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Natural is Software AG's integrated platform for business application development and maintenance. Unlike standalone NATURAL (the language), the Software AG Natural ecosystem includes the NATURAL language, ADABAS database, Natural development tools (debugger, profiler, testing frameworks), and various middleware and integration components. Organizations using Software AG's Natural platform have chosen a complete, integrated stack rather than piecing together tools. For developers, Software AG Natural expertise is more specialized and valuable than NATURAL alone because it includes the entire ecosystem.
Natural is Software AG's comprehensive application development platform. It bundles the NATURAL language with ADABAS (a non-relational database), development tools (IDE, debugger, natural testing framework), workflow management, and integration middleware. Organizations that chose Natural/ADABAS built their entire application stack on Software AG's platform, making the ecosystem deeply integrated and difficult to replace piece-by-piece.
The Software AG platform was designed for large enterprises needing rapid development and maintenance of business applications at scale. It's particularly common in banking, insurance, and government sectors where massive legacy codebases were built on the platform. The integration is tight: ADABAS storage structures are defined within Natural programs, Natural includes built-in views and access logic, and the development tools are optimized for the Natural/ADABAS pair.
Software AG continues to support and enhance the Natural platform. Modern releases include REST API support for exposing legacy systems, cloud deployment options, and integration with modern DevOps tools. However, new organizations rarely adopt Natural/ADABAS; instead, existing customers invest in modernization and gradual migration.
Key differentiator: Natural/ADABAS is more of a complete system than individual components. A developer fluent in the entire Software AG stack is more valuable than a NATURAL-only developer because they understand data model design, access optimization, and the system-level performance characteristics. This expertise is rarer and commands premium rates.
Hire a Software AG Natural developer when you have large legacy systems built on the Natural/ADABAS platform. Common scenarios: maintaining banking core systems, insurance policy management systems, government applications, or large ERP deployments. Also hire when modernizing legacy systems and needing someone who understands the data model deeply (ADABAS is non-relational and requires different thinking than SQL databases).
Software AG Natural is not suitable for new development. Modern platforms are better for new systems. However, for organizations with billions of dollars in Natural/ADABAS systems, this is non-optional hiring.
Ideal team composition: pair Software AG Natural developers with ADABAS database specialists. They should also work with modernization architects who understand strategies for gradually exposing Natural/ADABAS logic via APIs or migrating to modern databases. Business analysts familiar with the industry (banking, insurance) are critical.
The talent supply is extremely tight. ADABAS expertise is rarer than NATURAL expertise because fewer developers ever learned the database. Developers who understand both the language and the database are increasingly scarce. Hiring now locks in knowledge that will be unavailable in 5-10 years.
Typical project timelines: maintenance and feature development follow the same slower pace as NATURAL. Modernization projects are lengthy and require careful planning to avoid breaking existing functionality.
A strong Software AG Natural hire needs: (1) deep NATURAL language expertise, (2) thorough understanding of ADABAS (data model design, access logic, descriptor files), (3) shipping experience in production Natural/ADABAS systems, and (4) understanding of how the entire platform works together. Red flags: developers who only know NATURAL without ADABAS experience, or developers who claim expertise without large-scale system maintenance.
Look for developers with experience optimizing ADABAS access, designing data models, understanding file organization, and debugging complex data access patterns. They should understand the non-relational model that ADABAS uses, which is very different from SQL. The best candidates have worked on multiple large Natural/ADABAS systems.
Mid-level (5-10 years Natural/ADABAS): Has maintained production systems, understands both language and database, can debug complex access patterns and optimize. Knowledgeable about Natural/ADABAS integration and performance tuning. Likely from banking or insurance background.
Senior (10+ years Natural/ADABAS, multiple large systems): Has architected large systems, mentored teams, and guided modernization efforts. Understands deep ADABAS concepts (occurrence numbering, data compression, security). Can design systems that remain maintainable at scale.
