Turning IBM i Applications into Native AI Engines
The future of AI integration just got a whole lot simpler for IBM i organizations. At Profound Logic, we’re focused on turning IBM i applications into native AI engines, and today we’re excited to announce a major breakthrough: Profound AI now supports the Model Context Protocol (MCP) – the open standard that’s revolutionizing how AI systems connect to business data and applications.
This isn’t just another integration – it’s the realization of our mission to transform your 30-year-old IBM i applications into powerful, AI-enabled engines that speak the same language as ChatGPT, Claude, and the world’s leading AI platforms.
What This Means for Your Business
Imagine asking ChatGPT about your live inventory levels, current customer orders, or real-time sales performance – and getting answers powered by your actual IBM i data, not outdated information or AI guesswork. That’s exactly what Profound AI’s new MCP support makes possible.
With this breakthrough integration, your IBM i systems can now participate in the same AI ecosystem as the world’s leading technology companies. The same protocol that OpenAI uses for ChatGPT Enterprise, Microsoft leverages across its AI suite, and Anthropic built into Claude is now available for your IBM i environment.
MCP: The Universal Adapter for AI
Think of MCP as a USB-C port for AI agents – it’s a universal standard that allows any AI system to connect with external data sources and services without custom coding. Before MCP, every AI integration required bespoke development work. Now, with this open protocol backed by industry giants like OpenAI, Microsoft, Anthropic, and Google, we have a “build once, use anywhere” approach to AI connectivity.
The industry momentum behind MCP is undeniable. Anthropic introduced MCP as an open standard in late 2024 to address the fragmentation of AI tool integrations. OpenAI quickly followed suit, announcing that ChatGPT will support MCP connections. At Build 2025, Microsoft announced comprehensive MCP support across their AI ecosystem, from GitHub Copilot to Azure AI services.
This isn’t just another integration standard – it’s the foundation for what industry experts are calling “the year of AI agents.” MCP transforms AI assistants from passive chatbots into active business partners that can access live data, execute processes, and deliver insights in real-time.
Profound AI: Your Bridge to the AI Future
Profound AI’s MCP support acts as a secure bridge between your IBM i systems and the expanding universe of AI tools. This breakthrough eliminates the traditional barriers that have kept IBM i organizations from leveraging cutting-edge AI capabilities. Instead of months of custom development work and costly integrations, you can now connect your mission-critical business systems to leading AI platforms in minutes, not months.
The business impact is immediate and transformative. Organizations can dramatically reduce manual data analysis time, accelerate decision-making processes, and unlock insights that were previously buried in complex system queries. Your team members can now ask natural language questions about inventory levels, customer trends, or financial performance and receive instant, accurate answers powered by your live IBM i data.
Through our intuitive, no-code interface, you can:
- Configure connections visually – Accelerate AI adoption across your enterprise without waiting on scarce developer resources. Visual configuration means business users and analysts can build intelligent AI workflows that once took months — now completed in days.
- Maintain security and control – All AI interactions go through your controlled MCP server with the access permissions you define
- Access real-time data – AI queries pull live information from your IBM i systems, ensuring responses reflect current business conditions
- Connect to multiple AI platforms – Whether you prefer ChatGPT, Claude, Microsoft Copilot, or other AI tools, they can all interface with your IBM i data through the same MCP protocol
Real-World Impact Across Industries
The true power of Profound AI’s MCP integration becomes clear when you see it in action across different business contexts. IBM i systems power critical operations in manufacturing, retail, distribution, finance, and countless other industries – and now all of these sectors can harness AI’s transformative capabilities without abandoning their proven infrastructure.
These aren’t theoretical possibilities – they’re practical applications that organizations can implement immediately. Here’s how different industries are already envisioning the impact.
Consider these transformative scenarios:
- Manufacturing: An AI assistant that checks real-time production schedules, predicts potential delays, and recommends reorders by calling your IBM i ERP programs directly.
- Retail: A customer service agent that instantly verifies purchase history, checks return eligibility, and processes exchanges by accessing live IBM i transaction data.
- Finance: An AI advisor that pulls current account balances, analyzes spending patterns, and provides personalized recommendations using your core banking system data.
Why This Matters Now
As AI becomes the new interface for enterprise applications – much like web browsers transformed business in the late ’90s – organizations need platforms that keep pace with rapid technological advancement. According to industry analysts, by 2028, 33% of enterprise software applications will include agentic AI capabilities.
Profound AI’s MCP support ensures your IBM i systems won’t be left behind in this transformation. As McKinsey research indicates, organizations that successfully integrate AI into their operations see significant competitive advantages in efficiency and innovation.
By embracing the same open standard that the world’s leading AI companies have adopted, we’re positioning IBM i organizations to participate fully in the AI revolution. Your decades of business logic, refined processes, and valuable data become immediately accessible to cutting-edge AI tools.
The Profound Logic Difference
This announcement reflects our commitment to futurization – not just modernizing your systems but positioning them for tomorrow’s opportunities.
Profound AI with MCP support combines:
- Innovation alignment with industry leaders like OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google
- Simplicity through our proven no-code development approach
- Security with controlled, permission-based access to your business data
- Flexibility to work with your preferred AI tools and models
- Accountability with comprehensive logging and monitoring capabilities
Your IBM i Applications, Reimagined as AI Engines
The AI revolution is accelerating, and organizations that act now will have a significant competitive advantage. With Profound AI’s MCP support, you’re not just modernizing your IBM i systems – you’re futurizing them, transforming decades of business logic and valuable data into intelligent, AI-powered engines that can compete with any modern platform.
Ready to turn your old IBM i applications into native AI engines? Visit https://www.profoundlogic.com/ai/ to learn more about Profound AI’s MCP capabilities and download our platform to begin your AI transformation journey.
Don’t let your competition get ahead in the AI race. With Profound Logic, your IBM i systems aren’t just ready for the future – they’re leading the way.
