vikram

Senior Technical Staff Member, Architecture & Technology, Rocket Software
Kuldip is a Senior Technical Staff Member at Rocket Software responsible for modernizing IBMi applications/workloads and their development through a combination of Generative AI and pure/hybrid cloud deployments. He has a rich and diverse experience architecting, designing, developing... Read More →
avatar for Andrew Clark

Andrew Clark

Andrew Clark is the Senior Principal Software Engineer for IBM i at Rocket Software.  Andrew has over 35 years of experience on IBM i beginning with the "secret Mankato Project" on a pre-release version of OS/400, and an internship at IBM Rochester working on the Query team.  He... Read More →
HR
Wednesday April 29, 2026 3:45pm - 4:45pm CDT
Studio 9-10
  General Programming, Artificial Intelligence (AI), DevOps, IT Leadership & Management, IT Strategy, Program Testing, Programmer Tools, Security, Technologies Integrated with IBM i

3:45pm CDT

Use AI to Build an IBM i Web App in Under 10 Minutes — No Coding Required!
Wednesday April 29, 2026 3:45pm - 4:45pm CDT
Galerie 1
Evaluation Survey
Valence, the leading web and mobile framework for IBM i, is getting even smarter. In this fast-paced demo, we’ll show you how Nitro App Builder (NAB) — Valence’s browser-based low-code development tool — enables anyone with solid IBM i database knowledge to build and deploy modern web or mobile apps in minutes. But that’s just the beginning. You’ll get an exclusive sneak peek at...
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Speakers
avatar for Robert Swanson

Robert Swanson

Senior Partner, CNX
Rob has worked as an in-the-trenches IBM i developer since 1992, with the past 15 years focused on developing modernization efforts for legacy systems written in RPG. Currently serving as Senior Partner for CNX Corporation in Chicago, Rob is a strong advocate of introducing highly... Read More →
avatar for Richard Milone

Richard Milone

Managing Partner, CNX
Richard Milone has worked as an application developer on the IBM i platform and its predecessors of various names for over 25 years. Richard served as Director of IT for Packaging Resources until co-founding CNX Corporation in Chicago in 1996, where his initial focus was on ERP enhancements... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 3:45pm - 4:45pm CDT
Galerie 1
  General Programming

3:45pm CDT

IBM Power11 for IBM i P05 Clients
Wednesday April 29, 2026 3:45pm - 4:45pm CDT
Balcony M-N
Evaluation Survey
The next generation of IBM Power11 processor-based servers are bringing new capabilities to entry-level environments, helping smaller and mid-sized organizations run mission-critical applications and workloads while preparing for emerging AI-driven use cases. In this confidential session, attendees will receive an early look at the upcoming Power11 entry-class servers designed for IBM i P05...
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Speakers
avatar for Todd Boyd

Todd Boyd

STSM, IBM Power Product Mgmt., IBM Corporation
avatar for Brandon Pederson

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 →
avatar for Jesse Gorzinski

Jesse Gorzinski

STSM and Senior Business Architect - AI and Open Source, IBM
Experienced business architect from IBM and a specialist in the IBM i platform. My passion is enabling enterprises to adopt artificial intelligence and open source technologies.
avatar for Lisa Stampe

Lisa Stampe

Leader of Power Support Product Management, IBM
avatar for Fiona Tang

Fiona Tang

Power Product Manager, IBM
Wednesday April 29, 2026 3:45pm - 4:45pm CDT
Balcony M-N
  NDA

3:45pm CDT

Improving Software Quality via Development and Testing
Wednesday April 29, 2026 3:45pm - 4:45pm CDT
Galerie 5
Evaluation Survey
Every programmer wants to do the best job. How do you test your program and ensure that you aren't missing anything? From the simplest bug fix to large complex projects, there are key concepts that you can use to ensure that your program is properly tested. This session is co-presented by expert developer, Scott Klement, and expert tester, Yvonne Enselman so that you can see things from both a...
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Speakers
avatar for Yvonne Enselman

Yvonne Enselman

Owner, Yvonne Enselman Professional Services
avatar for Scott Klement

Scott Klement

Managing Partner, ORC LLC
Wednesday April 29, 2026 3:45pm - 4:45pm CDT
Galerie 5
  Program Testing, Program Testing, Programming: RPG

3:45pm CDT

Modern QA and Test Automation: Elevating Reliability Across the IBM i Ecosystem
Wednesday April 29, 2026 3:45pm - 4:45pm CDT
Studio 7-8
Evaluation Survey
As technology evolves, modern Testing strategies must be integrated across the IBM i Ecosystem to improve reliability. Full Testing automation is the door to future-proof your applications from end to end. Modern Testing strategies also become pivotal to a concrete implementation of AI models, tailored to company needs. In this session we will see the "Zero Touch" automation, the different levels...
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Speakers
avatar for Pascal Polverini

Pascal Polverini

CTO, POLVERINI & PARTNERS
With thirty years of professional experience in North America, Europe and Australia Pascal Polverini has a strong experience in digital transformation, strategy roadmap and planning, end-to-end software architectures, with expertise on DB, programming languages, communication protocols... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 3:45pm - 4:45pm CDT
Studio 7-8
  Program Testing, Database, DevOps, Integrated File System (IFS), IT Strategy, Personal Development, Program Testing, Programming: Frameworks, Programming: General, Programming: PHP, Programming: Python, Programming: RPG, Programming: UI, Storage Technologies, Systems Mana

3:45pm CDT

Processing JSON with DB2 and RPG
Wednesday April 29, 2026 3:45pm - 4:45pm CDT
Studio 1-2
Evaluation Survey
Tricks” to make your life easier when you start working with JSON data. After a short discussion of the HTTP functions that have been added to QSYS2 and how they can be used with the JSON_TABLE Function, Jim shows the attendee how to work with the QSYS2.HTTP_GET and JSON_TABLE Functions to consume an API returning a JSON object. If you have tried using these functions many have problems writing...
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Speakers
avatar for Jim Buck

Jim Buck

CEO & Head Instructor, imPower Technologies

Jim Buck’s career in IT has spanned more than 35+ years, primarily in college education, manufacturing, and healthcare industries. Past president (13 years) of the Wisconsin Midrange Computer Professional Association (www.wmcpa.org) and has served on several teams developing IBM... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 3:45pm - 4:45pm CDT
Studio 1-2
  RPG, Programmer Tools, Programming: RPG

3:45pm CDT

Demystifying Integrated File System Security for Modern Secure Workloads
Wednesday April 29, 2026 3:45pm - 4:45pm CDT
Galerie 3
Evaluation Survey
The Integrated File System (IFS) remains one of the most overlooked areas in IBM i security. Many organizations either underestimate the risks posed by an unsecured IFS or lack clarity on how to effectively protect it. This oversight can leave sensitive data vulnerable to unauthorized access, manipulation, malware, and theft. In this session, attendees will learn practical strategies for securing...
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Speakers
avatar for Justin Nelson

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 →
avatar for Sandi Moore

Sandi Moore

Sr. Solutions Engineer & IBM Power Champion, Fortra LLC
Sandi Moore is a Senior Solutions Engineer at Fortra with over 20 years of experience supporting systems monitoring and security software. She works extensively with IBM i environments and has been involved in product demonstrations, implementations, support, training, research, and... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 3:45pm - 4:45pm CDT
Galerie 3
  Security, Security

3:45pm CDT

A Live Demo of Navigator for i
Wednesday April 29, 2026 3:45pm - 4:45pm CDT
Studio 3-4
Evaluation Survey
IBM Navigator for i continues to evolve with ongoing enhancements and new features. Whether you're a long-time user or just getting started, this session offers a live demo of the latest capabilities Navigator for i has to offer. Discover how these updates can improve your system management experience and streamline daily operations. Learning Objectives: `- Explore the newest features and...
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Speakers
avatar for Ann Wilkerson

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.
Wednesday April 29, 2026 3:45pm - 4:45pm CDT
Studio 3-4
  Systems Management

3:45pm CDT

AI Agents for IBM i System Administration
Wednesday April 29, 2026 3:45pm - 4:45pm CDT
Balcony I-J
Evaluation Survey
Discover how AI agents can transform your daily system administration workflows on IBM i. This session introduces practical approaches to building agents that automate routine tasks, monitor system health, and respond to operational issues—all while leveraging the IBM i MCP server for seamless integration. You'll learn how to create both individual agents for specific tasks and orchestrated...
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Speakers
avatar for Adam Shedivy

Adam Shedivy

Software Developer, IBM
Adam is a software Developer working on Agentic AI solutions for IBM i
Wednesday April 29, 2026 3:45pm - 4:45pm CDT
Balcony I-J
  Systems Management, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Database, Systems Management

3:45pm CDT

Daily Care and Feeding of IBM i.
Wednesday April 29, 2026 3:45pm - 4:45pm CDT
Balcony K
Evaluation Survey
IBM i and IBM Power Servers combine to deliver a fabulously reliable environment. The operating system has rich work management capability and strong error reporting. Despite that you shouldn't ignore it or you will eventually find yourself dealing with something serious. In this session we'll cover the things you need to watch and understand allowing you to deal with them before they become...
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Speakers
avatar for Larry Bolhuis

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 →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 3:45pm - 4:45pm CDT
Balcony K
  Systems Management, Systems Management

3:45pm CDT

IBM i Performance Data Management: Best Practices
Wednesday April 29, 2026 3:45pm - 4:45pm CDT
Balcony L
Evaluation Survey
Effective performance data management is essential for maintaining a healthy and responsive IBM i environment. In this session we will cover best practices for configuring and using IBM i performance data collectors—including Collection Services, Job Watcher, and SQL collectors—balancing proper data collection with efficient use of storage. Attendees will learn how to set up data collection...
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Speakers
avatar for Eric Barsness

Eric Barsness

Global Resiliency Practice Leader, IBM
Eric Barsness is theGlobal Resiliency Practice Leader for IBM i in Expert Labs and an IBM Master Inventor. Eric specializes in IBM i resiliency, performance and scalability and has led various IBM i performance teams for most of his career. Eric has been improving customer's IBM i... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 3:45pm - 4:45pm CDT
Balcony L
  Systems Management

3:45pm CDT

Azure DevOps and the IBM i, how to use DevSecOps integration between them
Wednesday April 29, 2026 3:45pm - 4:45pm CDT
Galerie 6
Evaluation Survey
Azure DevOps is a popular platform for managing Business Requirements Development since it covers the full Application lifecycle from the first request to deployment to production. How can we integrate the Azure tools with IBM i functions so that we can manage the front end right along with the back end on the IBM i. Having successfully integrated these two platforms multiple times I can give you...
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Speakers
avatar for Jeffrey Tickner

Jeffrey Tickner

Consultant, ARCAD Software
Jeff Tickner has worked in Change Management on the IBM I for 27 years at different companies. He  has long experience with all kinds Source Control and Change Management packages from SourceSafe to Subversion and of course, Git. Jeff currently works for ARCAD Software, an international... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 3:45pm - 4:45pm CDT
Galerie 6
  Technologies Integrated with IBM i, DevOps, Programmer Tools, Security, Technologies Integrated with IBM i

3:45pm CDT

Git, Jenkins and Nexus walk into an IBM i...
Wednesday April 29, 2026 3:45pm - 4:45pm CDT
Galerie 2
Evaluation Survey
Ever wondered if you could use Jenkins with IBM i? Guess what, you can! Designing IBM i centric pipelines has never been so easy, thanks to the IBM i pipeline steps plugin. But what about your build artifacts? Seems like they should be hosted somewhere...into an artifact repository like Nexus, perhaps? Join this session to discover why it may be a good idea to build once, store the result of your...
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Speakers
avatar for Sébastien Julliand

Sébastien Julliand

Tech Lead R&D, I AND ME - IT TRAINING
Hi, I'm Seb! I am the R&D Tech Lead for i and me - IT Training and Solutions GmbH and an active contributors to IBM i open source projects.

