Spring is an exciting time for the Progress and OpenEdge community. With several OpenEdge World Tour events and User Group conferences taking place across Europe, alongside ongoing product innovation at Consultingwerk, there is plenty happening across the ecosystem.
In this edition, we recap highlights from the recent PUG UK & Ireland Conference, preview upcoming community events in Germany, the Netherlands, and the Baltic region, share the latest enhancements in SmartComponents for Angular 20.1, and highlight two new blog articles: Part 3 of our AI blog series and our latest post on MCP Server integration approaches for OpenEdge.
PUG UK & Ireland Conference – Wrap-Up
The PUG UK & Ireland Conference 2026 (March 17th – 18th in Leicester) once again brought together developers, architects, and IT leaders from across the Progress community. The event offered valuable technical sessions, networking opportunities, and insights into the latest advancements in the Progress ecosystem.
Consultingwerk was pleased to support the event as a sponsor and to contribute to the program. Mike Fechner shared insights into AI integration with OpenEdge through MCP as well as strategies for modernizing OpenEdge applications using structured refactoring and the SmartComponent framework.
Thanks to everyone who joined the sessions and discussions - we’re already looking forward to the next edition!
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PUG Germany 2026 – Join Us!
The Progress User Group Germany Annual Meeting 2026 will take place on May 6th in Cologne and promises a full day of technical sessions, community exchange, and insights into the future of Progress technologies.
As in previous years, the event takes place alongside the OpenEdge World Tour in Cologne on May 5th. In the morning, several hands-on workshops will take place before the official World Tour program begins, providing practical insights into modern OpenEdge development and AI-powered tools.
Consultingwerk will contribute a workshop titled “Modernizing OpenEdge Applications – Technical Strategies with AI Support.” We will demonstrate practical examples of how Windsurf, an AI-assisted development tool, can be used in OpenEdge development to analyze, modernize, and further evolve existing applications.
The day concludes with a joint community dinner organized by the PUG, offering an excellent opportunity for networking and informal discussions within the OpenEdge community.
On May 6th, during the PUG Germany Annual Meeting, Mike Fechner will present a session titled “Overview of AI Development Tools for OpenEdge”, providing insights into how modern AI-powered tools can support developers in the OpenEdge ecosystem.
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PUG Netherlands 2026 – Breda
We are pleased to support the PUG Netherlands meeting on May 7th in Breda, The Netherlands, as a sponsor. The event brings together members of the Dutch Progress community for a day of technical sessions, knowledge sharing, and networking.
Community events like this provide a great opportunity to exchange ideas, learn from fellow developers, and stay up to date with the latest developments in the OpenEdge ecosystem.
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PUG Baltic 2026 – Tallinn
We’re also excited to announce the upcoming PUG Baltic Conference 2026 on May 21st in Tallinn. This growing community event brings together Progress developers from across the Baltic region for a day of knowledge sharing, technical deep dives, and networking.
At the conference, Mike Fechner will present the session “ModernAIzing OpenEdge Applications Through Structured Refactoring with the SmartComponent Library.” In this talk, he will demonstrate how structured, architecture-driven refactoring can transform legacy ABL systems into modern, integration-ready solutions while preserving proven business logic, and how AI-assisted tools can support code analysis and refactoring.
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Product Update
SmartComponents for Angular – Version 20.1 Released
We are happy to announce the release of SmartComponents for Angular 20.1, delivering several improvements that enhance usability, performance, and integration capabilities.
Highlights of this release include:
- Repository Designer on the Web
The Repository Designer is now available directly in the browser and can be opened from any Smart Form without navigating through menus. This simplifies and accelerates day-to-day repository maintenance. - Faster UI Updates with Angular Signals
By migrating key components to Angular Signals, UI updates are now faster and more reliable, improving overall application responsiveness. - New Syntra UI Theme
A fresh Syntra UI theme provides a modern visual experience for end users and enhances the overall look and feel of applications built with SmartComponents. - Smart ChatBot Integration
The Smart ChatBot can now open Smart Forms directly with the appropriate data context through MCP integration, enabling more interactive and context-aware workflows. - Microsoft Entra ID Authentication
Support for Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD) authentication has been added, making it easier to integrate enterprise identity management and strengthen security. - Badge-Style Columns in Smart Grid
Smart Grid now supports badge-style columns, allowing important data to be highlighted visually within grids. - Enhanced Export Options
Exporting grid data is now more flexible. Users can configure selected columns, page size, orientation, document title, and filename. Exports are available for PDF and Excel, making reporting and data sharing easier than ever.
Blog Highlights
Two Ways to Bring OpenEdge to AI: OpenEdge MCP Server vs. Custom MCP Server Approach
Bringing OpenEdge applications into the world of AI is becoming a real and practical topic — and there’s now more than one way to do it. In our latest blog post, we compare two approaches: the new OpenEdge MCP Server from Progress and a custom MCP server approach.
Both options expose ABL business logic to AI agents, but they differ significantly in terms of architecture, flexibility, and tooling. While the OpenEdge MCP Server provides a standardized, OpenAPI-driven approach with strong built-in security, a custom MCP server (e.g., using .NET, Python, or Node.js) offers greater flexibility and control over how AI integrations are designed.
If you’re exploring how to integrate AI into your OpenEdge applications, this article helps you understand the trade-offs and choose the approach that best fits your needs.
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AI in Practice: Lessons from 2025 (Part 3)
AI has been discussed for years as a future promise. What changed in 2025 is not just how AI is used — but how software development itself is evolving.
In Part 3 of our blog series “How AI Shaped Us in 2025”, we focus on a key insight: nothing is as constant as change in the AI era. Development is no longer a stable process, but a continuously evolving one, where tools, workflows, and expectations are constantly shifting.
The article explores how the role of developers is changing — from writing code to guiding AI, understanding systems, and making architectural decisions — and why successfully adopting AI means embracing continuous change rather than one-time transformation.
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Upcoming Webinars
AI Based ModernAIzation with the SmartComponent Library
With Mike Fechner
In this webinar, Mike Fechner demonstrates how OpenEdge applications can be efficiently modernized using the SmartComponent Library, supported by AI developer tools. Learn how legacy systems are analyzed, transformed, and integrated into modern, scalable architectures — enabling faster delivery and consistent modernization results.
When: April 16th, 2026 | 16:00 CET
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Webinars On Demand
Exploring AI Developer Tools for OpenEdge
With Mike Fechner
Discover how modern AI developer tools support OpenEdge development by improving code understanding, refactoring, and modernization of large, long-lived applications.
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