IBM Power Systems pricing opacity, AI transformation at JPMorgan Chase, the excitement of enterprise IT careers, challenges and solutions for hiring, training, and mentoring IBM i/RPG developers, leadership issues around returnâtoâoffice mandates, AIâdriven RPG modernization (including EvolveWare and ProjectâŻBob), and the hidden costs of delaying modernization.
Welcome to another edition of Talsco Weekly
- IBM i Brief: đ° IBM Power Systems pricing remains opaque for customers.
- AI: đŚ JPMorgan Chase leads AI transformation in banking.
- Career: đ Why This Is the Most Exciting Time to Be in Enterprise IT.
- Hiring: đĽ IBM i: Hire, Train & Mentor.
- Leadership: đ˘ The real question behind return-to-office mandates.
- Modernization: đď¸ EvolveWare accelerates RPG modernization with AI. đ¸đ¸ The cost of inaction extends far beyond technical debtâit drains AI potential.
IBM i Brief
đ° IBM Power Systems pricing remains opaque for customers
Unlike cloud providers and X86 vendors with online configurators, IBM doesnât offer transparent pricing for entry and midrange Power systems.
âI shouldnât have to piece this together, but I will, because someone has to.â - Timothy Prickett Morgan
Available Power10 and Power11 entry system prices reveal configurations ranging from $29,000 for a four-core Power S1012 with IBM i to significantly lower prices for Linux and AIX systems without embedded databases.
The pricing gap highlights IBM iâs bundled Db2 database value, though overall transparency remains limited for comprehensive price/performance analysis.
Takeaway:
If you are trying to understand the hidden complexity behind IBMâs pricing (hardware + software + licensing), start here.
AI
đŚ JPMorgan Chase leads AI transformation in banking
With an $18 billion annual tech budget (must be nice)đ, the bank deployed LLM Suite, its proprietary gen AI platform, to nearly 250,000 employees.
Nearly half use AI tools daily for tasks like contract analysis and meeting prep.
In this interview, Chief Analytics Officer, Derek Waldron, describes a two-pillar strategy: top-down transformation of key domains and bottom-up employee innovation, creating what he calls a cultural transformation and an AI-first enterprise.
Consider this:
You might be thinking, how did JP Morgan Chase jump in and successfully implement AI so quickly? The answer: they have been looking at AI and machine learning going back to 2016. Part of the inspiration came from the artificial intelligence (AI) system, AlphaGo.
Take away:
This is certainly an interesting read, where you are walked through the process of the development of the banks LLM platform.
đ AI transforms EDI partner onboarding
Traditional EDI integration takes 210 hours per partnerâsome companies spent three years onboarding a single customer.
What if there was a modern EDI solution that leveraged AI?
Here is an AI-powered approach that reads implementation guides, generates mapping code automatically, and enables self-service partner onboarding in hours instead of weeks.
đ Register for the November 13th webinar that explores how AI can streamline EDI integration by automatically reading implementation guides and generating mapping code, potentially reducing the manual effort traditionally required from EDI specialists and addressing the challenge of non-standardized document customization across partners.
Career
đ Why This Is the Most Exciting Time to Be in Enterprise IT
Over the past several months, a clear pattern has emerged: nearly every article we curateâacross development, modernization, security, and leadershipâincorporates AI at some level.
What does that tell you?
For professionals with a thirst for learning, curiosity about how systems work, and a desire to drive business growth, there has never been a more exciting time to work in enterprise IT.
The convergence of AI, modernization, and evolving business models is creating unprecedented opportunitiesâespecially in traditionally overlooked sectors like manufacturing, where legacy systems are finally getting the transformation theyâve long needed.
The takeaway? Stay curious. Keep learning. The future belongs to those who can bridge technical expertise with business insight.
Hiring
đĽ IBM i: Hire, Train & Mentor
Hiring the right people is challenging, but it doesnât need to be overwhelming. Success often comes down to who you know and, more importantly, what they know about your business.
