7 Signs You Need Help With IBM i Application Modernization

It is safe to say that almost all companies today use software in their operations. In fact, businesses are getting more and more dependent on software applications and other IT solutions, especially in the last few years when the digital transformation really started to gain momentum. In these circumstances, every company needs to make sure its apps are able to keep up with the modern-day technological requirements and market expectations through smart application modernization.

Today, more than 100,000 organizations in various industries around the globe are using IBM i to power some of their most critical operations. And a majority of them are inclined to keep relying on IBM i going forward, just because this platform has proved itself as a great IT solution investment multiple times over the past decades. But let’s face it, when it comes to IBM i application modernization and keeping the IBM i-based infrastructure in line with the latest technological developments, this can be challenging.

How do we know when we need to start modernizing applications on the IBM i?

Initially released back at the end of the 1980s, IBM i has earned the reputation of a highly reliable and secure solution. One that is able to provide steady performance without requiring costly updates or frequent maintenance efforts. Ironically, this robustness and integrity, which made IBM i a legend among enterprise platforms, is one of the main reasons why many business leaders and company executives are failing to recognize the need for modernization in a timely manner.

Even though picking the right moment to start implementing modernization projects can be a non-trivial task, identifying when your IBM i applications and other parts of IT infrastructure require modernization shouldn’t be too hard.

In the process of making such a decision, you should proceed from the business objectives and needs. When existing applications are not able to adequately support company operations and new business developments, it’s a precise and unambiguous signal that IBM i application modernization is required.

What are some IBM i application modernization challenges?

Here are seven easily identifiable symptoms of failing legacy apps. When any of these occur, it’s a clear sign that a modernization project is required.

1. Apps can’t support strategic business goals

One of the most obvious indicators of the need to initiate an IBM i applications modernization project, is when your apps are not able to support strategic business goals and objectives. As many of you are probably well-aware, reliance on legacy technological solutions can be extremely restricting and can limit strategic options business-wise.

Here’s one typical example. In order to increase sales and revenues, businesses need to utilize new online tools and channels (from websites and landing pages to public pages on social media). But if the company is still using old IBM i 5250 green-screen apps, which have no support for modern web technologies, then integrating internal applications with new online channels won’t be possible.

2. Apps can’t support new business processes

When it comes to day-to-day business operations, the most common symptom of using legacy apps is when they are not able to support changes in work and business processes that companies in the 2020s often have no choice but to implement. For example, the ability for employees and partners to access business apps remotely from any device (desktop or mobile) is crucial to enabling fast and efficient operations of a company today. Needless to say, old 5250 IBM i apps do not support broad cross-platform access in line with modern-day standards unless they are modernized.

Also, we would like to add that the IBM i application modernization project itself can be a great opportunity for a company to review existing business processes and introduce changes, reaching new levels of efficiency and productivity as a result.

3. Old apps are inefficient and less cost-effective than new tools

Another common sign that you need to call an IBM i application modernization team to the rescue is when your business apps, servicing business processes they are still able to support, are obviously less efficient and cost-effective compared to newer applications and other solutions widely used in business processes today. And when talking about outdated IBM i 5250 green screens, this is, in fact, almost always the case. Such outdated solutions are simply not able to provide cost-efficiency on the level of modern-day software applications without serious modernization.

4. Integration with new apps is very limited or impossible

The integration capabilities are a typical common weakness for legacy business apps as well. It comes as no surprise that software products developed decades ago do not integrate well with newer technologies and program tools created in recent years. Needless to say, not being able to integrate business applications with other apps and components of IT infrastructure creates major bottlenecks in business processes and ultimately leads to losses in efficiency and productivity.

5. Continuous increase in maintenance costs

Maintenance costs growing consistently over the years is another common attribute of relying on legacy business apps. Increasing costs of enterprise software development and maintenance, in general, is a serious business issue. As IT systems are getting increasingly more complex and multi-layered, requiring more and more integrations and connections with other components, the costs of building, implementing, and supporting new products are consistently growing for all businesses. But for companies that are still using outdated IBM i green-screens, maintenance costs can really grow from year to year, causing budget shortfalls.

6. Programmers able to maintain the source code are difficult to hire

Aside from growing costs of maintenance, simply being able to find and hire programmers who are qualified to maintain the source code of a legacy app very often is a problem as well. As you may know, the majority of outdated IBM i applications are written in RPG (the Report Program Generator), a procedural programming language that was first introduced back in 1959.

