What Software Innovations does

Software Innovations, Inc. (Sii) is a privately held Nashua, New Hampshire-based software development firm founded in 1977 that specializes in automated migration of legacy applications to modern UNIX and related platforms. Its flagship product is the AST/400 Translation System, which converts IBM AS/400 source code (RPG, COBOL, CL, and DDS) into UNIX C and MicroFocus UNIX COBOL without requiring manual modifications, paired with a runtime support library that replicates OS/400 features such as subfiles, data areas, message queues, batch jobs, overrides, and library lists. The company also offers Custom Translators for other legacy languages and environments (Basic, Fortran, proprietary languages) targeting both Unix and Windows NT, plus a Web Services line providing backend integration in Java, JavaScript, XML, and Perl.

The company's revenue model centers on professional services for one-off enterprise migration projects, supplemented by one-time licensing of custom translator configurations and ongoing self-service retranslation capability delivered to clients. Notable engagements include a ~1 million-line migration for Reynolds+Reynolds (resulting in approximately 6,000 installed systems maintained by the client's original staff) and a ~1 million-line AS/400-to-Unix conversion for CheckFree that is now shipping in production. The company operates across the US, Europe, and Japan, and supports Japanese character sets (Romanji, Hiragana, Katakana, Kanji).

Software Innovations has remained an extremely small, privately held organization of 1-10 employees with no disclosed funding, parent company, acquisitions, or leadership transitions. Its website has not been updated since 12 November 2012, and its customer acquisition relies on direct outreach (phone, email) and referrals rather than a modern go-to-market motion.

Name

Software Innovations

Legal name

Software Innovations, Inc.

Website

https://sii-nh.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Software Innovations is a privately held Nashua, New Hampshire software firm, founded 1977, that builds automated translation tools to migrate legacy IBM AS/400 and other legacy applications to UNIX platforms for enterprise clients in the US, Europe, and Japan.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legacy Software Migration Tools

NAICS

Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Software Publishers (5132)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Legacy Application Modernization (Re-platform/Re-host/Re-factor) (BPAEAFAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Software Engineering & Application Modernization (BPAHAEAD)

Keywords

• Legacy software migration
• Automated code translation
• AS400 to Unix
• Custom translator tools
• Runtime emulation library

Headquarters

HQ city

Nashua

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Software Migration Services: Professional services for migrating legacy software applications from platforms like AS/400, BTI, and other legacy systems to Unix and modern environments. Services include automated translation, data conversion, runtime environment setup, and customer training for self-service retranslation.
2. Custom Translator Licensing: Custom translation systems configured for specific legacy languages and environments, delivered with all translation tools configured for immediate use including shell scripts for fetch, retranslate, compile, and install operations.
3. Web Backend Development Services: Custom backend development services for web presence, including Java, JavaScript, XML, Perl, server-side includes, client-side imagemaps, and high-security packages for web database access.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Software Innovations develops and delivers automated software translation and migration tools that move legacy applications (primarily IBM AS/400 RPG, COBOL, CL, and DDS) onto UNIX platforms, including its flagship AST/400 Translation System and a runtime support library that emulates AS/400 features. It complements these with Custom Translators for other legacy languages and Web Backend Development Services that connect internet-facing sites to internal data systems using Java, JavaScript, XML, and Perl.

Product overview

Software Innovations provides automated software migration solutions, primarily centered on the AST/400 Translation System for converting IBM AS/400 applications (RPG, COBOL, CL, and DDS) to UNIX C or MicroFocus COBOL. The company's core offering is complemented by Custom Translators for legacy languages (Basic, COBOL, RPG, Fortran, proprietary languages) and Web Services that create backend interfaces with Java, JavaScript, XML, and Perl. Metadata Extraction is collected during translation to support CASE tool export and database schema construction. All translation products include a Runtime Support Library providing OS/400 feature compatibility on UNIX, and shell400 enables AS/400 command syntax on UNIX systems.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AST/400 Translation System: Automated software translation system designed to convert existing IBM AS/400 RPG, COBOL, CL, and DDS programs running under OS/400 to UNIX C and MicroFocus UNIX COBOL, with a runtime support library for OS/400 features not directly mappable to UNIX.

Products and services

• AST/400 Translation System Automated software translation system that converts IBM AS/400 applications (RPG, COBOL, CL, and DDS programs) running under OS/400 to UNIX C and MicroFocus UNIX COBOL, with no manual fixup required, full support for AS/400 features (subfiles, data areas, queues, overrides, library lists), and target deployment on UNIX hosts such as HP 9000 and IBM RS/6000 with Informix, Oracle, or Sybase as the relational database. Designed for large enterprises migrating AS/400 workloads off legacy hardware.
• Custom Translators Custom-built translation systems configured for legacy languages and operating environments including Basic, COBOL, RPG, Fortran, and proprietary languages, enabling 100% automated migration of applications to Unix or Windows NT platforms. Delivered with the translation tools pre-configured and shell scripts for fetch, retranslate, compile, and install operations so customers can retranslate without further vendor involvement.
• Web Backend Development Services Custom backend development services that interface an organization's internet web presence with its internal data, incorporating Java, JavaScript, XML, Perl, server-side includes, client-side imagemaps, and high-security access control packages for web database access, with support for character sets including Japanese (Romanji, Hirigana, Katakana, Kanji).
• Metadata Extraction Metadata collection capability that runs during translation to describe application data, file formats, field definitions, and call graphs; exportable to CASE tools for reengineering efforts and used to construct SQL database schemas for the translated application.

Quantifiable outcome

• Multi-million line conversions completed in a couple of months from start to final acceptance
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature6 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Accenture: Accenture's application modernization practice serves large banks, insurers, and governments on legacy transformation programs that overlap with Sii's enterprise customer base.
• Atos: Atos operates a broad legacy and application modernization services practice that competes for the same enterprise migration RFPs as Sii, with deeper delivery scale across geographies.
• IBM: IBM owns the AS/400 / IBM i platform and offers modernization services and tooling around it. As a broad incumbent, it overlaps with Sii's migration remit but typically pushes customers toward IBM-native solutions.
• Capgemini Engineering: Capgemini provides large-scale legacy application modernization and cloud migration services for enterprises — competing for many of the same banking, insurance, and government accounts Sii targets.

Direct peers

• Micro Focus (OpenText): Micro Focus (now part of OpenText) provides COBOL, RPG, and mainframe/AS400 modernization tooling directly overlapping with Sii's AST/400 translation target languages and runtime offerings.
• LzLabs: LzLabs modernizes mainframe and midrange applications (including legacy stacks like AS/400) to Linux/cloud environments, addressing the same enterprise migration pain points as Sii.
• TSRI (The Software Revolution, Inc.): TSRI specializes in large-scale automated legacy code translation and reengineering for COBOL, RPG, and other legacy languages — directly comparable to Sii's automated translation approach.
• Heirloom Computing: Heirloom Computing converts legacy COBOL and mainframe applications to modern Java/cloud targets, competing with Sii for the same legacy modernization budget pool.
• BluePhoenix Solutions: BluePhoenix specializes in automated legacy modernization and rehosting for mainframe and midrange environments (including COBOL/AS400-style stacks), making it a comparable niche competitor to Sii.

Emerging players

• AWS Mainframe Modernization: AWS's Mainframe Modernization service targets COBOL/pl/I legacy workloads for cloud migration, representing a cloud-native emerging alternative to Sii's traditional Unix-target translation model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Software Innovations