How We Predict Future Tech Trends with the Israeli Tech Radar

Navigating the tech world’s rapidly changing landscape is an ever-evolving challenge. At Tikal, we strive to simplify this journey by unveiling our Israeli Tech Radar every year, forecasting the most promising trends, software, libraries, and systems anticipated to shape the future of the software development arena.

But have you ever wondered how we curate this tech compass? Here’s a glimpse into the fascinating process behind the Israeli Tech Radar.

The Israeli Tech Radar: An Overview

Before we delve into the creation process, let’s understand what the Israeli Tech Radar entails. It’s essentially a two-fold guide: one part, an extensive inventory of tools, frameworks, libraries, methodologies, and systems employed in software development; the other, a discerning list of significant trends expected to influence the industry’s trajectory.

These components are systematically organized into four domains: Frontend, Backend & Machine Learning (ML), DevOps, and Mobile development. Every tool within these domains is assigned to one of four rings: Try, Start, Keep, and Stop. Each ring represents a different stage of adoption and utility:

Try — this ring contains the newest technologies, the ones which are recommended for experimentation. These technologies are most likely to be prominent in years to come; however, not all will mature enough to become stable and gain sufficient traction to make it to the main stage of software development.

Start — this ring contains technologies that are more mature than those in the Try ring. We are witnessing the start of adoption of these technologies by companies. Still, they are not yet well-known, and they are not yet considered mainstream technologies.

Keep — the technologies in this ring are well known and used by many software companies as the foundation of their products.

Stop — technologies listed in this ring are the ones we believe are outdated and on their way to becoming obsolete. The reasons can be diverse, but the main ones are: they’ve been replaced by better alternatives and are no longer relevant to attract potential developers.

Expertise, Culture, and Process: The Pillars of the Israeli Tech Radar

The Israeli Tech Radar’s ability to accurately predict the trajectory of the tech world is not achieved by sheer luck; it is the result of a combination of expert insights, a culture of continuous learning, and a meticulous process.

Tikal is a hub of expertise, with over 160 specialists in the main fields of software development, such as Backend & ML, Frontend, DevOps, and Mobile. Our experts join our customers’ development teams and participate, alongside the customers’ engineers, in the design and development processes. Working with companies of various sizes which are exposed to various technologies and methodologies gives us a broad perspective of the software world, discerning what works and what does not, while closely monitoring emerging technologies.

Tikal experts are expected to bring their experience, share their knowledge, and often lead the project’s technical aspects. To prepare for future projects, we build their expertise outside of the assignment they are currently working on and look ahead towards technologies that are yet to become mainstream. A Tikal expert is continuously encouraged to research the software arena for tools and frameworks they have yet to use. Looking ahead is an integral part of the routine at Tikal.

The Process Behind Building the Israeli Tech Radar

Research

The construction of the Israeli Tech Radar stretches over the whole year and is a product of rigorous research and collaboration. Each group (Backend & ML, Frontend, DevOps, and Mobile) has a ‘Tech Circle’ — a team of experts responsible for conducting ongoing research of new technologies. Bi-weekly meetings provide a platform for these experts to discuss emerging technologies and share insights. The gathering is comprised of two parts:

Tech News — a round table discussion in which the members describe technologies they’ve either read about or have experience with. The technologies mentioned in these discussions are fed into a database, built much like the radar, with rings (Try, Start, Keep, and Stop), but this time with a fifth ring called “Research”.
All the new technologies are added to this fifth ring.

Lightning Talks — every meeting, a different member of the circle gives a lightning talk about an item from the “Research” ring they decided to research.

The lightning talk (20–30 minutes) includes:

• Short presentation
• Hands-on demonstration of the tool.
• Comparison to other tools in its stack
• Use cases in which developers should consider this tool.

The lightning talk is followed by an open discussion in which the members express their thoughts about the tool.

Building the the Israeli Tech Radar

When the time comes for an update, Tech Circle members, along with tech experts from leading tech companies, convene for an intensive full-day meeting.
Here, they assess all technologies within various rings, including the ‘Research’ ring, bringing the knowledge acquired from customers’ projects and extensive research into the discussion.

During this meeting, each ring’s relevance is evaluated. Technologies in the ‘Research’ ring are assessed for maturity and viability, to see if they’re ready for the ‘Try’ ring. Those in the ‘Try’ ring are analyzed to determine if they’ve matured enough to shift to the ‘Start’ ring. The ‘Start’ ring sees a similar process, evaluating if any of its technologies have become mainstream enough to move to the ‘Keep’ ring. As for the ‘Keep’ ring, technologies that continue to hold relevance stay, while outdated ones get dropped. Tools deemed outdated or replaced by superior alternatives in the ‘Keep’ ring are moved to the ‘Stop’ ring.

Naturally, opinions can clash during this process. Software engineers are passionate individuals with strong opinions, making consensus challenging at times. When this happens, we turn to democracy, resolving disagreements through voting.

Conclusion

Constant research, broad experience, and the opinion of dozens of experts are valuable resources to build an Israeli Tech Radar and forecast the next big thing. The Israeli Tech Radar is more than a guide; it’s a compass for those navigating the ever-changing seas of the tech world. The Israeli Tech Radar represents our commitment to sharing our knowledge with the community. Stay tuned for our upcoming updates as we continue our quest to unravel the future of technology.