COMMON POWERUp 2025: Full Schedule

Unlock the Power of IBM i at POWERUp 2025!

Join us in Disneyland, California, for POWERUp 2025, the premier conference for IBM i professionals. Whether you’re an experienced expert or just starting your IBM i journey, this event offers unparalleled education, hands-on workshops, and valuable networking opportunities. Stay ahead of the curve with insights from industry leaders, explore the latest innovations, and connect with a thriving community that shares your passion for IBM i. Don’t miss this opportunity to expand your knowledge, grow your skills, and power up your career!

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10:00am PDT

IBM Placeholder

Monday May 19, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am PDT

Room 2

Monday May 19, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am PDT
Room 2 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

10:00am PDT

AI Trends You Need To Know

Monday May 19, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am PDT

Room 7

Artificial Intelligence is transforming industries and reshaping how businesses operate, innovate, and grow. This session dives into a diverse mix of hot topics in AI, designed to spark ideas and foster discussion.

Speakers

Charlie Guarino

CEO & IBM Champion, Central Park Data Systems

Charles Guarino believes in the “power” of IBM Power Systems. His career reflects his dedication and interest in bringing the platform and its solutions to others and as a result has been recognized as an IBM Champion.He is a member of COMMON’s Speaker Excellence Hall of Fame... Read More →

Monday May 19, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am PDT
Room 7 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

10:00am PDT

What's New in Db2 for i

Monday May 19, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am PDT

Room 3

In the tradition of previous Technology Refreshes (TR), the database team is delivering enhancements on the same cadence. Attend this session to hear about the many enhancements to SQL on i, SQL Query Engine, IBM i Services and more. This session will cover the new and enhanced Db2 for i capabilities added to IBM i 7.4 and IBM i 7.5 over the most recent IBM i Technology Refreshes.

This session will include something for everyone and anyone who uses the IBM i.

Resources: https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/1119129 and http://ibm.biz/Db2foriSQLTutor

Speakers

Scott Forstie

STSM, Db2 for i Architect, IBM

Scott Forstie is a Senior Technical Staff Member within IBM i development and spends most of his time working as the Db2 for i Architect. He has worked on IBM operating system development since joining IBM in 1989.Scott is a frequently published author, speaker at industry events... Read More →

Monday May 19, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am PDT
Room 3 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Database

10:00am PDT

What's New in PowerHA

Monday May 19, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am PDT

Room 10

Learn through live demonstrations how to take advantage of all the exciting new enhancements in PowerHA with a focus around automation, simplification and integration.

Speakers

Brian Nordland

Director of Development, Fortra

In addition to his role as Director of Development for Power Development at Fortra, Brian Nordland serves as the technical product manager for PowerHA and Robot HA. Brian has spoken at events, webinars, and user groups—including COMMON—since 2014. He is a co-inventor on multiple... Read More →

Monday May 19, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am PDT
Room 10 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

High Availability Resilience

10:00am PDT

Give me an hour, and I'll give you a week!

Monday May 19, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am PDT

Room 4

"Hey, do you have a minute?" We're asked that question many times every day, and while we say yes, the sad answer is... NO! Our lives and our careers are busier than ever. Feel like you're barely keeping your head above water at work? You're not alone. We struggle to keep up with the demands of our careers while retaining some semblance of balance between work and personal time. Come to this session and learn the life hacks you need to supercharge your productivity! By the end of the session you'll have the tools to save over 168 hours - that's one full week - every year! What will you do with all that extra time?

Speakers

Steve Wolk

CTO, PC Richard & Son

Steven Wolk is the Chief Technology Officer for PC Richard & Son, a family owned and operated chain of 66 appliance and electronics superstores located throughout NY, NJ, CT, and PA. Founded in 1909, PC Richard has always been known for honesty, integrity, and reliability throughout... Read More →

Monday May 19, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am PDT
Room 4 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Personal Development

10:00am PDT

Code for IBM i in 2025

Monday May 19, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am PDT

Room 1

Code for IBM i has changed a lot over the past two years. We've added more than a dozen enhancements and it's easy to miss them. We'll show off the brand new things you've missed for RPGLE, the database extension and more. Plus, we'll throw in things the community has been working on to make Visual Studio Code better for IBM i.

Speakers

Liam Allan

Software Advocate, IBM

I am a developer and open-source advocate. Ask me about Node.js, VS Code, app deployment and CICD :)

Monday May 19, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am PDT
Room 1 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Programmer Tools

10:00am PDT

Node.js: What’s new and what’s next

Monday May 19, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am PDT

Room 6

Node.js continues to evolve, powering the backbone of countless modern applications. In this talk, we’ll unveil the cutting-edge features and updates introduced in the latest Node.js releases. We will then dive into the efforts of the Next-10 team as we explore the future of this pivotal runtime.

From practical insights on leveraging new capabilities to opportunities for you to contribute and make an impact, this session is your ultimate guide to staying ahead with Node.js. Whether you're a seasoned developer or just starting out, join us to stay in the know, gain actionable knowledge, and be part of the vibrant Node.js community driving innovation forward.

Speakers

Michael Dawson

Monday May 19, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am PDT
Room 6 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Programming: Frameworks

10:00am PDT

Introduction to Python on IBM i

Monday May 19, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am PDT

Room 9

Come get your first look at Python and learn some of the basics! Also, learn about the product offerings that enable you to do software development with the language on the platform. Upon completing this class, you will be able to acquire, install, and use the language on IBM i, as well as extend its power using contributions from the larger open source community. We will also explore Db2 Data Access and IFS file system access as primary use cases for Python on IBM i.

