15th CA 2E / CA Plex Conference

15th CA 2E / CA Plex Conference

You will be able to validate your attendance (Check-In to sessions) using your personal schedule.

11:00am PDT

Plex show & tell from customers

Tuesday September 1, 2026 11:00am - 11:50am PDT

TBA

To assist in automated regressing testing we at United Heritage have developed a test framework with patterns to create test harnesses around non UI programs, and test harnesses to update and review database records. This test framework supports setting up database records, running tests, and automatically reviewing the return values and updated database records to check for test pass or failure. This is based solely on Patterns libraries and is available for free. You can run individual tests, groupings of tests, and all tests for a system.

Speakers

Andrew Leggett

CM First Group

Andrew has over thirty years in the IT industry working in both the US and the UK. He began his career in the UK as a mainframe COBOL programmer, then stepped up to model-based design with Synon’s Obsydian product (now CA Plex) while it was in its infancy. In 1996 he joined Synon... Read More →

Roger Griffith

Eagle Sun

Roger Griffith is president of the Plex/2E community. He has been developing enterprise applications with Plex/2E for over 32 years and is a world-leading Plex/2E Evangelist. His passion for these tools is legendary.

Jeremy Stent

United Heritage

I currently live in Boise Idaho where I work for United Heritage Insurance. I have been a Plex developer since about 2000, working in Texas, South Carolina, Georgia, and now here. I have enjoyed many of the Plex/2E conferences and gatherings where I have learned a lot. I hope to be... Read More →

Tuesday September 1, 2026 11:00am - 11:50am PDT
TBA

Company CM First Group/ Laufer

11:00am PDT

Analyzing and Modernizing 2E Applications using Static Analysis and AI

Tuesday September 1, 2026 11:00am - 11:50am PDT

TBA

Explore how static analysis and AI can help assess, understand, and modernize 2E applications. This session highlights practical approaches for identifying modernization opportunities, reducing complexity, and accelerating application transformation.

Speakers

Roger Hammer

Director of Software Development & Services, CM First Group

Roger is Director of Software Development & Services Managing internal product development and also services projects for CM First customers. Roger is Product Owner for CM evolveIT and provides knowledge of HelpSystems Automate RPA tools to support CM First Customer RPA needs.

John Rhodes

CTO, CM First Group

A founder of CM First Group in North America, John is a seasoned technology professional focused on enterprise software development. As an architect and project lead for Kraft Foods, John developed and managed large scale IBM i (CA 2E/Synon) and IBM z based business intelligence systems... Read More →

Tuesday September 1, 2026 11:00am - 11:50am PDT
TBA

Company CM First Group

11:00am PDT

Working Together on IBM i: Git + Change Management for Innovative IBM i DevOps

Tuesday September 1, 2026 11:00am - 11:50am PDT

TBA

Source versioning tools like Git have transformed modern development—but for IBM i teams, Git alone isn’t enough. When paired with structured change management, this powerful combination streamlines source control, strengthens compliance, and improves collaboration across IT teams. If you’re looking to modernize your IBM i development process without compromising stability or compliance, we’ll show you how to achieve the best of both worlds: agile, collaborative development with safe, controlled deployments.

Speakers

Carla Starling

Midrange Dynamics

Carla is a Professional Services Project Manager for Midrange Dynamics North America with more than 20 years of experience helping organizations manage software changes on the IBM i platform. A dedicated problem solver and experienced project leader, she specializes in implementing... Read More →

Tuesday September 1, 2026 11:00am - 11:50am PDT
TBA

Company Midrange Dynamics

1:30pm PDT

Analyzing and Modernizing Plex Applications using Static Analysis and AI

Tuesday September 1, 2026 1:30pm - 2:20pm PDT

TBA

Focused on CA Plex environments, this session examines how static analysis and AI-assisted tools can reduce the time and risk associated with understanding and modernizing complex Plex applications. Expect a practical look at where these approaches add the most value in a Plex modernization program.

Speakers

Roger Hammer

Director of Software Development & Services, CM First Group

Roger is Director of Software Development & Services Managing internal product development and also services projects for CM First customers. Roger is Product Owner for CM evolveIT and provides knowledge of HelpSystems Automate RPA tools to support CM First Customer RPA needs.