Let's talk about anything related to software development, on IBM i or not, it doesn't mater to me. RPGLE, Java, TypeScript...I love them all... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 3:45pm - 4:45pm CDT
Galerie 2
  Technologies Integrated with IBM i, DevOps

5:00pm CDT

Panning for Performance Gold with Visual Explain
Wednesday April 29, 2026 5:00pm - 6:00pm CDT
Balcony L
Evaluation Survey
Analyzing your database environment can provide significant performance riches, provided you have the right tools for the job. Visual Explain fits the bill, but learning to understand Visual Explain diagrams can be overwhelming and difficult. This session provides an introductory look into how to read and analyze your Visual Explain diagrams to find SQL performance gold. Learning Objectives: `-...
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Speakers
avatar for Ryan Moeller

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.
Wednesday April 29, 2026 5:00pm - 6:00pm CDT
Balcony L
  Database

5:00pm CDT

Understanding Your Integration Options: A Practical Guide for IBM i Shops
Wednesday April 29, 2026 5:00pm - 6:00pm CDT
Galerie 4
Evaluation Survey
When you need to connect IBM i to other systems, you face overwhelming choices. APIs, web services, message queues, file transfers, EDI, database replication... the list goes on. How do you choose? This session cuts through the confusion with practical guidance. You'll learn the fundamental patterns behind all integration approaches, understand the tradeoffs between different options, and see when...
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Speakers
avatar for Dan Magid

Dan Magid

Eradani
Eradani extends modernization by transforming the people, tooling, and development languages used in IBM i businesses. Eradani "Connect" serves as a Enterprise Integration Hub for IBM i organizations, providing developers and operators exception volume, performance, and security when... Read More →
avatar for Aaron Magid

Aaron Magid

Chief Architect, Eradani
Aaron Magid, Chief Architect at Eradani, has over a decade of experience in software development and technology. He specializes in modernizing legacy systems like IBM i/AS400 using Python, Node.js, and Java. Aaron excels in bridging old and new technologies together for clients, helping... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 5:00pm - 6:00pm CDT
Galerie 4
  General Programming

5:00pm CDT

Powering What’s Next: The Evolution of Power11 Scale‑Out Systems
Wednesday April 29, 2026 5:00pm - 6:00pm CDT
Balcony M-N
Evaluation Survey
The Power11 scale‑out family brings a new level of performance and efficiency to IBM i environments, and this session will walk through what makes the latest systems a major step forward. We’ll highlight key hardware enhancements, expanded capabilities, and the performance improvements that matter most for real IBM i workloads. Attendees will get an inside look at how Power11 SCO systems...
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Speakers
avatar for Todd Boyd

Todd Boyd

STSM, IBM Power Product Mgmt., IBM Corporation
avatar for Fiona Tang

Fiona Tang

Power Product Manager, IBM
Wednesday April 29, 2026 5:00pm - 6:00pm CDT
Balcony M-N
  Hardware

5:00pm CDT

Integrated File System Performance Strategies
Wednesday April 29, 2026 5:00pm - 6:00pm CDT
Studio 1-2
Evaluation Survey
Is your application or workload running slower than you’d like when accessing the integrated file system (IFS)? Do you want to learn how you can increase your performance without drastically overhauling everything? If so, then attend this session. In this session, we will discuss performance strategies like using user-defined file systems (UDFS) and auxiliary storage pools (ASPs), ways to reduce...
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Speakers
avatar for Justin Nelson

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 →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 5:00pm - 6:00pm CDT
Studio 1-2
  IFS

5:00pm CDT

How Refactoring Helps Bulletproof Your Application
Wednesday April 29, 2026 5:00pm - 6:00pm CDT
Galerie 5
Evaluation Survey
Do you (or does your manager) doubt the value of refactoring your code into a modular design? This session goes in-depth about how you save time and create higher quality programs by refactoring into small, independent routines. We will discuss how this improves your ability to test and maintain your application over time, saving you tons of time in the long run. This session is co-presented by...
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Speakers
avatar for Yvonne Enselman

Yvonne Enselman

Owner, Yvonne Enselman Professional Services
avatar for Scott Klement

Scott Klement

Managing Partner, ORC LLC
Wednesday April 29, 2026 5:00pm - 6:00pm CDT
Galerie 5
  Program Testing, Program Testing, Programming: RPG

5:00pm CDT

How can I recognize a good AI analysis / transformation tool, determine whether it is suitable for my situation, and what should I pay attention to?
Wednesday April 29, 2026 5:00pm - 6:00pm CDT
Studio 3-4
Evaluation Survey
More and more companies get into trouble with their old applications and this is not only on IBM i. The reasons are different but at the end they all have the same challenges: They need to get out of that. One way of doing that is using Tools to analyze the old stuff. That is something we all do for decades now but the tools changes or continue to evolve. Right now there are many "Tools" out there...
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Speakers
avatar for Markus Litters

Markus Litters

CEO, i and me - IT Training and Solutions GmbH
I start working with IBM POWER Servers and IBM i since I was 19 back in 1990 when it was called IBM AS/400 and from the beginning I was focused on Integrating the System with everything else (first of all DOS PC's, then Windows PC's and HP Unix and so on) and to modernize the existing... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 5:00pm - 6:00pm CDT
Studio 3-4
  Programmer Tools, Artificial Intelligence (AI), IT Strategy, Program Testing, Programmer Tools, Programming: Frameworks, Programming: General, Programming: RPG, Programming: UI, Security, Technologies Integrated with IBM i

5:00pm CDT

Python Tips in 20 Minutes on IBM i
Wednesday April 29, 2026 5:00pm - 6:00pm CDT
Studio 7-8
Evaluation Survey
Python on IBM i has been around for a while now. In this session we explore many of the various tips I’ve run across over the last few years. These tips apply to both Python and/or the IBM i environment running the Python scripts. Tips include best practices, IFS features, pathing and MUCH more. Learning Objectives: 1) Little bit of everything to help the Python developer 2) Standards based...
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Speakers
avatar for Mike Pavlak

Mike Pavlak

Solution Architect, Programmers.io
Mike Pavlak has been working with IBM midrange solutions since 1992 and IBM Mainframes before that. After years of developing applications using RPG, CL and PHP he managed IT development and IT for power protection manufacturer Tripp Lite. Later Mike was instrumental in developing... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 5:00pm - 6:00pm CDT
Studio 7-8
  Python

5:00pm CDT

Supercharging SQL in RPG
Wednesday April 29, 2026 5:00pm - 6:00pm CDT
Galerie 6
Evaluation Survey
SQL has become an essential tool in the modern RPG developer's toolkit—but are you getting the most out of it? Join Simon as he shares practical, real-world examples to help you supercharge your SQL within RPG programs and procedures. You'll learn how to optimize performance, quickly diagnose feedback from Db2, and leverage Views for even greater efficiency. Simon will also cover...
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Speakers
avatar for Simon Hutchinson

Simon Hutchinson

Founder & author, RPGPGM.COM
Simon Hutchinson has worked with IBM midrange servers and the RPG programming language since 1988—starting in the U.K. and continuing in the U.S. for over 35 years. He is best known for his long-running blog, RPGPGM.COM, where for more than 12 years he has shared practical insi... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 5:00pm - 6:00pm CDT
Galerie 6
  RPG, Database

5:00pm CDT

IBM i Security with an SQL Chaser, Next Round!
Wednesday April 29, 2026 5:00pm - 6:00pm CDT
Galerie 3
Evaluation Survey
In this award-winning session, be prepared to hear Scott Forstie and Carol Woodbury shake up the world of IBM i Security, mixing up new SQL features that allow you to completely do away with the old way you've been investigating and managing your IBM i Security environment. They will also shake up your mind with thoughts of finding vulnerabilities in your code and debate various methods of...
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Speakers
avatar for Scott Forstie

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 →
avatar for Carol Woodbury

Carol Woodbury

IBM i Security SME and Senior Advisor, Kisco
Wednesday April 29, 2026 5:00pm - 6:00pm CDT
Galerie 3
  Security, Database

5:00pm CDT

Business Posture:  Leveraging the benefits of IBM i in the Cloud
Wednesday April 29, 2026 5:00pm - 6:00pm CDT
Galerie 1
Evaluation Survey
Join us on a transformative journey as we explore secure, scalable and resilient Cloud solutions purpose-built for the IBM i.   How can you unlock the modern capabilities of IBM Power Systems without introducing the complexity and risk while driving positive business outcomes?  How will POWERVS solve this.  Public, Private, Multi-Cloud -  What cloud is right for...
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Speakers
avatar for Richard Dolewski

Richard Dolewski

VP, Hybrid Enterprise Solutions, Lightedge
avatar for Josh Patterson

Josh Patterson

Sr. Solutions Architect, Lightedge
Josh is a Senior Solutions Architect and IBM Champion at Lightedge, focused on modernizing enterprise cloud solutions for IBM Power platforms.  Subject matter expertise in designing resilient, cost-effective hybrid-cloud strategies and high-availability architectures that align technology... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 5:00pm - 6:00pm CDT
Galerie 1
  Systems Management

5:00pm CDT

HMC, IBM i, FSP, BMC, and Firmware: Putting all the pieces together.
Wednesday April 29, 2026 5:00pm - 6:00pm CDT
Balcony K
Evaluation Survey
Join us for a session where we will explore the new components and concepts related to partitioning IBM Power Systems. You will learn how these components are interconnected, how to set them up, and how to manage and upgrade them. We will cover components such as the Hardware Management Console (HMC), the Flexible Service Processor (FSP) or eBMC depending on your processor generation, and the...
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Speakers
avatar for Pete Massiello

