RPG (RPG/400, RPG IV, ILE RPG, Free-Form RPG)
The historical and modern language of the AS/400. We translate RPG programs to Java 21 or .NET Core 8 pattern by pattern, capturing business rules and running upstream characterization tests.
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Access International modernizes AS/400 and IBM i estates (7.3 to 7.6) to cloud-native architectures. RPG, COBOL/400, CL programs, 5250 screens, DB2 for i databases — each component is ported with proven functional parity. ATLAS methodology, Tunis nearshore delivery, France presence (Vivantro), co-delivery with our Canadian partners.
Each phase aggregates one or more of the ten ATLAS steps. No phase starts until the previous one has delivered its validated artefact.
Understand the existing RPG, COBOL/400, CL estate. Rebuild a usable functional analysis. Define scope, constraints, and success criteria.
Set the ground truth: 5250 screens, reports, datasets, recorded transactions. Map subsystems, queues, DB2/400 databases, integrations exhaustively.
Choose the target (Java + Spring Boot, .NET Core, TypeScript), design RPG migration patterns, SFL subfiles, data queues. Prepare the characterization test suite before any porting.
Translate pattern by pattern with line-by-line traceability. Incremental migration by subsystem (strangler fig). Signed parity audit between legacy and target on every delivered batch.
Progressive go-live, IBM i ↔ target coexistence for 6 to 24 months, batched transactional cutover, signed discrepancy registry, ops handover to the client team.
The historical and modern language of the AS/400. We translate RPG programs to Java 21 or .NET Core 8 pattern by pattern, capturing business rules and running upstream characterization tests.
COBOL programs hosted on IBM i, CL integrations, ILE modules. Migration to Java or .NET with preserved transactional semantics.
DDS tables and DB2 for i SQL schemas. Migration to PostgreSQL, SQL Server, or Azure SQL with data and constraint parity audits.
CL scripts for job orchestration, queue management, scheduling. Conversion to Bash, PowerShell, or cloud orchestrators (Azure Logic Apps, AWS Step Functions).
5250 screens modernized into React or Angular web interfaces. Screen logic preserved, progressive ergonomic redesign.
Full IBM i estate inventory: subsystems, nightly batch jobs, IFS, native storage. Mapping before migration, batch cutover plan.
The target choice depends on the client ecosystem: Java 21 (Spring Boot) for existing Java actors, .NET Core 8 for Microsoft ecosystems, TypeScript + Node.js for full-web architectures. Hosting on Azure, AWS, GCP, or on-premise based on sovereignty constraints.
Six distinct profiles, eight to twelve people, over eighteen to thirty-six months. Reproducing this team internally is rarely realistic — the RPG skills shortage and ATLAS expertise depth make outsourcing structurally faster and less risky.
Bridge between both worlds, target design, technical governance
Java 21 / .NET Core 8 / TypeScript depending on the architecture choice
Ideally with an RPG or COBOL background for pattern-by-pattern translation
Schema migration, triggers, materialized views, data parity audit
IBM i / target cloud coexistence, security, integrations
Test bench, legacy/target comparison, ATLAS audit validation
All modern versions: IBM i 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, and 7.6 (released 2025). For older versions (V5R4, V6R1, V7R1) we plan an intermediate upgrade step or a source-code export for off-platform analysis.
For an estate of 200 to 500 RPG programs: 9 to 18 months in coexistence mode (legacy + target in parallel, progressive cutover). For 1000+ programs: 18 to 36 months. The ATLAS methodology breaks the migration into transactional batches, each delivered with its parity audit.
Three approaches depending on context: (1) Pattern-by-pattern rewrite to Java/.NET — recommended to address long-term debt. (2) Cloud emulation (LzLabs, Heirloom Computing) — fast cutover but preserves the debt. (3) Functional redesign — when the business wants to leverage the migration to rethink processes. ATLAS combines all three by module.
Exhaustive pre-migration state capture: characterization tests (ATLAS step E5), production transaction recording bench, data snapshots. After porting: parallel runs (legacy + target) on the same transaction corpus, field-by-field result comparison. Signed parity audit before cutover.
Yes. Our consultants cover the IBM i ecosystem for twenty years: RPG ILE, free-form, embedded SQL, IFS, journaling, subsystems. The new Watson Code Assistant for i (IBM 2024) is integrated into our production chains. Several IBM i Developer-certified profiles.
Strangler fig pattern: the target system coexists with the AS/400 for 6 to 24 months. Transactions are routed to either based on migration state. Bidirectional synchronization of critical data. Transactional batch cutover with automatic fallback on discrepancy.
Main nearshore center in Tunis (UTC+1, European timezone). Presence in France via our subsidiary Vivantro for client relationships and local expertise. Co-delivery with Canadian partners for North American programs. This structure covers all data localization constraints (Quebec Law 25, EU GDPR).
We start with an estate audit (4 to 6 weeks): RPG program inventory, dependency mapping, complexity analysis, target recommendation. The report is directly usable by the client, whether or not Access is chosen for the migration itself.