Subject: CM First Group August 2025 Newsletter

Modernization news fit to print

August 2025

In this issue...

  • Conference: See You at COMMON NAViGATE 2025 in Pittsburgh

  • Featured: Breaking Down Complex Legacy Code for a Smoother Modernization - CM First Group

  • CA Communities: Register for the Third Quarter 2025 Update

  • Video: Latest Advances in Code Analysis and Transformation with CM evolveIT 11.7 - CM First

  • Article: Developers Lose Focus 1,200 Times Daily—Here's How AI Could Fix That - Venture Beat

  • Listen: Turning Legacy Service Contracts into First Time Fix Wins - with Joe Lang of Comfort Systems - AI in Business Podcast

  • Watch: CM First Video Series

  • Intelligence: Further Reading on the Web

Conference

See You at COMMON NAViGATE Pittsburgh


If you're one of the many IBM i technology experts attending COMMON NAViGATE in Pittsburgh, PA, from Sept 15-17, be sure to stop by and visit us to swap stories and grab some swag. We have lots of tactics and practical wisdom to offer.


Schedule a Consultation with Us...

Gain valuable insights and expert guidance tailored to your needs. Simply email us at info@cmfirstgroup.com, and we’ll arrange a time to connect.


If you will not be attending the conference, book a meeting with us anyway! We'll give you the same time and attention, virtually.


Are you looking for digital transformation opportunities for your organization? We'll demonstrate how legacy apps can be refactored directly into maintainable, runtime-free Java and JS through automation with our AI-powered flagship product, CM evolveIT MetaTX.


COMMON NAViGATE is an educational event featuring hundreds of live sessions presented by industry experts. Networking opportunities abound.


If you haven't signed up for COMMON NAViGATE in Pittsburgh yet, hit the link below:


Register now →

Heads Up

Breaking Down Complex Legacy Code for a Smoother Modernization


Modernizing legacy systems can feel overwhelming, but with the right approach, it doesn’t have to be. By using tools like CM evolveIT and conducting thorough static code analysis, organizations can untangle decades-old codebases, map out dependencies, and pull out the critical business logic to create step-by-step transformation plans.


Instead of diving headfirst into risky system overhauls, a smarter strategy is to use techniques like the Strangler Fig pattern or incremental refactoring. These approaches allow you to update systems gradually, with a smart plan, all the while keeping everything running smoothly.


With this practical, phased approach, tackling legacy modernization becomes much more manageable, reducing risks and delivering consistent value along the way.


Read our recent article for a full breakdown  →

CA Plex/2E Community

Third Quarter 2025 CA Communities Update


The CA Plex/2E quarterly event is a key opportunity for developers and community members to connect, learn, and share their expertise. Community Lightning Talks, which take up the second half of each quarterly session, is a much-anticipated part of these gatherings, considered by many members to be the most useful and inspiring part of the meeting. Whether you want to improve your skills or learn something new, this event is a must-attend for CA 2E and CA Plex professionals.

Register now →

Announcing CM evolveIT 11.7


Available for Streaming: Join us for informative, hands-on sessions focused on the new CM evolveIT 11.7 release. 


Tailored for future-minded developers, these sessions showcase groundbreaking enhancements aimed at revolutionizing your code analysis and transformation workflows. Expect hands-on demonstrations that you can take to your development workflows right away.

Watch a webinar now...

Mainframe COBOL

Latest Advances in Mainframe COBOL Code Analysis and Transformation

Learn about cutting-edge artificial intelligence tools that promise streamlined analysis and transformation processes, automated tools that convert legacy COBOL code to Java, and advanced code slicing.


Watch Now

IBM i

Latest Advances in IBM i Code Analysis and Transformation

Learn how to cut your analysis costs by up to 80% with new capabilities. We'll demo new CA 2E (Synon) and CA Plex superpowers, AI and Code slicing innovations, and improved support for DB2 and COBOL and more.


