Subject: Intelligent Automation March 2026 Newsletter

For intelligent automaters

March 2026

In this issue...

  • Featured: Translation Is Not Transformation: What the AI Modernization Hype Gets Right — and Gets Dangerously Wrong - CM First

  • Article: Shadow AI: The hidden agents beyond traditional governance - CIO Dive

  • CA 2E/Plex Conference: Watch AI Day at the 14th CA 2E Plex Worldwide Developer Conference

  • Webinar - NexGen Pair Programming: AI Collaboration on IBM i and IBM z Systems - CM First Group

  • Intelligence: Intelligent automation news on the greater web

Featured

When Translating Code Isn’t Enough for Real Modernization


AI can’t modernize your legacy systems by itself.


When Anthropic released its Code Modernization Playbook, the market reacted dramatically. $40 billion wiped off IBM’s value in a single day.


Many people assume modernization is just translating old code into a new language. In reality, transforming decades of COBOL and mainframe logic requires deep understanding, careful mapping of dependencies, and thoughtful redesign. Gartner’s 52% spike in mainframe inquiries proves the problem isn’t going away.


Translation is just step one; transformation is the whole game.


Read our full article →

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 one of these two webinars now...

Mainframe

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

Shadow AI: The hidden agents beyond traditional governance


Is your organization flying blind with AI?


Employees are adopting chatbots, autonomous assistants, and other generative tools on their own. These “shadow AI” systems learn, decide, and act outside IT oversight, creating blind spots that can lead to data leaks, compliance gaps, and rogue decisions.


Unlike old shadow IT, these agents don’t just exist—they think. CIOs now face a hidden frontier: managing AI that’s already running under the radar.


The key isn’t banning AI. It’s spotting it, governing it, and turning hidden activity into safe, productive innovation.


Read the full article at CIO →

 CA Plex/2E Worldwide Developer Conference 

Watch: AI Day at the CA 2E CA Plex Conference


Watch keynote addresses from IBM and Microsoft that cover the powerful role AI plays in modern application development, with a focus on IBM i. These streamable keynotes were delivered by experts with deep experience leveraging the mighty power of AI for developers ready to dive headfirst into the future! Watch these streamable keynotes any time.


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 IBM i and IBM z systems. This session is dedicated to COBOL developers working on IBM's midrange and mainframe platforms and offers 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. Take the first step towards a smarter, AI-assisted development future.


Watch →

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 →

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 →

 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 1.8.7 (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 2023 Edition
CA Plex 7.2.1 SP005, last supported 7.2.1 (as of January 31, 2022)
→ Details can be found here at Broadcom (login required)
CA 2E 8.7.3, last supported 8.7 (as of January 31, 2022)
→ Details can be found here at Broadcom (login required)
Contact CM First to learn more: info@cmfirstgroup.com

Intelligence

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

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