Golden Path Digital, a provider of enterprise modernization solutions, today announced the launch of AS/Forward, an intelligence and automated transpilation platform designed to address the "Workforce Cliff" facing the IBM i community. The platform combines codebase forensics with automated migration from RPG to modern languages such as Python, Java, Node.js, JavaScript, C#, and .NET, enabling organizations to transition away from legacy dependencies without disrupting core operations.
The IBM i platform, formerly known as the AS/400, remains a backbone for global commerce, powering mission-critical operations in banking, logistics, and manufacturing. However, the ecosystem faces a systemic threat as the average age of RPG developers reaches 55 or older. With this veteran workforce approaching retirement, companies risk losing the tribal knowledge required to maintain and evolve these complex systems. AS/Forward aims to preserve institutional logic by providing an automated migration path that reduces reliance on dwindling RPG expertise.
Unlike traditional lift-and-shift tools, AS/Forward emphasizes codebase clarity as a foundational phase. Before transpiling any code, the platform performs deep-tissue dependency mapping and impact analysis to uncover hidden relationships within the codebase. It generates automated, natural-language documentation and audit-ready descriptions of business logic, providing IT leadership with a comprehensive view of their entire estate. This transparency enables stakeholders to make informed, data-driven decisions, effectively translating legacy code into plain English for business leaders.
A key feature of AS/Forward is its ability to convert legacy RPG into multiple modern programming languages, including Python, Java, Node.js, JavaScript, C#, and .NET. This multi-language flexibility allows organizations to tap into global talent pools and integrate with modern DevOps practices, cloud-native architectures, and AI-driven workflows. By moving core business logic into languages with massive developer communities, companies can break their reliance on the shrinking pool of RPG specialists.
The platform also addresses the high failure rate of Big Bang modernization projects through an incremental de-risking approach. Rather than total system replacement, AS/Forward enables a program-by-program migration strategy, allowing organizations to validate each workflow in a production-like environment before decommissioning legacy components. This reduces the risk of business interruption and provides a clear, measurable path to full modernization.
From a financial perspective, AS/Forward offers disruptive economics. Traditional manual code rewrites typically cost between $5 million and $20 million per project, while the platform's high-fidelity automation delivers a cost reduction of 10x to 50x. Speed-to-market is also significantly improved: manual rearchitecting often requires 5 to 7 years, but AS/Forward can achieve modernization goals within 12 to 24 months. This allows enterprises to realize a return on investment within the same budget cycles.
To meet the stringent requirements of regulated industries like banking, insurance, and healthcare, AS/Forward is designed to be provider-agnostic and supports total data sovereignty. Organizations can run the engine locally via Ollama or within secure private cloud environments like AWS Bedrock. This ensures sensitive proprietary logic and customer data never leave the client firewall, and the platform does not require an external internet connection to function.
AS/Forward represents a paradigm shift in enterprise modernization, moving away from high-stakes, multi-year gambles toward strategic control and operational clarity. As the window for a controlled transition closes due to the aging workforce, the platform provides the tools and roadmap necessary to secure the operational future of enterprises relying on IBM i systems.
