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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8:00am PDT

Selecting your Power Hosting Environment

Thursday May 22, 2025 8:00am - 9:00am PDT

Room 9

When virtualizing IBM Power Systems you have two primary choices for the hosting environment, VIOS and IBM i. Each of these offers strengths and each has weaknesses. In this session we'll go over more than 35 comparison points putting the two hosting choices side by side. We'll cover technical capabilities as well as usability and visual items. We'll look at costs and requirements for each host option.

Come and select your choice for a hosting partition or confirm that you've gone down the right track.

Speakers

Steve Bradshaw

Friendly Techie, Rowton IT Solutions Ltd

I've worked in the IBM Business Partner world for over thirty years now and despite IBM's best attempts I still love them ;-)In 2008 I set up my practice (Rowton) and now spend my time supporting clients or designing new IT solutions using a combination of Power servers, Intel and... Read More →

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 →

Thursday May 22, 2025 8:00am - 9:00am PDT
Room 9 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Virtualization

9:15am PDT

Breaking Up a Monolith

Thursday May 22, 2025 9:15am - 10:15am PDT

Room 9

Every RPG shop has them. Most developers avoid them like the plague. Large monolithic programs are a significant source of technical debt in all RPG shops. They limit your agility which in turn is detrimental to your business. So, once you are ready to deal with the issue, where do you start? There is no one answer, but there are steps you can take to begin dismantling and repurposing the code within these behemoths.

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

Thursday May 22, 2025 9:15am - 10:15am PDT
Room 9 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Programming: RPG

11:15am PDT

Case Study: Improving performance in RPG programs with SQL

Thursday May 22, 2025 11:15am - 12:15pm PDT

Room 9

In this session, taken directly from my real-world experience, I will show you how I leveraged SQL in my RPG. I will walk you through the thought process, the incremental changes and the amazing results. Included in this session is also some simple code that you can take home and use in your development to compare and fine tune your embedded SQL.

Speakers

Gregory Simmons

Software Engineer, PC Richard & Son

Gregory Simmons is a Software Engineer at P.C. Richard & Son. He is a COMMON certified Application Developer – ILE RPG on IBM I on Power. He is also a registered instructor with IBM’s Academic Initiative and an RPG and IBM i instructor at Scott Regional Technology Center, where... Read More →

Thursday May 22, 2025 11:15am - 12:15pm PDT
Room 9 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Programming: RPG

1:30pm PDT

VS Code and Code for IBM i Hidden Gems

Thursday May 22, 2025 1:30pm - 2:30pm PDT

Room 9

Thanks to the Code for IBM i open source extension, VS Code became an IDE of choice for whoever wants to do some development on IBM i. Less expansive (as in "free") and more modern than RDi, it's already a daily driver for IBM i professionals and enthusiasts alike. But what does it have to offer we barely know? What are the less-known features that can make a developer's life easier? The legend tells that it's even possible to work locally on IBM i source code synchronized with Git or to use Visual Explain right from VS Code. But the best is yet to come and see for yourself! Whether you are a seasoned developer or just curious, join me to discover or rediscover the hidden gems that VS Code has to offer. Don't be a stranger and bring your questions along!

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 →

Thursday May 22, 2025 1:30pm - 2:30pm PDT
Room 9 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Programmer Tools

3:00pm PDT

Aye, I love Procedure Driven RPG

Thursday May 22, 2025 3:00pm - 4:00pm PDT

Room 9

In this session, after demonstrating the fundamentals of a procedure, I will demonstrate the benefits of procedure driven RPG. Together, we’ll explore real world examples of how this mindset has improved code written by myself and my team with regards to three facets: Readability, maintainability and reusability. All three of these benefits translate into a more efficient development team.
We'll finish with some real world examples showing how AI code assistants can really shine when working in a world of procedures.

Speakers

Gregory Simmons

Software Engineer, PC Richard & Son

Thursday May 22, 2025 3:00pm - 4:00pm PDT
Room 9 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Programming: RPG

5:00pm PDT

Planning a Smooth Move of your IBM i to the Cloud

Thursday May 22, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm PDT

Room 9

Utilizing the cloud is can be a great option for IBM i customers. It sounds simple, and at it core it is! However, there are many items to consider for your organization to help determine if it's the right thing for you.

There are, however, options on how to plan, execute, and validate the migration and these should be analyzed to find the best fit.

In this session you'll gain a great overview of the reasons and the process for moving to a cloud.

Speakers

Larry Bolhuis

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

Thursday May 22, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm PDT
Room 9 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

IT Strategy