Pete Massiello

IBM i Advisor, Massiello Holding Corp.
Pete Massiello has been working with the AS/400, iSeries, IBM i since 1989, focusing on systems management and technical support. He has held numerous technical positions through out his career. He is the President of iTech Solutions Group, an IBM Premier Business Partner delivering... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 5:00pm - 6:00pm CDT
Balcony K
  Systems Management, Systems Management

5:00pm CDT

Manage your system and security with Navigator
Wednesday April 29, 2026 5:00pm - 6:00pm CDT
Balcony I-J
Evaluation Survey
Learn about the latest updates and tools to manage your IBM i. IBM Navigator for i is the strategic tool for managing the IBM i operating system. In this session we will demo using some great Navigator wizards, how to configure TLS for the many servers on the IBM i. Learn how to deal with user profiles across multiple systems, we will even do a quick demo on how to configure MFA. Plus your...
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Speakers
avatar for Tim Rowe

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 →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 5:00pm - 6:00pm CDT
Balcony I-J
  Systems Management, Security, Systems Management

5:00pm CDT

Legacy to Legendary: Unlocking AI in IBM i Workflows with N8N
Wednesday April 29, 2026 5:00pm - 6:00pm CDT
Studio 9-10
Evaluation Survey
Discover how n8n can revolutionize the world of IBM i RPG programming by seamlessly bridging your trusted legacy logic with the most powerful AI and automation tools available today—all while keeping your data and business rules secure, under your control, and perfectly integrated with your existing systems. Imagine transforming your RPG workflows overnight: automate reporting, streamline...
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Speakers
avatar for Michelle Lyons

Michelle Lyons

COO, imPower Technologies


avatar for Patrick Behr

Patrick Behr

Senior Consultant & Instructor, Seiden Group & imPower Technologies
Wednesday April 29, 2026 5:00pm - 6:00pm CDT
Studio 9-10
  Technologies Integrated with IBM i, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Programmer Tools

5:00pm CDT

Let's Learn Linux!
Wednesday April 29, 2026 5:00pm - 6:00pm CDT
Galerie 2
Evaluation Survey
Linux, AIX, UNIX - we hear about them everywhere these days. But what does it all mean? Linux skills are important to everyone working in the technology field. The days of running everything on just one platform are behind us, so it's important to be familiar with Linux. But you probably don't have a spare Linux server sitting around, just waiting for you tinker with, right? Well, you don't need...
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Speakers
avatar for Steven Wolk

Steven Wolk

CTO, PC Richard & Son
Steven Wolk is the CTO for PC Richard & Son. Founded in 1909, PC Richard is a family owned and operated chain of over 65 appliance, electronics, and mattress superstores located throughout NY, NJ, CT, and PA. Steve's deep background in retail began on the sales floor while in college... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 5:00pm - 6:00pm CDT
Galerie 2
  Technologies Integrated with IBM i, Programmer Tools, Systems Management, Technologies Integrated with IBM i, Virtualization

6:00pm CDT

Trivia Night
Wednesday April 29, 2026 6:00pm - 8:00pm CDT
Mardi Gras Ballroom
Staying in for the free night on Wednesday? Join usfor trivia! Gather a team and put your collectiveknowledge to the test as you compete forthe top spot.And don’t worry - we promise it’s not a quiz on yoursession notes.
Wednesday April 29, 2026 6:00pm - 8:00pm CDT
Mardi Gras Ballroom
  Conference Events
 
Thursday, April 30
 

8:00am CDT

Streamline SQL Routines
Thursday April 30, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Studio 3-4
Evaluation Survey
The SQL procedural language makes it easy to create your business logic in stored procedures, triggers, and user-defined functions. Each of these routines have options that performance, but most programmers usually take the default option values without giving any thought to their impact. Learn about these overlooked performance options and other procedural language coding best practices. ...
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Speakers
avatar for Kent Milligan

Kent Milligan

Senior Db2 for i Consultant, IBM
Kent Milligan is a Senior Db2 for i Consultant in IBM Technology Expert Labs. Kent has over 25 years of experience as a Db2 for IBM i consultant and developer working out of the IBM Rochester lab. Prior to re-joining the Db2 for i Expert Labs practice in 2020, Kent spent 5 years... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Studio 3-4
  Database

8:00am CDT

IBM i Shops: Prepare for DevOps
Thursday April 30, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Balcony I-J
Evaluation Survey
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...
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Speakers
avatar for Mike Pavlak

Mike Pavlak

Solution Architect, Programmers.io
Mike Pavlak has been working with IBM midrange solutions since 1992 and IBM Mainframes before that. After years of developing applications using RPG, CL and PHP he managed IT development and IT for power protection manufacturer Tripp Lite. Later Mike was instrumental in developing... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Balcony I-J
  General Programming, DevOps

8:00am CDT

The Modern IBM i Development Workbench: An Integrated Approach to Modernization
Thursday April 30, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Galerie 1
Evaluation Survey
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...
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Speakers
avatar for Aaron Magid

Aaron Magid

Chief Architect, Eradani
Aaron Magid, Chief Architect at Eradani, has over a decade of experience in software development and technology. He specializes in modernizing legacy systems like IBM i/AS400 using Python, Node.js, and Java. Aaron excels in bridging old and new technologies together for clients, helping... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Galerie 1
  General Programming, DevOps, Technologies Integrated with IBM i

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....
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Speakers
avatar for Gregory Simmons

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

8:00am CDT

Modern RPG what does that mean?
Thursday April 30, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Studio 1-2
Evaluation Survey
You hear modern RPG but, what does that actually mean? we will look at converting from monolithic programs to modular programming including the use of service program and converting RLA(Record level access) to sql.

Learning Objectives:

Understanding what modern RPG means Understanding of what needs to be done to implement modern RPG.
Speakers
avatar for Marina Schwenk

Marina Schwenk

Senior Programmer/Analyst IBM i Admin, Innovative Software Solutions

Thursday April 30, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Studio 1-2
  RPG

8:00am CDT

Implementing Single Sign-On for IBM i
Thursday April 30, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Studio 7-8
Evaluation Survey
Don’t synchronize passwords…eliminate them! IBM i supports connecting to a Windows Active Directory domain to support automatic login to Client Access interfaces based on the currently logged-in PC user. This session will cover everything you need to know about how IBM’s SSO solution works, who can benefit from it, and how to implement it on your own systems. If you’re looking to remove...
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Speakers
avatar for Nathan Williams

Nathan Williams

Senior Systems Engineer, CloudFirst Global
As a Senior Systems Engineer on the Service Delivery team at CloudFirst, Nathan provides support and advice on new hardware installations, system migrations, OS upgrades, SAN and VIOS implementations, and more. He has been in an IT support role of one form or another since the mid-1990s... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Studio 7-8
  Security

8:00am CDT

IBM FlashSystem Deep Dive
Thursday April 30, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Galerie 5
Evaluation Survey
This session will cover the latest announcements on IBM Storage FlashSystem products including advancements in Storage Insights, FlashSystems Grid, Ransomware Threat Detection, and Power Cyber Vault.
Speakers
YS

Yves Santos

STSM IBM Storage Development, IBM
Thursday April 30, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Galerie 5
  Systems Management

8:00am CDT

IBM i Migrate While Active: Deep Dive into Migration Methods
Thursday April 30, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Galerie 4
Evaluation Survey
Join this session for an in-depth look at IBM i Migrate While Active. We’ll explore its core capabilities and highlight recently delivered enhancements designed to simplify migrations and minimize downtime.Learning Objectives:By the end of this session, participants will be able to:Describe the core features and concepts behind Migrate While Active and how it can minimize downtime during...
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Speakers
avatar for Shauna Rollings

Shauna Rollings

Senior Software Engineer - IBM i Performance Tools & High Availability Development, IBM
Shauna joined the IBM i development team in 2008. She has developed and supported IBM i performance data collector tools throughout her entire IBM career. From the very beginning of the Db2 Mirror for i project, she has also been the technical team lead for the Db2 Mirror Configuration... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Galerie 4
  Systems Management

8:00am CDT

iSee with Scott and Tim
Thursday April 30, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Balcony M-N
Evaluation Survey
iSee is all about helping our IBM i user community learn and use SQL to solve everyday life problems. This session is no exception, Scott and Tim will show via live demo some fun new way to solve problems with SQL. This iSee session will explore some of the brand new features recently delivered via 7.6 and the past Technology Refreshes.Learning Objectives:Learn how to put SQL to use in solving...
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Speakers
avatar for Scott Forstie

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 →
avatar for Tim Rowe

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 →
Thursday April 30, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Balcony M-N
  Systems Management, Database, Programming: General, Security, Systems Management

8:00am CDT

It's 2AM, Do You Know Where Your Console Is?
Thursday April 30, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Balcony L
Evaluation Survey
The IBM i restricted state (DSP01) Console environment is an oft neglected part of System Administration/Management. Many things allow systems to run months or even years without needing to connect this system Console. Then, when it is absolutely necessary to have this level of access for a system upgrade, hardware replacement, etc and the environment isn't correctly configured or is completely...
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Speakers
avatar for Wayne Bowers

Wayne Bowers

IBM i Global Support, IBM
Wayne Bowers has been with IBM since 1997, where he works with the IBM i Global Support Center in Rochester MN. He is an Advisory Software Engineer specializing in the support of the IBM i Access (aka Client Access) products, Console, the TCP Telnet communications server, and the... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Balcony L
  Systems Management

8:00am CDT

Planning a Smooth Move of your IBM i to the Cloud
Thursday April 30, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Galerie 2
Evaluation Survey
Utilizing the cloud is can be a great option for IBM i customers. It sounds simple, and at it core it is! However, there are many items to consider for your organization to help determine if it's the right thing for you. There are, however, options on how to plan, execute, and validate the migration and these should be analyzed to find the best fit. In this session you'll gain a great overview of...
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Speakers
avatar for Larry Bolhuis

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 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Galerie 2
  Systems Management, Client Connectivity, IT Strategy, Networking, Systems Management

8:00am CDT

Converged Data Platform with watsonx.data on IBM Power
Thursday April 30, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Galerie 6
Evaluation Survey
This session will talk about why having  a strong, secure and always available single platform for all of your key enterprise data on IBM Power helps drive reliable, cost-effective and scalable AI to drive new insights and new ways of doing business.

