Welcome to your IBM i update for May 2025 – a snapshot of news and views on what’s been happening in the IBM i community in the past few weeks as reported by Proximity.
This month, Andy takes a look at the COMMON Europe and i-POWER UK event previews with Steve Cast, plus an update on the upcoming IBM i coding assistant.
Watch the video below or read the full post underneath:
Common Europe Congress 2025
We’re in event season and for Europe, this year, it kicks off in Gothenburg with the Common Europe Congress 2025.
This three and a half day event provides education and knowledge delivered by top IBM and industry leading figures with in-depth workshops, experts on-hand plus a congress dinner and live entertainment too.
So, if I was to pick just one thing for each day then on Day one, it’s all about the workshops and providing delegates a warm welcome.
So, should this be your first time, be sure to check out the ‘first timer session’ at 6pm, followed by the welcome reception with food and drink shortly after – a great place to meet fellow delegates and IBM i-ers.
Day two starts the Expo proper, and I’d recommend being there for the keynote speech by IBM i CTO Steve Will, Power Processor Chief Architect, Bill Starke & VP of IBM Power, Jonas Ullberg – there’s always something shiny and new announced.
On Wednesday, the expo continues with multiple streams – so do check the schedule and book your place for the topics of interest but after all that, I’d certainly recommend the conference dinner and expo fun – it’s a great place to share stories, and meet like minded people and also a chance to let your hair down too after what would have been a jam packed few days.
Finally on day 4, and one of the last sessions of the event – it’s ask the Experts. Your chance to ask questions from the people in the know and (in some cases) have written the rule book – well worth sticking around ‘till the end.
i-Power 2025 Event Overview with Steve Cast
Then, the following week, for us Brits, we have the i-Power event. This year, like the past few, we’re in Northampton, taking place on June 10th and 11th at the Mercure Northampton Hotel.
This two-day educational conference offers a rich agenda filled with workshops, keynote sessions, and networking opportunities.
The first day concentrates on education and networking with five action packed streams full of workshops and deep-dive labs led by top industry experts.
So, if you’re an attendee, you can expect to gain valuable insights into the latest IBM i developments and best practices.
The next day kicks-off with a key note from IBM Senior Technical Staff Member, Scott Forstie with a range of thought provoking topics throughout the day including AI, cloud and datacentre deployment, security, modernisation and more besides… and there’s also a debate session titles “AI – When is it truly appropriate” I’m sure all you HAL 9000 fans will be up for that one.
To preview the i-Power event, I took time with Steve Cast, i-UGs Marketing Director and asked him, “What can attendees expect from this years i-Power conference”
Steve Cast: Let’s look at that in two ways. Firstly, they’re going to have fun—and that’s pretty important. Secondly, they’re going to learn a lot. This is a fantastic event for education and skills development.
Andy Nicholson: Definitely. i-Power has been going for many years now. How has it evolved, and what makes the 2025 event stand out?
Steve Cast: Great question. It’s been running longer than I care to remember! Over the years, we’ve tried different formats, but one thing that’s remained important—except during COVID—is that it’s an in-person event. We prioritise live presentations and delegate attendance. That face-to-face interaction is what really sets i-Power apart from other IBM i community events.
Andy Nicholson: Are there specific tracks for developers, system admins, or decision makers? How do you split those?
Steve Cast: This year we’ve organised five key tracks: development, database, security, system administration, and traditional development. Day one starts with RPG workshops. The idea is to let delegates focus on an area they’re most interested in and attend sessions and workshops tailored to that. It really covers the full IBM i landscape—developers, DBAs, security professionals—you name it. And while IBM i is the most securable platform, it doesn’t mean it’s always the most secure, so it’s great we’re covering that too.
Andy Nicholson: Are you seeing more interest in newer topics like AI or modernisation?
Steve Cast: Absolutely. AI is everywhere right now, and modernisation remains a major topic. There are many vendors with deep insights into this—Fresche Solutions, who I work for, is one example. Our delegates range from those running traditional green-screen RPG or COBOL systems from the ’70s and ’80s, to students and newer developers working with technologies like Node-RED. It’s all centred around IBM i.
Andy Nicholson: The IBM i community is a passionate one. How do they help shape the content and feel of the event?
