Staffing shortages are top of mind for IBM i users and the businesses they support, as admins and developers with IBM i skills become harder to find. Cybersecurity remains a top concern, along with modernizing legacy applications.
These are the top takeaways from Fortra’s 2026 IBM i Marketplace Survey. This issue of their annual report gathered insights from 320 IBM i users around the globe to give us a snapshot of current industry trends.
The changing nature of the industry is reflected in the 2026 survey results, as the shortage of IBM i expertise replaces cybersecurity at the top of the list of concerns.
CloudFirst, a cloud and managed services provider with deep expertise in IBM i, provides a solution to these challenges.
CloudFirst offers a range of services, including supplementing in-house IT teams with our roster of IBM i pros. In addition, we offer comprehensive cybersecurity protection, future-proof modernization that’s ready for tomorrow, and a suite of automation and AI tools that continue to unlock possibilities for the modern enterprise.
IBM i Skills Shortages are the Biggest Challenge of 2026
Many IBM i IT professionals are reaching retirement age, and workforce development paths like higher education and boot camps aren’t offering IBM i training. This combination of factors makes it increasingly difficult to find the skills to support IBM i.
This year, 69% of the survey respondents cited IBM i skills as their top concern.
“For the first time since 2017, cybersecurity is not the number one concern among IBM i professionals,” writes Tom Huntingon, Executive VP of Technical Solutions at Fortra and author of the report. “In 2026, the top spot belongs to IBM i skills, which has been steadily climbing the ranks over the past few years.”
He points to IBM’s upcoming Bob code assistant—scheduled to hit the market in 2026—as a potential solution for short-staffed teams to do more with less. However, without a pipeline of qualified professionals, the worrying trend of skill shortages may only get worse in the coming years.
That’s why CloudFirst is committed to offering in-house IBM i training to our staff. We continuously run educational programs that equip our employees with the IBM i know-how they need to manage, secure, and modernize our clients’ IT infrastructure.
When you choose CloudFirst, you get instant access to these IT professionals. Instead of spending valuable time and money searching for this increasingly rare skillset, you’ll immediately benefit from the comprehensive support of a world-class team.
Cybersecurity for IBM i Remains a Major Concern
Despite losing its perch at the top spot, cybersecurity remains a pressing issue as IT administrators and CIOs recognize that IBM i isn’t immune to malware, and that a firewall alone won’t protect it.
In 2026, 64% of respondents cited cybersecurity as one of their top five concerns.
A few factors are causing this concern. At the top of the list is the simple fact that threats are constantly evolving and it’s hard to keep up. Close behind—a corollary to the previous point—is a lack of security knowledge and skills, especially within the IBM i domain. Finally, there’s the perennial concern about balancing security controls and business efficiency.
For many, investing in security is nonnegotiable: 81% of respondents must comply with at least one regulation, such as Sarbanes-Oxley, PCI DSS, or HIPAA.
CloudFirst can help. Our IBM i Security solution provides enterprise-grade protection for regulatory compliance and complete peace of mind. Our solution spans automated threat detection and response, endpoint security, and built-in ransomware defense, combining best-in-class technology with 24/7 support from our security operations center (SOC).
“CloudFirst didn’t just secure our IBM i environment—they became an extension of our team,” says the IT director of a regional financial institution. “Their expert-led approach, proactive monitoring, and tailored security framework gave us the confidence to pass a major compliance audit with zero findings. The peace of mind is priceless.”
IBM i Cloud Computing in 2026
Despite IBM i typically being confined to on-premises environments—77% of survey respondents say they only run on-prem—interest in IBM i on the cloud continues to grow.
“This year, the number of respondents electing to use only a cloud/service provider reached a record-high 13%, overtaking the use of hybrid environments [10%],” writes Huntington.
Organizations are incentivized by the benefits of cloud computing. They realize they can offload some of the responsibilities of managing their own IBM i environments. They also recognize that the cloud offers a streamlined path to application modernization, and that they get easier access to the latest technologies. Because of all this, more companies are looking to cloud computing for greater value and efficiency.
That’s why over 700 organizations trust CloudFirst’s Managed Cloud Hosting as the ideal home for their mission-critical data and applications. Our flexible solutions range from private cloud to hybrid cloud to fully managed cloud migration. Our clients save an average of 50% over three years, reduce their workload by 70%, and get easy access to our full suite of solutions ranging from disaster recovery to system automation.
High Availability and Disaster Recovery for IBM i
For good reason, 47% of this year’s survey respondents cite high availability and disaster recovery (HA/DR) as a top concern. With IBM i forming the core of their IT environments, which often includes their centralized databases, downtime and data loss can lead to huge costs and lost revenues.
And yet 53% of respondents say they still rely on tape backups. Even more concerning: 22% of respondents have no HA/DR solution in place.
“When we talk about modernization, we tend to talk just about application modernization, but how you implement infrastructure to be more resilient is a type of modernization that is just as crucial,” explains Huntington.
That’s why CloudFirst offers both Disaster Recovery as a Service and High Availability as a Service. Our unmatched 100% uptime guarantee ensures that your business stays resilient and can continue operating through any challenge.
Running IBM i with Linux, Windows, and Other Operating Systems
Most modern enterprises supplement their IBM i with other operating systems like Windows, Linux, and AIX—only 17% of companies rely on IBM i alone.
Windows usage leads the pack, with 75% of respondents running Windows servers, while Linux usage sits at 49%. We also see 28% running AIX or other Unix operating systems.
These mixed IT environments are inherently more complex, making them more difficult to secure and gain comprehensive visibility into. Of course there are advantages, such as being able to run different types of workloads and applications, but—especially given the current IBM i skills shortage—IT teams need to be careful.
At CloudFirst, we don’t just support IBM i. We’re a complete one-stop shop for the entire enterprise IT stack. This includes Managed Microsoft Services as well as multi-cloud integrations with Microsoft Azure and AWS.
Why Run IBM i in 2026?
IBM released AS/400, now known as IBM i, in 1988, and it’s remained a workhorse operating system ever since for businesses who prioritize reliability and stability.
The survey numbers are clear: 95% of surveyed users say that IBM i provides better ROI than other servers.
That near-consensus comes from folks who rely on this technology for their most important business applications. More than 75% of survey respondents run more than 75% of their core business apps on IBM i, with 47% running between 76% and 100% of those applications solely on IBM i.
In a world where technology changes so fast that it’s hard to keep up, CloudFirst is the partner you need so you’re ready for tomorrow. Between our ability to fill the IBM i skills gap, our comprehensive cybersecurity solutions, and our continued investment in modernization and AI, we promise you enterprise without limits.
Ready to transform your legacy infrastructure into an agile, cost-efficient cloud environment? Get in touch today.