Speakers

Mike Pavlak

Solution Architect, Perforce Software

Mike Pavlak has been working with IBM midrange solutions since 1992 and IBM Mainframes before that. After years of developing applications using RPG, CL and PHP he managed IT development and IT for power protection manufacturer Tripp Lite. Later Mike was instrumental in developing... Read More →

Monday May 19, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am PDT
Room 9 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Programming: Python

10:00am PDT

What's New and Exciting in RPG

Monday May 19, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am PDT

Room 5

Every year in Spring and again in Fall, IBM adds new features to the RPG language. In this session, you'll hear about all of the features that have been added recently, including a quick example of each feature. Once you know the features exist, you can use them in your own applications. Knowing what's new and exciting in RPG will allow you to take advantage of all of the new features in the language.

Speakers

Scott Klement

Managing Partner, ORC LLC

Monday May 19, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am PDT
Room 5 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Programming: RPG

10:00am PDT

IBM i Security - what's new in recent releases

Monday May 19, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am PDT

Room 8

Come learn about the security features included in the IBM i operating system's most recent releases. Whether exciting, mundane, or even a little scary to consider, there is something that will pique your interest.

Speakers

Tim Mullenbach

Monday May 19, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am PDT
Room 8 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Security

10:00am PDT

IBM Storage Overview and IBMi

Monday May 19, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am PDT

Room 11

General overview of the IBM Storage Portfolio and the solutions specific to IBMi

Speakers

Tony Owens

Monday May 19, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am PDT
Room 11 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Storage Technologies

10:00am PDT

Elevate Your IBMi Game: Transforming Bad Habits in Best

Monday May 19, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am PDT

Room 13

Best Practices is all about meeting IBM system compliance to achieve optimal results. Don’t let old myths or newly formed bad habits be the difference between success or a failure in service delivery. This session will examine V7R4/R5 System configurations, BRMS Backups, Disaster Recovery, and Security Management. Examine assumptions, technical gaps, blunders, and recommendations. Hear actual lessons learned so you do not make the same IBM i assumptions others have made. IT is not a game of chance.

Speakers

Richard Dolewski

VP, Enterprise Solutions, Connectria

Richard is a recognized SME and award-winning industry speaker specializing in, Cloud Computing Architecture, Business Resiliency, Disaster Recovery Planning and Backup & Recovery Program Design. He leads organizations through the new era of technology, achieving the desired, successful... Read More →

Josh Patterson

Monday May 19, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am PDT
Room 13 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Systems Management

10:00am PDT

Introduction to the Navigator for i Performance Tasks

Monday May 19, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am PDT

Room 12

Navigator for i has a rich set of tools to help you understand the performance of your IBM i. This session will demonstrate how to use Navigator for performance management tasks such as Custom Charts for specific metrics, System Monitors for real-time monitoring, the Performance Data Investigator to understand your performance signature, and Graph History for long-term trending.

Attend this session to learn about all about the performance management features in Navigator.

Speakers

Dawn May

Monday May 19, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am PDT
Room 12 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Systems Management

11:15am PDT

IBM Placeholder

Monday May 19, 2025 11:15am - 12:15pm PDT

Room 1

Monday May 19, 2025 11:15am - 12:15pm PDT
Room 1 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

11:15am PDT

Specific Group Placeholder

Monday May 19, 2025 11:15am - 12:15pm PDT

Room 3

Monday May 19, 2025 11:15am - 12:15pm PDT
Room 3 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

11:15am PDT

SQL 101 Bullet Train

Monday May 19, 2025 11:15am - 12:15pm PDT

Room 4

Hang on as we go from 0 to 300 MPH with SQL. We'll start out slow by covering the basics of creating tables, inserting, and selecting data. We pick up speed as we discuss Constraints, Join Types, and SQL Views. We will be going at full speed when we learn how to leverage Functions, Procedures, and Db2 Services! We will bring it all back to the station as we use all our SQL skills to build an example project that combines everything we've learned along the way.

Speakers

Patrick Behr

Software Developer / Architect, Seiden Group

Monday May 19, 2025 11:15am - 12:15pm PDT
Room 4 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Database

11:15am PDT

Get Going with Git on IBM i

Monday May 19, 2025 11:15am - 12:15pm PDT

Room 12

Unlock the full potential of your IBM i workflows with Git! This session will show you how to seamlessly integrate Git into your development process, set up GitBucket directly on IBM i, and leverage powerful version control features. Whether you’re new to Git or looking to refine your skills, you’ll leave with the knowledge and tools to streamline collaboration, boost productivity, and future-proof your workflows.

Speakers

Jonathan Zak

Monday May 19, 2025 11:15am - 12:15pm PDT
Room 12 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

DevOps

11:15am PDT

IBM i Networking Overview

Monday May 19, 2025 11:15am - 12:15pm PDT

Room 10

The IBM i OS network communications has changed a lot since the AS/400 primarily communicated to workstations and printers using Twinax and to other computer systems using specialized communications lines. In some ways things are more complex because our IBM i OS systems communicate to a lot of other devices in many different ways, but in other ways things are simpler today because nearly all network communications are built on top of the foundation of Ethernet and TCP/IP.

