Seiden Group Blog - Seiden Group

MCP + AI for IBM i Teams (with a MongoDB example)

January 30, 2026/0 Comments/in Analytics, BI, AI /by Alan Seiden

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) standard defines how AI tools connect to systems such as databases, services, and internal utilities. Instead of every AI product inventing its own custom connector, MCP provides a standard interface.

A good example comes from Seiden Group’s Jack Woehr in his article A Simple MongoDB MCP Server Agent. Jack was also just named MongoDB Creator of the Month. (MongoDb is a flexible NoSQL database that can manage large amounts of unstructured or semi-structured data.)

If you’re attending conferences this year, Jack will be talking about AI at NEUGC (April 7–9, 2026) and at COMMON POWERUp 2026 (April 27–30), where his sessions include “Using Large Language Models” and “AI on Power.”

Why IBM i teams should care

Most IBM i shops already live in a hybrid world: RPG + Db2 + CL alongside open source, APIs, web apps, and, increasingly, AI. MCP matters because it points toward a future where:

you don’t need a one-off integration for every AI experiment
you can put governance and guardrails around what AI can touch
you can modernize incrementally, bridging systems instead of rewriting them

MCP fits for IBM i because it helps make AI integration projects more standardized and repeatable.

How Seiden Group can help

At Seiden Group, we’re focused on practical modernization and development. If you’re exploring any mix of:

AI enablement (use cases, architecture, guardrails)
MongoDB in a hybrid IBM i environment
IBM i development and modernization (RPG, COBOL, SQL, APIs, open source)

We can help you evaluate options, build proof-of-concept projects, and implement production-ready solutions.

Get in touch to chat with us about your options.

GnuPG PHP Extension for IBM i: Now Included with Seiden Support

November 24, 2025/0 Comments/in PHP /by Alan Seiden

At Seiden Group, we listen to client requests that keep their IBM i applications secure, modern, and practical.

Recently, a customer asked us to port the GnuPG (GNUPG) PHP extension to IBM i. This extension is now available to Seiden Support subscribers.

Read more →

Getting Started with Code for IBM i: A Lunch & Learn Video

November 20, 2025/0 Comments/in VS Code for i /by Amy Lantz

On October 29, 2025, Alan teamed up with Susan Gantner and Jon Paris for an educational Lunch & Learn focused on two timely IBM i development topics: VS Code for i and RPG arrays.

Read more →

Seiden PHP+ Delivers PHP 8.5 to IBM i

November 17, 2025/0 Comments/in PHP /by Alan Seiden

Each year brings a new PHP release. We’ve prepared Seiden PHP+ so that IBM i users can adopt PHP 8.5 shortly after it becomes generally available (GA) around November 20, 2025. As I mentioned in Keep Your PHP Secure: Why Regular Updates Matter, PHP users should adopt a regular upgrade schedule to make upgrades easier.

November 20, 2025 UPDATE
PHP 8.5 and Seiden PHP+ 8.5 are both available as of today.

Notable Enhancements in PHP 8.5

Two updates stand out to me:

Read more →

Keep Your PHP Secure: Why Regular Updates Matter

October 24, 2025/0 Comments/in PHP /by Alan Seiden

Cybersecurity best practices require regular security assessments, including for PHP.

PHP is actively maintained, with a new update released every month. We recommend installing PHP patch releases at least quarterly. You can review all official updates on the PHP changelog page, which lists every change, including CVE security fixes. The Seiden PHP+ changelog provides additional updates we include in our supported package.

Read more →

What the Shai-Hulud npm Worm Means for Node.js Developers

October 17, 2025/0 Comments/in Node.js, Open Source /by Alan Seiden

The Node.js ecosystem has been disrupted by self-replicating malware called Shai-Hulud.

In September 2025, researchers found that Shai-Hulud had infected more than 500 npm packages, including some from trusted maintainers. The worm did not just publish a few bad versions. It spread automatically, using stolen credentials to infect other packages owned by the same developer.

Read more →

Ransomware Lessons from Brussels Airport and IBM i

October 13, 2025/0 Comments/in Security /by Alan Seiden

At Brussels Airport recently, I noticed airline staff working from paper passenger lists because their digital systems were unavailable. The EU Cybersecurity Agency (ENISA) later confirmed the disruption was caused by a ransomware attack on a third-party airline system (Reuters report).

Read more →

A New Generation Shapes the Future of IBM i

September 22, 2025/0 Comments/in CIO Strategy /by Alan Seiden

In recent months, I have seen an unmistakable, growing wave of younger professionals choosing to invest their energy and creativity in the IBM i platform. This trend was particularly evident at the 2025 PowerUp conference.

Read more →

When Your IBM i Email Delivery Fails with Office 365 or Gmail

August 11, 2025/0 Comments/in IBM i /by Alan Seiden

We’ve been receiving about one request per week to help clients troubleshoot or fix SMTP email issues on IBM i systems—especially when sending to Microsoft (Office 365) and Gmail accounts.

These problems can affect a wide range of systems, including:

Read more →

Mapepire Q&A

August 1, 2025/0 Comments/in Open Source /by Alan Seiden

A friend in the IBM i vendor community asked me about Mapepire from a popularity and security perspective. He had read about Seiden Group’s support for the Mapepire Db2 for i driver. I have provided his questions and edited versions of my answers below.

Read more →