Answer
The strongest shortlist starts with products whose vendors still publish IBM i roadmaps, ship updates, support modern integration patterns, and maintain an implementation ecosystem that buyers can actually verify. Installed base alone is not enough, because some products remain common long after their strategic energy has slowed.
Buyers should ask for recent release cadence, IBM i commitment, customer references in similar industries, and evidence that the partner network is still capable of implementing and supporting the product well. That process produces a better shortlist than relying on legacy name recognition by itself.