This session will take a look at these foundation Ethernet and TCP/IP and how they are built up within the IBM i OS. We will look at your communications adapters, Line Descriptions, and IP addresses, subnets, routes and more including the commands and interfaces used to manage these.

As time allows we may also look at some of the most commonly used networking servers Telnet and FTP and cover their basics of configuration, management and even troubleshooting.

Speakers

Wayne Bowers

Software Engineer, IBM

Wayne Bowers has been with IBM since 1997, where he works with the IBM i Global Support Center in Rochester MN. He is an Advisory Software Engineer specializing in the support of the IBM i Access (aka Client Access) products, Console, the TCP Telnet communications server, and the... Read More →

Monday May 19, 2025 11:15am - 12:15pm PDT
Room 10 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Networking

11:15am PDT

An introduction to Node.js

Monday May 19, 2025 11:15am - 12:15pm PDT

Room 2

JavaScript and TypeScript have become the go-to tools for crafting modern applications, powering both the sleek frontends and robust backends of today's software. At the heart of many backend systems lies Node.js, a runtime that’s revolutionized the way we build scalable and efficient applications.

In this session, we’ll dive into why Node.js has become a developer favorite, exploring its unique benefits and versatile capabilities. Through practical examples and code, you’ll gain a clear understanding of the core principles that make Node.js tick. Whether you're new to backend development or looking to sharpen your skills, this talk will arm you with the knowledge to write clean, effective Node.js applications, sidestep common mistakes, and accelerate your path to success. Join us and kickstart your Node.js journey with confidence!

Speakers

Michael Dawson

Monday May 19, 2025 11:15am - 12:15pm PDT
Room 2 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Programming: General

11:15am PDT

Getting Started with Web Development

Monday May 19, 2025 11:15am - 12:15pm PDT

Room 6

Knowing where to start in your web development learning journey can be difficult. In this session, we will cover a high level view of the languages and practices to learn to plan the first steps of your web career.

Speakers

Jasmine Kaczmarek

Director of IT, M.R. Williams

With over ten years of experience on the IBM Power System, Jasmine's passions include modernization, API development, integration of gamification techniques into business applications and mentoring new developers. Jasmine is an avid promoter of adopting open-source languages into... Read More →

Monday May 19, 2025 11:15am - 12:15pm PDT
Room 6 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Programming: General

11:15am PDT

Modern CL Programming

Monday May 19, 2025 11:15am - 12:15pm PDT

Room 9

IBM Made a huge number of enhancements to the CL language starting with V5R3 through i 7.1. WHile the changes slowed after that most CL programmers ignore all these changes and continue to write unreadable code with gotos and tags.

Come to get a detailed look at examples of the new functions including DOFOR, DOWHILE, DOUNTIL and SELECT, and how they allow programming CL in a much more structured format, and allow you to banish goto to the bit-bucket.

Learn about the many new process flow options and variable types in the CL language such as integer, signed integer, and pointer variables and how to use them.

Get tips on how to simplify the compiling of CL programs and command objects.

Find out how to provide direct feedback to IBM on your needs for the CL language -- they want to know if these changes are helping you and what to enhance next.

Speakers

Larry Bolhuis

Cloud and Datacenter Engineer, IBM Champion, Service Express Inc.

Larry has grown up with computers since his father became a CE in 1967. He obtained a bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Calvin College in 1982 and soon after began working on IBM midrange equipment with the S/34 and S/36. Larry began working on the As/400 at its introduction In 1988.After spending many years as a developer Larry began working on communications, networking, and systems management tasks. Years of... Read More →

Monday May 19, 2025 11:15am - 12:15pm PDT
Room 9 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Programming: General

11:15am PDT

PHP Best practices and New and Exciting Updates on IBM i

Monday May 19, 2025 11:15am - 12:15pm PDT

Room 5

PHP is moving fast these days. In this session, Alan will share his favorite techniques for creatig APIs and web apps with PHP, plus introduce new PHP 8.4 features and how to prepare for them. Alan will also cover tips on upgrading from older releases, the risks of not upgrading, recent security enhancements, and best practices for PHP on IBM i. As a bonus, Alan offers an inside peek at how PHP is made and built.

Speakers

Alan Seiden

Principal, IBM Champion, Seiden Group

How to modernize and create something new while leveraging your valuable business logic. Supporting developers, mentoring, staff augmentation, architecture, development and programming.APIs, IBM i, open source, web, PHP, Node.js, Python, RPG, ERPs

Monday May 19, 2025 11:15am - 12:15pm PDT
Room 5 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Programming: PHP

11:15am PDT

IBM i Security Basics

Monday May 19, 2025 11:15am - 12:15pm PDT

Room 8

This is an "IBM i Security 101" session. We will cover IBM i security topics from the basics (user profiles, system values, and object authority) through more advanced topics (adopted authority, authority checking, IFS considerations, audit journaling, and a multi-layer defensive posture). We'll cover some of these topics from the traditional "greenscreen" as well as Navigator for i.

Speakers

Steve Riedmueller

Certified IBM i Admin - IBM Champion, Speaker, Mentor, and Advocate, Kisco

Monday May 19, 2025 11:15am - 12:15pm PDT
Room 8 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Security

11:15am PDT

What’s New with IBM i and IBM Flashsystems

Monday May 19, 2025 11:15am - 12:15pm PDT

Room 11

Advancements with IBM Flashsystem storage are making it easier than ever to make use of the cool features that Flashsystems offer. Learn how these new features can empower your IBM i and Storage System Administrators.

