Most language migrations are driven by hype

Bill Doerrfeld | July 30, 2025

A new study exposes what really drives tech decisions in 2025...


Most developers admit their migrations are driven more by hype than proven outcomes. Today, I’m excited to cover a new report from HostingAdvice.com that surveyed 500 experienced devs on their recent migrations. Catch the exclusive on LeadDev.


The takeaways? Positive end results are 50/50, and the majority of migrations cause more tech debt. Those odds aren't that great. AI seems to be accelerating the rate of migrations, too.


To gauge outcomes before committing to the next flashy thing, experts recommend looking for warning signs, researching public case studies, following usage metrics, and encouraging AI literacy.


Check out the full piece on LeadDev!



Read: Yes, the majority of language migrations are driven by hype

Sign up to the DirectorPlus newsletter for a new story in your inbox each month featuring on-the-ground insights from some of the industry's top engineering leaders. Or, if you would like to be featured in the series, please read this.

Other Blog Posts

By Bill Doerrfeld • October 5, 2026
My latest for LeadDev interviews a Meta engineer who built an agentic system to optimize their capacity planning, leading to real power use savings.
By Bill Doerrfeld • September 30, 2026
I set out expecting to write an article about how every enterprise was jumping on trendy alternative or "neo" clouds. That ended up not being the case.
By Bill Doerrfeld • September 28, 2026
Join the virtual AI Pen-Testing Conference to explore how AI is changing penetration testing, red teaming, and the security testing of AI systems.
By Bill Doerrfeld • September 28, 2026
Counting down to Nordic APIs Summit 2026 in Stockholm, featuring 60+ speakers exploring agentic AI, APIs, MCP, and security.
By Bill Doerrfeld • September 28, 2026
I covered a Yale and GitHub report on LeadDev that explores developer attitudes on climate change and curbing IT waste.
By Bill Doerrfeld • September 15, 2026
Does your agent really need access to every tool call under the sun?
By Bill Doerrfeld • September 8, 2026
I'll be writing a weekly series for The New Stack this fall covering Kubernetes, cloud native, and everything happening on the road to KubeCon in November.
By Bill Doerrfeld • September 1, 2026
I'm teaming up with Dan Barahona and AI Security University to put together the MCP Security Conference, a free half-day virtual event dedicated to MCP security .
By Bill Doerrfeld • August 27, 2026
My latest DirectorPlus edition interviews Shopify's head of engineering, Farhan Thawar, on their unique internal engineering culture.
By Bill Doerrfeld • August 24, 2026
Neoclouds promise cheaper GPUs and AI-optimized infrastructure, but can they really challenge hyperscalers? My feature on InfoWorld explores their advantages, risks, and likely role in AI compute.