IBM Enhances Bob With New AI Development Capabilities
IBM (NYSE:IBM) has introduced a series of upgrades to its IBM Bob agentic software development platform, adding multi-agent functionality, integrated AI cost monitoring and new enterprise modernization workflows designed to simplify software development and legacy system transformation.
Among the latest additions is Bobalytics, a feature that enables organisations to monitor AI usage, track resource consumption and maintain greater visibility over AI-related costs.
The platform now also supports parallel, model-native tool calling, allowing AI models to invoke and execute multiple tools simultaneously. IBM has further introduced subagents that perform complex tasks in isolated environments, helping reduce context window requirements and associated computing costs.
New Packages Target Legacy System Modernisation
IBM also unveiled three premium solution packages aimed at helping enterprises modernise legacy applications.
The IBM Z package focuses on COBOL and PL/I modernisation while providing JCL analysis for mainframe environments. The IBM i package introduces remote file system integration alongside IBM i-specific development tools. Meanwhile, the Java Modernization package offers AI-assisted workflows for migrating applications to Java 25, large-scale code refactoring and dependency analysis.
Early Customers Highlight Productivity Gains
Financial technology provider Jack Henry said its development teams have already used IBM Bob to accelerate RPG programming projects.
“Our developers are able to accelerate RPG development workflows, improve code quality, and gain deeper insights into decades of accumulated system knowledge while gaining efficiency in enhancement efforts,” said Kevin Sligar, Chief Technical Architect at Jack Henry.
Cloud consulting firm Blue Pearl also highlighted significant productivity improvements, saying a legacy modernisation project initially expected to take nine months with a team of 14 engineers was completed in just three days using IBM Bob.
“The most powerful outcome wasn’t the speed – it was the combination of operational efficiency, cost optimization, and real-world results we could trust and build on,” said Saireshan Govender, Group CEO of Blue Pearl.
IBM Positions Bob as an Enterprise AI Development Platform
Neel Sundaresan, GM of Automation and AI at IBM, described IBM Bob as “an end-to-end agentic development partner that works inside any system development teams already use, with the governance, security, and cost controls enterprises require.”
IBM also cited a 2026 GitLab report showing that 85% of surveyed DevSecOps professionals believe artificial intelligence has shifted the primary software development bottleneck from writing code to reviewing and validating AI-generated output.
The latest version of IBM Bob is now available for download.