Talsco Weekly: Why COBOL & RPG Still Rule Enterprise Computing in 2024

Welcome to another edition of Talsco Weekly

IBM i Brief: 📈 IBM Stock Update. 💰IBM Power & Storage Hardware Price Changes by Region and Currency (2025). 🤝 Dell and IBM part ways over storage driver licensing.
AI: 🔮 No-code AI platforms transform business innovation.
Career: 💼 COBOL remains critical in modern enterprise systems.
Development: 🔄 Open-source DevOps gains traction on IBM i. 📊 Managing SQL error logs with SELF data.
ERP: ✨ ERP vendors race to integrate GenAI capabilities. 🔀 ERPs Infused with AI.

IBM i Brief

📈 IBM Stock Update IBM’s stock (NYSE: IBM) is trading at $232.26 per share at the close of business today (12/12/2024). 💰IBM Power & Storage Hardware Price Changes by Region and Currency (2025)

IBM’s global price hikes hit hardest in Europe and Asia.

Price increases announced for Power and Storage hardware outside the US, effective January 1, 2025. While some regions face modest increases (China 0.1%, Indonesia 0.2%), others see significant jumps, with Czech Republic and New Zealand topping at 5.8%. These increases come on top of previously announced September price changes, affecting hardware, software, and maintenance services.

Note: These price increases are in addition to those announced on September 3, 2024. For details about the previous announcement, see the General Price Harmonization announcement.

🤝 Dell and IBM part ways over storage driver licensing

A licensing dispute between Dell and IBM has ended their storage driver support partnership.

IBM announced the withdrawal of the D910 driver distribution, effective November 1, impacting Dell PowerMax arrays connectivity to IBM i systems. While existing customers retain support through 2029, new implementations must use alternative solutions like Virtual I/O Server or SAN Virtual Controller, suggesting the possibility that IBM’s strategy to promote its own storage solutions.

Key Takeaway: IBM’s recent actions – both the global price increases and the end of Dell storage driver support – suggest a strategic shift towards strengthening their position in the hardware and storage markets while potentially reducing third-party dependencies in certain categories.

Other IBM Headlines:

📊 IBM Automotive Study: 74% of executives predict vehicles will be software-defined and AI-powered by 2035, with software R&D budgets expected to triple to 58%.
🔬 IBM’s Optics Breakthrough: New co-packaged optics technology promises 80x faster chip-to-chip communication and 5x reduction in energy consumption for AI workloads.
⚛️ IBM’s Quantum Initiative: Partners with Illinois to establish National Quantum Algorithm Center, deploying IBM Quantum System Two in Chicago.

AI

🔮 No-code AI platforms transform business innovation The emergence of no-code AI development platforms is revolutionizing how businesses implement artificial intelligence solutions. New AI platforms enables organizations to create sophisticated AI agents without extensive coding knowledge, dramatically reducing costs and deployment times. This democratization of AI development allows companies of all sizes to leverage AI capabilities while focusing on solving real business problems rather than technical complexities.

Career

💼 COBOL remains critical in modern enterprise systems

Despite being a legacy language, COBOL continues to power 95% of ATM transactions and 80% of in-person banking activities. With an estimated 775-850 billion lines of code in production, organizations are choosing to modernize rather than replace COBOL systems. The average COBOL developer salary reaches $84,000, with potential earnings up to $112,000. Read article here

If this article was written with RPG in mind, it might read like this:

🎯The numbers don't lie - COBOL and RPG continue to dominate core business systems in 2024. With billions of lines of code running critical operations and RPG developer salaries ranging from $110,000 to $145,000+, these "legacy" languages are proving more valuable than ever. Here's why smart organizations are doubling down on their COBOL and RPG investments instead of replacing them.

😊 This is great news for RPG developers!

Development

🔄 Open-source DevOps gains traction on IBM i

Git and modern DevOps tools are transforming IBM i development practices, with organizations increasingly adopting integrated solutions. The shift enables automated lifecycle management, version control, and cross-partition deployment while maintaining critical IBM i-specific processes. Tools like Jenkins, Azure Pipelines, and GitHub Actions, combined with specialized solutions, are bridging traditional IBM i development with modern DevOps practices.

Key Takeaway: The adoption of modern DevOps tools and practices is becoming crucial for IBM i shops to remain competitive and efficient, as it enables automated testing, streamlined deployments, and better collaboration - ultimately reducing development cycles and minimizing the risk of human error in critical business applications.

📊 Managing SQL error logs with SELF data

What should you do with the SELF data?

This question is often asked about SELF: What do I do with the data it generates?

Protocol: Once a week take the data and copy it from IBM’s SELF table into one of your own. Why? Learn more here.

ERP

✨ ERP vendors race to integrate GenAI capabilities

Major ERP providers Infor, Oracle, and SAP are aggressively incorporating generative AI into their product suites.

While still early in Gartner’s hype cycle, these companies are focusing on practical applications like document processing, automated writing, and intelligent search.

Infor: leverages AWS Bedrock

AWS Bedrock is a managed service providing access to leading foundation models and tools for building generative AI applications, with a focus on enterprise integration

Oracle: offers comprehensive GenAI solutions across their Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications, including finance, supply chain, human resources, sales, marketing, and service.
SAP: introduces Joule as an AI copilot, though implementation varies by product line

There is a lot to chew on here if your IBM i shop leverages any on of the above vendors. Read more here.

🔀 ERPs Infused with AI

The mix of AI with ERP’s is not necessarily a new concept.

We covered this topic several years ago before AI became as mainstream as it is today. This shows that vendors have been testing and developing LLMs and GenAI capabilities behind the scenes for quite some time.

The impact of AI on ERP systems is profound and transformative. Key considerations for organizations:

AI is shifting from an optional enhancement to a core necessity in modern ERP systems
Organizations must balance rapid technological adoption with employee adaptation and training
Success depends on viewing AI not as a replacement but as an augmentation of human capabilities

The integration of AI into ERP systems represents both an opportunity and a challenge. While the technology promises enhanced efficiency and decision-making capabilities, organizations must carefully manage the human aspect of this transformation.

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