ThoughtWorks' Technology Radar Identifies Key Business Trends

CHICAGO, July 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- ThoughtWorks, a global technology company, today issued the latest Technology Radar, an honest assessment of trends significantly impacting software development and business strategy. The Technology Radar sets out the current changes in software development - things in motion you should pay attention to based upon ThoughtWorks' day-to-day work and experience solving their client's toughest challenges.

"Today's successful organizations are the ones that place technology at the center of their overall business strategy," said Dr. Rebecca Parsons, CTO of ThoughtWorks. "CEOs are thinking about technology like never before as they try and make sense of a massive influx of data. The need to sufficiently analyze and anticipate disruptive elements in business and technology is at the core of why our Technology Radar continues to grow in readership with each new edition."

"Given the velocity of change in business, ThoughtWorks encourages companies to create their own radar, enabling a proactive approach to technology choices," said Neal Ford, Software Architect and member of ThoughtWorks' Technology Advisory Board. "Having a radar helps people think about which technologies they should investigate, when to be more or less aggressive about adoption, and allows for more intelligent decision making."

"Building our own radar pulled together our technology leaders in a way that strengthened our shared technology vision and provided a framework of how to get there," said Tyson Singer, Vice President Agile Application Development at GapTech, Gap Inc.

The notable themes in this edition of Technology Radar include:

• Churn in the JavaScript world - JavaScript used to be a condiment technology, always used to augment other technologies. It has kept that role but expanded into its own platform with a staggering rate of change.
• Microservices and the rise of the API - We are seeing an incredible amount of interest in microservice architectures, as well as an emphasis on the importance of the API both within an organization and as a bridge to the outside world. This edition of the Radar tracks some of the specific tools and techniques for microservices.
• Conway's Law - Some companies are mired in siloed structures that add needless friction to engineering efforts, while more enlightened companies use team organization to drive the kinds of architectures they want. We're learning the peril of ignoring Conway's Law and the benefits of leveraging it.
• Re-decentralization - Over 90% of the world's email moves through just 10 providers. Prompted in part by revelations about the US' stranglehold on Internet infrastructure, and a desire to maintain more individual and organizational control, we see a need for "re-decentralization" of both data and infrastructure.

To access the interactive version or download Technology Radar visit: www.ThoughtWorks.com/radar

We want to hear from you. Which Technology Radar tools, techniques, practices and platforms do you use? Continue the conversation on Twitter. (@thoughtworks #AskTechRadar).

About Technology Radar
Technology Radar, now in its 4^th year, is created by the ThoughtWorks Technology Advisory Board, which consists of 20 senior technologists from around the globe that serve as regular advisors to Chief Technology Officer, Dr. Rebecca Parsons. At ThoughtWorks we are focused on helping our industry improve and believe in sharing what we learn. We encourage you to explore the technologies in the radar and build your own. Visit http://www.thoughtworks.com/insights/blog/build-your-own-technology-radar to learn how.

About ThoughtWorks
We are a software company and community of passionate, purpose-led individuals. We think disruptively to deliver technology that addresses our clients' toughest challenges, all while seeking to revolutionize the IT industry and create positive social change.

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SOURCE ThoughtWorks