Golden Path Digital, a leader in enterprise modernization solutions, today announced the launch of AS/Forward, an advanced intelligence and automated transpilation platform designed to address the critical challenge of the Workforce Cliff in the IBM i community. The platform combines deep codebase forensics with automated RPG-to-modern-language migration, providing a secure, high-speed bridge for organizations transitioning away from legacy dependencies without disrupting core business operations.
For decades, the IBM i platform (formerly AS/400) has powered mission-critical operations in banking, logistics, and manufacturing, handling trillions of dollars in transactions daily. However, the ecosystem faces a systemic threat as the average age of an RPG developer reaches 55 or older. As this veteran workforce retires, companies risk losing the tribal knowledge required to maintain and evolve these complex systems. AS/Forward aims to preserve institutional logic and provide a path forward.
The platform emphasizes Codebase Clarity as a foundational phase, performing deep-tissue dependency mapping and impact analysis to uncover hidden relationships within codebases that may have been forgotten over decades of updates. It generates automated, natural-language documentation and audit-ready descriptions of business logic, providing IT leadership with transparency to make informed decisions. This phase translates legacy code into plain English that business leaders can understand.
AS/Forward supports automated transpilation into Python, Java, Node.js, JavaScript, C#, .NET, and more, enabling organizations to break reliance on a dwindling supply of RPG specialists. By moving core business logic into languages with global talent pools, companies can integrate legacy systems with modern DevOps practices, cloud-native architectures, and AI-driven workflows. This shift allows hiring from millions of developers skilled in modern frameworks.
The platform also addresses the risks of Big Bang modernization failures through an incremental de-risking approach. Rather than total system replacement, it enables a program-by-program migration strategy, validating each workflow in a production-like environment before decommissioning legacy components. This reduces business interruption risk while providing a clear path to full modernization.
Financial benefits are transformative: traditional consulting models cost between $5 million and $20 million per project, while AS/Forward typically delivers a cost reduction of 10x to 50x. Speed-to-market improves from 5-to-7-year manual rearchitecting to a 12-to-24-month timeline, allowing enterprises to realize ROI within the same budget cycles. In an economy where capital efficiency is paramount, this represents a significant competitive advantage.
To meet regulatory demands, AS/Forward is provider-agnostic and can run locally via Ollama or within secure private cloud environments like AWS Bedrock. This ensures sensitive logic and customer data never leave the client firewall, allowing leaders in banking, insurance, and healthcare to modernize with peace of mind. The platform does not require an external internet connection to function, protecting intellectual property.
AS/Forward represents a paradigm shift, moving the industry from high-stakes, multi-year gambles to strategic control and operational clarity. As the window for controlled transition closes due to the aging workforce, the platform provides tools and a roadmap to secure the operational future of the enterprise for the next generation. Golden Path Digital is committed to ensuring that the systems that built the modern world are equipped to thrive in the digital future.
