Join us for an energetic, beginner-friendly (and exec-friendly) session focused on how IBM i teams are modernizing application development—keeping core logic solid, reusable, and easier to integrate with today’s open-source ecosystem.
Pre-Session: Stored Procedures for Hybrid Development (Beginner/Executive)
Accessing IBM i business logic from open-source apps and off-platform environments has come a long way. In this pre-session, we’ll walk through why centralizing business logic in Db2 via stored procedures is a smart move, then dive into practical examples using both RPG and SQL procedures—plus how they’re called from languages like PHP and Python.
Main Session: What’s New with Open Source & IBM i (Beginner/Executive)
Open source on IBM i has been around for years, but what’s happening now is on another level. Join Mike for a tour of the latest updates across popular languages like PHP, Python, and Node.js, along with newer packages and features available through ACS Open Source Package Management—plus real examples of how the community is helping push the ecosystem forward.
Whether you’re hands-on building apps, leading a team, or planning what modernization looks like for your organization, this event will connect the dots between reusable database-driven logic and the fast-moving open-source toolchain on IBM i. Expect practical takeaways, clear best practices, and plenty of ideas you can bring back to your next project.
Stored Procedures for Hybrid Development (Beginner/Executive)
Connect and enjoy our open bar.
Interactive session over dinner.
What’s New with Open Source & IBM i (Beginner/Executive)
Wrapping up with gratitude

Mike Pavlak has been working with IBM midrange solutions since 1992 and IBM Mainframes before that. After years of developing applications using RPG & CL he managed IT development and IT for power protection manufacturer Tripp Lite. Mike was instrumental in developing the adoption of PHP as the first open source language on IBM i and later joined Zend Technologies. Today, as a technology strategist with Programmers.io, Mike helps companies approach the challenges of modernization and open source technologies. In addition to several roles as a volunteer with COMMON Mike also teaches PHP & Python classes part time at Moraine Valley Community College in Suburban Chicago. Mike lives in suburban Chicago constantly searching for the best microbreweries in the Midwest and elsewhere.
How to create and run Db2 stored procedures in both SQL and RPG, with a clear beginner-friendly walkthrough.
Real examples of calling IBM i business logic from open-source languages like PHP and Python—cleanly and reliably.
The latest updates to PHP, Python, and Node.js, plus newer packages and features in ACS Open Source Package Management and how the community is driving it forward.