Talsco Weekly: The New Role for the RPG Developer

Welcome to another edition of Talsco Weekly

IBM i Brief: 🗄️ Key Features Coming to IBM i 7.6 TR1 and 7.5 TR7. 🚢 IBM ships Spyre accelerators with Anthropic partnership.
AI: 🖥️ IBM unifies code assistants into Project Bob. 🔷 IBM launches Project Bob AI development partner.
Career: 💼 Beyond Code: The New Role of the RPG Developer.
Learning: 🎓 Kisco Systems awards fellowship to Spangler analyst.
Modernization: 🏦 Banks can modernize IBM systems without migration. 💰 AI enhances CFO tools without replacing them.
Open Source: 📚 Ansible for the IBM i - Tutorials.
Security: 🔒 DevSecOps adoption lags across IBM i sites.
Trends: 🧵 Digital Thread Market set to hit $52.69 billion.

IBM i Brief

🗄️ Key Features Coming to IBM i 7.6 TR1 and 7.5 TR7

Db2 for i enhancements. URL functions expanded to 2GB, new administrative services added (CERTIFICATE_USAGE_INFO, JOURNAL_CODE_INFO), SYSTOOLS gains spreadsheet generation and audit archiving.
Code for i testing tools. VS Code extension adds production testing with code coverage and CI/CD integration. Db2 extensions enable parameter binding and RPGLE generation. RDi 9.9 enhances Git workflow. Java 21 support added.
Navigator and ACS upgrades. Navigator adds web interfaces for HTTP/IWS/IAS management and authorization list control. ACS enables simultaneous plugin execution, UTF-8 support, and new Index Evaluator with 16 security-focused script examples.
BRMS improvements. Web interface now displays control group attributes and backup history. LTO-10 tape support added with SQL services for volume expiration. Db2 Mirror receives UI and performance updates.

🚢 IBM ships Spyre accelerators with Anthropic partnership

IBM launched its homegrown Spyre XPU accelerators and partnered with Anthropic to integrate Claude models into its Watsonx platform. The Spyre cards ship October 28 for System z mainframes and December 12 for Power Systems, bundled with RHEL and inference tools. IBM’s 6,000 developers using Project Bob—an AI-powered IDE built on Claude Sonnet 4.5—achieved 45% productivity gains, positioning IBM to commercialize enterprise AI modernization.

P.S. Don’t forget to take the annual Fortra State of the IBM i survey.

AI

🖥️ IBM unifies code assistants into Project Bob

Introducing Project Bob: Project Bob at TechExchange 2025, converging its separate RPG and COBOL Watsonx Code Assistants into a unified AI-powered IDE built primarily on Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet 4.5.

The tool handles Java upgrades, framework migrations, and DevSecOps integration. IBM’s 6,000 developers have used Project Bob for four months, achieving 45% productivity gains, with 3,000 using it daily.

🔨 Project Bob

Here are some of the posts on LinkedIn ahead of the announcement:

Big news for IBM i Developers: “From explaining complex RPG and CL code to refactoring, generating new logic, transforming legacy RPG II/III into modern ILE and SQL, and even building automated tests, Bob will make modernization on IBM i faster, safer, and smarter.”
Project Bob isn’t just another coding assistant: It’s built to work the way you work, adapting to your workflow from design to deployment.
AI-First IDE: designed with advanced task generation capabilities for enterprise software development lifecycles (SDLC), including software modernization

Thoughts & Observations:💭

I scroll through LinkedIn and pull up articles relating to Project BOB, it occurs to me that the IBM i and System Z communities are both promoting Project Bob as a breakthrough that will change what it means to be a developer.

It’s ironic that both the IBM i and Mainframe have been touted as Legacy and on the way out for years. Yet, here we are, both platforms more valuable and viable that ever before.

It’s pretty clear that Project Bob, is not just another tool. It seems to be an AI-first development partner, one that understands your intent, your architecture, and your organizations standards.
Have questions? So do I. Project Bob raises important questions about the future of RPG development. For insights on how this technology may reshape developer roles, see the Career section below.👇

Looking to learn more:

Find a number of guided tours of “Project Bob” that IBM has produced.

