IBMi is one of the popular operating systems that has been around for over three decades and is engineered by the tech giant IBM for IBM Power Systems (AS400 systems). The latest iteration of this OS provides a complete suite of innovative services to meet the dynamic needs of both business and computing. In other words, IBMi has almost everything to make a business future-proof. From new-gen tech to round-the-clock availability, integration support, intuitive systems administration, and enhanced security, this operating system is poised to provide a seamless experience when it comes to handling critical operations at the workplace.  

How Enterprises are Leveraging the Potential of IBMi OS and IBM Power Systems

1) Customer-Facing Applications

Today, businesses are using a slew of mission-critical applications, and many of them require round-the-clock availability for business continuity, owing to this, enterprises bank upon IBM Power Systems (AS400 systems) server series. Such applications are used by enterprises for varied purposes, for instance, insurance companies can use them to adjust the policy dynamically or an insurance agent may require to submit the claims of their clients.  

Businesses operating in the BFSI domain have a constant need for high-throughput applications to meet their ever-changing needs. This not only keeps the business up and running but also drives the productivity of the workforce. Such clients consider iSeries development services and IBM Power Systems (AS400 systems) to build their web assets.

2) Robust Applications Offering High Assurance

Applications having high availability and disaster recovery strategy integrated closely often use the IBMi Platform. For instance, the IBM PowerHA from the family of IBM Power Systems (AS400 systems) is used by RPG experts for high-availability cluster provisioning. In simple words, businesses having strong demand for cluster computing, storage, backup, and high availability can bank upon the RSCT-enabled PowerHA, wherein RSCT stands for ‘Reliable Scalable Cluster Technology’. 

Understanding the Role of RPG Developers in IBM iSeries Development

Before understanding the role of RPG developers in iSeries application development, it is important to discuss the RPG module first and how it relates to the ecosystem of IBMi. Introduced in 1959, RPG (Report Program Generator) is a high-level programming language that is no different from other languages but that’s in theory. However, in reality, RPG is the proprietary programming language that is used by RPG developers to build and deploy applications for IBM i development. RPG IV is the latest and most stable version that runs on the IBMi operating system and allows developers to create enterprise-grade business applications. Based on the implementation and internal mechanisms of RPG, one can say that it is a domain-centric language that primarily belongs to the IBM ecosystem. 

Foolproof Tips to Hire RPG Developers Right the First Time

IBMi platform and IBM i OS are the most common choices for developing computing-heavy business applications. The presence of an integrated language environment facilitates iSeries development by enabling RPG developers to leverage the ILE as a versatile platform for developing enterprise-grade applications. The important thing to note here is that iSeries is not limited to computing-heavy applications but is also ideal for developing lightweight applications. Using iSeries, RPG developers can build an array of business solutions including low-code Lansa apps, interactive applications, Synon2/E apps, web applications, and to name a few. 

Today, businesses across industry verticals including the manufacturing sector, healthcare organizations, banking and finance institutions, and government agencies are using RPG ILE for application development. Furthermore, Blockchain, IoT, Machine Learning, and AI application development are underway on the IBM iSeries platforms for all these sectors. 

Considering the immense potential and challenges that exist in the business domains, the demand for RPG developers is rising incessantly. Listed below are some key points to keep in mind when hiring RPG developers for your business. 

  • Hiring RPG developers from freelance marketplace platforms or universities may not be a wise decision. RPG development requires a specialized skillset since this high-level programming language is limited to IBM power systems (AS400 systems) and IBMi OS. As stated above, IBM RPG was introduced back in 1959. Since this programming language has been around for decades and is limited to the IBM ecosystem, the quality of seasoned RPG development personnel is shrinking rapidly. This indicates that RPG developers having hands-on experience in working on real development projects are hard to find. Hiring such professionals having proficiency in iSeries application development on one’s own is a tough row to hoe. The best way to overcome this challenge is to partner with a professional iSeries development company for your application development requirements. 
  • Modern business applications have web-enabled interfaces and are completely micro-serviced. When partnering with an RPG development company, you should make sure they have sound knowledge of web services and know how to leverage JSON and XML to create web services that work with not only RPG applications but also multi-programming language applications. 

Wrapping Up

It is undeniably true that RPG talent has shrunk over the years. Therefore, it is considered wise to hire seasoned RPG developers from an iSeries development company. When looking for RPG developers for iSeries application development, you can follow this informative piece religiously to hire RPG developers right the first time.