Last week, I had the pleasure of delivering the keynote at the Rocket Software Future of COBOL event, held just off the Champs-Élysées in a truly stunning venue in the heart of Paris.

COBOL Day brought together members of our COBOL community to share experiences, learn from each other's modernization journeys, and explore the future of Rocket Visual COBOL and Rocket ACUCOBOL products..

Key topics we covered included:

• Move to Rocket Software and the Future of COBOL: We explored the ongoing relevance and evolution of COBOL. A special focus was placed on how modern environments and tools—including AI—are extending COBOL’s lifespan and enhancing integration with current technologies. It was a great to share our vision and what’s ahead for Rocket Visual COBOL and Rocket ACUCOBOL.
• New Functionalities in Rocket Visual COBOL and Rocket ACUCOBOL: Participants got a first look at the latest features and enhancements now available in Rocket Visual COBOL and Rocket ACUCOBOL.
• Modernization Options for COBOL Applications: We reviewed various approaches for modernizing COBOL applications. Topics included using tools like rocket COBOL Analyzer, exploring refactoring options, leveraging web services, and integrating COBOL with other programming languages.

Though the real highlight was hearing from customers, who shared their real-world modernization journeys:

• France Travail
• AG2R LA MONDIALE
• Aréas Assurances

Their stories provided firsthand examples of how organizations are evolving their COBOL applications to meet today’s challenges—and setting themselves up for future success. Huge thanks to them for participating and inspiring the community.

If you have questions about the topics discussed or want to share your own experiences with Rocket Visual COBOL or Rocket ACUCOBOL modernization, join the conversation here! We’d love to hear your thoughts and continue building this incredible community together.

Stay tuned for more COBOL days to come!