Subject: CM First Group June 2025 Newsletter

Modernization news fit to print

June 2025

In this issue...

  • Featured: Legacy Meets Modern: Bridging the Frontend Gap - CM First Group

  • CA Communities: Register for the Second Quarter 2025 Update

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

  • Article: How Kraft Heinz measures AI project value - CIO Dive

  • Watch: Apple: “AI Can’t Think” — Are They Wrong? - Matthew Berman

  • Watch: CM First Video Series

  • Intelligence: Further Reading on the Web

Heads Up

Legacy Meets Modern: Bridging the Frontend Gap


In the race to modernize, organizations often struggle with integrating modern frontend technologies while maintaining critical legacy systems. This week's featured article, "Building Bridges: Integrating Modern Frontend Frameworks with Legacy Systems," presents a pragmatic approach to this challenge.


In the spirit of incremental modernization over risky complete rewrites, our article explores practical strategies including API gateways for unified interfaces, event-driven architectures for state synchronization, and micro-frontend approaches that enable gradual modernization.


For IT leaders balancing existing infrastructure needs with modern user expectations, this article offers valuable guidance on effectively bridging both worlds.


Read the full article  →

CA Plex/2E Community

Register Now for the Second Quarter 2025 Update


Register for the webcast →


Community president Roger Griffith will open the meeting by presenting key preliminary findings of the CA 2E/Plex survey, including innovative strategies companies are using to modernize their CA 2E and Plex operations, and share valuable insights gathered from survey feedback about what community members would like to see at the next conference.


Community members are encouraged to participate in the survey →


Two lightning talks will follow Roger's update:

  • John Rhodes and Kiyoshi Terasawa from Community Sponsor CM First will present an insightful session titled “Enhancing CA 2E (Synon) and CA Plex with AI.”

  • Dmitriy Kuznetsov, Chief Product Officer at Infoview Systems, will deliver a presentation titled, “Seamlessly Connect Your IBMi to Anything—Fast!”

Webinar Panelists: Roger Griffith, John Rhodes, Kiyoshi Terasawa, Mark Obrien, Dmitriy Kuznetsov

Register for the webcast 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

How Kraft Heinz measures AI project value


Kraft Heinz is taking a methodical approach to measuring the value of its AI initiatives. A welcome idea in the age of rushed AI projects.


According to Jorge Balestra, the company's global director of advanced analytics, the food and beverage giant evaluates all AI projects using a two-step value assessment process. First, they establish a clear business case with defined metrics before implementation. Then, they conduct a post-implementation review to verify the actual business impact.


This structured approach helps Kraft Heinz move beyond simple efficiency metrics to focus on genuine business value. Their AI portfolio includes solutions for supply chain optimization, demand forecasting, and product development. By maintaining a comprehensive prioritization system for AI use cases, the company ensures resources are directed toward initiatives with the greatest potential return.


The article highlights how enterprise AI strategies are maturing, with companies like Kraft Heinz developing more sophisticated frameworks to identify, implement, and measure AI investments that directly contribute to business goals.


Read the article at CIO Dive for insights and key takeaways →

Watch

Apple: “AI Can’t Think” — Are They Wrong?


Apple made the clear statement that "AI can't think" during their recent WWDC presentation, positioning themselves a bit differently from competitors like Google and Microsoft, who have embraced more ambitious claims about AI abilities. Much controversy followed.


In the video "Apple: 'AI Can't Think' — Are They Wrong?", Matthew Berman takes a critical approach to Apple's surprising stance on AI capabilities. Berman explores whether Apple's cautious approach is technically accurate or potentially limiting. He breaks down the difference between today's large language models (which excel at pattern recognition and prediction) versus true thinking capabilities that would require self-awareness and consciousness.


Food for thought: Apple is strategically framing AI expectations while still introducing impressive AI features across their ecosystem.


For businesses implementing AI solutions, Apple's measured stance offers an important perspective: setting realistic expectations about AI capabilities while still delivering valuable tools may be more sustainable than overpromising what the technology can do.


Watch the full video (22:05 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

Expert Generalists

- Martin Fowler

CM First Group, 7000 North Mopac Expressway Suite #200, 78731, Austin, United States

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