Speakers

Steven McIver

Monday May 19, 2025 11:15am - 12:15pm PDT
Room 11 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Storage Technologies

11:15am PDT

IBM Power Virtual Server: What is new and how is that helping my business

Monday May 19, 2025 11:15am - 12:15pm PDT

Room 13

In this session we will discuss what new features and improvements have been implemented on IBM Power Virtual server and how these improvements will help your business.
We will also discuss by real examples how other business use IBM Power Virtual Server

Speakers

Tonny Bastiaans

Monday May 19, 2025 11:15am - 12:15pm PDT
Room 13 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Systems Management

3:15pm PDT

IBM Placeholder

Monday May 19, 2025 3:15pm - 4:15pm PDT

Room 1

Monday May 19, 2025 3:15pm - 4:15pm PDT
Room 1 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

3:15pm PDT

Specific Group Placeholder

Monday May 19, 2025 3:15pm - 4:15pm PDT

Room 3

Monday May 19, 2025 3:15pm - 4:15pm PDT
Room 3 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

3:15pm PDT

Revving up SQL Performance with Indexes

Monday May 19, 2025 3:15pm - 4:15pm PDT

Room 4

One of the most important things needed to improve SQL performance is to have the proper indexing over tables, especially as table grow in size. Indexes are so important that the database provides index advice for assistance. However, advice is no substitute for knowledge and proper understanding of indexes. As with all advice, it must be reviewed and good judgment applied on when to create them.

Speakers

Kent Milligan

Senior Db2 for i Consultant, IBM

Kent Milligan is a Senior Db2 for i Consultant in IBM Technology Expert Labs. Kent has over 25 years of experience as a Db2 for IBM i consultant and developer working out of the IBM Rochester lab. Prior to re-joining the Db2 for i Expert Labs practice in 2020, Kent spent 5 years... Read More →

Monday May 19, 2025 3:15pm - 4:15pm PDT
Room 4 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Database

3:15pm PDT

How to Remain Relevant in a changing IT Environment

Monday May 19, 2025 3:15pm - 4:15pm PDT

Room 12

In today's dynamic IT and business landscape, both companies and employees face significant educational challenges. What skills are essential for current and future business demands? How can both parties navigate these challenges effectively? Decisions about what to learn, how to learn, and the timing of education are crucial when preparing for future needs, varying with an individual's career stage. Jim explores these issues and more in this presentation, offering insights valuable for both managers and employees.

The Question of Relevance?
How to Gauge Your Relevance
Uh Oh... I'm Not Relevant (What to Do)
Balancing Business and IT Skills
Specialist vs. Generalist - Should We Hire a Consultant?

Speakers

Jim Buck

CEO & Head Instructor, imPower Technologies

Jim Buck’s career in IT has spanned more than 35+ years, primarily in college education, manufacturing, and healthcare industries. Past president (13 years) of the Wisconsin Midrange Computer Professional Association (www.wmcpa.org) and has served on several teams developing IBM... Read More →

Monday May 19, 2025 3:15pm - 4:15pm PDT
Room 12 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Developing Business Skills

3:15pm PDT

Begin Your DevOps Journey - Evolution vs Revolution

Monday May 19, 2025 3:15pm - 4:15pm PDT

Room 9

In this session, Denise Walstead dives into the fundamentals of DevOps. Explore what these methodologies look like and what they can do for your business as you learn first steps for implementation, the best mindsets for success, and tips on where to start and how to make regular progress.

Speakers

Denise Walstead

Monday May 19, 2025 3:15pm - 4:15pm PDT
Room 9 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

DevOps

3:15pm PDT

BRMS - How It Can Save YOU!

Monday May 19, 2025 3:15pm - 4:15pm PDT

Room 13

Backing up your system can be critical for disaster recovery, data recovery, and audit. Managing it manually can be daunting and apt to failure. Learn how BRMS can save the day and automate many essential tasks (some that you may not be doing).

Speakers

Jeff Carey

Monday May 19, 2025 3:15pm - 4:15pm PDT
Room 13 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

High Availability Resilience

3:15pm PDT

Technical Debt: On the Clock

Monday May 19, 2025 3:15pm - 4:15pm PDT

Room 5

We've all heard of the National Debt and what a threat it is to our country. What you may not have heard of is the Technical Debt that may lurk in your information systems and is just as big a threat to your business. Join us as address the often sensitive subject and explore five of the worst (best?) examples of Technical Debt - how they manifest, the damage they can cause and how to begin to turn the tide in the right direction. We'll also put it into terms that both management and technical staff can understand.

Speakers

Chris Burns

Monday May 19, 2025 3:15pm - 4:15pm PDT
Room 5 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

IT Strategy

3:15pm PDT

The Architects Discuss the Latest IBM i Operating System Updates

Monday May 19, 2025 3:15pm - 4:15pm PDT

Room 2

The Development lab is continues to roll out new functions and features with every release and technology refresh. In this session we will review some of the key features that have been delivered over the past couple of releases. These are things that you should be aware of either for you to incorporate today, or to help you tomorrow.