Soft skills: patience with complex legacy systems and understanding of business context. Natural/ADABAS systems are typically mission-critical; you need developers who take that seriously.
1. Tell us about a large Natural/ADABAS system you've maintained. What was the data model, and what challenges did you face managing the data structure? Listen for deep understanding of ADABAS and the data model. Strong answer shows they've dealt with complex file structures and optimization.
2. You're migrating a Natural/ADABAS system to a modern database (PostgreSQL). Walk us through your strategy for data conversion, ensuring consistency and minimal downtime.** Good answer: understand ADABAS's unique features (non-relational, occurrence numbering), plan for schema mapping, test extensively. Excellent answer discusses phased migration and maintaining backward compatibility.
3. Describe your experience with ADABAS file organization, descriptor files, and optimization. What performance improvements have you achieved? Should show deep database expertise. Strong answer includes understanding of access patterns, indexing strategies, and compression.
4. Tell us about a time you debugged a complex Natural/ADABAS issue (data consistency, access performance, concurrency). How did you approach it? Listen for methodical debugging, use of Natural and ADABAS tools, understanding of data access patterns. Strong answer shows they profiled and fixed root causes.
5. How would you approach modernizing a Natural/ADABAS system? What are the main risks, and how would you mitigate them?** Should discuss: data migration, API exposure, phased approach, backward compatibility. Strong answer shows understanding of business continuity and risk management.
1. Explain how ADABAS differs from relational databases (SQL). What are the advantages and disadvantages for a legacy system? Should show deep understanding of non-relational model. Good answer discusses occurrence numbering, variable-length records, and why ADABAS was designed that way.
2. Write a Natural program that accesses an ADABAS file with multiple record types. Include error handling for missing records and access violations.** Evaluate: Natural syntax, ADABAS access logic, error handling. Strong answer shows clean code and understanding of file organization.
3. How would you optimize a slow Natural program that accesses ADABAS? Walk through your profiling and optimization approach.** Should mention: Natural profiler, ADABAS access statistics, descriptor files, avoiding sequential scans. Great answer includes actual metrics and trade-offs.
4. Describe ADABAS security and field-level encryption. How would you design a Natural/ADABAS system with sensitive data (e.g., financial records)? Should demonstrate understanding of ADABAS security features, Natural integration, and compliance considerations.
5. You're designing a Natural/ADABAS system to handle millions of transactions daily. How would you structure the data model and access patterns for maximum performance? Should discuss: file organization, indexing, denormalization, write optimization. Great answer includes discussion of concurrency and consistency.
Take-home exercise (5-7 hours): Given a Natural/ADABAS system spec, design the ADABAS file structures and write Natural programs to manage the data. Requirements: handle multiple record types, optimize for performance, include error handling and logging. Evaluate on: ADABAS design correctness, Natural code quality, understanding of access patterns, and testing rigor. Scoring: well-designed system with optimized access patterns gets full marks; functional but suboptimal design gets 70%; incomplete or incorrect code gets 30%.
Software AG Natural expertise commands very high rates due to extreme scarcity. Developers with ADABAS expertise are among the rarest in the industry.
LatAm Natural (Software AG) Developer Salary (2026):
Comparison to US Rates:
LatAm rates are 25-35% lower than equivalent US salaries. A LatAm senior Natural/ADABAS developer at $200K is equivalent to a US hire at $280K-350K. The scarcity premium is extreme because ADABAS expertise is nearly impossible to find.
Software AG-specific note: any developer combining Natural and ADABAS expertise should be considered exceptionally rare and valuable.
Latin America, particularly Brazil and Mexico, has a concentrated population of Software AG Natural/ADABAS developers rooted in large banking and government deployments. These regions maintained significant investments in Natural/ADABAS platforms, creating a developer community that remains engaged and available for remote work.
