In Depth

In Depth

Data centre

• Barriers to enterprise adoption of DevOps

  As enterprises join the continuous delivery movement, we look at some of the challenges to DevOps adoption  Continue Reading

• The Sanger Institute on using datacentre upgrades to help decode the human genome

  Paul Woobey, IT director at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, tells Computer Weekly why the organisation's HPC workload requirements cannot be fulfilled by a move to the cloud  Continue Reading

• Can DevOps deliver on digital potential?

  DevOps and agile methodologies are seen as key ingredients of digital initiatives. Computer Weekly looks at the management challenges  Continue Reading

• Tooling up for DevOps

  As organisations look to DevOps for continuous development, delivery and integration of business functions, careful control is crucial  Continue Reading

• Hyper-converged choices: DIY HCI software deployments

  What are the advantages of do-it-yourself hyper-converged infrastructure deployment and who are the key suppliers of HCI software? We run the rule over the DIY hyper-converged market  Continue Reading

• Getting stuck on OpenStack: Overcoming the open source cloud platform's upgrade barriers

  Some members of the OpenStack community are finding it a struggle to upgrade to newer versions of the open source cloud operating system. Could customisation be to blame?  Continue Reading

• Upset in Athenry: Examining the impact of Apple's delayed Irish datacentre build

  Apple is set to hear at the end of this month whether its much-delayed Irish datacentre build can go ahead. Computer Weekly examines the ins and outs of this complex case  Continue Reading

• Assessing the appeal of AMD’s EPYC server processor family for IT buyers

  Find out how AMD's EPYC server processor family compares to what Intel has to offer datacentre hardware buyers  Continue Reading

• Nando's technology director explains using cloud to digitally disrupt its own business

  Nando’s technology director, Richard Atkinson, describes how the restaurant chain is using cloud to get closer to its customers and build stronger ties with its 14,000-strong workforce  Continue Reading

• Hyper-convergence will be commoditised, says Nutanix president

  Sudheesh Nair talks about the future of hyper-convergence, its relationship with the cloud, and Nutanix’s challenges in building its business in Asia  Continue Reading

• How hyper-convergence is changing the shape of IT

  Computer Weekly looks at how the hyper-converged market is hotting up, pulling together the latest analyst research findings  Continue Reading

• Datacentre decisions: Converged vs hyper-converged infrastructure

  Converged and hyper-converged infrastructure are ready-tested ways to put compute and storage into the datacentre. But which should you choose for your deployment?  Continue Reading

• Hyper-convergence: the good, the bad and the ugly

  Hyper-converged technologies are gaining traction, but what can they do for your organisation  Continue Reading

• Tips for buying hyper-converged systems

  Hyper-converged infrastructure has become a commonly used term. But what is it? And is it necessary for your organisation?  Continue Reading

• Q&A: Flying the open source flag

  Red Hat’s vice-president and general manager for the ASEAN region, Damien Wong, sheds light on the company’s strategy for tackling a market that is not used to paying for software  Continue Reading

• Pros and cons of CRM software

  Computer Weekly reviews the latest research into the leading customer relationship management and customer experience software providers  Continue Reading

• DevOps practitioners open up about enterprise adoption challenges

  Ahead of next week’s DevOps Enterprise Summit in London, practitioners have warned enterprises to stop thinking of DevOps as something only Silicon Valley firms and startups can do successfully  Continue Reading

• CW500: Lessons learned on how to get cloud implementations right

  Experts share their advice, tips and lessons learned on how to avoid pitfalls and ensure you gain the full benefits of using cloud services  Continue Reading

• Agile unlocked: Pivotal uses paired programming and PaaS to bolster cloud app development

  Digital transformation company Pivotal explains how paired programming, an empathetic work culture and open source PaaS help enterprises achieve their agile software development goals  Continue Reading

• The evolution of OpenStack: Where next for the open source cloud platform?