Learning Objectives:

n/a
Speakers
avatar for Ashwin Srinivas

Ashwin Srinivas

Senior Product Manager AI for IBM Power, IBM
I am responsible for the driving AI SW offerings on IBM Power servers supporting use cases that are relevant to IBM Power customers. I am  responsible for the strategy, product roadmap and market success of AI with IBM Power products related to our ecosystem of ISV solutions and... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Galerie 6
  Technologies Integrated with IBM i, Artificial Intelligence (AI)

8:00am CDT

Quantum programming with IBM i
Thursday April 30, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Studio 9-10
Evaluation Survey
Ok, time to roll up your sleeves! Let's talk about how to build real quantum-capable programs! In this session we will explore qiskit, IBM's open source programming framework. Plus, we will show you how qiskit-based programs can interact with IBM i.

Learning Objectives:

Understand qiskit Understand IBM i integration from Python
Speakers
avatar for Jesse Gorzinski

Jesse Gorzinski

STSM and Senior Business Architect - AI and Open Source, IBM
Experienced business architect from IBM and a specialist in the IBM i platform. My passion is enabling enterprises to adopt artificial intelligence and open source technologies.
avatar for Jack Woehr

Jack Woehr

Senior Engineer / Senior Consultant, Consulting to Procern Technology Solutions and Seiden Group LLC
40+ years development. IBM Champion 2021-2026.
IBM Qiskit Advocate since 2019. Secretary, OpenQASM Technical Steering Committee. MongoDB Creator status. Prolific Open Source creator/contributor. Former Contributing Editor, Dr. Dobb's Journal.
Consult on IBM i AI modernization... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Studio 9-10
  Technologies Integrated with IBM i, Programming: Python, Technologies Integrated with IBM i

8:00am CDT

Securing Agentic AI - a Kisco & PC Richard Study
Thursday April 30, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Galerie 3
Evaluation Survey
The use of agentic AI (AI tools with agency to execute tasks) is rising. Organizations are adopting this technology, including some of our friends in the IBM i space! This is exciting new technology, but its security implications are unclear. In this session we will focus on the safe configuration of an example agentic AI application on the IBM i and discuss the security considerations around this...
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Speakers
avatar for Mike Zaringhalam

Mike Zaringhalam

Developer, PC Richard & Son
Have you ever wanted to meet someone who started Hawaiian Shirt Fridays at their work place? 
If the answer is 'Yes!', then feel free to reach out with any questions you have regarding Hawaiian shirts... Or IBM i related topics. 
My main focuses are RDi, DB2, Modernization, and D... Read More →
avatar for Steve Riedmueller

Steve Riedmueller

Director of Security Services, Kisco
Thursday April 30, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am CDT
Galerie 3
  Technologies Integrated with IBM i, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Security, Technologies Integrated with IBM i

9:15am CDT

Db2 for i Web-Services ? Yes i can!
Thursday April 30, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Galerie 4
Evaluation Survey
In a modern world, information gets exchanged over the web. A request is send and an answer is returned. We do not care where the data is located. On the i data is stored within a relational database. Data access occurs with native I/O or SQL. What if we could receive the request and provide the data directly by executing a SQL statement? Wouldn’t that be great? The HTTP Web...
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Speakers
avatar for Birgitta Hauser
Thursday April 30, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Galerie 4
  Database

9:15am CDT

AI-Powered DevOps: From Code Generation to Production Deployment
Thursday April 30, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Galerie 1
Evaluation Survey
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...
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Speakers
avatar for Aaron Magid

Aaron Magid

Chief Architect, Eradani
Aaron Magid, Chief Architect at Eradani, has over a decade of experience in software development and technology. He specializes in modernizing legacy systems like IBM i/AS400 using Python, Node.js, and Java. Aaron excels in bridging old and new technologies together for clients, helping... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Galerie 1
  General Programming, Artificial Intelligence (AI), DevOps, Programming: General

9:15am CDT

Mission: Possible! Journaling Forensics 101 (with Free Tools)
Thursday April 30, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Studio 1-2
Evaluation Survey
Learn to think like a spy! Many shops use journaling for a variety of reasons, but may not be familiar with how to use these journals for forensic purposes. Mining your journals for the who, what, when, where, how - and sometimes even why - can be very useful, not to mention fun! Come join us for a lighthearted and entertaining "Mission: Impossible" themed look at one of the most useful things you...
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Speakers
avatar for Steven Wolk

Steven Wolk

CTO, PC Richard & Son
Steven Wolk is the CTO for PC Richard & Son. Founded in 1909, PC Richard is a family owned and operated chain of over 65 appliance, electronics, and mattress superstores located throughout NY, NJ, CT, and PA. Steve's deep background in retail began on the sales floor while in college... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Studio 1-2
  High Availability Resilience, Database, High Availability Resilience, Programmer Tools

9:15am CDT

i Test, Therefore i Build
Thursday April 30, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Galerie 5
Evaluation Survey
With IBM's release of the IBM i Testing VS Code extension, Unit Testing is (finally) hot and happening on the i, everything at the engineer’s finger tips, including code coverage. In this session we will show you how to take these unit tests to the next level, how to embed them in your DevOps cycle, in your pipeline – making them not only crucial to the engineer’s code quality, but also...
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Speakers
avatar for Andrew Clark

Andrew Clark

Andrew Clark is the Senior Principal Software Engineer for IBM i at Rocket Software.  Andrew has over 35 years of experience on IBM i beginning with the "secret Mankato Project" on a pre-release version of OS/400, and an internship at IBM Rochester working on the Query team.  He... Read More →
HR
Thursday April 30, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Galerie 5
  Program Testing, DevOps, Program Testing

9:15am CDT

Modernizing IBM i Development: Lessons Learned Migrating to Git
Thursday April 30, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Galerie 3
Evaluation Survey
Git has become the standard for version control, but moving traditional IBM i source code into Git requires planning, the right tools, and some trial and error. This session walks through a complete migration experience: from the initial planning phase, through the technical steps of exporting source, to resolving issues with members, naming, syncing, and how AI can help. Along the way, we’ll...
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Speakers
avatar for Megan Olson

Megan Olson

Software Developer and Product Manager, Fortra
Megan Olson is a Software Engineer and Product Manager at Fortra. Megan began her career at Fortra in 2021 as a Software Engineer Intern after earning her degree in Software Development in 2020. She has a strong technical focus on system security, product development, and driving... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Galerie 3
  Programmer Tools, DevOps

9:15am CDT

REST APIs on IBM i In Motion
Thursday April 30, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Studio 3-4
Evaluation Survey
In this session we will discuss the various ways to implement using REST APIs in your existing applications. What they are, why they exist, and how companies are using them to communicate with each other.

Learning Objectives:

We will take an RPG service program and deploy it as an API using the IBM Integrated Web Services tool (IWS).
Speakers
avatar for Charles Guarino

Charles Guarino

CEO & IBM Champion, Central Park Data Systems
Charles Guarino believes in the “power” of IBM Power Systems. His career reflects his dedication and interest in bringing the platform and its solutions to others and as a result has been recognized as an IBM Champion.

He is a member of COMMON’s Speaker Excellence Hall of Fame and a proud recipient of the Al Barsa Memorial Scholarship Award. Additionally, he participates on COMMON’s Strategic Education Team. Other professional endeavors have included the roles of President and monthly Q&A host... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Studio 3-4
  Programmer Tools, Programmer Tools

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...
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Speakers
avatar for Gregory Simmons

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 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Balcony K
  Programmer Tools, Programmer Tools, Programming: RPG

9:15am CDT

Modern RPG Arrays: Best Practices and Real-World Applications
Thursday April 30, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Balcony I-J
Evaluation Survey
Arrays are a powerful but often underutilized feature in modern RPG. This session explores how free-format RPG makes declaring, initializing, and manipulating arrays easier, more efficient, and more readable than ever before. Attendees will see practical examples of dynamic arrays, built-in functions, and real-world scenarios where arrays improve program performance and clarity. From batch...
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Speakers
avatar for Simon Hutchinson

Simon Hutchinson

Founder & author, RPGPGM.COM
Simon Hutchinson has worked with IBM midrange servers and the RPG programming language since 1988—starting in the U.K. and continuing in the U.S. for over 35 years. He is best known for his long-running blog, RPGPGM.COM, where for more than 12 years he has shared practical insi... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Balcony I-J
  RPG, Programming: RPG

9:15am CDT

From Logs to Action, Integrating IBM i into Your SIEM Ecosystem
Thursday April 30, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Studio 7-8
Evaluation Survey
IBM i systems often run critical business applications but remain invisible to most security teams. A SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) platform helps centralize and analyze security data for threat detection and compliance—but what does that mean for IBM i? This session defines SIEM, outlines key IBM i data sources like audit journals and system logs. Learn how to make IBM i a...
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Speakers
avatar for Sandi Moore

Sandi Moore

Sr. Solutions Engineer & IBM Power Champion, Fortra LLC
Sandi Moore is a Senior Solutions Engineer at Fortra with over 20 years of experience supporting systems monitoring and security software. She works extensively with IBM i environments and has been involved in product demonstrations, implementations, support, training, research, and... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Studio 7-8
  Security, Security

9:15am CDT

Navigator as seen by Scott (& Tim)
Thursday April 30, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Balcony M-N
Evaluation Survey
In a first-of-its-kind session, Tim Rowe and Scott Forstie will team up and tear apart IBM i Navigator.Behind the scenes, Navigator uses all kinds of SQL. Scott will point out some of the limitations you might encounter, from an SQL perspective, and how you can "go beyond" Navigator, when needed.Tim will explain the best and brightest features to be found in Navigator.Come to this session to hear...
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Speakers
avatar for Scott Forstie

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 →
avatar for Tim Rowe

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 →
Thursday April 30, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Balcony M-N
  Systems Management

9:15am CDT

SQL for System and Storage Management
Thursday April 30, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Studio 9-10
Evaluation Survey
The role of a system administrator spans far and wide on IBM i, and getting an understanding of what's happening on your systems can be difficult without the right tools in place. Many system management tasks can be made easier and faster with today's modern set of SQL services available on IBM i. In this presentation you will learn how to use SQL to manage your system more effectively, including...
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Speakers
avatar for Ryan Moeller

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.
Thursday April 30, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Studio 9-10
  Systems Management, Database

9:15am CDT

Creating a simple Warehouse Optimizing AI App with Python running on IBM i PASE
Thursday April 30, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Galerie 2
Evaluation Survey
While everybody is talking about AI and possible solutions, my Team and I are implementing such solutions at our (IBM i) customers. Beside using AI for Analyzing RPG and Cobol Code, optimizing existing (IBM i) ERP solutions and some other things, we are also realizing "good old" machine learning solutions for more than 7 years now - running on IBM i within the PASE environment. In this session you...
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Speakers
avatar for Markus Litters

Markus Litters

CEO, i and me - IT Training and Solutions GmbH
I start working with IBM POWER Servers and IBM i since I was 19 back in 1990 when it was called IBM AS/400 and from the beginning I was focused on Integrating the System with everything else (first of all DOS PC's, then Windows PC's and HP Unix and so on) and to modernize the existing... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Galerie 2
  Technologies Integrated with IBM i, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Database, Developing Business Skills, Programmer Tools, Programming: Frameworks, Programming: Python, Technologies Integrated with IBM i

9:15am CDT

Deploying native IBM i objects with open source DevSecOs tools
Thursday April 30, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Galerie 6
Evaluation Survey
While building IBM i source into native objects is covered in detail there is very little information about the last mile, securely deploying your compiled objects to remote systems while managing the specific requirements of the Ibm i. Having implemented object deployment on the IBM i for 25 years and now integrating with open source tools for 10 I can share my experience in how we can use the...
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Speakers
avatar for Jeffrey Tickner

Jeffrey Tickner

Consultant, ARCAD Software
Jeff Tickner has worked in Change Management on the IBM I for 27 years at different companies. He  has long experience with all kinds Source Control and Change Management packages from SourceSafe to Subversion and of course, Git. Jeff currently works for ARCAD Software, an international... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Galerie 6
  Technologies Integrated with IBM i, DevOps, Programmer Tools, Technologies Integrated with IBM i

9:15am CDT

React: Intro to building a front end interface using Hooks
Thursday April 30, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Balcony L
Evaluation Survey
This is an introduction to the React front-end framework. We will set up a development environment and incrementally build an application as we learn about React hooks.

