Technology

AS/400, IBM i & RPG Modernisation
so new staff will actually use it.

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.

You get the RPG programs read and documented, and a web front end over the same data, without the 5250 green screen. We do this for businesses in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the US, at a fixed price.

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
Australian owned and operated

Built here. Your data stays here.

  • No offshore development. Everything is written by our own team in Australia. Nothing is subcontracted overseas.
  • Your data stays onshore. Hosted in Australia, on infrastructure you own, under Australian law.
  • Every state, not just ours. Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and everywhere between.
Where we fit

Your IBM i is fine, the green screens are the problem

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.

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What the work actually is

Keep the platform, replace what people complain about

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.

Get a fixed-price scope

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

Only the AS/400 and RPG work you actually need

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

What people ask us about AS/400 and RPG

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 your AS/400 and RPG system does

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.