COMMON POWERUp 2026

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 needed to use the features.

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, you can read and write commands the same way you access files.

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand the difference between Unix and IBM i calling models 2. Understand how to use UNIXCMD to bridge the two models. 3. Some examples to get you started

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 planning that must be done before deploying Db2 Mirror.

Learning Objectives:
- You will learn about the types of objects that can be replicated by Db2 Mirror and about tools available to you to begin analyzing the object types used by your existing applications.
- You will learn about active-active and active-passive application topologies that work well in a Db2 Mirror environment.
- You will learn about the hardware and software required for deploying Db2 Mirror.

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 objectives, what the overall process is once you have submitted a session, how to prepare for giving your presentation, and what speaker resources that are available to you.

Learning Objectives:

1) Understanding the process of submitting a session 2) Learning what you need to prepare to submit a session 3) Learning what resources are available to you as you prepare for speaking 4) Learning about the benefits of being a speaker at a COMMON event

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 without recompiles

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 single line of existing code. Using IBM Rational Open Access: RPG Edition, we intercept all file I/O (READ, WRITE, UPDATE, CHAIN) and route it through a generic ILE RPG handler layer. One service program handles all operations for all files — supporting: Multi-format logicals Field mapping & validation JSON in/out via noxDB or SQL Integration with modern Frontends, Node.js, or any HTTP client

Live demo includes:
A 1970s RPG-II program writing to CUSTMAS.
Open Access handler intercepts the WRITE, logs to audit table, validates data, returns JSON response.
Call from Postman → POST /api/customer → data lands in legacy file, old program runs unchanged.
Auto-generated OpenAPI spec from handler metadata.

You’ll learn:
- When Open Access beats file conversion
- How to build one reusable microservice for all files
- Patterns for gradual modernization: old 5250 + new web apps in parallel
- Bonus: auto-API docs + full audit trail from intercepted ops

Result: Immediate API enablement, zero risk, no downtime. Technologies integrated: IBM i, Rational Open Access, ILE RPG, SQL, JSON, REST, OpenAPI — all on your existing system.

Learning Objectives:
- Understand how IBM Rational Open Access intercepts file I/O without changing legacy programs.
- Build a generic ILE RPG microservice layer to expose any physical file as a REST/JSON API.
- Implement automatic API documentation (OpenAPI) and audit trails from intercepted operations.
- Apply gradual modernization patterns to run old 5250 apps alongside new web/mobile frontends.
- Evaluate when Open Access is superior to file redesign or program rewrites.

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, demonstrating why these aren't just legacy features but the exact characteristics modern AI agents require. You'll discover how IBM i's design philosophy of "everything is an object" maps perfectly to how AI agents need to understand and interact with enterprise systems, and why the platform's stability, rich SQL services, and programmatic interfaces make it the ideal foundation for autonomous AI workflows. By the end of this session, you'll see IBM i through a new lens—not as a system that needs to catch up to AI, but as a platform that was architected for intelligent automation from the start.

Learning Objectives:

Understand how IBM i's integrated database architecture (Db2 for i) eliminates the middleware complexity that hampers AI agent deployments on other platforms, and why tight database-OS integration accelerates agent decision-making and reduces operational overhead. Analyze the object-based security model and single-level storage architecture of IBM i, recognizing how these design patterns provide AI agents with consistent, granular access control and unified object addressing that modern containerized systems struggle to replicate. Identify the key metadata and introspection capabilities built into IBM i (including QSYS2 services, system APIs, and object attributes) that enable AI agents to autonomously discover, understand, and interact with system resources without requiring external documentation or configuration files. Evaluate the strategic advantages of deploying AI agents on IBM i compared to cloud-native or traditional Unix/Linux platforms, considering factors such as system stability, API consistency, security boundaries, and the elimination of infrastructure sprawl. Recognize practical use cases where IBM i's agentic-native architecture delivers immediate business value, including automated system monitoring, intelligent database optimization, security remediation workflows, and autonomous operational tasks that leverage the platform's comprehensive SQL services and system interfaces.

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 headache in using Git. We will also talk briefly about best practice of managing branches to mitigate the impact of merge conflicts.