Speakers

Tim Rowe

STSM - IBM i Business Architect, IBM

Tim Rowe is the Business Architect responsible for Application Development and Systems Management for the IBM i operating system. His responsibilities include helping to make sure that the IBM i has what is needed to be successful both today and into the future. He sends much of his... Read More →

Scott Forstie

STSM, Db2 for i Architect, IBM

Monday May 19, 2025 3:15pm - 4:15pm PDT
Room 2 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

IT Strategy

3:15pm PDT

What’s New with Open Source & IBM i

Monday May 19, 2025 3:15pm - 4:15pm PDT

Room 6

Open source solutions have been on the IBM i platform for many years but recently the number of solutions deployed here has blossomed. Join Mike as he explores the latest news regarding packages and solution features available in IBM i Open Source Package Management and beyond.

Speakers

Mike Pavlak

Solution Architect, Perforce Software

Monday May 19, 2025 3:15pm - 4:15pm PDT
Room 6 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Programming: General

3:15pm PDT

Ransomware and IBM i: Strategies to Protect the IFS from Cyber Attacks

Monday May 19, 2025 3:15pm - 4:15pm PDT

Room 8

Critical business assets stored in IBM i IFS objects are as vulnerable to ransomware and other cyberthreats as files stored on Windows and Linux servers. Ransomware gangs pose a significant threat to systems including the IBM i. These criminal organizations are becoming more sophisticated with creation and distribution of harmful programs. Securing the IBM i from potential attacks is a key element within the IT Defense in Depth strategy.

Speakers

Ken McCalister

Monday May 19, 2025 3:15pm - 4:15pm PDT
Room 8 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Security

3:15pm PDT

Operational excellence and Cyber Resilience for IBM Storage leveraging IBM Storage Insights

Monday May 19, 2025 3:15pm - 4:15pm PDT

Room 11

Operational excellence and cyber resilience are critical for ensuring the seamless performance and security of storage infrastructures in today’s dynamic IT environment. This session cover the integration of IBM Storage Insights with IBM Storage ( IBM FlashSystem , DS8K and Storage Scale ) to enhance operational efficiency and safeguard against emerging cyber threats. IBM Storage Insights is a data-driven solution that offers real-time monitoring, predictive analytics, and intelligent insights into storage performance, health, and security. By leveraging this SaaS service, organizations can streamline operations, minimize downtime, and quickly respond to potential vulnerabilities. This session also cover how IBM Storage Insights enables AIOps , proactive support , reduces operational complexities, and strengthens cyber resilience by providing visibility into the entire storage ecosystem. The session cover use cases, benefits, and best practices for adopting IBM Storage Insights to optimize storage performance while fortifying defences against cyber-attacks, ensuring long-term sustainability, and supporting business continuity in an increasingly digital landscape.

Speakers

Johanna Hislop

Senior Software Engineer for Storage Insights, IBM

Johanna Hislop is a senior software engineer at IBM and the worldwide technical support lead for IBM Storage Insights and IBM Spectrum Control. Her responsibilities include providing world class technical support to IBM customers and working closely with product management and development... Read More →

Monday May 19, 2025 3:15pm - 4:15pm PDT
Room 11 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Storage Technologies

3:15pm PDT

Clean up your i

Monday May 19, 2025 3:15pm - 4:15pm PDT

Room 7

How much disk storage do you have on your system? The most common answer is 'not enough!' Attend this session and find out where all that space went, what you can clean up, and what should be left alone.

Learn about ways to report and find disk usage as well as understanding how you use it.

Develop a deeper understanding of the tools IBM has built into IBM i, ESPECIALLY SQL Tools, and how to leverage them to help keep your system clean.

Walk away with a solid understanding of how to clean up your disk space, manage your IFS, and reorganize your files.

Speakers

Larry Bolhuis

Cloud and Datacenter Engineer, IBM Champion, Service Express Inc.

Monday May 19, 2025 3:15pm - 4:15pm PDT
Room 7 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Systems Management

3:15pm PDT

Understand Your Performance Signature

Monday May 19, 2025 3:15pm - 4:15pm PDT

Room 10

IBM i often runs well with little or no focus on the performance of the system. But what if something unexpected does occur? If you understand the performance signature of your system when it is running well, it becomes much easier to identify and resolve problems if something goes wrong. This session will show you how to use the Performance Data Investigator to understand your day-to-day performance signature. This session will being with an overview of the wait accounting technology built into IBM i, as this is the foundation to understanding many of the charts in the Performance Data Investigator. This session will review many graphs available within the Performance Data Investigator and describe how to understand what the charts show.

Speakers

Dawn May

Monday May 19, 2025 3:15pm - 4:15pm PDT
Room 10 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Systems Management

4:30pm PDT

IBM Placeholder

Monday May 19, 2025 4:30pm - 4:50pm PDT

Room 9

Monday May 19, 2025 4:30pm - 4:50pm PDT
Room 9 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

4:30pm PDT

"What is all this AI and LLM stuff really?!"

Monday May 19, 2025 4:30pm - 4:50pm PDT

Room 6

Some of the brightest people in our community don't seem really to grasp the essentials of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Large Language Models (LLMs). Part of it is the hype, which is historic, obscuring the facts. Another part is fear. Let's lay this to rest and look at what really is happening.