Steve Cast: Most of our delegates are also members. A few years ago, we made the decision that attending our events requires membership—but attending the event covers your first year’s membership, so it’s a no-brainer. We also run a “call for papers” where members and the wider community can propose session topics. Our technical director, Steve Bradshaw from Rowton IT, and his committee review the submissions and select the ones that fit the agenda. Honestly, the challenge is narrowing it down—we get more quality submissions than we have space for.
Andy Nicholson: That’s brilliant. The agenda sounds full! How many of the sessions are hands-on or interactive?
Steve Cast: We’ve split the event into two distinct days. Day one—Tuesday, 10th June—is very much hands-on. Delegates are encouraged to bring their laptops and get stuck in. One session this year, for example, involves building a Linux partition from scratch on IBM i—very hands-on indeed! Day two is more traditional: keynotes, 45–60 minute sessions, and a debate. This year, the debate topic is AI—when and how it should be used. We get audience participation and expert panel input to keep it lively.
Andy Nicholson: Sounds great. But it’s not just about the sessions, is it? There’s networking too—and the gala dinner.
Steve Cast: Yes, the gala dinner bridges the two days. After a full-on first day, we unwind in the evening. It starts with a welcome drink in the expo area, which gives delegates a chance to engage with sponsors like Proximity—thanks again! We encourage vendors to do something fun during dinner—no dry sales pitches. This year, one is running a pub quiz, so brush up on your IBM i trivia! The dinner is buffet-style, which allows people to move around and network more freely.
Andy Nicholson: Sounds like a great evening. I’ll be there—happy to chat with anyone who joins my table. For those who haven’t been to i-Power, what’s your elevator pitch?
Steve Cast: Firstly, it’s a fantastic educational opportunity, especially for developers, DBAs, and security professionals. Day one workshops alone are worth the cost—these are high-quality sessions at a fraction of the usual training price. Then there’s the keynote on day two from Scott Forstie, sharing updates on IBM i 7.6 and potentially other announcements. Finally, there’s the peer networking—talking to others who work on the same platform, sharing ideas, and learning from each other.
Andy Nicholson: Couldn’t agree more. Where can people register, and is there still time?
Steve Cast: Yes, you can still register at iug.co.uk. Go to the site, click on the i-Power event, and fill in your registration. You’ll get a confirmation and access to SCED, our event scheduling tool, where you can plan your sessions. Also, the 2025 app will help you stay on track with your agenda. Hotel rooms are still available—but they’re going fast, so best register soon.
Andy Nicholson: Great. Just remind us of the dates.
Steve Cast: Tuesday 10th and Wednesday 11th June.
Andy Nicholson: Brilliant. See you there, Steve—thanks again!
Steve Cast: Looking forward to it, Andy. Thanks!
My thanks to Steve for taking the time to speak with me.
Now, I’ll be at both Common Europe and i-Power events – so please come up and say hello if you see me. Should you not be able to make the events – don’t worry, I’ll be covering what it’s like to attend in next months IBM i Update so be sure to catch up then.
Watson Code Assistant for IBM i – When’s it available?
At the COMMON POWERUp 2025 conference, IBM announced the upcoming public preview of IBM i coding assistant – now renamed, Watson Code Assistant for IBM i (or WCA for i for short).
Now. we’ve covered the development of this AI-driven tool extensively over the past year but some new details have emerged. But first, to recap, the coding assistant is built on IBM’s Watson X and Granite models and aims to assist developers by providing code explanations, future plans include code generation and test case creation too. Initially, WCA for i will be available as a Visual Studio Code plugin, with no current plans for RDi support.
IBM has trained the assistant using over 10 million lines of RPG code and is seeking contributions of older RPG II, III, and OPM code, as well as CL, COBOL, and SQL examples, to enhance its capabilities.
But when will it be available? Well, it’s released to beta partners in July – and this beta release will concentrate on the code explanation side of things – IBM is still hoping to have RPG generation capabilities available as a beta in WCA for i by the second half of the year. Also in the second half of the year should be a general release of the code explanation side of WCA for i. We’ll be sure to keep you in the loop with developments.
And that’s it for this month’s update. I do hope to see you at one of the upcoming events – be sure to say hello if you see me. In the meantime, for more like this, please see our blog on the proximity website, but for now, I’m Andrew Nicholson, we’re Proximity the IBM i application support and development partners that are in your corner.
We’ll see you next time.
Catch our previous April 2025 IBM i Update here. We’ve also got a summary of all the IBM i Updates published in 2024 here.
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