John Rhodes

CTO, CM First Group

A founder of CM First Group in North America, John is a seasoned technology professional focused on enterprise software development. As an architect and project lead for Kraft Foods, John developed and managed large scale IBM i (CA 2E/Synon) and IBM z based business intelligence systems... Read More →

Tuesday September 1, 2026 1:30pm - 2:20pm PDT
TBA

Company CM First Group

1:30pm PDT

"Not Legacy — Ahead of Its Time: The Future of IBM i and how IBM Bob is Changing How We Work on It"

Tuesday September 1, 2026 1:30pm - 2:20pm PDT

TBA

IBM i was built for what the industry is only now catching up to — and in this session, we'll prove it. We'll cover the Power11 roadmap, hybrid cloud integration, IBM i's industry-leading security and reliability, and the real cost advantages that make it hard to beat. Then we'll show why IBM i is uniquely AI-ready today, thanks to the depth of SQL Services that make connecting modern tools to your business data straightforward.
In the second half, we get hands-on with Bob and the Premium Package for i — an AI assistant built specifically for IBM i. We'll show how operators and administrators can use Bob to review audit journals, investigate job logs, monitor system performance, and understand unfamiliar programs — all through natural conversation. No migrations, no rewrites. Just actionable intelligence from the system you already run.

Speakers

Tim Rowe

STSM - IBM i Business Architect, IBM

Tim Rowe is a Senior Technical Staff Member within IBM i development and spends most of his timeworking as the Architect for Application Development and Systems Management. He has been working on the IBM i operating system since 1989. Tim is a frequent author, industry speaker... Read More →

Tuesday September 1, 2026 1:30pm - 2:20pm PDT
TBA

Company IBM

2:30pm PDT

Plex tips and techniques

Tuesday September 1, 2026 2:30pm - 3:20pm PDT

TBA

No matter how long we’ve been using CA Plex, there’s always something new to find in its feature set that can help you in your day-to-day tasks. Several highly-experienced developers will share tips and techniques that they’ve picked up over the years.

Speakers

Andrew Leggett

CM First Group

Andrew has over thirty years in the IT industry working in both the US and the UK. He began his career in the UK as a mainframe COBOL programmer, then stepped up to model-based design with Synon’s Obsydian product (now CA Plex) while it was in its infancy. In 1996 he joined Synon... Read More →

Roger Griffith

Eagle Sun

Roger Griffith is president of the Plex/2E community. He has been developing enterprise applications with Plex/2E for over 32 years and is a world-leading Plex/2E Evangelist. His passion for these tools is legendary.

Jeremy Stent

United Heritage

I currently live in Boise Idaho where I work for United Heritage Insurance. I have been a Plex developer since about 2000, working in Texas, South Carolina, Georgia, and now here. I have enjoyed many of the Plex/2E conferences and gatherings where I have learned a lot. I hope to be... Read More →

Tuesday September 1, 2026 2:30pm - 3:20pm PDT
TBA

Company CM First group, united Heritage

2:30pm PDT

2E Development with AI Claude Code

Tuesday September 1, 2026 2:30pm - 3:20pm PDT

TBA

AI is everywhere — but how does it actually help with 2E work? In this hype-free live demo, we'll use Claude Code and a small MCP "bridge" to read your 2E model, generate a clean reference document for a 2E function in seconds, and get an impact analysis for a proposed change — all in plain English. No AI background required, and you don't need to be an expert to start.

Speakers

Lily Taharudin

CM First Group

Lily Taharudin is a Senior Full-Stack Developer with over 15 years of experience helping enterprises modernize legacy systems and build scalable, cloud-native applications—without sacrificing the business logic that makes those systems valuable. At CM First Group, she specializes... Read More →

Tuesday September 1, 2026 2:30pm - 3:20pm PDT
TBA

Company CM First Group

2:30pm PDT

DDS to DDL (Target database Agnostic).

Tuesday September 1, 2026 2:30pm - 3:20pm PDT

TBA

I’ll demonstrate how CM DDSToDDL turns legacy IBM i DDS source into ready-to-run SQL Server and IBM i DB2 DDL in minutes — with clean, business-readable names and correct keys generated automatically, never hand-inferred. A live demo shows a single source folder producing deployable, dependency-ordered scripts for both platforms in one pass.