  The OpenStack Summit revealed details of how the seven-year-old open source platform is overcoming its growing pains and positioning itself for even greater enterprise adoption  Continue Reading

• MyRepublic sharpens competitive edge with open source

  Singaporean internet service provider has disrupted broadband markets, thanks to the agility and speed afforded by open source technologies  Continue Reading

• Changing tracks: Examining VMware's evolving hybrid cloud strategy

  The past 12 months have seen VMware apply a number of tweaks to its hybrid cloud strategy. We look at what these changes means for the company’s future and technology roadmap  Continue Reading

• Hyper-convergence marches on in APAC

  The battle to rein in IT complexity in the Asia-Pacific region continues with hyper-converged systems that promise to offer cloud-like benefits for enterprises  Continue Reading

• Backup testing: What to test, when to test, how often to test

  We run the rule over what’s involved in backup testing in virtual and physical server environments, how often you should test and the key pitfalls to avoid  Continue Reading

• Mojo Power harnesses cloud to disrupt energy business

  The Australian energy upstart is using cloud-based microservices to shake up the energy sector by providing households with access to wholesale energy rates and real-time consumption data  Continue Reading

• How cloud, IoT and mobile devices are driving demand for edge datacentres

  The demand for edge datacentres and computing resources is steadily rising, but what's driving the trend?  Continue Reading

• Cloud, AI and security driving network monitoring industry

  We explore the latest developments and trends in enterprise network monitoring and management  Continue Reading

• Changing channels: How DevOps, shared infrastructure and smart hiring help ITV innovate

  Tom Clark, head of Common Platform at ITV, explains how embracing agile thinking and shared infrastructure is helping the broadcaster stay one step ahead of its commercial competitors  Continue Reading

• BP stresses importance of apprentices to its DevOps and digital transformation plans

  BP explains why IT apprentices are central to the success of its agile and DevOps ambitions, as well as its wider digital transformation programme  Continue Reading

• How will the network manager’s role change in the SDN world?

  We explore how traditional network managers are changing the habits of a lifetime as SDN remakes the enterprise network  Continue Reading

• Time to restore from backup: Do you know where your data is?

  Making a backup is only the start of the process. You must be sure you can restore, that backups contain what you need, and that they will work with the applications that need them  Continue Reading

• Australian startups find their way in the cloud

  Public cloud services have empowered Australian startups to scale up and go global from day one  Continue Reading

• How composable applications can improve software development

  We speak to experts in the field of software development about the pros and cons of componentising application software  Continue Reading

• DevOps done right: Why work-life balance matters to digital transformation success

  DevOps practitioners warn enterprises off neglecting the health and well-being of the IT staff responsible for delivering their digital transformation projects  Continue Reading

• Backup datacentre power: Using diesel generators to plug the UK's energy supply gaps

  Energy market stakeholders are calling on the datacentre community to help them close the UK's energy demand and supply gap by hooking up their diesel generators to the National Grid, but will it work?  Continue Reading

• Cloud contracts are still a minefield

  Cloud computing is maturing in the enterprise space, but the contracts that underpin cloud services have not evolved at the same pace  Continue Reading

• Private cloud: Orchestration, storage and containers

  We look at the key requirements and components of private cloud – including the use of container platforms – and the impact of private cloud on storage in the datacentre  Continue Reading

• New model datacentres require hybrid approach

  CIOs must marry legacy datacentre infrastructure with the agility of public and private cloud environments  Continue Reading

• Successful CIOs in 2017 will be those who look outwards

  CEOs increasingly want IT leaders who can look outside the IT department and improve wider perceptions of the organisation  Continue Reading

• DevOps done right: Creating a collaborative and supportive business culture

  Cultivating a supportive and collaborative business culture is considered central to getting DevOps to take hold in an organisation. We take a look at what this entails  Continue Reading

• Moore’s Law is running out – but don’t panic

  Can system performance continue to improve to cope with the burgeoning needs of datacentres  Continue Reading

• Hybrid cloud strategy offers best of both worlds

  More and more businesses are adopting a hybrid cloud strategy for their datacentre needs. Computer Weekly looks at what’s on offer  Continue Reading