Learning Objectives:

1. How to get started with React 2. How to create web pages with React 3. Manage state with React hooks 4. Serve your React app from IBM i
Speakers
avatar for Patrick Behr

Patrick Behr

Senior Consultant & Instructor, Seiden Group & imPower Technologies
Thursday April 30, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am CDT
Balcony L
  UI

10:15am CDT

Coffee Break
Thursday April 30, 2026 10:15am - 10:45am CDT
Preservation Foyer

Thursday April 30, 2026 10:15am - 10:45am CDT
Preservation Foyer
  Conference Events

10:45am CDT

Shallow Dive into Database Modernization
Thursday April 30, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Galerie 4
Evaluation Survey
Do you still use DDS to create physical files?  Do you create an "extension" file when you need to add a field to an existing file?  Are you worried that moving to SQL is too difficult?  This session is for you. Do you need to prevent bad data from getting into your system regardless of how it's being added? This session is for you.Do you need to mask sensitive data, or protect data...
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Speakers
avatar for Patrick Behr

Patrick Behr

Senior Consultant & Instructor, Seiden Group & imPower Technologies
Thursday April 30, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Galerie 4
  Database

10:45am CDT

Latest Rest API support for IBM i
Thursday April 30, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Galerie 3
Evaluation Survey
The Rest API engine for IBM i continues to improve to meet the needs of our development community. In this session we will review the recent change to support Jakarta EE, what does that mean and how to take advantage of these new features. We will include live demo where ever possible to help you understand how easy it is to use and how powerful this integrated features you already own is.Learning...
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Speakers
avatar for Tim Rowe

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 →
Thursday April 30, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Galerie 3
  Frameworks, Programming: Frameworks

10:45am CDT

Start using ILE RPG Modernization Techniques
Thursday April 30, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Galerie 1
Evaluation Survey
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...
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Speakers
avatar for Jim Buck

Jim Buck

CEO & Head Instructor, imPower Technologies

Jim Buck’s career in IT has spanned more than 35+ years, primarily in college education, manufacturing, and healthcare industries. Past president (13 years) of the Wisconsin Midrange Computer Professional Association (www.wmcpa.org) and has served on several teams developing IBM... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Galerie 1
  General Programming, IT Strategy, Programming: RPG

10:45am CDT

Using Large Language Models
Thursday April 30, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Studio 1-2
Evaluation Survey
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...
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Speakers
avatar for Jack Woehr

Jack Woehr

Senior Engineer / Senior Consultant, Consulting to Procern Technology Solutions and Seiden Group LLC
40+ years development. IBM Champion 2021-2026.
IBM Qiskit Advocate since 2019. Secretary, OpenQASM Technical Steering Committee. MongoDB Creator status. Prolific Open Source creator/contributor. Former Contributing Editor, Dr. Dobb's Journal.
Consult on IBM i AI modernization... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Studio 1-2
  General Programming, Artificial Intelligence (AI)

10:45am CDT

Real Time Access to the Integrated File System
Thursday April 30, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Balcony I-J
Evaluation Survey
The green screen isn't the only place where users can interact with IBM i file system data. Find out how and when to share your integrated file system with other platforms to let your users get more done with less effort. The latest updates to these file sharing methods will be included. Learning Objectives: 1. Understand the file sharing options on the IBM i and their differences. 2. Understand...
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Speakers
avatar for Justin Nelson

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 →
Thursday April 30, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Balcony I-J
  IFS

10:45am CDT

The Human Side of Modernization: Growing Skills, Mentorship, and Operational Resilience
Thursday April 30, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Galerie 2
Evaluation Survey
As experienced IBM i professionals retire, organizations face an urgent need to grow and retain critical expertise. This session explores strategies for mentorship, knowledge transfer, and modern skills development that keep essential systems running strong. Discover how investing in people ensures innovation, longevity, and resilience for the IBM i platform’s future. Learning Objectives: 1....
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Speakers
avatar for Raymond Hammell

Raymond Hammell

Lightedge
Raymond Hammell brings a wealth of experience in Cloud, High Availability, and Disaster Recovery Solutions. His expertise lies in defining Cloud Solutions, rigorous DR and HA Plan testing, and architecting solutions for both Fortune 100 corporations and SMEs. As a certified Master... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Galerie 2
  IT Leadership and Management, IT Leadership & Management

10:45am CDT

Options for Consuming REST APIs from RPG
Thursday April 30, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Galerie 5
Evaluation Survey
REST APIs have become a major part of business programming. We live in a world where virtually everything is connected to the Internet, and REST APIs are how they communicate with each other. In this session, you will learn how to call (or "consume") REST APIs from good ol' RPG. In addition to showing you the basics of how APIs work, this session explains how to use several free tools to consume...
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Speakers
avatar for Scott Klement

Scott Klement

Managing Partner, ORC LLC
Thursday April 30, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Galerie 5
  RPG, Programming: Frameworks, Programming: RPG, Technologies Integrated with IBM i

10:45am CDT

Security for You and A(i)
Thursday April 30, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Balcony M-N
Evaluation Survey
Adopting AI-based Assistants and Agentic AI tools in your organization? While these technologies are enticing and extremely powerful, the need to consider security during your AI projects is something one must not forget. During this session Scott Forstie and Carol Woodbury will demonstrate the power of using IBM Bob for IBM i security tasks. In addition, they’ll discuss the security safeguards...
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Speakers
avatar for Scott Forstie

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 →
avatar for Carol Woodbury

Carol Woodbury

IBM i Security SME and Senior Advisor, Kisco
Thursday April 30, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Balcony M-N
  Security, Artificial Intelligence (AI)

10:45am CDT

Navigator for i - An Administrator's View
Thursday April 30, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Balcony L
Evaluation Survey
IBM Navigator for i is the modern, web-based interface for accessing, managing, and monitoring your IBM i system. This session will guide you through getting started with Navigator and demonstrate how it can be used to manage everything from individual user profiles to system-wide administration. We’ll focus on key administrative features that support large-scale rollouts, including how to...
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Speakers
avatar for Ann Wilkerson

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.
Thursday April 30, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Balcony L
  Systems Management

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...
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Speakers
avatar for Ed Yeates

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

10:45am CDT

Understand Your IBM i Performance Signature
Thursday April 30, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Studio 3-4
Evaluation Survey
IBM i often runs well with little or no focus on the performance of the system. But what if something unexpected occurs? If you understand the performance signature of your system when it is running well, it becomes much easier to identify and resolve problems if something goes wrong. This session will show you how to use the Performance Data Investigator with Collection Services data to...
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Speakers
avatar for Dawn May

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 →
Thursday April 30, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Studio 3-4
  Systems Management, Systems Management

10:45am CDT

Why are customers using the cloud, and are there really IBM i shops moving to the cloud ?
Thursday April 30, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Studio 7-8
Evaluation Survey
There is a lot of talk about cloud, but what are the use cases for going to the cloud, and are there really IBM i shops moving to the cloud ? In this session we discus the use case why customer are going to the cloud, Business Resiliency, Modernization, Datacenter move out,.... and we will give real examples of customers who have move to the cloud, why they did this and what they gained from this....
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Speakers
avatar for Dan Sundt

Dan Sundt

IBM i Product Manager, IBM
Dan Sundt is an IBM i product manager. He has the responsibility for the IBM i business, including defining and guiding future directions and strategies. He works with the IBM i sales, marketing, and development teams as well as customers and partners to ensure that the IBM i operating... Read More →
avatar for Tonny Bastiaans

Tonny Bastiaans

Product Manager IBM Power Virtual Server (PowerVS), IBM Netherlands

Thursday April 30, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Studio 7-8
  Systems Management, High Availability Resilience, IT Leadership & Management, IT Strategy, Systems Management

10:45am CDT

Anatomy of an IoT device
Thursday April 30, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Studio 9-10
Evaluation Survey
The Internet of Things (IoT), while well-established, continues to be an important part of today's technology solutions. But how does an IoT device actually work? How can it tie into IBM i? In this session, we will walk you through the whole makeup of an IoT device, from the circuits to the software and integration.