Speakers

Jack Woehr

Monday May 19, 2025 4:30pm - 4:50pm PDT
Room 6 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

4:30pm PDT

Demo of IBM i ACS Printer Output

Monday May 19, 2025 4:30pm - 4:50pm PDT

Room 10

Come and join Wayne, IBM i ACS Support Team Lead, as he presents a quick, live demo overviewing the usage and capabilities of IBM i ACS Printer Output.

Speakers

Wayne Bowers

Software Engineer, IBM

Monday May 19, 2025 4:30pm - 4:50pm PDT
Room 10 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Client Connectivity

4:30pm PDT

How many indexes is too many?

Monday May 19, 2025 4:30pm - 4:50pm PDT

Room 4

The creation of indexes can have a positive impact on query performance. However, an index also has a cost since it has to be maintained every time rows in the associated table are inserted, deleted and updated. This session will the discuss indexing tradeoffs including the review of a benchmark test created to quantify the positive & negative impacts of indexes. In addition, you will learn about tooling that can be used to identify your most valuable and least valuable indexes.

Speakers

Kent Milligan

Senior Db2 for i Consultant, IBM

Monday May 19, 2025 4:30pm - 4:50pm PDT
Room 4 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Database

4:30pm PDT

BRMS Recoveries

Monday May 19, 2025 4:30pm - 4:50pm PDT

Room 12

There's so much to cover in BRMS when setting up the backups that discussing recoveries sometimes gets lost. In this 20 minute session we will focus solely on the recovery process for both full system and single item recoveries. A few tips and tricks for making sure that you are able to recover exactly what you need when you need.

Speakers

Sarah Jacob

Agile Tech

Monday May 19, 2025 4:30pm - 4:50pm PDT
Room 12 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

High Availability Resilience

4:30pm PDT

Fostering Positive Relationships

Monday May 19, 2025 4:30pm - 4:50pm PDT

Room 2

Positive healthy relationships are vital to success in everything you do: whether it is excelling in your career, creating a vibrant and energetic work environment, or having a happy and rewarding personal life. Learning how to interact with others in a way that is respectful and constructive is essential.

Speakers

Kim Greene

Monday May 19, 2025 4:30pm - 4:50pm PDT
Room 2 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Personal Development

4:30pm PDT

The Secrets to Negotiating and Resolving Workplace Conflict!

Monday May 19, 2025 4:30pm - 4:50pm PDT

Room 13

Do you dread the thought of negotiating on your own behalf? Are you unsure of the best ways to handle conflict in the workplace? If you answered yes to either of these questions, then you need to attend this session! We'll cover time-tested techniques for negotiations and conflict resolution that could change your life!

Speakers

Steve Wolk

CTO, PC Richard & Son

Monday May 19, 2025 4:30pm - 4:50pm PDT
Room 13 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Personal Development

4:30pm PDT

VS Code Tech Talk

Monday May 19, 2025 4:30pm - 4:50pm PDT

Room 5

By now, everyone knows the benefits of using VS Code (and if you don’t you should!). In this “tech session” see how to use VS Code in real-world scenarios. Leveraging client cases, see how our team used VS code, why we chose to use VS code in these situations and how you can do the same. We will discuss VS Code and the IFS, VS and SEU, using VS code for converting files from DDS to DDL, the DB2 for i extension, etc.

Speakers

Leah Avner

Monday May 19, 2025 4:30pm - 4:50pm PDT
Room 5 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Programmer Tools

4:30pm PDT

Contributing to Open Source

Monday May 19, 2025 4:30pm - 4:50pm PDT

Room 7

Open-source contributions are a great way to improve your skills and give back to the community. This session will walk attendees through the process of contributing to an open-source project on GitHub. We’ll cover forking a repository, working in a branch, pushing changes, and submitting a pull request for review.

Speakers

Joseph Wright

Owner / Consultant, Wright4i

Monday May 19, 2025 4:30pm - 4:50pm PDT
Room 7 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Programming: General

4:30pm PDT

Intro to Modern Application Integration via API

Monday May 19, 2025 4:30pm - 4:50pm PDT

Room 14

We no longer live in a world where we have one system of record that is used for all business functions. IT is an everchanging blend of tools, applications, and platforms. Integration is top of mind for most businesses. If there is one common way to link all these systems, it is an API layer. Your IBM i should speak the language of APIs, both consuming and hosting. In this session, let’s look at the big picture with regards to APIs and IBM i.

Speakers

Brian May

Vice President of Product Management, Profound Logic

Professional IT Leader, Speaker and WriterSpecialties:Team Building, Development and RetentionTechnical SalesSolutions ArchitectureSoftware DevelopmentEnterprise Systems Manufacturing ProcessesApparel IndustryAccounting Principles

Monday May 19, 2025 4:30pm - 4:50pm PDT
Room 14

Programming: General

4:30pm PDT

SIEM-plify your IBM i Security Strategy

Monday May 19, 2025 4:30pm - 4:50pm PDT

Room 8

The IBM i runs the core applications for so many businesses, yet it is the least visible to most security teams. Increasing integration into adjacent technologies, combined with the severity of today’s threats, makes detecting suspicious activity quickly more important than ever. It is critical to have your IBM i security events included in your security information event management (SIEM) console, MDR or XDR solutions.
But what does that mean for the IBM i? And where do you start?