• Backup 101: Incremental vs differential vs synthetic full backup

  Backup methods pros and cons: Full, incremental, differential, synthetic full, incremental forever, and reverse incremental. We set out the advantages and drawbacks of each  Continue Reading

• Navigate to unified workspace success

  To remove barriers to workforce mobility, CIOs need to deliver the right apps and information to the right user, on the right devices  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery testing: technology systems to test DR

  In this concluding part of a two-part series, Computer Weekly looks at ways of testing disaster recovery plans, with methods including array-based replication and hypervisor-based approaches  Continue Reading

• Future of the server operating system

  We look at the evolution of the server operating system, and how the next generation is moving into the cloud  Continue Reading

• Looking beyond PUE to assess the true environmental impacts of datacentre growth

  Sustainability experts want operators to look beyond the accepted datacentre metrics to assess the impact the industry's growth is having on the environment  Continue Reading

• Linux versus Unix hot patching

  We examine the current state of play in the ongoing competition between the Linux and Unix server operating systems  Continue Reading

• Software-defined storage: The pros and cons, and what is available

  Software-defined storage is a rapidly rising trend in the datacentre, but what are the advantages and disadvantages of building your own storage, and is it suitable for all organisations?  Continue Reading

• Shining a light on the enterprise appeal of multi-cloud deployments

  With market watchers predicting that enterprises will increasingly favour the use of multiple cloud providers, we take a look at what is driving the trend, and its drawbacks  Continue Reading

• Using cross-industry collaboration on open standards to address big data in the datacentre

  Efforts are under away across the industry to create open standards to ensure datacentre hardware is equipped to cope with the amounts of information datacentres are required to process in real time  Continue Reading

• CIO interview: Alan Crawford, City & Guilds Group

  Four months into his role as CIO of City & Guilds, Alan Crawford opens up about the challenges of tending to the needs of a company that has hit the acquisition trail with aplomb in recent years  Continue Reading

• NFV helps telcos save money on WAN infrastructure

  Telecoms providers are optimising their services through network function virtualisation,. How does this affect your network strategy  Continue Reading

• How to beat Oracle licence audits

  An eight-step guide to tame the Oracle auditors. Don't take the bait...  Continue Reading

• A Good American: Surveillance, 9/11 and the NSA

  Computer Weekly sat down to watch Friedrich Moser's documentary about the NSA whistleblower Bill Binney - A Good American  Continue Reading

• How to add network flexibility by using NFV

  Fixed network architectures can no longer cope with today’s networking needs  Continue Reading

• Hyper-converged vs shared storage for SMEs

  The rise of hyper-converged infrastructure – with compute, storage and networks in one box – seems ideal for SMEs, but is it always a better idea than traditional IT architecture?  Continue Reading

• Neutron’s role evolves in OpenStack networks

  We examine the progress of Neutron, OpenStack’s cloud networking module  Continue Reading

• Docker storage: how to get persistent storage in Docker

  Docker, by default, doesn’t come with persistent storage, which presents an issue to some workloads customers that want to run in containers – however, there are ways to achieve persistent storage  Continue Reading

• On-premise IT still the only way to run certain tasks

  How to augment a public cloud strategy with on-premise IT by running workloads in a private cloud and bursting to the public cloud  Continue Reading

• Interview: British Medical Journal’s CDO talks datacentres, DevOps and desktops

  BMJ’s chief digital officer explains how the 170-year-old healthcare publication has negotiated several major digital transformation projects since she joined in 2012  Continue Reading

• Why more people aren’t cloud bursting

  The appeal of cloud bursting is easy to see, but the level of complexity involved negates its benefits – at least for now  Continue Reading

• The pros and cons of cloud bursting

  The much-vaunted benefits of cloud computing can be overshadowed by portability and interoperability issues  Continue Reading

• Digital transformation gives CIOs chance to be agents of change

  Whether it’s the IoT, cloud, mobility, big data or analytics, there is always something new to grapple with. Attendees found out how to keep up at Cisco Live in Las Vegas  Continue Reading

• Digital transformation needs mainframe DevOps

  As organisations become more digital, CIOs must consider how best to tap into data held in mainframes  Continue Reading

• Interview: Google cloud chief Diane Greene talks enterprise strategy and taking on AWS

  Computer Weekly talks to Google cloud chief Diane Greene about how it intends to win over the enterprise market and give AWS a run for its money  Continue Reading

• Will European datacentre operators pounce on post-Brexit uncertainty?