🔷 IBM launches Project Bob AI development partner

The official IBM Announcement:

Project Bob adapts to workflows from design to deployment, helping modernize legacy systems and build new applications. With agentic workflows, inline security scanning, and flexible deployment options, Bob transforms the entire software development lifecycle. Over 6,000 IBM developers have achieved 45% productivity gains using the tool, which enters preview stage today as the next evolution in AI-powered software engineering.

The future of coding is here.

Career

💼 Beyond Code: The New Role of the RPG Developer

The IBM i Developer of the future

Developers are no longer just writing code—they’re driving strategy, shaping experiences and fueling innovation. This keynote at TechXchange explores how the role of the developer is expanding in an era of AI, hybrid integration and rapid change. Discover new tools to help you build what’s next.

Learning

🎓 Kisco Systems awards fellowship to Spangler analyst

Nicholas Richer, a Programmer Analyst at Spangler Candy Company, has been named the latest Richard C. Loeber Fellow. Richer, who began his tech journey at age ten as a camera operator, now leads IBM i modernization efforts at Spangler. He holds dual bachelor’s degrees from Miami University and recently integrated an API for Spangler’s automated warehouse.

The fellowship includes free IBM i training from imPower Technologies, COMMON membership, and POWERUp conference attendance.

Modernization

🏦 Banks can modernize IBM systems without migration

Abstracta demonstrates how AI agents can integrate with legacy AS400 and iSeries systems through middleware, enabling conversational flows and automation without replacing the core.

One regional bank achieved 40% faster service times and 30% fewer support calls in six months. The open-source AS400/iSeries MCP Server translates YAML flows into system commands, eliminating green screens while preserving operational reliability and avoiding costly migrations.

💰 AI enhances CFO tools without replacing them

This article caught my eye, for we are seeing more and more case studies where AI is simply being integrated into existing technology stacks, like ERP systems and data warehouses. The thought here is:

Retrofitting generative AI into this ecosystem is far easier than rebuilding it.

In this example, Finance teams are integrating generative AI atop legacy systems to improve forecasting, reconciliation, and cash flow management. Rather than rip-and-replace approaches, CFOs favor explainable, auditable AI that augments existing workflows.

Open Source

📚 Ansible for the IBM i - Tutorials

Here is a course on Ansible for IBM i, by Zouhair Oulli, where he demonstrate the fundamentals, how it works, the prerequisites, and how to configure it from scratch.

It is very impressive.👏

What is Ansible?

Ansible is an open-source IT automation tool developed by Red Hat that’s used to automate tasks like software provisioning, configuration management, application deployment, and orchestration across servers or systems.

The course covers the setup of both control and managed nodes.

It showcases a variety of use cases and playbooks, along with helpful resources for learning Ansible.

While you at it, check out Zouhair’s website, it is definitely one that you will want to bookmark because it touches on a number of hot IBM i topics.

Security

🔒 DevSecOps adoption lags across IBM i sites

What is DevSecOps?

DevSecOps stands for Development, Security, and Operations — it’s an evolution of DevOps that integrates security practices into every stage of the software development lifecycle.

Why is DevSecOps important for the IBM i platform?

IBM i organizations must secure their code, automate CI/CD processes with proper security controls, and protect data through anonymization and access verification to achieve comprehensive DevSecOps implementation.

As noted, there are many pieces to Dev + Sec + Ops and no shortage of solutions in the market. There is not necessarily one size fits all product, and often the various products piggyback on one another.

The linked article above, focuses more on the Application Lifecycle (DevOps), but if you are looking for Identity & Authentication, System Monitoring or Security Audit & Compliance your tooling will be more focused on Infrastructure, HW and OS level vs Application side.

If this is the case you are looking for a specialized IBM i security and compliance provider that will focus is on protecting the IBM i at the OS and infrastructure level – essentially ensuring the system is secure, monitored, and compliant.

Trends

🧵 Digital Thread Market set to hit $52.69 billion

The global digital thread market is projected to reach $52.69 billion by 2032, driven by Industry 4.0 adoption and the need for seamless data integration across product lifecycles.

What Does Digital Thread mean?

The digital thread is a concept in modern manufacturing and engineering that refers to the connected flow of data across the entire lifecycle of a product — from initial design and engineering, through production and operation, to maintenance and end-of-life.

Growing demand for real-time visibility, predictive maintenance, and digital twin technologies is accelerating market growth. North America leads adoption, while Asia-Pacific shows the fastest growth rate as manufacturers embrace digital transformation strategies.

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