Subject: CM First Group September 2024 Newsletter

All the modernization news that's fit to print

September 2024

In this issue...

  • CA 2E / Plex Conference: Keynote Speakers

  • Article: Migrating From COBOL to Modern RPG: A Guide - CM First

  • Article: How to Make Technical Debt Your Friend - InfoQ 

  • Watch: CA Plex/2E Community Pre-Conference Update and Microsoft/IBM Keynote Previews - CA Communities

  • Watch: Next-Gen Pair Programming: AI Collaboration on IBM i and IBM z Systems

  • Intelligence: News articles from out yonder...

 CA Plex/2E Worldwide Developer Conference 

The CA 2E/Plex Community is proud to present another ground-breaking conference focused on meeting the needs of technical experts charged with maintaining, automating, and modernizing enterprise software systems like RPG, COBOL, CA 2E (Synon), and CA Plex on IBM i/Power and Microsoft.

CA 2E/CA Plex Worldwide Developer Conference

October 15th - 17th in Austin, Texas

Virtual attendance and BootCamp options are available


Keynote Speakers

Tim Rowe

Application Development and Systems Management


Tim will explore the IBM i development team's efforts to help users take advantage of AI technologies while continuing to honor the pillars this platform has known all these years.


With two decades of experience at IBM, Tim Rowe is currently the business architect for application development on IBM i with responsibility for ensuring that the platform has the infrastructure and components necessary for customers to develop, build, and run applications on IBM i.


Richard DiZerega

Principal Engineering Lead Microsoft


Richard will deep-dive into the landscape of conversational AI solutions with Microsoft’s CoPilot offerings in his comprehensive session.


Richard DiZerega is a Software Development Engineer in the Technical Evangelism and Development group at Microsoft, where he helps developers and software companies maximize the use of Microsoft services in Office 365 and Azure. He’s a passionate and skilled technology evangelist with great interest in innovative solutions that cross workload and platforms.


Register for the Conference Now!

Heads Up

Migrating From COBOL to Modern RPG: A Guide


As a modernization strategy, the transition from COBOL to RPG might just be underrated. Although both languages were created decades ago and have maintained their presence in enterprises, RPG has emerged as a more modernization-friendly option. It's more compatible with modern programming paradigms and integrates more easily with contemporary applications.


In this article, we examine the intricacies of both languages, the reasons organizations are migrating some workloads from COBOL to modern RPG, and how tools like CM evolveIT can streamline the process and minimize complexity.


Read on for more →

Heads Up

How to Make Technical Debt Your Friend


The concept of Technical Debt (TD) often comes with a negative connotation, but reframing the concept and adjusting your lens a little might help you reap unexpected rewards. When managed deliberately and strategically, incurring technical debt can actually be an invaluable part of the learning process and help teams deliver a better final product.


By reducing the cost of experimentation, TD accelerates the feedback loop—enabling teams to iterate quickly and learn what works and what doesn't without the pressure of achieving perfection at every release.


TD isn't an ideal solution, for sure, but the envisioned ideal may not always be the best one. What you initially perceive as technical debt might not be a deviation at all, especially if it contributes positively to your project's goals.


Read the full article for more insights and actionable strategies related to technical debt in your organization.


Read more about it at InfoQ →

Watch: CA Plex/2E Communities

CA Plex/2E Community Pre-Conference Update and Microsoft/IBM Keynote Previews


Roger Griffith and the conference team provided October Plex/2E Conference updates covering several key areas, including venue information, the general conference format, plus two talks from prominent AI keynote speakers Tim Rowe and Richard DiZerega.


Richard DiZerega from Microsoft covered the landscape of conversational AI solutions, focusing on Microsoft's CoPilot for M365 and its customizable applications. Tim Rowe from IBM explored how the IBM i development team is integrating AI while maintaining the platform's core strengths of security, reliability, and cost performance.


Watch Now →

Watch

Next-Gen Pair Programming: AI Collaboration on IBM i and IBM z Systems


Join us for a cutting-edge webinar that merges the art of pair programming with the innovation of AI for both IBM i and IBM z systems. This session is dedicated to COBOL developers working on IBM's midrange and mainframe platforms, offering a deep dive into how AI can amplify coding collaboration and efficiency.


In this webinar, we will:

  • Discuss the integration of AI-driven pair programming in IBM i and IBM z COBOL development.

  • Address the unique challenges of maintaining and evolving COBOL applications with AI support.

  • Showcase a live demonstration of AI tools tailored to IBM i and IBM z developers.

  • Share actionable strategies for embedding AI into the pair programming workflow on both platforms.

Whether you're involved in IBM i or IBM z development, this webinar will equip you with the knowledge to leverage AI for better code quality, faster problem-solving, and more productive pair programming sessions. Engage with our experts and take the first step towards a smarter, AI-assisted development future.


Watch the video now →

Are you tired of time-consuming manual testing software applications? Fortra's Automate Plus RPA is here to help. Join us for a webinar where we review the features of this powerful tool and show you how it can revolutionize your software testing processes, making it better, more accurate, and quicker to get results.


Watch the Webinar →

Frightened about the prospect of your legacy IBM i and z application developers leaving? We have a solution that can put your fears to rest. In this webinar, we demonstrate how you can “refactor” your legacy app developed in COBOL, RPG, or CA 2E (Synon) directly to maintainable runtime-free Java and JS.


Watch the Webinar →

 Broadcom Support 


Many enterprises struggle with obtaining Broadcom support for their CA 2E (Synon, COOL:2E) or CA Plex systems


If you're working with an older unsupported release, upgrading you IBM OS, or otherwise under the shadow of lapsed maintenance, we can get you back on Broadcom support based on your unique situtation. We specialize in all sizes of customers.


Fill out our 2 minute form and schedule a no-commitment fifteen minute conversation with a CM First Group technical rep.

Get rock solid Broadcom support

CM First Support

Current CM First Group customers can access tutorials and submit support tickets at support.cmfirstgroup.com.

Current Releases


CM WebClient 1.8.8 (with nightly builds) For details, go here.

CM Matchpoint ALM 7.0 Build 004. For details, go here.

CM evolveIT 11.6, last supported 10.6
CM M3 2023 Edition
CA Plex 7.2.1 SP005, last supported 7.2.1 (as of January 31, 2022)
→ Details can be found here at Broadcom (login required)
CA 2E 8.7.3, last supported 8.7 (as of January 31, 2022)
→ Details can be found here at Broadcom (login required)
Contact CM First to learn more: info@cmfirstgroup.com

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