Talsco Weekly: SDK: The Bridge Between IBM i & AI

Welcome to another edition of Talsco Weekly

IBM i Brief: 🔧 IBM rethinks transistor counting in Power11. 🔬 IBM and AMD join forces on quantum computing.
AI: 🔒 AI browsers reshape cybersecurity landscape.
Development: 🎥 Moving Beyond the Green Screen: A Visual Tutorial. 🔌 New SDK bridges IBM i with modern AI services.
Hiring: Strategic Hiring: Your IBM i Team’s Competitive Edge.
Career: 📊 Top Languages RPG Developers Should Add to Their Toolkit in 2025. 👨‍💻 Is JavaScript a Gateway Language?
Leadership: 🔷 Leadership paradigm needs a revolution.
Modernization: 🔄 DoLegacy systems hamper business growth?
Security: 🔒The IBM i is more and more secure by default.

IBM i Brief

🔧 IBM rethinks transistor counting in Power11

The mystery of Power11’s transistor count jump from Power10’s 18 billion to 30 billion has been solved. IBM has changed counting methods to align with industry standards.

The difference?

“Decap cells” - previously uncounted transistors that stabilize power delivery - make up nearly 40% of Power11’s transistor budget versus the typical 5% in other chips, potentially explaining IBM’s ability to achieve higher clock speeds than competitors.

Who is this for?

If you are an IBM i and Power Systems administrator dive in to get a better grasp of the Power11 transistor count discrepancy.

🔬 IBM and AMD join forces on quantum computing

The tech giants have announced a groundbreaking partnership to blend quantum systems with high-performance hardware, combining IBM’s quantum expertise with AMD’s processor capabilities.

This collaboration aims to tackle unsolvable problems by either quantum or classical systems alone through new hybrid architectures integrating AMD’s CPUs, GPUs, and FPGAs with IBM’s quantum computers.

The companies will develop open-source platforms supporting research in drug development, materials science, and supply chain optimization, with an initial demonstration planned for later this year.

AI

🔒 AI browsers reshape cybersecurity landscape

More than ever the IBM i is being connected to all sorts of technology stacks. Its inherent ability to integrate to nearly everything makes security more and more important.

Yes, we know that the IBM i itself has security baked in, but ever more smaller IT departments that might have 70% of the business running on the IBM i with various RPG applications still need to know how to deal with the other 30%.

Here, Francis Odum explores how agentic browsers integrating LLMs and APIs are becoming critical attack surfaces in 2025.

These AI-powered interfaces now execute tasks autonomously based on natural language commands, fundamentally altering how users interact with websites. As browsers evolve from manual navigation tools to intelligent agents, enterprises face new security challenges as trust relationships and data control mechanisms transform across the internet ecosystem.

On another note, are you really leveraging the security of IBM i?

See more about this in the security section below.

Development

🎥 Moving Beyond the Green Screen: A Visual Tutorial

Are you doing local development and finding that you are always using the same deployment method when compiling your code?

Did you know that you can set a default deployment method in the IBM i connection settings?

🔌 New SDK bridges IBM i with modern AI services

The experimental DbToo SDK developed by IBM’s Jesse Gorzinski and team connects traditional RPG applications and Db2 for i data with external AI and messaging platforms.

The open-source toolkit integrates with:

watsonx: IBM’s AI and data platform for building and scaling generative AI and machine learning solutions.
Ollama: An open-source tool for running large language models locally on your machine.
OpenAI-compatible endpoints: APIs and documentation for implementing endpoints compatible with OpenAI’s API format, often used for integrating custom or third-party LLMs (e.g., via LiteLLM or vLLM).
Kafka: Apache Kafka, the open-source distributed event streaming platform for high-throughput data pipelines.
Slack: Slack’s collaboration platform for team communication, productivity, and integrations.
Twilio: Twilio’s cloud communications platform for SMS, voice, email, and more.

Enabling IBM i developers to leverage modern AI capabilities without abandoning their legacy systems.

Hiring

Strategic Hiring: Your IBM i Team’s Competitive Edge

In today’s rapidly evolving IBM i landscape, hiring managers must be strategic rather than reactive. As systems increasingly connect to modern technologies like AI services and cloud platforms, simply finding someone who knows RPG isn’t enough. Tomorrow’s IBM i professionals need a unique blend of traditional skills and forward-thinking capabilities.

The most successful hires typically demonstrate:

Technical curiosity: They’re constantly exploring new tools, languages, and methodologies that complement IBM i systems, like the DbToo SDK bridging RPG to AI services.
Problem-solving resilience: They can independently navigate complex legacy codebases without detailed documentation, piecing together how systems work through investigation rather than instruction.
Comfort with ambiguity: They thrive in uncertain situations where requirements evolve and technology landscapes shift, seeing challenges as growth opportunities rather than obstacles.