Learning Objectives:

Understand how IoT devices work and how to integrate them
Speakers
avatar for Jesse Gorzinski

Jesse Gorzinski

STSM and Senior Business Architect - AI and Open Source, IBM
Experienced business architect from IBM and a specialist in the IBM i platform. My passion is enabling enterprises to adopt artificial intelligence and open source technologies.
Thursday April 30, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Studio 9-10
  Technologies Integrated with IBM i, Technologies Integrated with IBM i

10:45am CDT

Success with AI: AI Use Cases You Can Implement Now
Thursday April 30, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Galerie 6
Evaluation Survey
IBM i shops are historically reluctant to adopt new technologies, but AI is the biggest technology breakthrough in decades. As businesses face increasing demands for efficiency, speed, and adaptability, the question is no longer "if" but "when" to embrace AI-driven technologies. This presentation will explore the transformative potential of AI for IBM i environments, discussing real-world use...
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Speakers
avatar for Brian May

Brian May

Principal Technology Evangelist, Profound Logic
Professional IT Leader, Speaker and WriterSpecialties:Team Building, Development and RetentionTechnical SalesSolutions ArchitectureSoftware DevelopmentEnterprise Systems Manufacturing ProcessesApparel IndustryAccounting Principles
Thursday April 30, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am CDT
Galerie 6
  Technologies Integrated with IBM i, Artificial Intelligence (AI), IT Strategy, Technologies Integrated with IBM i

12:00pm CDT

Meeting of the Members
Thursday April 30, 2026 12:00pm - 12:45pm CDT
Studio 9-10

Thursday April 30, 2026 12:00pm - 12:45pm CDT
Studio 9-10
  Conference Events

1:00pm CDT

Accelerate your SQL Queries with SMP
Thursday April 30, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT
Galerie 4
Evaluation Survey
With Symmetric Multiprocessing (SMP) now available as a no-charge feature in IBM i, you've gained access to a powerful feature that can significantly improve the speed of query execution. However, SMP must be approached carefully, as improper usage may produce lackluster results. This session will cover the inner workings of SMP, when to utilize SMP, and tools for controlling system-wide SMP...
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Speakers
avatar for Ryan Moeller

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.
Thursday April 30, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT
Galerie 4
  Database

1:00pm CDT

Inject more security into Db2 for i
Thursday April 30, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT
Studio 3-4
Evaluation Survey
In this updated and award-winning session, Scott will explore the many ways that “bad actors” can attempt to subvert the security on IBM i. Whether the topic is protecting against SQL Injection, closing doors to acquiring elevated privileges, or attempting to discover unprotected objects, this session will include techniques for evaluation and protection of your IBM i. Attend this session to...
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Speakers
avatar for Scott Forstie

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 →
Thursday April 30, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT
Studio 3-4
  Database, Database, Integrated File System (IFS), Security, Systems Management

1:00pm CDT

Steve’s Advice for a Fulfilling Career in IT
Thursday April 30, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT
Galerie 6
Evaluation Survey
Whether you’re just getting your career in IT started, or you’ve been at it for a while, you probably hope that your job brings more than just financial stability; you’d like to feel a sense of fulfillment. After over 40 years at IBM, Steve Will, CTO and Chief Architect of IBM i, has some thoughts that might help. He’ll talk about fundamental behaviors and traits which promote a fulfilling...
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Speakers
avatar for Steve Will

Steve Will

IBM i CTO & Chief Architect, IBM

Thursday April 30, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT
Galerie 6
  Developing Business Skills

1:00pm CDT

The Human Edge: How to Stay Relevant in an AI World!
Thursday April 30, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT
Balcony L
Evaluation Survey
Worried about what artificial intelligence means for your job or your future? You’re not alone. As AI becomes capable of writing, coding, analyzing, and creating, it’s easy to wonder - what’s left for us humans? Join this session to learn exactly where your human edge lies - and how to use it to thrive in the AI era. You’ll discover how timeless human skills like creativity, empathy,...
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Speakers
avatar for Steven Wolk

Steven Wolk

CTO, PC Richard & Son
Steven Wolk is the CTO for PC Richard & Son. Founded in 1909, PC Richard is a family owned and operated chain of over 65 appliance, electronics, and mattress superstores located throughout NY, NJ, CT, and PA. Steve's deep background in retail began on the sales floor while in college... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT
Balcony L
  Developing Business Skills, Artificial Intelligence (AI)

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
avatar for Vern Hamberg

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

1:00pm CDT

What’s New with Open Source & IBM i
Thursday April 30, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT
Balcony I-J
Evaluation Survey
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)...
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Speakers
avatar for Mike Pavlak

Mike Pavlak

Solution Architect, Programmers.io
Mike Pavlak has been working with IBM midrange solutions since 1992 and IBM Mainframes before that. After years of developing applications using RPG, CL and PHP he managed IT development and IT for power protection manufacturer Tripp Lite. Later Mike was instrumental in developing... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT
Balcony I-J
  General Programming

1:00pm CDT

IBM i Migrate While Active Operating System
Thursday April 30, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT
Balcony M-N
Evaluation Survey
Migrating critical workloads to new infrastructure or cloud environments has traditionally required significant downtime and complex planning. With Migrate While Active, organizations running IBM i can now move production systems to cloud environments while keeping applications running and business operations uninterrupted. In this session, we will explore how IBM i Migrate While Active enables...
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Speakers
avatar for Kris Whitney

Kris Whitney

IBM
Kris Whitney is a Senior Technical Staff Member at IBM Rochester. He is currently the IBM i Chief Engineer
avatar for Brandon Pederson

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 →
avatar for Yan Zhuo

Yan Zhuo

IBM i Product Management Leader, IBM
Thursday April 30, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT
Balcony M-N
  NDA, High Availability Resilience

1:00pm CDT

Designing Your Own IBM i Commands (CMDs): From Simple to Powerful
Thursday April 30, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT
Galerie 1
Evaluation Survey
Tired of typing long CL commands or repeating the same operational tasks? IBM i gives you the power to create your own commands — complete with prompts, keywords, and integrated help — that look and behave just like IBM’s built-in ones. In this session, you’ll learn how to design and build your own custom CL commands (CMD objects) from start to finish. We’ll start with simple examples...
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Speakers
avatar for Simon Hutchinson

Simon Hutchinson

Founder & author, RPGPGM.COM
Simon Hutchinson has worked with IBM midrange servers and the RPG programming language since 1988—starting in the U.K. and continuing in the U.S. for over 35 years. He is best known for his long-running blog, RPGPGM.COM, where for more than 12 years he has shared practical insi... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT
Galerie 1
  Programmer Tools, Programmer Tools

1:00pm CDT

Modern DevOps on IBM i - Builds, Tests, and Impact Analysis
Thursday April 30, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT
Studio 7-8
Evaluation Survey
Join me as we explore how to achieve end-to-end automation on IBM i, covering builds, tests, and impact analysis using open source tools (ibmi-ci, Source Orbit, and itest). The session will walk through a practical example of setting up a modern DevOps pipeline in GitHub. Imagine creating a pull request that automatically triggers a build, generates an impact analysis report, runs your test cases,...
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Speakers
avatar for Sanjula Ganepola

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 →
Thursday April 30, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT
Studio 7-8
  Programmer Tools, DevOps, Programmer Tools

1:00pm CDT

VS Code and Code for IBM i Hidden Gems
Thursday April 30, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT
Galerie 2
Evaluation Survey
Thanks to the Code for IBM i open source extension, VS Code became an IDE of choice for whoever wants to do some development on IBM i. Less expansive (as in "free") and more modern than RDi, it's already a daily driver for IBM i professionals and enthusiasts alike. But what does it have to offer we barely know? What are the less-known features that can make a developer's life easier? The legend...
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Speakers
avatar for Sébastien Julliand

Sébastien Julliand

Tech Lead R&D, I AND ME - IT TRAINING
Hi, I'm Seb! I am the R&D Tech Lead for i and me - IT Training and Solutions GmbH and an active contributors to IBM i open source projects.

Let's talk about anything related to software development, on IBM i or not, it doesn't mater to me. RPGLE, Java, TypeScript...I love them all... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT
Galerie 2
  Programmer Tools, Programmer Tools, Programming: General

1:00pm CDT

IBM i Mythbusting
Thursday April 30, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT
Studio 1-2
Evaluation Survey
You can’t do that on IBM i! Or so they may say. We’ll explore some common misconceptions, urban legends, and outright lies about our favorite platform, and of course we’ll also try to take down a running system for fun. The floor’s open for suggestions, stories, and a bit of fun while we try everything that you’re too afraid to try on your own system.

Learning Objectives:

n/a
Speakers
avatar for Nathan Williams

Nathan Williams

Senior Systems Engineer, CloudFirst Global
As a Senior Systems Engineer on the Service Delivery team at CloudFirst, Nathan provides support and advice on new hardware installations, system migrations, OS upgrades, SAN and VIOS implementations, and more. He has been in an IT support role of one form or another since the mid-1990s... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT
Studio 1-2
  Systems Management

1:00pm CDT

Why and How to read a Job Log
Thursday April 30, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT
Galerie 5
Evaluation Survey
When a job runs on IBM i it generates various status messages. When things go 'bump' the job issues additional messages. Where do those messages appear? Most of them appear in the job log, making the job log the 'go to' for identifying issues or determining status of the job.  In this session we will review how to control the job log detail and disposition. We'll show you ways to read the job...
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Speakers
avatar for Larry Bolhuis

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 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT
Galerie 5
  Systems Management

1:00pm CDT

From Core to Cloud: Modernizing IBM i Applications Without Losing What Works
Thursday April 30, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT
Studio 9-10
Evaluation Survey
Modernization extends the power of IBM i by integrating core applications with APIs, web interfaces, and cloud-native services. Transforming proven systems into agile, scalable platforms helps organizations improve performance, reduce risk, and accelerate digital innovation. Learn how strategic modernization roadmaps turn legacy investments into legendary business outcomes. Learning Objectives: ...
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Speakers
avatar for Raymond Hammell

Raymond Hammell

Lightedge
Raymond Hammell brings a wealth of experience in Cloud, High Availability, and Disaster Recovery Solutions. His expertise lies in defining Cloud Solutions, rigorous DR and HA Plan testing, and architecting solutions for both Fortune 100 corporations and SMEs. As a certified Master... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT
Studio 9-10
  Technologies Integrated with IBM i, IT Strategy

1:00pm CDT

Using Podman/Docker containers
Thursday April 30, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT
Galerie 3
Evaluation Survey
Podman (and its peer, Docker) provide a powerful way to leverage containers for everything from development to full-scale production. In this session, we will explore the unique value of containerization and cover some of the basic features of these tools.

