Join us at the PUG UK & Ireland Conference on March 18th, 2026 in Leicester !
We are delighted to announce that we will participate in the
PUK UK & Ireland Conference 2026 again. It will be held in conjunction with Progress Software's OpenEdge World Tour on
Tuesday March 17th, 2026 & Wednesday 18th March 2026 at the
Marriott Hotel, Leicester
Mike Fechner will speak about:
Implementing MCP Servers with OpenEdge
The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an emerging standard for connecting AI agents and large language models with tools and enterprise systems. In this talk, we focus on the OpenEdge MCP Server, introduce the core concepts of MCP, and discuss general use cases for integrating OpenEdge applications with AI-based workflows. The session covers building an MCP server based on existing OpenEdge business logic, enabling AI-driven processes to both retrieve data from OpenEdge applications and invoke transactional logic to update data. With the availability of the Progress MCP Connector and MCP Server for OpenEdge, this integration has become significantly easier. Typical scenarios include exposing OpenEdge data to AI assistants or chatbots, supporting natural-language access to business data, and integrating OpenEdge systems into user- and customer-facing AI workflows.
ModernAIzing OpenEdge Applications Through Structured Refactoring with the SmartComponent Library
Modernizing OpenEdge applications requires more than adding new interfaces or technologies - it starts with structured refactoring of the existing ABL codebase. This session shows how legacy OpenEdge systems can be systematically refactored to enable modern architectures while preserving existing business logic.
Using the SmartComponent Library as a full-stack framework, the talk demonstrates practical refactoring approaches: identifying modernization candidates, decoupling legacy structures, introducing clear architectural boundaries, and enabling REST-based integration and modern web frontends. Modern tooling, including AI-assisted analysis and refactoring support, helps accelerate code understanding and identify suitable refactoring paths within large ABL codebases.
The focus remains on controlled, architecture-driven refactoring. The session highlights where AI can effectively support modernization tasks - and where human architectural decisions remain essential to ensure predictable, sustainable results.
More more information, please visit OpenEdge World Tour & PUG Conference 2026 – PUG UK & Ireland.
If you have any questions, please contact us: info@consultingwerk.de.
Mike Fechner, Director
Mike Fechner, Lead Modernization Architect at Consultingwerk started using Progress over 30 years ago and ever since has supported Progress Application Partners and end customers in adopting the features of
the latest OpenEdge and Progress releases to enhance the capabilities of existing applications. With his framework design skills he has set the stage for development of many successful OpenEdge applications.
Mike is specialized on object orientation in the ABL, software architectures, the GUI for .NET, web technologies and a wide range of Progress products such as OpenEdge, Telerik and Corticon. He is involved in
software modernization projects on a day by day basis.
He is a well-known and active member of the international OpenEdge community, frequent presenter at conferences around the world and is a board member of the German PUG and founder of the committee of the EMEA
PUG Challenge. He’s also a founding member of the Common Component Specification project.