What Does AI Actually Mean for IBM i?
Let's Find Out Together

Walk around any IBM i event, scroll any Power Systems forum, or sit in on any meeting, and expect a short countdown before someone mentions AI.

What we have plenty of right now is opinions on how artificial intelligence and LLMs will reshape the platform, workforce, and workflows that keep IBM i shops running. What we don’t have yet is enough real data to make decisions. Which is why COMMON and Fortra are offering a new industry survey, to give every member of our community a voice in how AI shapes our industry. 

Today’s conversations about AI on IBM i run more on assumption than fact. One faction believes the platform is behind the curve. Another thinks the way Db2 for IBM i uses structured, trusted data makes IBM i shops better positioned for AI than anyone realizes. Some IT leaders are confident their teams could execute an AI strategy tomorrow; while others aren’t even solid on first steps. Without concrete numbers to back these assumptions, they remain opinions, which aren’t great for molding winning strategies. 

This survey will turn opinions into hard data. 

Its eleven quick questions ask IBM i professionals where their organizations stand: how much of their data is structured versus unstructured, how far along they are in AI deployment, how familiar their teams are with agentic AI (including tools like MCP), and whether leadership has articulated a purpose for AI beyond cutting costs. We need to know what’s holding projects back, whether skills, budget, governance, or not knowing where to start. 

There is no right answer. Instead, this is the chance to collect and aggregate the industry’s position on AI. Once hundreds of IBM i professionals take the survey, the entire community will be able to leverage the emerging data to shape real, actionable strategy. Maybe IBM i shops are further along with AI pilots than the chatter suggests. Or we’ll learn governance and security, not technical readiness, are the real bottleneck.

A large representative sample gives us what opinion can’t: results we can trust. 

These results will become planning tools for the whole ecosystem. IBM, ISVs, business partners, and IT leaders will make smarter decisions working from a shared, accurate view of the field. No more guessing based on whoever spoke loudest at the last event. 

Fortra has built its reputation on collecting key data for the IBM i community. For twelve years running, our IBM i Marketplace Survey has tracked this ecosystem’s evolution. This year’s edition shows AI climbing the list of priorities alongside skills and security. This new survey at COMMON builds on our mission to give IBM i users real numbers they can plan around. 

It only takes about two minutes! The more voices we collect, the more useful the results for everyone.  

Take the survey now and shape the IBM i industry’s emerging AI strategy.