Speakers

Mahadev Kanike

CM First Group

Mahadev is originally from India and moved to the USA in 2019, continuing his software engineering journey that began in 2005. He has 20 years of IT industry experience designing, developing, and modernizing enterprise, distributed, and cloud-native applications. His career spans... Read More →

Tuesday September 1, 2026 2:30pm - 3:20pm PDT
TBA

Company CM First Group

3:30pm PDT

2E tips and techniques

Tuesday September 1, 2026 3:30pm - 4:20pm PDT

TBA

Join us as Eamonn leads the group through a rapid fire session of tips/tricks you can use.
–Extending 2E Capabilities
This presentation shows developers how to extend Synon 2E generated RPG IV applications using EXECUSRSRC, covering key built-in functions and the #I/#O/#B parameter conventions. It also demonstrates embedded SQL patterns, walking through the full cursor lifecycle from prepare and declare through fetch and close.
–Transforming Impact Analysis into Controlled Change
Many CA 2E (Synon) teams still track change scope through spreadsheets or disconnected tools, risking incomplete impact assessments and missed objects. This session shows how Synon Model Lists—built from impact analysis—create a single, validated source of truth that drives development, testing, and deployment. Through a real-world example, attendees will see how Model Lists shift change management from individual object edits to controlled, managed change sets.”

Speakers

Eamonn Foley

IT Operations Manager, Feralloy

Eamonn as 25 years of experience in the Synon/2e world with roles that include architect, project manager, developer, and instructor. Covering diverse business such as manufacturing, warehouse, finance and insurance. He is currently the IT Operations Manager at Feralloy Corporati... Read More →

Mark Schroeder

CM First Group

Mark has worked in software development for over 20 years. He utilized his extensive experience in application development and web development to help CM First move forward in enhancing and modernizing. Mark is an expert in the using CA 2E (Synon 2E) for developing applications on... Read More →

Steve Cast

Tuesday September 1, 2026 3:30pm - 4:20pm PDT
TBA

Company CM First Group/Fresche

3:30pm PDT

Automated testing of AS-IS and TO-BE systems

Tuesday September 1, 2026 3:30pm - 4:20pm PDT

TBA

This presentation shows developers how to extend Synon 2E generated RPG IV applications using EXECUSRSRC, covering key built-in functions and the #I/#O/#B parameter conventions. It also demonstrates embedded SQL patterns, walking through the full cursor lifecycle from prepare and declare through fetch and close.

Speakers

Maya Najja

CM First Group

Maya is a Computer Engineer with 20 years of experience as a software developer. She worked for 2 years in a French-Lebanese Bank as an Analyst Programmer using COBOL, then as a Technical Team Leader in a French-Lebanese Software Solution provider for Banks. She moved to work in one... Read More →

Tuesday September 1, 2026 3:30pm - 4:20pm PDT
TBA

Company CM First Group

4:30pm PDT

Modernizing Native Legacy Code Tips

Tuesday September 1, 2026 4:30pm - 5:20pm PDT

TBA

We will showcase a modernization process by migrating IBMi native code to SpringBoot Java. In this session, we will walk through various code transformation scenarios, including COBOL, RPG with O spec report, and CLP to Java. We will also share the challenges we encountered and practical tips drawn from our modernization project experience.

Speakers

kiyoshi terasawa

CM First Group

Kiyoshi has worked with Synon, Sterling Software, and CA Technologies, and has devoted his career to CA Plex (and 2E). After joining CM First, he gets new baby CM evolveIT. Recently, his focus has shifted to modernization of CA 2E and Plex. Probably he is one of unique/rare resource... Read More →

Lily Taharudin

CM First Group

Lily Taharudin is a Senior Full-Stack Developer with over 15 years of experience helping enterprises modernize legacy systems and build scalable, cloud-native applications—without sacrificing the business logic that makes those systems valuable. At CM First Group, she specializes... Read More →

Tuesday September 1, 2026 4:30pm - 5:20pm PDT
TBA

Company CM First group

4:30pm PDT

Controlling CA Plex using AI

Tuesday September 1, 2026 4:30pm - 5:20pm PDT

TBA

AI coding assistants have helped accelerate modern development, but don’t feel left out if you’re using older tools like CA Plex. Andrew Leggett will demonstrate how Plex developers can use tools like Claude Code to query and modify your Plex applications, automating common tasks and extracting information from your models, while Borys Vulgarin will introduce an AI-driven pipeline that turns plain-language requirements into valid CA Plex Object Migration XML, which can then be imported directly into a Plex model.

Speakers

Andrew Leggett

CM First Group

Andrew has over thirty years in the IT industry working in both the US and the UK. He began his career in the UK as a mainframe COBOL programmer, then stepped up to model-based design with Synon’s Obsydian product (now CA Plex) while it was in its infancy. In 1996 he joined Synon... Read More →

Borys Vulgarin

CM First Group

By day, Borys supports and develops CA Plex solutions for CM First Group customers, helping organizations maintain, modernize, and enhance their mission-critical applications.

