Golden Path Digital has launched AS/Forward, an automated transpilation platform designed to address the critical workforce shortage facing organizations using IBM i systems. The platform converts legacy RPG code into modern programming languages, providing a solution to what the company calls the "Workforce Cliff"—the impending retirement of experienced RPG developers whose average age is now 55 or older. The IBM i platform, formerly known as AS/400, serves as the backbone for mission-critical operations in banking, logistics, and manufacturing, handling trillions of dollars in daily transactions. As veteran developers retire, companies risk losing the institutional knowledge required to maintain these complex systems that have been modified thousands of times over decades, often without updated documentation.
"The Workforce Cliff is not a future risk; it is a present-day reality for thousands of enterprises," said the CEO of Golden Path Digital. Unlike traditional migration tools that simply move technical debt between environments, AS/Forward begins with a comprehensive intelligence phase called "Codebase Clarity." Before transpiling any code, the platform performs deep dependency mapping and impact analysis, uncovering hidden relationships within legacy systems. It generates automated, natural-language documentation that translates complex business logic into plain English, giving IT leadership unprecedented visibility into their entire estate.
The platform's core capability involves converting RPG into modern programming languages including Python, Java, Node.js, JavaScript, C#, and .NET. This multi-language approach allows organizations to break their dependence on scarce RPG specialists and tap into global talent pools of developers skilled in contemporary frameworks. The migration enables integration with modern DevOps practices, cloud-native architectures, and AI-driven development workflows, creating more agile IT environments. AS/Forward employs an incremental modernization strategy that contrasts with traditional "Big Bang" approaches that often fail after years of effort and millions in costs.
Instead of total system replacement, the platform enables program-by-program migration, allowing organizations to validate individual workflows in production-like environments before decommissioning legacy components. This approach reduces business interruption risk while providing a clear path to full modernization. The financial implications are significant, with the platform delivering cost reductions of 10x to 50x compared to traditional consulting models that rely on manual rewrites. While manual rearchitecting typically requires 5-7 years, organizations using AS/Forward can achieve modernization within 12-24 months, allowing for ROI realization within the same budget cycles.
For security-conscious industries like banking and healthcare, the platform offers local deployment options through Ollama or private cloud environments like AWS Bedrock, ensuring sensitive data never leaves client firewalls. As the window for controlled transition narrows due to the aging developer workforce, AS/Forward represents a paradigm shift from high-risk modernization projects to strategic, controlled migration. The platform provides organizations with the tools to preserve decades of business logic while transitioning to modern architectures capable of supporting future digital demands.
