Technology

AS/400, IBM i & RPG Modernisation
for businesses in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the US.

The AS/400 is now IBM i and it is still developed and supported. What has aged is the RPG application on top of it, and the 5250 green screen that new staff refuse to learn.

Book a 20-min scoping call
  • Independent No licence commission, no reseller agenda
  • 18+ yrs Building business software
  • Fixed Price scopes, no surprises
  • AU NZ UK US Perth-based, working remotely
Where we fit

The platform is fine. The green screen is the argument.

IBM i is genuinely reliable and organisations that run it rarely have availability complaints. The friction is elsewhere: 5250 green-screen interfaces, RPG III code written in fixed-column format, and a workforce of RPG programmers that is retiring faster than it is replaced.

The mistake we see most is treating this as a platform replacement. Replacing IBM i is usually the most expensive and least necessary option on the table.

How it runs

Your AS/400 and RPG project, end to end

Three stages. Scoped and fixed-price before anything starts, delivered by the founder, and your existing system stays running until cutover.

  1. Week 0

    Read the system as it is

    We go through the existing application and record what it actually does, including the parts nobody documented. You get a written inventory and a fixed price before any build starts.

  2. Weeks 1-N

    Rebuild and run in parallel

    The replacement runs beside the original until the numbers reconcile. The old system stays untouched and switched on the whole time.

  3. Cutover

    Go live and hand over

    Cutover on a date you choose, then thirty days of support. Source code, documentation and credentials are handed to you, in your name.

Founder profile

Kasun Wijayamanna

Founder · Perth, WA · Started HELLO PEOPLE in 2008

18+ Years running HELLO PEOPLE

Founded in 2008. Two decades of technology-driven business transformation across Australia.

100+ Projects delivered

Startups to government agencies across mining, healthcare, legal, education and more.

HDR Researcher · Curtin University

Postgraduate research in Artificial Intelligence and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG).

MBA Oil & Gas

Deep technical expertise combined with strong business and financial acumen.

Perth Based in WA

Serving businesses across Western Australia and nationally.

AU+TH International experience

Professional background in Bangkok, Thailand before migrating to Perth.

PHF Paul Harris Fellow · Rotary

Former President of Rotary Club of Booragoon. Over a decade of community service.

Read the full bio, research, career, community involvement and how HELLO PEOPLE runs projects.

See full founder page

What the work actually is

Modernise the interface and the access, keep the platform

The usual answer is not to leave IBM i. It is to put a modern interface and proper APIs over DB2 for i, so the reliable part keeps doing its job and the part people complain about goes away.

What you have now

  • RPG III or RPG IV source, often fixed-format
  • 5250 green-screen displays
  • DB2 for i holding the data
  • CL programs driving overnight batch
What we build

Modernise the interface and the access, keep the platform

The usual answer is not to leave IBM i. It is to put a modern interface and proper APIs over DB2 for i, so the reliable part keeps doing its job and the part people complain about goes away.

See how a project runs

What you end up with

  • A web or mobile interface over the same DB2 data
  • APIs so other systems can reach the data properly
  • RPG logic documented rather than lost to retirement
What we do

The 5 pieces of AS/400 and RPG work we are asked for

Most engagements are some combination of these, and most start with the first.

  1. Put a web interface over it

    Browser and mobile screens over the same DB2 for i data, so the green screen stops being a hiring obstacle.

  2. Expose proper APIs

    So other systems can reach the data without screen scraping or overnight file drops.

  3. Document the RPG

    Business rules recorded before the people who wrote them retire. This is the most time-critical part of the work.

  4. Map the CL batch jobs

    Overnight CL programs are often where the real processing happens and are rarely documented.

  5. Migrate only if you must

    Leaving IBM i is expensive and often unnecessary. We will say when it is genuinely justified, and usually it is not.

Where you are now

It works, and nobody will touch it

  • 5250 green screens that new staff will not use
  • RPG III in fixed-column format, written decades ago
  • RPG programmers retiring with the knowledge in their heads
  • Other systems reaching the data by screen scraping

After

Supported, documented and yours

  • Browser and mobile access to the same reliable data
  • Real APIs instead of scraping and file drops
  • Business rules documented rather than remembered
  • The platform kept, because it is not the problem

Scoped and quoted before you commit. You own the code, the documentation and the credentials at the end of it.

Get a fixed-price scope
Common questions

AS/400 and RPG questions

Should we get off the AS/400?

Usually not, and we will argue against it when it is not justified. IBM i is supported and reliable. The complaints are almost always about the interface and the hiring market, and both can be fixed without replacing the platform.

Can we keep RPG and still modernise?

Yes. Putting a web interface and APIs over DB2 for i leaves the RPG doing what it does well while removing what people actually complain about.

Our RPG programmer is retiring next year. What is urgent?

Documentation, immediately. Getting the business rules and the batch processes written down while that person is still available is worth more than any technical change you make this year.

Is RPG III harder than RPG IV?

Fixed-column RPG III is less readable to a modern eye, yes. It is a legibility problem rather than a barrier, and converting to free-format is sometimes worth doing on its own.

Can other systems integrate with IBM i?

Properly, yes, through APIs over DB2 for i. Most organisations are doing it through screen scraping or overnight files, and replacing that is often the highest-value change available.

Tell us what you are running

What the system does, roughly how old it is, and what is forcing the question. We will come back with a straight answer and a fixed-price scope, even if the answer is to leave it alone.

Prefer a quick chat? Call 0425 531 127. We answer the phone in Perth.