Tuesday September 1, 2026 4:30pm - 5:20pm PDT
TBA

Company CM First Group

5:30pm PDT

ModernizeIT: From Legacy Code to Modern Architecture: Accelerating Application Modernization with AI-Guided Discovery

Tuesday September 1, 2026 5:30pm - 6:20pm PDT

TBA

Legacy modernization efforts are often slowed by limited visibility into complex applications, undocumented business logic, and unclear modernization pathways. In this product showcase, discover how ModernizeIT helps organizations accelerate modernization through AI-guided discovery, analysis, and planning. We'll demonstrate how teams can gain actionable insights into legacy applications, visualize architecture and dependencies, generate documentation, and identify opportunities for modernization—all within a unified platform designed to reduce risk and improve decision-making.

Speakers

Tim Higgins

A&I

Tim Higgins has been a valued member of A&I Solutions for more than a decade, bringing over 30 years of software and IT experience to the team. Driven by a passion for technology, strong coffee, and great music, Tim leverages his extensive technical expertise to support A&I’s wide... Read More →

Tuesday September 1, 2026 5:30pm - 6:20pm PDT
TBA

Company A&I

5:30pm PDT

Plex as a Foundation, Not a Ceiling: Practical Patterns for Modernizing Without Starting Over

Tuesday September 1, 2026 5:30pm - 6:20pm PDT

TBA

After 20+ years building enterprise ERP software on CA Plex, SODISA faced a familiar challenge: evolving user expectations without abandoning the business logic that took decades to perfect. In this session, we share three real-world patterns we used to extend our Plex system outward. Including integrating facial biometric recognition directly within Plex, exposing Plex business logic through a modern .NET API to power a web employee portal, and building new web interfaces that coexist with our existing Plex model. No theory, just honest lessons from a team that decided to orchestrate around Plex rather than walk away from it.

Speakers

Hugo Rodriguez

Sodisa

Hugo Rodríguez Sánchez is the General Manager of SODISA, a Honduran software company his father founded over 20 years ago. He works closely with his engineering team on product strategy and architecture decisions across SODISA's ERP portfolio, including BIT, the company's flagship... Read More →

Tuesday September 1, 2026 5:30pm - 6:20pm PDT
TBA

Company Sodisa

5:30pm PDT

Performance Optimization using SQL Procedure (Caching / parallelism )

Tuesday September 1, 2026 5:30pm - 6:20pm PDT

TBA

When modernizing CA 2E models to CA Plex, the same business logic can be preserved, but the execution cost can change dramatically when native RPG is replaced by Plex-generated Java. A row-by-row access pattern that was inexpensive with native IBM i I/O can become costly when every lookup becomes a JDBC round trip. This session examines a practical approach to modernizing these performance bottlenecks. We will identify repeated database access and shared computations and transform row-by-row processing into set-based SQL and stored procedures. We will also discuss alternative approaches, including caching and parallelism.

Speakers

Borys Vulgarin

CM First Group

By day, Borys supports and develops CA Plex solutions for CM First Group customers, helping organizations maintain, modernize, and enhance their mission-critical applications.

Eric Giron

CM First Group

Eric has been working with CA Plex for 17+ years developing specialized solutions for multiples companies in the Americas. He works as a Senior consultan at CMFirst as lead developer for CM MatchPoint and lead support engineer for CM MatchPoint and CM Webclient.

Tuesday September 1, 2026 5:30pm - 6:20pm PDT
TBA

Company CM First Group

9:00am PDT

Hands-on workshop: modernizing Plex and 2E application to the cloud using static analysis and AI agentic frameworks. Automated Testing.

Wednesday September 2, 2026 9:00am - 12:00pm PDT

TBA

You will experience a full-cycle of modernization process with a combination of demonstration and hands-on. We will start from model extraction, modernization project set up, code transformation, running the migrated application and deployment with QA process and finally touching up the UI side with AI. This will be an intense session to cover in 3 hours.

Wednesday September 2, 2026 9:00am - 12:00pm PDT
TBA

Company CM First group

9:00am PDT

Inside ModernizeIT: Live Legacy Code Analysis, Decomposition, and AI-Assisted Modernization

Wednesday September 2, 2026 9:00am - 12:00pm PDT

TBA

Go beyond the overview and see ModernizeIT in action. In this hands-on technical workshop, our modernization consultant will take a real legacy application through the platform's end-to-end workflow, demonstrating how source code is analyzed, documented, decomposed, and transformed into modernization-ready outputs. Attendees will follow the modernization journey step by step and gain practical insight into how engineering teams can accelerate modernization efforts while maintaining transparency and control.

Wednesday September 2, 2026 9:00am - 12:00pm PDT
TBA

Company A&I