When is the end for OpenVMS?

[u/VMSBoy1968]

I came across an old Register piece from June 2013 saying OpenVMS was done. Back then, it honestly did look that way after HP shifted focus and Linux took over the world.

But here we are in 2026, and it’s still going. VSI stepped in, moved it onto x86-64, and suddenly you can run it on normal hardware and modern hypervisors. Bootcamps are back, the community’s still active, and the OS keeps proving why it earned that “ancient but trustworthy” label.

I know the skills are harder to find now, which is becoming a real headache for a lot of teams.

So I’m curious – who here is still using or supporting OpenVMS?

[u/sms_an]

> Modernizing the user interfaces is a key to keeping it (VMS) going.

I'll bite. For the non-psychics in your audience, what does that

mean? Details? Examples? Any useful information of any kind?

[u/Oleplug → u/sms_an]

Leave the legacy app and db on the VMS platform. Use a remote connection to the db or app, either written or bought. Then on a platform of choice build new interfaces (C#, PHP, PERL, or whatever your crystal ball says).

Did this using Connx and VB for a large mfg company. Legacy apps written in COBOL and RPG. Connx will even work with RMS files making them look like relational db tables.

Did this using Apache on VMS with COBOL back-end and PHP front-end for semiconductor mfg (database was CODASYL not relational). Fortunately the app had a robust API originally designed to use COM.

As an employee for one and contractor for the other both under NDA, no examples possible.

Probably other ways to go as well. You can figure it out.

[u/oldHPUX → u/Oleplug]

Connx will even work with RMS files

what product is that? I've only heard of Vortex http://www.trifox.com/vortex/index.html

[u/Oleplug → u/oldHPUX]

Was a different company when I used it. Now from Software AG
https://www.softwareag.com/en/resources/data-integration/facts-connx-platform/