In the IBM i space, with veteran developers nearing retirement, the real concern isnât just finding someone who can code in RPGâitâs preserving the irreplaceable tribal knowledge about your business processes, manufacturing operations, and ERP systems like Infor, BPCS, System 21âyou name the technology.
While RPG skills can be taught, you canât always teach curiosity, business acumen, or the ability to connect technology with business processes. Understanding the intricacies of IBM iâhow interconnected and mission-critical the platform isârequires experience thatâs often counterintuitive to developers from other platforms.
This is why most organizations need a resident IBM i expert or architect. If you have one with runway leftâyouâre fortunate. Treat them well. If yours is retiring without a successor, hiring that expertise becomes mission-critical.
But hereâs the other half of the equation: training and mentoring the next generation is equally essential.
Bridge the IBM i Talent Gap with Talscoâs Complete Solution
Finding IBM i talent is hard. Developing their skills shouldnât be.
At Talsco, we understand the unique challenges facing IBM i organizations. The talent pool is shrinking, legacy knowledge is walking out the door, and finding qualified candidates feels nearly impossible. Thatâs why weâve partnered with imPower Technologies to offer more than just recruitmentâweâre delivering a complete talent solution.
Introducing: IBM i Hire, Train & Mentor Bundle
Every successful placement through Talsco now includes a comprehensive training credit with imPower Technologies. This isnât just about filling a seatâitâs about building sustainable capability within your organization.
Weâre bridging the gap between hiring talent and developing the deep IBM i expertise your business depends on. Because in this ecosystem, success requires both the right people and the right knowledge transfer.
đBook a complimentary consultation to learn more about how we can help you build a succession planning strategy for your IBM i environment.
Leadership
đ˘ The real question behind return-to-office mandates
CEOs fixate on return-to-office mandates while successful companies focus on outcomes, not attendance.
Research across 8,500 U.S. companies shows that top-performing organizations measure results rather than physical presence, giving teams autonomy, proper tools, and redesigned office spaces.
The real challenge isnât where people workâitâs how leaders enable effective collaboration regardless of location.
The hybrid, return-to-office, or work-from-home debate continues.
Modernization
đď¸ EvolveWare accelerates RPG modernization with AI
IBM i shops seeking AI-powered RPG modernization partners have several options, including IBMâs recently unveiled Project Bob.
Another option comes from EvolveWare. The company released RPG code documentation tools and plans AI-based code generation for early 2026.
Using LLMs with carefully crafted prompts and extracted metadata context, EvolveWare reduces transformer development time from 6-8 months to 2-3 months.
The platform supports both proprietary and open-source LLMs, with most customers choosing on-premises deployment to protect source code. AI also streamlines test-case generation and business logic extraction from legacy monolithic code.
Takeaway:
âOne of the things we are finding is that as long as our prompts are written well and the metadata that we extract using Intellisys is provided as context, the results are promising,â Marfatia says. âBut you need to have context. If the context is not provided along with your prompts, then things go haywire.â
If there is one thing that stands out in the world of AI and LLMs, itâs that communication and an in-depth understanding of business processes that are behind applications are a critical component in the success of a code modernization initiative.
đ¸đ¸ The cost of inaction extends far beyond technical debtâit drains AI potential
In a previous issue, we touched on how âthe wait and see approachâ does not work.
This article highlights that:
the real financial threat isnât the price of moving to a modern data architecture; itâs the hidden, cost of staying put. Leaders who delay this transformation are accumulating a form of technical debt so severe that it jeopardizes their ability to compete in the age of AI.
The true price includes hidden operational inefficiencies, security risks, and the inability to launch AI initiatives while competitors gain market share.
Leaders must calculate the Total Cost of Inaction: direct costs plus the opportunity cost of being locked out of AI transformation.
TCI = (Direct Costs + Hidden Costs) + AI-Driven Opportunity Cost.
Modernization isnât an expense; itâs survival.
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