Talsco Weekly: Legacy Thinking, Not Legacy Systems, is the Real Risk

Welcome to another edition of Talsco Weekly

IBM i Brief: 🏢 IBM reshapes enterprise AI with governance focus. 📅 IBM i community navigates transformative 2025.
AI: 🖥️ Bob IDE stumbles on IBM i C program. 🤝 The Similarities between AI and Humans.
Career: ⚙️ IBM i Devs: Legacy thinking, not legacy systems, is the real risk.
Development: 💻 SQL method identifies files used in IBM i Query definitions. 🛠️ IBM i ACS 1.1.9.11 delivers quiet stability. 🛠️ IBM i-ers are Craftsmen.
Modernization: 🚀 Legacy software modernization market surges.
Security: 🔗 Agentic AI demands new security thinking. 🔒 GenAI shifts enterprise security paradigm.
Vendors: ⚡ Shield Advanced Solutions boosts AAG 3.0 performance.
Trends: 🔷NVIDIA unveils game-changing Rubin platform at CES 2026.

IBM i Brief

🏢 IBM reshapes enterprise AI with governance focus

International Business Machines has evolved from legacy hardware giant into an AI-first, hybrid-cloud powerhouse through its watsonx platform, Red Hat OpenShift infrastructure, and industry-specific solutions.

For decades, International Business Machines was shorthand for big iron, mainframes, and a conservative brand of corporate IT. Today, the name signals something very different: a sprawling AI and hybrid-cloud platform aimed at some of the messiest problems in modern enterprise computing.

Targeting regulated sectors like finance and healthcare, IBM differentiates by prioritizing auditable, explainable AI governance over raw model performance, positioning itself as the trusted infrastructure layer for enterprises adopting AI at scale.

Summary: IBM bets enterprise AI future on governance, hybrid-cloud infrastructure, and 30-year system integration over flashy demos.

📅 IBM i community navigates transformative 2025

The below is IT Jungle’s recap of the biggest headlines from last year.

The platform evolved through leadership changes, Power11 launches, IBM i 7.6 release with integrated MFA, pricing volatility, and AI developments including Project Bob. Key milestones each month:

January: New VP hired, marketplace survey results, predictions shared
February: Mixed Q4 results, IBM Champions announced, migration analysis
March: Broad price increases, SAP PowerVS push, DOGE impacts
April: IBM i 7.6 launched with MFA, networking enhancements
May: Legacy tools retired, POWERUp 2025 at Disneyland succeeds
June: Version 8 timeline unclear, LTO-10 tape announced
July: Power11 processor debuts, MFA ecosystem expands significantly
August: Pricing adjustments continue, Code for i support launched
September: IBM i 7.4 withdrawn, two major conferences held
October: TR announcements, Merlin and WCA killed, Bob previewed
November: Power11 boosts Q3 sales, pricing transparency challenged
December: Bob progresses beyond coding assistant, iSee hits 100

In reflection: That’s the recap for 2025—and 2026 will undoubtedly bring more transformation to the IBM i community than you could ever imagine.

Seriously, I believe that many IBM i shops are starting to wrap their heads around just how well positioned the IBM i platform is for the future.

AI

🖥️ Bob IDE stumbles on IBM i C program

Out in the wild, here is a test case for Bob IDE where a developer tested it by requesting a C program using the QUSLOBJ API to list library objects.

Despite promising planning and research steps, Bob generated incorrect code with structural errors, wrong API calls, and incomplete data handling. After four hours of corrections, the code still wouldn’t compile.

Takeaway:

Programmers continue to have tremendous value as programmers well beyond building code. They are the architects, the directors and the builders.

🤝 The Similarities between AI and Humans

hallucinate
can be biased
agree with you

Humans

make things up
come with inherent biases (and are the ones that make the LLMs)
appear to agree with you, even when they don’t

😂

The good news: At least for now, we are in control. It is our responsibility to be diligent, to control the inputs.

Career

⚙️ IBM i Devs: Legacy thinking, not legacy systems, is the real risk IBM i remains one of the most modern enterprise platforms, built on unmatched data integrity, stability, and processing power. With AI tools like MCP servers and Copilot, it’s now primed for intelligent automation and insight. Yet many shops remain stuck in outdated mindsets, limiting growth.

I just spoke with an amazing IBM i-er thriving by fully embracing AI. Instead of being blocked by what he didn’t know, he uses AI to learn new languages, improve documentation, test more confidently, and ramp faster than ever. The anxiety that once held him back is gone—not because the platform changed, but because he executed.