Watch Now

Heads Up

Developers Lose Focus 1,200 Times Daily—Here's How AI Could Fix That


Think developers spend most of their day coding? Think again. developers only spend 16% of their time actually coding. The other 84%? Jumping between tools and platforms. Harvard Business Review found that digital workers flip between applications nearly 1,200 times per day, with each interruption taking 23 minutes to fully recover from.


Anthropic's new Model Context Protocol (MCP) could change this. Instead of bouncing between project trackers, Slack, documentation sites, and IDEs to build a single feature, MCP lets AI coding assistants pull everything directly into the development environment. Think Slack for developers—one hub, less context switching.


The bottom line: Your developers' biggest productivity problem might not be coding speed—it's everything else. And now we just might have a way to fix it.


Read the article at Venture Beat for a full breakdown →

Listen

Turning Legacy Service Contracts into First Time Fix Wins - with Joe Lang of Comfort Systems


Joe Lang, VP of Service Technology at Comfort Systems USA (a national provider of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing services across 170+ locations), shares hard-won insights on transforming massive field service operations through AI. Lang explains the counterintuitive approach of not cleaning data too early—letting AI tools gradually align terminology across legacy teams instead of forcing standardization upfront.


Key takeaways include treating internal technicians like customers when building tools, translating decades of tribal knowledge into usable data systems, and focusing on the right KPIs when shifting from reactive to predictive maintenance.


Listen in at the AI in Business Podcast (22:26 min) →

Video Vault

Next-Gen Pair Programming: AI Collaboration on IBM i and IBM z Systems


Join us for a cutting-edge webinar that merges the art of pair programming with the innovation of AI for both IBM i and IBM z systems. This session is dedicated to COBOL developers working on IBM's midrange and mainframe platforms, offering a deep dive into how AI can amplify coding collaboration and efficiency.


In this webinar:

  • Discuss the integration of AI-driven pair programming in IBM i and IBM z COBOL development.

  • Address the unique challenges of maintaining and evolving COBOL applications with AI support.

  • Showcase a live demonstration of AI tools tailored to IBM i and IBM z developers.

  • Share actionable strategies for embedding AI into the pair programming workflow on both platforms.

Whether you're involved in IBM i or IBM z development, this webinar will equip you with the knowledge to leverage AI for better code quality, faster problem-solving, and more productive pair programming sessions. Engage with our experts and take the first step towards a smarter, AI-assisted development future.


Watch the video now →

Are you tired of time-consuming manual testing software applications? Fortra's Automate Plus RPA is here to help. Join us for a webinar where we review the features of this powerful tool and show you how it can revolutionize your software testing processes, making it better, more accurate, and quicker to get results.


Watch the Webinar →

Frightened about the prospect of your legacy IBM i and z application developers leaving? We have a solution that can put your fears to rest. In this webinar, we demonstrate how you can “refactor” your legacy app developed in COBOL, RPG, or CA 2E (Synon) directly to maintainable runtime-free Java and JS.


Watch the Webinar →

 Broadcom Support 


Many enterprises struggle with obtaining Broadcom support for their CA 2E (Synon, COOL:2E) or CA Plex systems


If you're working with an older unsupported release, upgrading your IBM OS, or otherwise under the shadow of lapsed maintenance, we can get you back on Broadcom support based on your unique situation. We specialize in all sizes of customers.


Fill out our 2 minute form and schedule a no-commitment fifteen minute conversation with a CM First Group technical rep.

Get rock solid Broadcom support

CM First Support

Current CM First Group customers can access tutorials and submit support tickets at support.cmfirstgroup.com.

Current Releases


CM WebClient 1.8.8 (with nightly builds) For details, go here.

CM Matchpoint ALM 7.0 Build 004. For details, go here.

CM evolveIT 11.7, last supported 10.6
CM M3 2024 Edition
CA Plex 7.3, last supported 7.2.1 (as of October 31, 2024)
→ Details can be found here at Broadcom (login required)
CA 2E 8.7.4, last supported 8.7 (as of October 31, 2024)
→ Details can be found here at Broadcom (login required)
Contact CM First to learn more: info@cmfirstgroup.com

Intelligence

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