As part of this effort, the "MapIt" system of the Compass Unit was recently put into operational use throughout the IDF.

We heard from the development leaders about the behind the scenes of the platform, the significant breakthroughs during the war - and what the future holds for it.

Imagine for a moment stepping into the shoes of a senior commander sitting in the "front" and managing the fighting deep in the Gaza Strip. Tracking the forces in the field, indications of the dangers lurking for them, worthwhile targets for countering in the area, and even the weather - all these are relevant and essential data for him to compile the exact picture of the situation in the field.

In the compass unit in the ICT department, they took several steps forward in optimizing the use of information - and developed the "MapIt" platform, which has been gaining momentum since the beginning of the war. "The system accesses operational content from all bodies in the IDF, and displays it on a map," explains Saren (resp.) Yakir, product manager, "It helps to understand the full picture, and based on that to derive meanings and make decisions here and now."

The map is updated in real time and reflects to the commanders in the military bases and headquarters all the necessary information to allow them to manage the forces in the best way - from choosing the axis where it is best to go, through possible dangers and traps, weapons and ammunition caches in the area, to the last data required for the operation of the teams in the ground maneuver.

This is a multi-purpose product, which is used by the Home Front Command, the Air Force, the ground headquarters in the field and many other places. Each user is exposed to specific layers of information according to classification, and depending on the role, with the separation being carried out by granting different access privileges.

"Let's take for example," Yakir continues, "Metzpan analysts who sit at the headquarters in the Southern Command and want to monitor failed launch trajectories, we will give them permission to the information layer that displays this specific figure, and they will be able to see on the map the information we have - such as the locations of the launchers in the field and the place of the fall."

The application, which is in use and at the same time continues to be developed, was initially intended primarily for the level of the General Staff - to assist in making strategic decisions. But the situation on the ground led the developers to quickly make it available to all IDF bodies that can benefit from it, and today it is part of the operational activity and accompanies the forces with great success throughout the fighting.

"There are many command and control systems in the IDF, but they are all designed for the specific needs of specific people, and we are the first to crack the challenge and meet everyone's needs with one product," testifies Lt. Uri, head of the "MapIt" development team, "we saw that the platform we developed proved itself as good and efficient, and began to replace other existing systems."

Among the achievements it recorded, the compass points out, the huge improvement in the user experience stands out: "MapIt" is intuitive and clear to operate, and has an interface similar to civilian systems, so there is no need for a liaison to help users throughout the army understand it.

In addition to the application itself, the map component of "MapIt" is currently embedded in dozens of systems in the IDF. Using a uniform map and the same interface between different software is a significant upgrade, which makes it easier to build a uniform language for everyone, and enables focus on deriving meanings and planning courses of action.

The development does not stop at this point. There are more big plans for "MapIt" to continue: "Currently the system collects all the data in one place, and the next step is to extract insights from there," Uri reveals, "This is the future - the application will help the commander at the end to make decisions and advise him, and even show him the percentage of success of each of the options".

"Of course, in the end there will be a person who will examine the information and make the informed decision," Yakir clarifies. The role of the system, explains the product manager, is to shorten processes, make the necessary connections for the users - and assist in decision-making.

"When you see "MapIt" operating in such an intensive way these days - it's an incredible sense of pride," shares Lieutenant Uri, "behind this product stands a professional team, connected to the mission and attentive to the customer's needs. Hearing that our "baby" is blooming now gives us a crazy drive to keep giving of ourselves, as much as we need."