Speakers

Sandi Moore

Sr. Solutions Engineer, Fortra LLC

Sandi has been working with Fortra customers for over 20 years supporting systems monitoring and security software. With experience on IBM i, AIX, and Linux, she has been involved in product demonstrations, implementation, support, training, research, and product testing. Sandi is... Read More →

Monday May 19, 2025 4:30pm - 4:50pm PDT
Room 8 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Security

4:30pm PDT

TAPE STORAGE: Reduce Cost without Jeopardizing the Organization

Monday May 19, 2025 4:30pm - 4:50pm PDT

Room 11

Listen to the story of an organization that was asked to reduce storage fees, but accidentally put the organization in jeopardy. So, let us learn from others and discuss what a good tape storage strategy should include.

Speakers

Natalie Reyes

Monday May 19, 2025 4:30pm - 4:50pm PDT
Room 11 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Storage Technologies

4:30pm PDT

How to use Performance Data Investigator (PDI) - CPU and Disk Times

Monday May 19, 2025 4:30pm - 4:50pm PDT

Room 1

In this session we'll see the options that has the PDI (one tool from Navigator for i) to review and investigate performance data for CPU and Disk related metrics.

Speakers

Juan Araya

Monday May 19, 2025 4:30pm - 4:50pm PDT
Room 1 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Systems Management

4:30pm PDT

System Limits on IBM i

Monday May 19, 2025 4:30pm - 4:50pm PDT

Room 3

IBM i is an operating system that was built from the ground up to satisfy the needs of business computing. Even with its robust capabilities, IBM i customers requested additional insight into the top consumption of the most important system resources. Their request came from a business requirement to achieve optimal operations and limit any risk or potential outage related to over consumption of system resources. The IBM i response to this requirement was to architect On-Demand tracking of IBM i System limits. Attend this session to understand the architecture of System Limits and the different components within the operating system that have been instrumented for tracking. Lastly, the session will include details for how customers can leverage and consume this new source of system health insight.

Relevant resources:
https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/tracking-important-system-limits

Speakers

Scott Forstie

STSM, Db2 for i Architect, IBM

Monday May 19, 2025 4:30pm - 4:50pm PDT
Room 3 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Systems Management

5:05pm PDT

IBM Placeholder

Monday May 19, 2025 5:05pm - 5:25pm PDT

Room 9

Monday May 19, 2025 5:05pm - 5:25pm PDT
Room 9 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

5:05pm PDT

What’s New in the World of AI

Monday May 19, 2025 5:05pm - 5:25pm PDT

Room 7

The field of AI is evolving at an unprecedented pace. This session will provide an up-to-the-minute look at the latest AI advancements, including OpenAI’s latest models, DeepSeek R1, and leading competitors. We’ll explore benchmarks like SWE, IBM’s upcoming RPG Coding Assistant, and key trends like AI Agents and Chain of Thought reasoning.

Speakers

Joseph Wright

Owner / Consultant, Wright4i

Monday May 19, 2025 5:05pm - 5:25pm PDT
Room 7 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

5:05pm PDT

Demo of IBM i ACS IFS Utility

Monday May 19, 2025 5:05pm - 5:25pm PDT

Room 10

Come and join Wayne, IBM i ACS Support Team Lead, as he presents a quick, live demo overviewing the usage and capabilities of the IBM i ACS Integrated File System Utility.

Speakers

Wayne Bowers

Software Engineer, IBM

Monday May 19, 2025 5:05pm - 5:25pm PDT
Room 10 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Client Connectivity

5:05pm PDT

Using an Entrepreneurial Approach to Advance Your Career

Monday May 19, 2025 5:05pm - 5:25pm PDT

Room 2

In this session, participants will explore how adopting an entrepreneurial mindset can empower them to accelerate their career growth and achieve professional success. By leveraging the principles of entrepreneurship, attendees will discover strategies to navigate their career paths, seize opportunities, and drive their success.
Whether you're looking to climb the corporate ladder, transition to a new industry, or start your own venture, this session will provide valuable insights and actionable strategies to help you succeed. Participants will leave with a clear understanding of how to think and act like an entrepreneur in their careers.

Speakers

Kim Greene

Monday May 19, 2025 5:05pm - 5:25pm PDT
Room 2 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Developing Business Skills

5:05pm PDT

Keep your source code close and your artifacts closer

Monday May 19, 2025 5:05pm - 5:25pm PDT

Room 5

So you moved your IBM i source code to git but what about your artifacts? It seems like they should be hosted somewhere...into an artifact repository perhaps? If you agree with this statement, then this short session may be of interest to you. Through the use of Jenkins and an artifact repository like Sonatype Nexus or JFrog Artifactory, discover why it may be a good idea to build once, store the result and deploy it many times, to ensure deployment consistency and traceability.

Speakers

Sebastien Julliand

R&D technical advisor, ARCAD Software

Hi, I'm Seb! Let's talk about anything related to software development, on IBM i or not, it doesn't mater to me, I love it all 😁I'm actively contributing to Code for IBM i, and I'm very happy to be able to give back to the wonderful IBM i community.I've been working for ARCAD Software... Read More →

Monday May 19, 2025 5:05pm - 5:25pm PDT
Room 5 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

DevOps

5:05pm PDT

N2i Mentorship Program

Monday May 19, 2025 5:05pm - 5:25pm PDT

Room 1

N2i (New to IBM i) is on a mission to help new IBM i professionals navigate their way through learning and optimizing the platform. By providing advocacy, community, and education during their formative years, N2i hopes to support the IBM i community, build skills and confidence, and fuel fresh careers.

