2024 IBM i Predictions, Part Deux
January 22, 2024 Alex Woodie
How will 2024 unfold? Nobody knows the answer to that. But that’s not stopping members of the IBM i community from taking some swings. It’s not only a good Bayesian exercise to think through the probabilities of what may occur, but it’s often a bit of fun, too.
Our second batch of 2024 predictions starts with IBM distinguished engineer Steve Will, who, as the IBM i chief technology officer and IBM i chief architect, doesn’t need to guess where the platform is going, since he’s literally leading the creation of it. Instead, his prediction focuses on the community.
“2024 will likely see an even stronger presence of in-person participation, building on the connections and networking people enjoyed during 2023’s 35th anniversary celebrations,” Will says. “The whole community is going to want to talk to one another about what their companies are doing with security, open source, cloud, and AI. It should be a very exciting year!”
It’s hard to escape the reaches of generative AI, which is having an iPhone-like moment in society at large. The impact of GenAI will also extend into the IBM i, says Brian May, the vice president of product management for Profound Logic, which recently launched Profound AI (stay tuned for coverage of the launch in IT Jungle).
“Here at Profound Logic, we are confident that 2024 will mark the emergence of generative AI as a pivotal force,” May says. “With the rapid advancement of AI technology, the landscape of business applications stands poised for transformation, presenting unparalleled opportunities for those who dare to embrace this evolution. Our commitment to staying at the forefront is evident through significant investments in AI, like Profound AI. We not only educate ourselves on the latest developments but also channel our resources towards innovating new products and services geared towards unleashing the transformative potential of generative AI in the realm of business applications.”
Briteskies managing director Bill Onion’s crystal ball is on the fritz, but that’s not stopping him from sharing his insights with the IBM i community.
“While we can’t predict the future, obviously, I’m excited to see how some tools play out in the upcoming year,” Onion says. “VS Code has already really taken off and 2024 will likely bring only more users and enhancements to the tool. AI is another topic that is on the horizon, some developers prefer to stay their own course, but it will be interesting to see how and if decision makers incorporate AI tools into code and applications. It still being so new, I think most people still feel trepidation about incorporating AI code into their programs, but Watson X could alleviate some of that fear. Only time will tell.”
“SQL is another great tool that has been around, but definitely isn’t being used to its full potential by many in the field,” Onion continues. “Our team has seen how helpful and efficient SQL can be and from our experience, the industry is ready for it. Now it’s just about companies and developers investing time into training.”
The IBM i workforce situation is on the mind of Donnie MacColl, senior director and data compliance officer at Fortra.
“In the IBM i market there are still too many skilled professionals reaching retirement without there being enough skilled professionals to fill their roles,” MacColl says. “As a result, software solutions are needed to help bridge the gap. With today’s security challenges, customers are no longer asking for a security solution and an automation solution independently, they want both, and the key to staying secure with less resources is automated security. Organizations are drawn to solutions that complement each other and work seamlessly through a single interface for installation, upgrades, management, and ongoing reporting.”
ARCAD Software’s motto is “breaking barriers.” In 2024, it sees a few barriers being broken in certain areas, including the modernization of development environments; continued adoption of VS Code; a generational transition in staff renewal; continued movement to the cloud; and built-in Ai.
“The ‘move off’ the platform trend is decreasing,” ARCAD tells us. “And the number of new users is increasing as ISVs move to SaaS mode with a back-end on IBM i.”
Ash Giddings, product manager at Maxava, foresees IBM i shops taking steps to ensure business continuity when members of their IBM i team leave the company.
“The looming shortage of IBM i skills has been a concern for a while, and 2024 may mark a crucial turning point where businesses begin to experience adverse effects if proactive measures are not taken,” Giddings says. “It is imperative for organizations to collaborate with Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) and Managed Service Providers (MSPs) possessing verified expertise, as this will play a pivotal role in mitigating the challenges ahead. Ignoring this issue any longer could prove costly for those who opt to remain indifferent.
“As standard IBM support for the Power8 family concludes in 2024, customers are faced with a critical decision,” Giddings continues. “While extended support is an option, it comes at a premium. The once straightforward choice of an on-premise hardware upgrade to replace ageing kit has evolved into a spectrum of possibilities, including transitioning to new Power10 hardware, leveraging partner power clouds, or embracing the public cloud. Amidst these options, Maxava’s Migrate Live will continue to be key, ensuring a seamless transition without downtime, and preserving data integrity regardless of the chosen migration path.”
“The acceleration of public cloud adoption for IBM i workloads is gaining momentum,” he continues. “While many initially embarked on their cloud journey with development and test workloads, there is a noticeable shift towards migrating transactional and production applications. This trend is particularly evident in the increasing preference for platforms like IBM Power Virtual Server and Skytap on Azure. As Power8 approaches the end of support, the anticipation is that this upward trajectory will persist and intensify throughout 2024.”
Bob Cozzi, the principal at CozTools, has been around the IBM i platform and its predecessors longer than most. In 2025, he sees some of the platform’s long held characteristics making life a little more difficult for IBM and business partners.
“I expect to see continued consolidation (reduction in number of physical systems) in the IBM i space,” Cozzi says. “In addition, it appears that the number of customers staying at so called ‘unsupported’ release levels will be the largest growth segment in this space. There is nothing wrong with V7R3. But if you’re on a Power7+ or earlier, that’s the end of the road for those systems. The ‘problem’ is that, that hardware is so reliable it just keeps running. No reason to upgrade. IBM hardware service is still top notch, while software support is a lot of ‘We have no intention of fixing that’ responses. I don’t blame the customers one bit, as there hasn’t been significant non-RPG enhancements since V7R3, in my opinion.”
“We could see a resurrection of in-person conference-based training,” he continues. “As airfares continue to soar, tech professionals may look for ways to incorporate travel into their schedule without reaching too deeply into their own pockets. COMMON and similar tech conferences may benefit. You are also likely see more of the long-time/familiar names in the IBM i space announce retirement.”
