Is Agentic AI Posing an Existential Threat to COBOL and Mainframes?
InformationWeek, Tuesday, November 3rd, 2026
Agentic AI that converts COBOL code into specifications and rebuilds applications could finally speed mainframe modernization.
An InformationWeek commentary argues that while CIOs will not replace major enterprise apps with homegrown software, agentic AI could finally replace COBOL and mainframes, technologies dating to the 1950s that remain entrenched in airlines, banking, insurance, government, healthcare and retail.
The skills to maintain them continue to leave enterprises.
The author describes agents that turn COBOL application code into a detailed specification, which another agent then uses to rebuild the application on a low-code platform.
The piece places this alongside the broader SaaSpocalypse discussion and vendors such as SAP exposing APIs for agent-driven operations.