Learning Objectives:

Become knowledgeable about the current options in optimizing the use of Git and branch management

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 translate directly into a more efficient, more effective development team. To wrap things up, we’ll explore how today’s AI code assistants thrive in a procedure-driven environment, giving you a powerful edge in modern RPG development.

Learning Objectives:

Learn how Procedure Driven RPG will reduce technical debt, increase developer moral and allow you and your team to develop faster.

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 spots in your applications. He’ll also demonstrate IBM-provided tools and techniques that can help you prepare now, before the 2040 date challenge becomes an urgent crisis.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this session, attendees will be able to: - Understand that the IBM i “1940” date rule will remain in effect and what that means for existing applications. - See why testing with a “1970” rule does not impact RPG date operations. - Implement practical methods to identify potential six-digit date fields that may cause issues as 2040 approaches. - Review examples of RPG remediation techniques to future-proof applications. - Gain insight into IBM’s tools and recommendations for managing date transitions safely and efficiently.

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 2. Learn to recover single objects and IFS files 3. Take home a few tricks to make sure you are able to recover what you need

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 expand on configuration and use.

Learning Objectives:

Understand how to setup MFA on IBM i 7.6 Understand how MFA affects various types of user authentications

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 Node.js npm attacks. Alan will share practical guidance on patching and updating PHP and other open source components, defending against denial-of-service threats, and applying IBM i-specific measures and permissions. The session includes some of the latest developments in web and application security that every IBM i administrator and developer should understand to protect today’s connected systems.

Learning Objectives:

`- Evaluate and strengthen the open source supply chain. - Apply practical security measures for open source technologies on IBM i - Implement IBM i-specific hardening techniques

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 builds and deploy it many times, to ensure deployment consistency and traceability. And all of this using state of the art open source tools!

Learning Objectives:

`- Discover how Jenkins can integrate with IBM i - Learn how to design IBM i centric pipelines using the Jenkins IBM i pipeline steps plugin - Use Sonatype Nexus to store Save Files and their metadatas - Use Jenkins to deploy the Save Files on multiple environments

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 one! Can you replace Windows with Linux? Even if you can, should you? What are the advantages and disadvantages? How do you get, install, and use Linux? Is it really all free? What can you do with a Linux command line, and is it really as powerful as you've heard? Attend this session to learn the answers to these questions and much more. See step by step instructions for safely installing Linux on your PC while still running Windows or Mac OS! We'll cover a number of powerful commands that can be executed from a Linux environment on your PC, within Windows, your x86 servers, or even on your IBM i!

Learning Objectives:

`- Identify the best way to get started with a Linux environment - Install and set up Linux on their personal PC in a safe way - Use a Linux desktop for productivity and learning - Apply skills learned to a production server environment - Take full advantage of the power of the Linux command line in multiple environments, even on your IBM i!

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 the reasons and the process for moving to a cloud.

Learning Objectives:

In this sessions you will learn: - Why to move your IBM i to the Cloud - What services are commonly offered by Cloud vendors - Items to consider for the Cloud migration - Connections options for the Cloud - Ways to move your data to the Cloud - Validating options the Cloud implementation

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 will find all you need to create an AI App running in the PASE environment on IBM I with an example of optimizing your Warehouse.

Learning Objectives:

You will learn what you need on IBM i to run an AI App for running a Python App that uses Machine Learning for optimizing a Warehouse. Includes a (quick) overview about Python, PASE, machine Learning and how to use it on IBM i.

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. Identify strategies to build and retain IBM i expertise within a multigenerational workforce. 2. Learn effective mentorship and knowledge-transfer techniques to strengthen operational continuity. 3. Explore ways to align modernization initiatives with workforce development and leadership growth.

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 tells that it's even possible to work locally on IBM i source code synchronized with Git or to use Visual Explain right from VS Code. But the best is yet to come and see for yourself! Whether you are a seasoned developer or just curious, join me to discover or rediscover the hidden gems that VS Code has to offer. Don't be a stranger and bring your questions along!

Learning Objectives:

`- Learn new ways of using VS Code for developing on IBM i - Hear it from one of the top contributor of the Code for i project - Discover how to use VS Code more efficiently - Live tips & tricks

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 problems experienced with the file systems and solutions to those problems.

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 understanding. 2. Learn about the latest in AI-based code transformation. 3. Learn about how to get started in setting either of these up.