commoneuropecongress2026

The IBM i development team has just delivered a brand new release - IBM i 7.6 along with several Technology Refreshes. These deliveries are just full of new enhancements targeted to help your business applications run more securely.
In this session, Tim will detail a number of the new enhancements, helping you understand what's new and how you can leverage many of these new features to bring your applications, systems, and business forward.

Often we like to wait upgrade, we are going to show you why IBM i 7.6 may be the release to break that trend!!! Attend this session to see the must-have technologies for your IBM i.

Steve Will will be retiring; Kris Whitney is his successor. In this session, you will meet Kris, and then Steve will tell us some stories and pass along some advice. Whether you’re just getting your career in IT started, or you’ve been at it for a while, you probably hope that your job brings more than just financial stability; you’d like to feel a sense of fulfillment.  After over 40 years at IBM, Steve has some thoughts that might help. He’ll talk about fundamental behaviors and traits which promote a fulfilling career.
Title: Meet the Chief Architects and then Steve’s Advice …
Abstract: Steve Will will be retiring; Kris Whitney is his successor. In this session, you will meet Kris, and then Steve will tell us some stories and pass along some advice. Whether you’re just getting your career in IT started, or you’ve been at it for a while, you probably hope that your job brings more than just financial stability; you’d like to feel a sense of fulfillment. After over 40 years at IBM, Steve has some thoughts that might help. He’ll talk about fundamental behaviors and traits which promote a fulfilling career.
Title: Meet the Chief Architects and then Steve’s Advice …
Abstract: Steve Will will be retiring; Kris Whitney is his successor. In this session, you will meet Kris, and then Steve will tell us some stories and pass along some advice. Whether you’re just getting your career in IT started, or you’ve been at it for a while, you probably hope that your job brings more than just financial stability; you’d like to feel a sense of fulfillment.  After over 40 years at IBM, Steve has some thoughts that might help. He’ll talk about fundamental behaviors and traits which promote a fulfilling career.

Organizations running IBM i environments are increasingly looking for ways to accelerate modernization, strengthen resilience, and maximize the value of their platform investments.
IBM i subscription bundles include valuable services such as Advisory Connect and IBM Expert Labs assets, but many clients are not fully aware of how to take advantage of them. In this session, you will learn how to unlock the full value of these resources and incorporate them into your IT strategy.
We will explore how Advisory Connect provides direct access to IBM experts for guidance on architecture, modernization, security, and operational best practices, while Expert Labs assets can help accelerate implementation, troubleshooting, and optimization projects. Join us to understand what services are available within IBM i subscription bundles, how to engage with these resources effectively, and practical examples of how organizations are using them to drive faster outcomes and stronger platform value.

What does High Availability mean, what are the metrics? Why does it do much more than secure your data and how does it work? What options are available and which is the best product out there?

In the tradition of previous Technology Refreshes (TR), the database team is deliveringenhancements on the same cadence. Attend this session to hear about the manyenhancements to SQL on i, SQL Query Engine, IBM i Services and more. This session will coverthe new and enhanced Db2 for i capabilities added to IBM i 7.4 and IBM i 7.5 over the mostrecent IBM i Technology Refreshes.This session will include something for everyone and anyone who uses the IBM i.

Join us for a session where we will explore the new components and concepts related to partitioning IBM Power Systems. You will learn how these components are interconnected, how to set them up, and how to manage and upgrade them. We will cover components such as the Hardware Management Console (HMC), the Flexible Service Processor (FSP) or eBMC depending on your processor generation, and the Advanced Systems Management Interface (ASMI). Additionally, we'll discuss firmware in your machine and how to perform necessary updates in both LPAR environment and standalone machines. You'll also receive tips on upgrading and establishing communication between the HMC and FSP/eBMC, as well as insights into the role of ASMI. By the end of the session, you will have current knowledge about these crucial hardware features of IBM Power Systems & IBM i.Learning Objectives1) Understand how to upgrade and update your HMC.2) Understand how to upgrade your FSP or eBMC.3) Learn how everything connects and interacts.

This session addresses key performance considerations and common misconceptions that often lead to confusion when tuning IBM i systems.Topics include:CPU utilization – what it really means and how to interpret it correctlyDisk I/O scenarios – understanding the differences between synchronous and asynchronous I/ODisk page faults – when they matter and when they don’tSQL vs. native DB access – performance implications and best practicesThe presentation concludes with a simple, practical example illustrating job characteristics and performance statistics, helping you separate myth from reality and make informed decisions.

In 2026, encryption is no longer optional - it is a mandatory requirement for compliance, security frameworks (like NIS2), and protecting sensitive data. Yet, for many administrators, the world of certificates and the Digital Certificate Manager (DCM) can still feel intimidating.This session is designed to take the stress out of TLS.
To understand why we are doing this, we start by adopting a hacker's perspective, analyzing unencrypted network traffic to see just how exposed clear-text connections really are.Once the risk is clear, we build the solution using modern tools. We will demystify the jargon - explaining what Certificates, CSRs, and CAs actually are - and show how to leverage the new Navigator for i alongside the DCM to manage your security environment effectively.
Finally, we put theory into practice. We will walk through handling certificates from all common sources: whether you need to create a Local CA, import an existing Corporate/Windows Certificate, use a purchased Public Certificate, or automate everything via Let's Encrypt. We wrap up with modern operational tricks, such as securing Host Servers and monitoring certificate validity using SQL.Key Takeaways / Learning

Objectives:
1. Understand the Threat: See firsthand why "clear text" is a security breach waiting to happen by looking at network traces.
2. Master the Terminology: Gain a solid grasp of certificate concepts so you can navigate the DCM and Navigator for i with confidence.
3. Implement & Harden: Learn how to introduce encryption to your system and secure critical endpoints like Host Servers and Web Servers (regardless of the certificate source).4. Modern Operations & Automation: Discover how to leverage Let's Encrypt for free, automated certificates and use native SQL services to prevent expiration outages.