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From Black Box to Clarity: How X-Analysis Unlocks IBM i Code Insights

August 18, 2026

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For many enterprises running IBM i (AS/400, iSeries) applications, those applications feel like a black box: complex, often undocumented and increasingly difficult to support, maintain and develop.

Especially when you consider the widening skills gap for experienced IBM i developers.

Without proper IBM i code analysis and documentation, developers are more hesitant to make changes as they don’t know the risks those code changes may introduce to what are often business-critical applications.

Enter X-Analysis from Fresche Solutions, an advanced IBM i code analysis tool that unlocks hidden business rules, data flows, and program dependencies.

X-Analysis gives IT teams full transparency into their IBM i applications code base.

In this article, we’ll explore:

Why legacy IBM i applications can be difficult to maintain.
How X-Analysis transforms RPG and COBOL code into structured insights.
The benefits of automated IBM i application documentation and impact analysis.
How AI is bringing smarter IBM i modernisation.

The Challenge: IBM i Applications as a “Black Box”

Many IBM i (AS/400, iSeries) applications have evolved over decades, accumulating technical debt and undocumented code.

This exact scenario was evident when we started to provide support, maintenance and development services to Schenker Finland’s TMS Software. You can read more about how we coupled X-Analysis with TD/OMS, a market leading IBM i change management tool, to understand their CIEL & Opera systems (all of which are in Finnish!).

Just like Schenker, businesses often struggle with:

Lack of visibility: developers don’t fully understand RPG and COBOL programs.
Risk of unintended changes: Modifying one program may break dependencies.
Slow IBM i modernisation: Without a clear view of the application, digital transformation efforts stall.
Lack of agility and integration: Development projects are either slow or non-existent as there is an IBM i skills gap or inability to develop applications without understanding the code base
Developer dependency: Only senior IBM i developers understand system logic, making knowledge transfer difficult.

Without automated IBM i code analysis, organizations are left guessing how their applications truly function.

X-Analysis: The Key to IBM i Code Insights

X-Analysis offers a comprehensive suite of tools designed to tackle the challenges of documenting and analysing IBM i systems.

X-Analysis is equipped with features that make it indispensable for IT developers including:

Automated Code Analysis: It scans and analyses the entire IBM i codebase, identifying dependencies, dead code, and potential optimisation opportunities.
Graphical Representations: Complex code structures are broken down into understandable diagrams, aiding in visualisation and comprehension.
Impact Analysis: Before making changes, X-Analysis assesses the potential impact, ensuring that modifications do not inadvertently disrupt operations.

AI-Powered IBM i Application Intelligence

With the integration of AI and a new web-based UI, X-Analysis transforms code analysis into an intuitive experience and is a major enhancement to the toolset.

It allows non-technical stakeholders, including Project Managers, Business Analysts, and C-level executives, to query code in plain English (e.g., “What programs use this file?”) and receive actionable insights.

This AI-powered capability has been shown to improve response speeds by over 10x in some cases compared to legacy methods, making advanced application intelligence accessible to the entire team.

Organisations across various sectors are using X-Analysis to drive results:

A major financial institution used X-Analysis to document its COBOL applications, significantly cutting the time required for system audits and upgrades.
A large manufacturing company used the tool to update RPG applications to a modern framework, resulting in lower operational costs and improved performance.

If you’re interested in learning more? Free proof of concept available so you can experience the power of AI for IBM i application modernization.

What’s the business impact of using X-Analysis?

Reduce maintenance costs: Improve code visibility and documentation.
Accelerate modernisation: Use automated business rule extraction.
Lower development risks: Identify potential issues before changes are made.
Enable faster onboarding: Help new developers understand the system quickly.

By using X-Analysis for IBM i application analysis, businesses can:

Reduce IBM i maintenance costs by improving code transparency.
Speed up IBM i modernization efforts with clear business rule extraction.
Improve developer efficiency by eliminating guesswork in legacy applications.
Lower the risk of software changes with precise IBM i impact analysis.
Accelerate IBM i cloud migration by understanding legacy system architectures.

IBM i code analysis delivers visibility

IBM i applications don’t have to be thought as that impenetrable black box.

With X-Analysis, IBM i-based enterprises can gain full visibility into their RPG and COBOL code base.

Analysis, testing and automated documentation of those applications improves application maintenance, the speed of development projects and ensures modernisation and transformation strategies are successful.

Ready to unlock your IBM i applications with X-Analysis? Learn more about X-Analysis here.