Strumenta 
Background
David Nieper is a British designer and manufacturer of luxurious women’s clothing. The company was founded in 1961 in Derbyshire in the UK and has over 250 employees. They are proud to be one of the few British clothing organisations still making their clothes in Britain. They manufacture, design, pack and produce everything in the UK.
Challenge
As an old, established business, David Nieper started developing software back in the 70s on the IBM AS400. In 2025, they acknowledged that while this RPG software is still critical to business operations, it needed modernizing so that it could be connected to other business systems. They chose Python as the language they wanted to migrate to. However, they didn’t know how to go about updating this crucial piece of software, or even where to start.
Why Strumenta?
In early 2025, after a Google search, Kaye Litchfield, IT Manager at David Nieper realised that not many companies could help her with this migration. In fact, she found that Strumenta was the only company that could help her automate a migration from RPG to Python. She approached Strumenta who recommended its Migration Blueprint service.
The Migration Blueprint service involves a Strumenta team working closely with our client to create a step by step approach to migration. Strumenta analyzed the code, categorised the different ways GOTO statements were used, considered related technologies including DDS, CL, Interform, DB2 database and integration with PHP middleware.
Results
The Migration Blueprint process with David Nieper consisted of 5 workshops and a few additional meetings. Strumenta started by identifying goals, understanding their RPG system, highlighting critical areas and pinpointing obstacles. Strumenta then developed a customized plan for each module to be migrated.
The final result was a migration plan that the company can follow to migrate their RPG code. By using this Migration Blueprint, David Nieper has a step by step approach to ensure:
- Relevant code is migrated, unused code discarded
- Smooth, structured transition
- Preserved business continuity