Time zone overlap: Most LatAm developers are UTC-3 to UTC-5, giving 6-8 hours of overlap with US East Coast. Large systems often require on-call support and real-time issue resolution.
Cost efficiency: A LatAm senior Natural/ADABAS developer at $200K costs 25-35% less than a US equivalent at $280K-350K. For mission-critical legacy systems, this represents exceptional value.
The Natural/ADABAS community in LatAm is committed and engaged. Developers understand the stakes of maintaining critical systems and approach their work with discipline and focus on reliability.
Cultural fit: LatAm developers are accustomed to working on stable, mission-critical systems. They understand that modernization is a long game and boring, reliable code is valuable.
Sourcing Natural/ADABAS developers is extremely challenging. South has a specialized network of legacy platform experts and can access candidates when direct hiring fails.
Step 1: Share Requirements Tell us about your Natural/ADABAS systems. What industry? What scale? What are your immediate needs (maintenance, enhancement, modernization)? We'll understand the full context before sourcing.
Step 2: South Matches from Pre-vetted Network We screen for (1) proven Natural language expertise, (2) deep ADABAS knowledge (file design, optimization, access logic), (3) production system maintenance at scale, and (4) industry-specific experience (banking, insurance, government). We prioritize developers who understand the entire platform.
Step 3: You Interview South facilitates interviews covering Natural technical depth, ADABAS expertise, and modernization thinking. We handle initial screening; your team talks to pre-qualified candidates. Given scarcity, most teams make offers quickly (within 1 interview).
Step 4: Ongoing Support Once hired, South handles payroll, compliance, and ensures retention support. Natural/ADABAS developers are critical and hard to replace. If a hire doesn't work out within 30 days, we replace them at no cost.
Ready to hire? Visit https://www.hireinsouth.com/start and tell us about your Natural/ADABAS systems. Given extreme scarcity, we typically need 10-15 days to source candidates.
Software AG Natural is used for maintaining and enhancing large legacy business applications, particularly banking, insurance, government, and ERP systems. New development is rare; maintenance and modernization dominate.
NATURAL is the language. Natural (Software AG) is the complete platform including NATURAL, ADABAS database, development tools, and integration middleware. Most organizations using Natural are on the Software AG platform, not standalone NATURAL.
Yes. ADABAS is non-relational, uses occurrence numbering, variable-length records, and has different performance characteristics than SQL. It's powerful for the business applications it was designed for but requires different thinking than relational databases.
Yes, but it's complex. Data migration is non-trivial because ADABAS's data model is different from SQL databases. Gradual API wrapping and phased migration are safer than big rewrites. Plan 2-5 years for significant modernization.
Extremely. ADABAS developers are rarer than NATURAL developers because fewer people ever learned the database. Any developer combining both skills is exceptionally valuable and hard to replace.
Mid-level developers range $95K-140K/year. Senior developers go $160K-230K/year. Scarcity commands premium pricing.
Typically 10-15 days to source candidates due to extreme scarcity. Interviews usually complete within 1-2 weeks. Total time from start to productive is 3-4 weeks.
Yes. For code review, optimization consulting, or modernization planning, part-time is common. Discuss scope at https://www.hireinsouth.com/start.
Most are UTC-3 to UTC-5 (Brazil, Argentina, Mexico). This gives 6-8 hours of overlap with US Eastern Time, critical for on-call support of mission-critical systems.
We assess (1) deep NATURAL expertise, (2) proven ADABAS knowledge (file design, access optimization), (3) production system maintenance at scale, and (4) understanding of the integrated platform. Practical assessments include ADABAS design and Natural/ADABAS integration questions.
South offers a 30-day replacement guarantee. If a developer doesn't work out, we match you with a replacement at no additional cost. Given scarcity, we work extremely hard to get the right fit.
Yes. For large system modernization or maintenance, teams of 2-3 developers are possible, though sourcing takes longer (3-4 weeks). We prioritize team cohesion.