Learning Objectives:

Understand the value of Linux container tooling and gain a basic understanding of how to use them.
Speakers
avatar for Adam Shedivy

Adam Shedivy

Software Developer, IBM
Adam is a software Developer working on Agentic AI solutions for IBM i
Thursday April 30, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT
Galerie 3
  Technologies Integrated with IBM i, Technologies Integrated with IBM i

2:00pm CDT

Scavenger Hunt
Thursday April 30, 2026 2:00pm - 3:00pm CDT
Preservation Foyer near Registration Desk
Join the hunt on Thursday afternoon! COMMON is hosting another scavenger hunt this year. Find clues and do tasks all while exploring New Orleans. Create or join a team of 3-5 players and be the first to find all the clues and post your completed tasks!
Thursday April 30, 2026 2:00pm - 3:00pm CDT
Preservation Foyer near Registration Desk
  Conference Events

2:30pm CDT

Coffee Break
Thursday April 30, 2026 2:30pm - 3:00pm CDT
Preservation Foyer

Thursday April 30, 2026 2:30pm - 3:00pm CDT
Preservation Foyer
  Conference Events

3:00pm CDT

IBM Bob Success Stories: As told by the community
Thursday April 30, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
Balcony I-J
Evaluation Survey
IBM Bob was first talked about back in October.  For then till GA a select group of folks from the IBM i community have take the opportunity to put Bob to work.  This is their stories.  How has Bob changed how they approach problems, projects and task, and how IBM Bob has made a difference.
Speakers
avatar for Marina Schwenk

Marina Schwenk

Senior Programmer/Analyst IBM i Admin, Innovative Software Solutions

avatar for Todd Stewart

Todd Stewart

Application Architect, Heartland Co-op
Todd has worked in IBM midrange computing since 1989, developing applications from the System/34 to IBM i on Power. He has held roles including Developer, Analyst, Project Lead, Solutions Delivery Manager, and Application Development Director in the retail, and bonding/insurance industries... Read More →
KH

Karl Haggart

Architect, OMF
avatar for Tim Rowe

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 →
Thursday April 30, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
Balcony I-J
  Artificial Intelligence (AI), DevOps

3:00pm CDT

Fun with JSON Publishing: Letting SQL Do the Dirty Work
Thursday April 30, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
Studio 3-4
Evaluation Survey
If you've ever been tasked as a developer with creating complex responses for an internal or external web service, you've likely explored multiple avenues for generating JSON from your IBM i programs. From constructing responses manually in your RPG code, to using various publicly available toolkits like YAJL, RPG NextGen, etc., there are a myriad of ways to create JSON strings with all the...
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Speakers
avatar for Robert Swanson

Robert Swanson

Senior Partner, CNX
Rob has worked as an in-the-trenches IBM i developer since 1992, with the past 15 years focused on developing modernization efforts for legacy systems written in RPG. Currently serving as Senior Partner for CNX Corporation in Chicago, Rob is a strong advocate of introducing highly... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
Studio 3-4
  Database, Database, Programming: RPG

3:00pm CDT

Using SQL to Overcome Challenges when Consuming XML (Case Study)
Thursday April 30, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
Galerie 5
Evaluation Survey
In the new world of mobile data collection by field specialists, we ran head-on into special characters as well as emojis. This case study tells the tale of overcoming the hurdles we were stumbling over to deal with them. Learning Objectives: 1. Learn what issues can be raised when using mobile devices to collect information from the field 2. Learn how XML support in Db2 for i was used to...
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Speakers
avatar for Vern Hamberg

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 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
Galerie 5
  Database, Programming: RPG

3:00pm CDT

Integrated File System Real Life Stories
Thursday April 30, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
Galerie 2
Evaluation Survey
The integrated file system has become more embedded in everyday processing for many customers over the years, each with unique environments and specialized workloads. This session will discuss real life scenarios of file system usage and some common problems experienced by customers. Latest 7.6 updates to file system security will be included. Learning Objectives: Understand some of the common...
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Speakers
avatar for Justin Nelson

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 →
Thursday April 30, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
Galerie 2
  IFS

3:00pm CDT

Rethinking Recruitment: Transforming How You Hire, Mentor, and Grow IBM i Talent!
Thursday April 30, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
Balcony L
Evaluation Survey
If you’re struggling to find skilled IBM i developers or administrators, maybe the problem isn’t the talent pool - it’s where and how you’re looking. This session challenges the common misconception that it’s difficult to attract new talent to the IBM i platform. Drawing from real-world success stories, we’ll explore how hiring for intrinsic qualities - curiosity, problem-solving...
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Speakers
avatar for Steven Wolk

Steven Wolk

CTO, PC Richard & Son
Steven Wolk is the CTO for PC Richard & Son. Founded in 1909, PC Richard is a family owned and operated chain of over 65 appliance, electronics, and mattress superstores located throughout NY, NJ, CT, and PA. Steve's deep background in retail began on the sales floor while in college... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
Balcony L
  IT Strategy, IT Leadership & Management

3:00pm CDT

IBM i Network Troubleshooting & Diagnostics
Thursday April 30, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
Galerie 6
Evaluation Survey
BM i network communications has changed a lot since the AS/400 primarily communicated to workstations and printers using Twinax and to other computer systems using specialized communications lines. In some ways things are more complex because our IBM i nodes communicate to a lot of other devices in many different ways, but in other ways things are simpler today because nearly all network...
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Speakers
avatar for Wayne Bowers

Wayne Bowers

IBM i Global Support, IBM
Wayne Bowers has been with IBM since 1997, where he works with the IBM i Global Support Center in Rochester MN. He is an Advisory Software Engineer specializing in the support of the IBM i Access (aka Client Access) products, Console, the TCP Telnet communications server, and the... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
Galerie 6
  Networking

3:00pm CDT

Broaden Your Reporting Capabilities Using Python
Thursday April 30, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
Galerie 1
Evaluation Survey
One can only imagine just how many Excel sheets or other reports are generated on a daily basis. Are these reports portraying information in the best way possible? Is there anything we can do to help make this information more easily understood? Over the recent years, there has been quite the craze over data analytics and the importance of data that we should question our reporting standards. In...
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Speakers
avatar for Mike Zaringhalam

Mike Zaringhalam

Developer, PC Richard & Son
Have you ever wanted to meet someone who started Hawaiian Shirt Fridays at their work place? 
If the answer is 'Yes!', then feel free to reach out with any questions you have regarding Hawaiian shirts... Or IBM i related topics. 
My main focuses are RDi, DB2, Modernization, and D... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
Galerie 1
  Python, Programmer Tools, Programming: General, Programming: Python, Technologies Integrated with IBM i

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...
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Speakers
avatar for Scott Klement

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

3:00pm CDT

Audit Journaling with Navigator for i
Thursday April 30, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
Galerie 4
Evaluation Survey
Audit journaling on IBM i doesn’t have to be complicated. With IBM Navigator for i, configuring and analyzing audit data is easier than ever. This session will demonstrate how Navigator streamlines audit setup with just a few clicks and simplifies the process of consuming and interpreting audit journal entries. We’ll also highlight performance enhancements that accelerate data analysis and...
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Speakers
avatar for Ann Wilkerson

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.
Thursday April 30, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
Galerie 4
  Security, Systems Management

3:00pm CDT

Locking Down Your Data: Best practices for Encryption on IBM i
Thursday April 30, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
Studio 9-10
Evaluation Survey
Encryption is your last line of defense against data breaches but implementing it effectively on IBM i requires the right knowledge and strategy. In this session, we’ll go beyond the “why” and dive into the “how.” We’ll cover what is sensitive data and what data you should be encrypting. We’ll cover the technical methods for encrypting sensitive data on IBM i, from disk level...
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Speakers
avatar for Sandi Moore

Sandi Moore

Sr. Solutions Engineer & IBM Power Champion, Fortra LLC
Sandi Moore is a Senior Solutions Engineer at Fortra with over 20 years of experience supporting systems monitoring and security software. She works extensively with IBM i environments and has been involved in product demonstrations, implementations, support, training, research, and... Read More →
avatar for Megan Olson

Megan Olson

Software Developer and Product Manager, Fortra
Megan Olson is a Software Engineer and Product Manager at Fortra. Megan began her career at Fortra in 2021 as a Software Engineer Intern after earning her degree in Software Development in 2020. She has a strong technical focus on system security, product development, and driving... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
Studio 9-10
  Security, Database, Programming: General, Security

3:00pm CDT

Fix Management
Thursday April 30, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
Studio 1-2
Evaluation Survey
Keeping your system up to date and secure requires knowledge of IBM Fixes. Here will will discuss what the Fixess are, how to get them, and how to apply them. We will also discuss the different types of Fixes and how to develop a Fix strategy for your organization. Learning Objectives: 1. What is a Fix and the different types of Fixes 2. Build a Fix strategy that works for your company 3. How to...
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Speakers
avatar for Sarah Jacob

Sarah Jacob

VP of Customer Experience, Agile Technology Architects
Sarah Jacob is the Vice President of Customer Experience at Agile Technology Architects. She is a Subject Matter Expert in Power Systems Administration and a volunteer for COMMON. Sarah specializes in Backup and Recovery planning and recovery testing. Additionally, she acts as primary... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
Studio 1-2
  Systems Management

3:00pm CDT

Keep Your System up to Date with Image Catalogs - How they Changed My Life!
Thursday April 30, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
Balcony M-N
Evaluation Survey
Perform OS upgrades and PTF installs the modern way with Image Catalogs! This has become the standard way to install on IBM i, but what are you really doing? What can image catalogs be used for and how best to handle them? If you are not used to image catalogs come and see how they can change your life! Learning Objectives: What are Image Catalogs and how do you create them? What can they do?...
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Speakers
avatar for Jeff Carey

Jeff Carey

Midrange Engineer III - IBM i, Lightedge
Jeff Carey is an IBM i professional with over 30 years of experience on the platform, specializing in system administration. He currently is a Midrange Engineer for Lightedge, a company providing managed services for IBM i, VMware, Nutanix, AIX, AWS and Azure. He is on the Board of... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
Balcony M-N
  Systems Management, Systems Management

3:00pm CDT

Keeping Your IBM i System Clean with SQL
Thursday April 30, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
Studio 7-8
Evaluation Survey
Maintaining a clean IBM i environment is essential for performance, compliance, and long-term system reliability. While traditional CL commands can handle many housekeeping tasks, SQL offers a faster, more flexible way to identify and manage unused objects, audit logs, journal receivers, and other system clutter. In this session, attendees will learn practical SQL techniques to streamline system...
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Speakers
avatar for Simon Hutchinson

Simon Hutchinson

Founder & author, RPGPGM.COM
Simon Hutchinson has worked with IBM midrange servers and the RPG programming language since 1988—starting in the U.K. and continuing in the U.S. for over 35 years. He is best known for his long-running blog, RPGPGM.COM, where for more than 12 years he has shared practical insi... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
Studio 7-8
  Systems Management, Database, Integrated File System (IFS), Systems Management

3:00pm CDT

A Practical Solution and Lessons Learnt from Connecting IBM watsonx Assistant to IBM iDb2 for i
Thursday April 30, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
Galerie 3
Evaluation Survey
We've all heard that AI will revolutionize the way we do business, but how can we connect that AI inspired future technology to our present day systems of record hosted on IBM i and Db2 for i. In this session we will to demonstrate to an intermediate level audience on how to solve this business problem. Linking AI technology with our IBM i backend systems, securely and in real time. With practical...
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Speakers
avatar for Steve Cast

Steve Cast

Practice Director/Treasurer Common Europe, Fresche Solutions
I lead the European team at Fresche Solutions, one of the world's largest IBM i dedicated teams outside of IBM.