While the RPG business apps ecosystem remains considerably large, the talent pool of RPG developers is rapidly shrinking. According to this report, 33% of active RPG & COBOL developers had retired in a period of just three years, from 2017 to 2020. New generations of coders understandably are not very enthusiastic about investing time and effort into deep learning of languages such as RPG that are considered to be legacy. As the talent pool shrinks, crucial RPG-related knowledge is rapidly depleting as well. This is why it gets increasingly problematic for organizations to hire programmers to maintain IBM i apps without modernizing them first.

7. Hard to train new employees to use legacy solutions

Finally, legacy apps typically cannot match modern-day standards in terms of user interfaces and other elements of user experience. As a result, teaching new employees to use such apps takes a lot of time and energy, and they still aren’t as productive as they could be (especially at first, while still getting used to these instruments). Additionally, you should realize that using inconvenient and outdated tools also tends to have a negative effect on employee satisfaction overall.

How can I build a business case for application modernization on the IBM i?

In many cases, however, even when a company is clearly experiencing all seven symptoms, actually starting an IBM i application modernization project is easier said than done. Modernizing legacy applications requires funding and a team that would comprise not just qualified software developers and other technical experts but also people with deep knowledge of the business processes.

This is why, in order to get a modernization project the green light from company decision-makers, typically the IT department/team, would need to prepare a business case, convincing them that such a project is worth doing and will provide a return on investment (ROI) fast enough.

A business case is a formal statement that assures decision-makers that a project is worthwhile.

Usually, business cases describe the main business reasons for an IBM i application modernization project and provide quantitative measures demonstrating the ROI.

Let’s take a look at some of the most crucial issues to consider when preparing a business case for an enterprise apps modernization project.

• Preserving the current functionality of the app;

First of all, you need to make sure all business functionality provided by the legacy app won’t be lost in the modernization process.

• Minimization of business disruption;

Secondly, take the time to plan for the implementation of new applications and the replacement of legacy apps. It is advisable for the business case to include a detailed description of processes and measures aimed at minimizing any disruptions of business activities potentially occurring as a modernization side-effect.

• Optimization of app maintenance costs;

As maintenance costs are typically the largest portion of total business expenses on any software, one of the key goals of modernization should be to make updated apps as simple and cheap to maintain as possible.

• Protection of business investments in software;

Also, don’t forget that any legacy business app typically represents a significant financial investment for a company. And the best decision would be to plan the modernization strategy in a way that would allow the business to protect investments that were made earlier instead of abandoning them.

• Utilizing existing developer knowledge;

What’s also very important is to be able to preserve and make use of the existing knowledge of company developers. This includes both technical skills of the developers as well as their knowledge and experience of the business side of using these tools.

• Improving software development practices and processes;

A modernization project is also a great opportunity to review software development methods and approaches in the company, improving and updating them along with the program tools.

• Reducing employee training costs with better UX and UI;

As we said earlier, teaching new employees to use outdated IBM i apps typically takes a lot of time and energy. Minimization of training costs is definitely one of the priorities for a modernization project, achieved through creating apps with simple modern UIs and a great user experience.

• Compliance with rules and regulations;

You might also think about potentially integrating into the modernized apps new features that would make it easier for the company to meet regulatory and compliance obligations.

• Using new technologies.

Finally, think about and list in the business case all new technologies that can be integrated into the legacy apps during modernization projects. Highlight the technologies and features with the potential to deliver the highest business value if implemented.

Why Visual LANSA for IBM i application modernization?

Visual LANSA is a low-code, rapid application development platform for building enterprise-grade mobile, web and desktop apps. LANSA’s platform has been a key component powering the successful delivery of IBM i modernization projects for hundreds of organizations throughout the years. Utilizing Visual LANSA allows organizations of all sizes to use their existing development resources to build new apps and integrate them with other parts of their IT systems.

LANSA’s platform combines all the right trends in modern-day software development and incorporates a variety of powerful tools. The arsenal of development instruments and features offered by LANSA includes several tools that were created for the IBM i platform exclusively, to make the modernization of IBM i apps and related systems as easy as possible.

One such tool, created for companies using IBM i exclusively, is aXes, a tailor-made solution designed to automate the creation of web-enabled IBM i applications. It allows organizations to easily transform their existing IBM i 5250 apps into web pages out-of-the-box, without changing source code.

aXes includes an API that allows developers to create programs able to automatically operate applications written with RPG or COBOL. Additionally, applications can use aXes to simulate the actions of a person entering data on screens in an IBM i application. This feature makes it possible to integrate existing 5250 apps with .NET, Java, and other platforms without changing their source code. aXes caters to a wide range of automation options with versions of the API for .NET for Windows, Java for IBM i and Windows, and RPG for IBM i.

Ready to launch your IBM i application modernization project? Get in touch with us to start utilizing Visual LANSA for the development and modernization of your business apps.