Take Action Now: Revise your job descriptions and interview processes to focus less on years of RPG experience and more on demonstrated learning agility and cross-platform thinking. Ask candidates about problems they’ve solved without clear direction or how they’ve integrated IBM i with newer technologies.

The right hire isn’t just filling today’s gap—they’re architecting tomorrow’s possibilities.

Career

📊 Top Languages RPG Developers Should Add to Their Toolkit in 2025

A recent vendor article highlights that current technology trends reveal JavaScript/Node.js as the leading programming language globally while .NET faces declining popularity.

📖 Organizations considering RPG transformation should question investing in another potentially legacy platform when JavaScript offers distinct advantages: larger developer talent pools, unified technology stacks that eliminate frontend/backend divisions, future-ready architectures supporting modern paradigms, and significantly lower total cost of ownership. Even .NET-focused shops already use JavaScript for frontend work, making a complete JavaScript transformation more strategically cohesive for long-term business goals.

Based on current data, the programming landscape shows distinctive patterns:

JavaScript/Node.js is the #1 most-used programming language globally and trending upward
Python is experiencing explosive growth (GitHub as of Dec 2024 has Python #1)
Java and .NET, while still popular, are trending downward and increasingly viewed as legacy technologies

Why is this a good idea?

Adding JavaScript/Node.js or Python to your toolkit isn't just about job hunting—it's about expanding your technical perspective.

👨‍💻 Is JavaScript a Gateway Language?

A gateway language is accessible, versatile, and widely adopted.

Stackoverflow 2025 Most Popular Technologies Survey signals that JavaScript could be just that type of language.

Stackoverflow

JavaScript fits due to:

Popularity and Ubiquity: Topping Stack Overflow’s 2025 Survey and powering 98% of websites (W3Techs) , JavaScript runs natively in browsers with no setup.
Ease of Entry: Forgiving syntax and instant feedback (e.g., live webpage updates) engage beginners. Tools like CodePen skip complex IDEs, unlike Python or Java.
Versatility and Ecosystem: Spans front-end (React), back-end (Node.js), and apps (Electron), enabling diverse projects. Frameworks like Next.js simplify tasks.
Community and Resources: Abundant tutorials, forums, and free courses (freeCodeCamp) )support self-taught developers.

Why It’s a Gateway for Developers?

JavaScript’s immediate results (e.g., web apps in days) and high demand (~40% of 2025 job postings on Indeed) make it ideal. Its cross-domain flexibility (web, servers) outshines niche languages like R.

Leadership

🔷 Leadership paradigm needs a revolution

Despite billions invested and endless frameworks since the 1980s, employee engagement remains unchanged at 20% engaged, 60% disengaged, and 20% actively disengaged.

The Leadership Revolution

Bill Fox argues this isn't a failure of effort but understanding. Leadership development has treated leadership as something you "do" to others rather than examining the consciousness behind it.

He suggests the transformation lies not in new skills or frameworks, but in dissolving the illusion of separation and operating from awareness rather than ego.

Modernization

🔄 DoLegacy systems hamper business growth?

Outdated technology increasingly limits companies' ability to adapt and scale in 2025's fast-paced market. According to research from Devox Software, 72% of IT leaders report that legacy systems directly hinder meeting customer expectations. Modern alternatives offer streamlined operations, improved data access, and enhanced security—all crucial as AI adoption accelerates and cybersecurity threats evolve.

Holding onto outdated systems might feel safer in the short term, but the longer you wait, the steeper the curve can become. A strong legacy migration strategy doesn’t just replace old tech. It builds a foundation for what’s next.

For growing businesses, thoughtful migration isn't just a technical upgrade but a strategic imperative that unlocks measurable value in speed, agility, and customer experience.

Did you know?

Virtually every new search assignment we take on for our IBM i clients involves modernization.

We are at a tipping point where the majority of IBM i shops realize that modernization is a must.

How to modernize, to what extent, which methods to use, and the tech stacks to include might be in question, but the reality is clear: if you don't innovate, you will be left behind.

For IBM i professionals, this means continuously expanding your skill set beyond traditional RPG programming. The DbToo SDK mentioned above represents exactly the kind of bridge technology that allows you to preserve your IBM i investment while connecting to modern capabilities like AI services. This balance between maintaining what works and embracing what's next will define successful IBM i careers in the coming years.

Whether you're a hiring manager looking for talent who can connect IBM i systems with modern technologies, or a job seeker developing cross-platform skills, the ability to bridge traditional and cutting-edge environments has become ~~increasingly valuable~~ a must in today's evolving technical landscape.

Security

🔒The IBM i is more and more secure by default

We know the IBM i is secure, but did you know what SPBD is?

SPBD = Security Privacy By Design

This is how IBM builds software.

It specifies that for any software with a client interface, developers must implement specific design requirements, provide documentation for IBM auditors, and include penetration tests as part of system testing from initial function implementation onward.

This security-first approach is deeply embedded into the IBM i platform.

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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.

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