Short takes from this week's news
US offers breathing space on Sarbanes-Oxley
The US has given overseas companies that want to list on the New
York Stock Exchange an extra year to comply with the most difficult
aspects of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Companies that are new to the
NYSE may wait until they file their first annual report before
complying with section 404 – the regulation that requires external
auditors to sign-off business processes and internal controls.
Tesco IT director given international
challenge
Tesco group IT director Colin Cobain has been put in charge of
rolling out the retailer’s systems to its international businesses.
Cobain, who oversees the company’s IT systems in the UK, has been
tasked with making Tesco’s key systems, including its Oracle
merchandising system, repeatable in every country where it does
business.
Gartner offers five steps to data security
Analyst firm Gartner has advised businesses to follow five key
steps to prevent the disclosure of confidential data. Organisations
should deploy content monitoring and filtering to check the
contents of outgoing traffic, encrypt
back-up tapes, secure workstations, encrypt laptops and use
database activity monitoring, it said.
Suppliers back feasibility of ID cards
scheme
Potential suppliers for the government’s ID cards scheme believe
it is feasible and they are interested in bidding to build the
systems to support it, according to a summary of survey responses
released by the Home Office. The document said “all respondents”
believed the scheme was feasible and, while recognising the
challenges involved, “backed this up by indicating an interest in
bidding for the procurement”.
Aon outsources business processes in £230m
deal
Insurance broker Aon has signed a 10-year, £230m business
process outsourcing deal with Xchanging. The contract involves the
outsourcing of Aon’s Client Operations division, which handles
insurance claims administration,
as well as accounting and settlement for clients within Aon’s
re-insurance division.
BOC deploys open source data management
system
Gas supplier BOC is rolling out the open source Mediawiki
knowledge management system across its businesses. BOC has signed a
deal with UK-based Sirius Corporation to help implement the system,
which is designed to allow staff to share information easily and
gain immediate feedback. As Mediawiki is open source, there are no
annual or per user licence fees to pay.
Lloyds TSB outsources HR support to India
Lloyds TSB has signed a five-year, multi-process human resources
outsourcing deal with Xansa. The multimillion-pound deal covers
human resources functions, including administration, recruitment
and helpdesks for training, advice, and general queries. The
service will be delivered by about 150 staff in Xansa’s Indian
delivery centres.
IBM unveils RFID system for pharmaceuticals
IBM has unveiled an RFID system for tracking pharmaceutical
products. RFID tags are embedded on products at the unit, case and
pallet level, authenticating the product from manufacturer to
wholesalers to hospitals and pharmacies. The system could help the
industry combat the problem of counterfeit medicines, said IBM.
Woolworths insources supply chain
operations
Woolworths has insourced its supply chain operations as part of
a year-long effort to make its replenishment systems more flexible.
Most of the supply chain operations previously supplied by Zendor
have been brought back in-house. DTS Logistics, Woolworths’
clothing partner, will take on responsibility for online clothes
sales.
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