This is a short session meant to socialize N2i, and especially the mentorship program. Come learn about N2i and our mission to bring community members together to POWERUp their skills and NAViGATE the industry!

Speakers

Steve Riedmueller

Certified IBM i Admin - IBM Champion, Speaker, Mentor, and Advocate, Kisco

Monday May 19, 2025 5:05pm - 5:25pm PDT
Room 1 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Personal Development

5:05pm PDT

The Secrets to Making the Most of Online Meetings!

Monday May 19, 2025 5:05pm - 5:25pm PDT

Room 13

Now that virtual meetings have become the new normal for so many of us, it's vital that we learn to make the most of this approach to getting things done. Whether you use Zoom, Teams, Webex, or another product, come to this session to learn the secrets to supercharging your online meeting productivity and getting results!

Speakers

Steve Wolk

CTO, PC Richard & Son

Monday May 19, 2025 5:05pm - 5:25pm PDT
Room 13 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Personal Development

5:05pm PDT

IBM i Unit Testing Now in VS Code!

Monday May 19, 2025 5:05pm - 5:25pm PDT

Room 4

Join us for an in-depth look at the new IBM i Testing extension for VS Code. In this session, we will demonstrate how you can now write and execute RPGUnit test suites (supporting both RPG and COBOL) directly within the editor using local files or source members. We will cover the basics of the RPGUnit test framework, guide you through the installation process, and demonstrate how to execute tests with code coverage. If you are looking to adopt new and modern tooling, come check out this exciting addition to the IBM i development ecosystem in VS Code.

Speakers

Sanjula Ganepola

Monday May 19, 2025 5:05pm - 5:25pm PDT
Room 4 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Program Testing

5:05pm PDT

Modern Data Structures, beyond the basics

Monday May 19, 2025 5:05pm - 5:25pm PDT

Room 14

A quick introduction to a more advanced way of defining and using data structures. Learn better ways to define them, built in functions
that make it easier to manipulate them.

Speakers

Simon Hutchinson

Founder & author, RPGPGM.COM

Simon Hutchinson has been writing his highly acclaimed IBM i blog, RPGPGM.COM, for eleven years sharing his knowledge, experience, and giving many detailed examples of the latest RPG, SQL, and CL. His work has led him to be recognized by IBM as an IBM Champion for Power and IBM i Community Advocate. He is a subject matter expert for COMMON Americas, awarded... Read More →

Monday May 19, 2025 5:05pm - 5:25pm PDT
Room 14

Programming: RPG

5:05pm PDT

Ensuring Data Resiliency

Monday May 19, 2025 5:05pm - 5:25pm PDT

Room 8

Data resiliency is critical in today’s cyber threat landscape. Many companies believe that their high availability solution or disaster recovery plan is sufficient in the event of a cyber-attack; however, that’s not enough. Recovering from a cyber event requires companies to implement data security and protection measures beyond the standard disaster recovery plan.

Speakers

Laurie LeBlanc

Monday May 19, 2025 5:05pm - 5:25pm PDT
Room 8 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Security

5:05pm PDT

Monitoring of external Storage for IBMi with Storage Insights Pro

Monday May 19, 2025 5:05pm - 5:25pm PDT

Room 11

This session will cover the importance of Storage Insights Pro for Data Resiliency (Ransomware Threat Detection) feature in FlashSystem and how it is reported in Storage Insights.
We will also highlight the performance and troubleshooting using Storage Insights Pro.

Speakers

Tony Owens

Monday May 19, 2025 5:05pm - 5:25pm PDT
Room 11 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Storage Technologies

5:05pm PDT

20 Tips in 20 Minutes

Monday May 19, 2025 5:05pm - 5:25pm PDT

Room 12

In my work with real-world environments, I have found a number of very common configuration settings that are not optimal for today's environment. Whether it be system values, job descriptions, memory pools, many shops have configuration settings at the system default value, or settings that were done years ago.

This session is a fast-paced session covering 20 configuration tips in 20 minutes.

Speakers

Dawn May

Monday May 19, 2025 5:05pm - 5:25pm PDT
Room 12 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Systems Management

5:05pm PDT

Understanding Various Parts of the Save process

Monday May 19, 2025 5:05pm - 5:25pm PDT

Room 6

Understand the different ways to save your system, such as using BRMS or traditional native commands. Along the way, tips will be given on best practices and ensuring you have what it takes to recover.

Speakers

Pete Massiello

IBM i Advisor, Massiello Holding Corp.

Pete Massiello has been working with the AS/400, iSeries, IBM i since 1989, focusing on systems management and technical support. He has held numerous technical positions through out his career. He is the President of iTech Solutions Group, an IBM Premier Business Partner delivering... Read More →

Monday May 19, 2025 5:05pm - 5:25pm PDT
Room 6 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Systems Management

5:05pm PDT

What is SYSTOOLS and how can you leverage it?

Monday May 19, 2025 5:05pm - 5:25pm PDT

Room 3

Db2 for i provides useful tools and examples in the SYSTOOLS schema. Come to this session to learn what shiny gems lie within this unopened treasure chest. You need not be an SQL programmer to gain tremendous value from SQL tools!
https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/i/7.5?topic=optimization-systools

Speakers

Scott Forstie

STSM, Db2 for i Architect, IBM

Monday May 19, 2025 5:05pm - 5:25pm PDT
Room 3 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Systems Management