In my role as Practice Director of Fresche Europe, I continue to build on the success of my 40+ years of working in this sector, by combining the comprehensive IBM i too

... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
Galerie 3
  Technologies Integrated with IBM i

4:15pm CDT

Group By, Having and multi-dimensional Grouping
Thursday April 30, 2026 4:15pm - 5:15pm CDT
Studio 1-2
Evaluation Survey
An SQL SELECT can be much more than a simple SELECT * FROM query. Among others it includes with the GROUP BY clause a powerful data aggregation capability. A bunch of aggregate functions allows to count or summarize rows, to calculate the average over multiple rows, to determine the minimum and maximum row value. The GROUP BY clause may be widely known and used, but the HAVING clause which goes...
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Speakers
avatar for Birgitta Hauser
Thursday April 30, 2026 4:15pm - 5:15pm CDT
Studio 1-2
  Database, Database

4:15pm CDT

Make Today Matter!
Thursday April 30, 2026 4:15pm - 5:15pm CDT
Balcony M-N
Evaluation Survey
Every new day arrives with fresh potential, yet it’s all too easy to slip into routine, delay important actions, or wait for the perfect moment that never seems to come. What if you could break that cycle and turn each day into something meaningful, productive, and energizing? This session will inspire you to take ownership of your choices, strengthen your relationships, and use practical...
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Speakers
avatar for Steven Wolk

Steven Wolk

CTO, PC Richard & Son
Steven Wolk is the CTO for PC Richard & Son. Founded in 1909, PC Richard is a family owned and operated chain of over 65 appliance, electronics, and mattress superstores located throughout NY, NJ, CT, and PA. Steve's deep background in retail began on the sales floor while in college... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 4:15pm - 5:15pm CDT
Balcony M-N
  Developing Business Skills, Developing Business Skills, Personal Development

4:15pm CDT

Security as a developer, why should I care?
Thursday April 30, 2026 4:15pm - 5:15pm CDT
Balcony L
Evaluation Survey
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.
Speakers
avatar for Marina Schwenk

Marina Schwenk

Senior Programmer/Analyst IBM i Admin, Innovative Software Solutions

Thursday April 30, 2026 4:15pm - 5:15pm CDT
Balcony L
  General Programming

4:15pm CDT

Stored Procedures for Hybrid Development
Thursday April 30, 2026 4:15pm - 5:15pm CDT
Studio 9-10
Evaluation Survey
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)...
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Speakers
avatar for Mike Pavlak

Mike Pavlak

Solution Architect, Programmers.io
Mike Pavlak has been working with IBM midrange solutions since 1992 and IBM Mainframes before that. After years of developing applications using RPG, CL and PHP he managed IT development and IT for power protection manufacturer Tripp Lite. Later Mike was instrumental in developing... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 4:15pm - 5:15pm CDT
Studio 9-10
  General Programming, Database

4:15pm CDT

Using AI ethically: an open discussion
Thursday April 30, 2026 4:15pm - 5:15pm CDT
Galerie 3
Evaluation Survey
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
Speakers
avatar for Charles Guarino

Charles Guarino

CEO & IBM Champion, Central Park Data Systems
Charles Guarino believes in the “power” of IBM Power Systems. His career reflects his dedication and interest in bringing the platform and its solutions to others and as a result has been recognized as an IBM Champion.

He is a member of COMMON’s Speaker Excellence Hall of Fame and a proud recipient of the Al Barsa Memorial Scholarship Award. Additionally, he participates on COMMON’s Strategic Education Team. Other professional endeavors have included the roles of President and monthly Q&A host... Read More →
avatar for Jesse Gorzinski

Jesse Gorzinski

STSM and Senior Business Architect - AI and Open Source, IBM
Experienced business architect from IBM and a specialist in the IBM i platform. My passion is enabling enterprises to adopt artificial intelligence and open source technologies.
Thursday April 30, 2026 4:15pm - 5:15pm CDT
Galerie 3
  General Programming, Artificial Intelligence (AI), IT Strategy, Personal Development, 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...
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Speakers
avatar for Larry Bolhuis

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

4:15pm CDT

Live Demo: Deploying and Managing PowerHA on IBM i
Thursday April 30, 2026 4:15pm - 5:15pm CDT
Studio 7-8
Evaluation Survey
Join us for a hands-on, interactive session that walks through the end-to-end deployment and management of PowerHA on IBM i using Independent Auxiliary Storage Pools (IASPs). We’ll begin by creating an IASP and demonstrate how to migrate applications and data into it effectively. From there, we’ll explore how to build a highly available solution using either IBM Power Virtual Server with...
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Speakers
avatar for Brian Nordland

Brian Nordland

Director of Development, Fortra
Brian Nordland is the Director of Development for IBM Power Development at Fortra. Brian has been a prominent speaker at events, webinars, and user groups, including COMMON and LUG for over a decade. He is a co-inventor on multiple patents and has authored technical publications in... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 4:15pm - 5:15pm CDT
Studio 7-8
  High Availability Resilience

4:15pm CDT

Becoming a Power User with ACS
Thursday April 30, 2026 4:15pm - 5:15pm CDT
Galerie 1
Evaluation Survey
In this award-winning session, we’ll go beyond the basics of IBM i Access Client Solutions (ACS) to uncover ways to make the tool work harder for you. After reviewing the core functionality, I’ll demonstrate some of the customizations I use every day to boost productivity and streamline my workflow. Whether you’re brand new to ACS or a seasoned user, you’ll walk away with practical tips,...
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Speakers
avatar for Gregory Simmons

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 4:15pm - 5:15pm CDT
Galerie 1
  Programmer Tools

4:15pm CDT

Debugging IBM i from VS Code
Thursday April 30, 2026 4:15pm - 5:15pm CDT
Galerie 5
Evaluation Survey
Are you troubled when debugging from VS Code? Do you experience feelings of dread when starting the Debug Service? Have you or your coworkers actually been struggling to debug ILE from VS Code? If the answer is yes, then don't wait another minute. Just register for this webinar and get in touch with the professionals - Debuggerbusters ! Woops, wrong movie! But right topic! It is time to learn...
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Speakers
avatar for Sébastien Julliand

Sébastien Julliand

Tech Lead R&D, I AND ME - IT TRAINING
Hi, I'm Seb! I am the R&D Tech Lead for i and me - IT Training and Solutions GmbH and an active contributors to IBM i open source projects.

Let's talk about anything related to software development, on IBM i or not, it doesn't mater to me. RPGLE, Java, TypeScript...I love them all... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 4:15pm - 5:15pm CDT
Galerie 5
  Programmer Tools

4:15pm CDT

Demystifying DCM
Thursday April 30, 2026 4:15pm - 5:15pm CDT
Balcony I-J
Evaluation Survey
In this session we will explain what digital certificates are, how they work, and how to manage them on IBM i with Digital Certificate Manager (DCM). We will cover the basics of cryptography, hashing, signatures, SSL/TLS, PKI, Certificate Authorities, and more. Learning Objectives: 1. Understand the basics of public-key cryptography 2. Understand the purpose for digital certificates 3....
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Speakers
avatar for Patrick Behr

Patrick Behr

Senior Consultant & Instructor, Seiden Group & imPower Technologies
Thursday April 30, 2026 4:15pm - 5:15pm CDT
Balcony I-J
  Security, Systems Management

4:15pm CDT

Ransomware and IBM i
Thursday April 30, 2026 4:15pm - 5:15pm CDT
Studio 3-4
Evaluation Survey
Today, there are no known ransomware viruses that run directly on IBM i. However, that does not mean that the IBM i is not at risk. In this practical session, you will learn how to keep your IBM i system safe from Ransomware attacks. Don't miss this critical session! COMMON GOLD medal session. Learning Objectives: Understand the threats to IBM i Implement practices to protect the IBM i from...
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Speakers
avatar for Robert Andrews

Robert Andrews

Principal Security Consultant, IBM
Robert Andrews is a Principal Security Consultant, Senior Technical Staff Member (STSM), and Team Lead for the IBM i Security Expert Labs team in Rochester, MN. An IBM Certified Thought Leader and The Open Group Distinguished Technical Specialist, Robert has specialized in IT security... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 4:15pm - 5:15pm CDT
Studio 3-4
  Security, Security

4:15pm CDT

Navigator for i from a Developer's Perspective
Thursday April 30, 2026 4:15pm - 5:15pm CDT
Galerie 4
Evaluation Survey
Think IBM Navigator for i is just for system administrators? Think again! Navigator for i is a versatile, web-based interface that offers powerful tools for all IBM i users—including developers. In this session, you'll get an overview of how Navigator works and discover specific features that can simplify and enhance your development workflow. From accessing system information to managing...
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Speakers
avatar for Ann Wilkerson

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.
Thursday April 30, 2026 4:15pm - 5:15pm CDT
Galerie 4
  Systems Management, Programmer Tools

4:15pm CDT

AI-based Code Understanding and Modernization
Thursday April 30, 2026 4:15pm - 5:15pm CDT
Galerie 2
Evaluation Survey
In this session we will look at the state of the art in both AI-driven application documentation and understanding, as well as AI-driven code modernization. We will help the audience understand how to get started and dispel many of the common myths around GenAI and explain why a more sophisticated Agentic AI approach is necessary. Learning Objectives: 1. Learn about AI-driven application...
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Speakers
avatar for Chris Koppe

Chris Koppe

SVP Strategy Services, Fresche Solutions
Chris Koppe is responsible for developing client transformation strategies at Fresche Solutions. He has led the development of legacy management strategies for hundreds of companies, across a variety of platforms, languages, databases, and technologies. This insight has allowed Chris... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 4:15pm - 5:15pm CDT
Galerie 2
  Technologies Integrated with IBM i

4:15pm CDT

How to build effective agents for IBM i
Thursday April 30, 2026 4:15pm - 5:15pm CDT
Galerie 6
Evaluation Survey
Discover how to build AI agents for IBM i from the ground up in this hands-on exploration of modern agent development. This session takes you on a practical journey from creating your first simple agent using open source frameworks to designing full-featured enterprise solutions that integrate with IBM i environments. You'll learn how to leverage tools like the IBM i MCP server to build agents...
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Speakers
avatar for Adam Shedivy

Adam Shedivy

Software Developer, IBM
Adam is a software Developer working on Agentic AI solutions for IBM i
Thursday April 30, 2026 4:15pm - 5:15pm CDT
Galerie 6
  Technologies Integrated with IBM i, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Database, DevOps, Programmer Tools, Security, Storage Technologies, Systems Management

6:00pm CDT

Closing Reception
Thursday April 30, 2026 6:00pm - 9:00pm CDT
Generations Hall
We’re wrapping up POWERUp 2026 with a celebration at Generations Hall! Enjoy a night of live music with Amanda Shaw, delicious food, drinks, and a festive parade as we come together to celebrate our community and and incredible week of learning and connection.
Thursday April 30, 2026 6:00pm - 9:00pm CDT
Generations Hall 310 Andrew Higgins Blvd, New Orleans, LA 70130
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