The real career advantage: Rethink how IBM i can evolve—without abandoning what already works. For IBM i developers feeling stuck, AI isn’t a threat—it’s leverage. 📶 The Modern IBM i Developer Stack (at a glance) How it all comes together

IBM i provides trusted data, stable schemas, and decades of business logic
MCP Server supplies real system context to AI (files, schemas, programs)
GitHub Copilot turns that context into learning, code, tests, and docs
VS Code becomes the modern workspace where everything connects

Bottom line: This isn’t about replacing IBM i—it’s about unlocking it. Developers who pair IBM i’s strengths with AI tooling gain speed, confidence, and career longevity, while shops stuck in old workflows quietly fall behind.

Development

💻 SQL method identifies files used in IBM i Query definitions

Using OBJECT_STATISTICS, PRINT_QUERY_DEFINITION, and SPOOLED_FILE_DATA table functions, developers can programmatically extract file dependencies from Query definitions across an entire library.

Takeaway: This approach lists files defined in Queries but won’t capture runtime file substitutions made via RUNQRY’s QRYFILE parameter.

🛠️ IBM i ACS 1.1.9.11 delivers quiet stability

The latest Access Client Solutions release includes, host PTF requirements, 5250 emulator improvements, Run SQL Scripts enhancements, better Schemas navigation, updated JDBC/ODBC drivers, and security fixes.

While not flashy, the update addresses Windows 11 24H2 password sync issues and continues IBM’s steady refinement of essential developer tooling for the IBM i ecosystem.

Modernization

🚀 Legacy software modernization market surges

The market is projected to grow from $13.02 billion in 2024 to $15.14 billion in 2025 at 16.2% CAGR, driven by outdated systems, efficiency needs, and rising maintenance costs.

Expected to reach $27.3 billion by 2029, growth is fueled by cloud adoption, AI-driven migration tools, and strategic acquisitions like Rocket Software’s $2.275 billion purchase of OpenText’s AMC business.

Stepping back: Take a look at the bullet points referenced in the article. What does this all really mean? There is certainly a lot of overlap, and you could likely fall into any or a number of the categories highlighted here.

I think the takeaway here is that the modernization market is just heating up. With a number of different dynamics and variables at play.

For IBM i shops that have been modernizing for years, they are certainly ahead of the curve. Those just getting started may have a unique advantage: they can leverage AI-powered tools and automation from day one, potentially leapfrogging traditional modernization approaches and adopting best practices without the burden of incremental legacy decisions.

What do you think?

Security

🔗 Agentic AI demands new security thinking

Unlike traditional LLMs that simply respond to prompts, agentic AI systems act autonomously—executing code, accessing databases, and making independent decisions.

This shift introduces critical risks including action-level exploits, context injection attacks, and invisible operations.

Organizations must move beyond static policies to dynamic, real-time behavioral governance that monitors agent actions, validates intent, and applies contextual controls across their autonomous software ecosystems.

🔒 GenAI shifts enterprise security paradigm

As AI models gain reasoning abilities and independence, they’re transforming system behavior and forcing security teams to rethink fundamental assumptions about threat identification and response.

History shows that large technology shifts often tend to have a major impact on enterprise security. Mainframe computing concentrated risk in one place. Cloud computing moved data out of physical walls. Mobile computing dissolved the idea of a fixed user. Each of these shifts, in its own way, forced security teams to rethink assumptions that at that time felt solid.

A question for IBM i shops:

As the IBM i platform evolves from isolated transaction processor to integrated AI ecosystem participant, how must your security posture shift from perimeter defense to continuous behavioral governance?

This likely means rethinking assumptions that felt solid for decades.

Vendors

⚡ Shield Advanced Solutions boosts AAG 3.0 performance

The latest release delivers 2–3x faster response times and dramatically reduces overhead on Nagios Servers.

AAG now handles 10,000+ checks with ease, eliminating backlogs while supporting 180+ checks across Power HMC, VIOS, and IBM i. Streamlined wizards make installation quick and simple, letting teams focus on monitoring rather than setup.

Who is it for? IBM i shops running Nagois XI.

What is Nagois XI? It is an Enterprise Infrastructure Monitoring & Alerting Platform.

What is AAG 3.0?

Trends

🔷NVIDIA unveils game-changing Rubin platform at CES 2026

Here is a podcast discussing some of the news coming out of the CES 2026. 🎙️

The episode explores NVIDIA’s dominance, Meta’s $2B Manus AI acquisition signaling enterprise AI ambitions, DeepSeek’s efficiency-focused MHC training method, and polling data showing Americans’ optimism about AI benefits tempered by concerns over control.

Key insight:

“The AI ecosystem is becoming increasingly heterogeneous, and deployment decisions are now driven by cost, energy efficiency, software maturity and how well the hardware matches specific workloads.”

Join

Contact us

If you are an RPG programmer looking to explore opportunities or a client who is looking for a talented IBM i professional, please contact us. We look forward to assisting you.

Do you know of someone who could benefit from Talsco Weekly? If so, please use the social media buttons to spread the word. Thank you!