In late April, COMMON gathered the global IBM i community for its premier event, POWERUp 2026. Programmers.io joined as a sponsor, hosted a booth, speaking sessions, and led several interactive experiences—including one that sparked some friendly competition among attendees.
Held this year from April 27-30 at the New Orleans Marriott in Louisiana, POWERUp brought together IBM i professionals from around the globe to learn, network, and hear from industry-leading speakers like Mike Pavlak, Simon Hutchinson, and more. With more than 250 workshops to choose from, the event reflected the educational depth and quality that have long defined the COMMON organization.
This year had a fantastic turnout with a significant 26% increase in attendance from last year, according to COMMON. This figure not only highlights the energy of the event, but shows that discussion and connection is an active priority within the IBM i community.
Special Events
To kick off the event, COMMON recognized several leaders within the IBM i community as COMMON Gold Speakers, an honor awarded to individuals who have made significant educational contributions within the organization. Among those recognized was Programmers.io’s own Simon Hutchinson, whose leadership and technical expertise have truly helped shape best practices across the global community.
Beyond the educational sessions, POWERUp also brought a strong sense of community and casual fun to the event floor. Attendees had the chance to connect through a variety of interactive experiences, including a popular puppy corner and an on-site pickleball court.
Programmers.io also hosted an RC racing track experience at our booth, where attendees competed head-to-head throughout the event for the fastest lap times. With hobby-grade RC cars awarded to the top three racers, the track quickly became a popular attraction that drew repeat competitors, spectators, and sparked plenty of conversation.
Industry News & Insights
This year’s conversations were centered around how to modernize IBM i in 2026, and emphasized the platform’s continued momentum toward AI-first development, hybrid cloud capabilities, and adapting Db2’s capabilities to the modern business demands of today.
AI remained one of the most discussed topics throughout the event, with speakers and attendees exploring all facets of AI – from AI trends, use cases, and technical applications, to how developers and architects can remain irreplaceable in the age of AI. There was also significant excitement on the latest updates on IBM Bob, IBM’s AI-powered IDE tool, which was released for general availability on March 24th and reached global availability during the event on April 28th.
On the expo floor, Programmers.io contributed to the momentum with their recent release of TimeBridge™, an AI-powered IBM i modernization framework that combines AI-powered insights, tools, and structured methodologies to guide enterprises through complex, multi-year modernization projects.
In tandem, the company debuted a “Transition of Power” Assessment, which provides a three-part review of your Team, Security, and Infrastructure to get a clear picture of the state of your systems. This assessment delivers full system visibility and a detailed technology roadmap, which are often critical barriers to companies considering modernization.
Lastly, another major theme that came up is one that the community is well acquainted with. The growing retirement gap, colloquially coined as the “IBM i Grey Wave”, is arguably the most prominent concern among IT leaders whose systems reside on IBM i and are often dependent on a small handful of experienced developers.
However, while this will likely remain an immediate concern, the IBM i community is striving together to address the issue. This year’s aforementioned rise in attendance, which includes first-time participants and active partnerships, signals a strong focus on widening the talent pipeline and will continue to grow the tight-knit community through active investment and knowledge sharing.
From the perspective of our team, POWERUp and other similar events continue to showcase a positive outlook on the future and ongoing longevity of the IBM i platform—and we’re excited to see what’s next.
More events to come—be sure to follow along on social media for updates on NAViGATE at TechXchange and POWERUp 2027.