  As the dust settles on the EU referendum and the new-look US-Europe Privacy Shield data transfer agreement, we look at what it could mean for European datacentre operators  Continue Reading

• Datacentre cooling upgrades: Helping operators decide where best to invest

  Upgrading a datacentre cooling system is an expensive undertaking, but should operators stick with what they've always done or try something new?  Continue Reading

• Overcoming the scale-up challenge of enterprise DevOps adoption

  CIOs and IT leaders share their advice on what enterprises can do to accelerate the spread of DevOps within their organisations  Continue Reading

• How and when you should automate expense processes

  Gartner looks at the benefits of expense management tools and the circumstances that make software as a service preferable  Continue Reading

• Datacentre security: Why operators must give cyber and physical threats equal attention

  Datacentre operators often talk up the physical security measures they have in place, but are they at risk of overlooking cyber threats?  Continue Reading

• Isle of Man: From seaside getaway to tech startup hub

  The Isle of Man government is stepping up efforts to position itself as the low-tax jurisdiction of choice for the startup community. But what's it like to do business there?  Continue Reading

• Executive interview: Phil Smith, UKI chief executive, Cisco

  Cisco’s Phil Smith discusses digitisation, its impact on national productivity, and how enterprises can apply the lessons lived and learned by tech companies to their own strategy  Continue Reading

• Does Microsoft Azure make sense for developers?

  Microsoft is betting heavily on cloud services for its future. We take a close look at its strategy as a platform for Office 365, Linux and microservices  Continue Reading

• It makes sense to go hyperscale/hyper-converged

  Hyperscale computing and storage are the norm for web giants. Hyper-converged scenarios make it possible for small and medium-sized enterprises to gain the advantages of combined server/storage nodes  Continue Reading

• How to build your own IoT with Azure

  Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform has gone well beyond mere virtual machines and orchestrated workflows. It can now also power internet of things applications  Continue Reading

• CW@50: How UK home brew gave computing to the masses

  From batch processing to the graphical user interface, from desktop PCs to smartphones, from luggables to wearables, computing has come a long way since Computer Weekly was first published in 1966. We look at some of the personal computers that ...  Continue Reading

• The Bimodal IT backlash: Should IT departments subscribe to the notion of a two-tier workforce?

  Gartner’s Bimodal IT vision has captured the imaginations of some CIOs, but industry watchers have queried how well cultivating a two-tier IT department works in reality  Continue Reading

• How to yield the benefits of converged infrastructure

  Bringing together the elements of enterprise IT generates a litany of operational and cost-cutting advantages – but care must be taken in balancing risk and in implementation  Continue Reading

• What datacentre experts must do to stay relevant

  As datacentre operators focus on converged infrastructure to cut costs, IT professionals should keep their CVs aligned to the workplace  Continue Reading

• CW@50: The changing face of the datacentre over the past 50 years

  As Computer Weekly prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary, we take a look back at how the design and role of the datacentre has changed over the past five decades  Continue Reading

• Hyperconvergence: A political and technological revolution

  Tips for IT leaders planning to consolidate their IT components into a single, centrally managed platform  Continue Reading

• CW@50: Storage – From punched cards to flash and the cloud

  Since the launch of Computer Weekly in 1966, we have moved from a world of punched cards and paper tape to one where flash and the cloud have revolutionised data storage  Continue Reading

• Why are telcos so readily adopting open standards for NFV?

  Communications services providers are lining up to make their future virtualised networks as open as possible. What’s the attraction?  Continue Reading

• PCIe SSD roundup 2016: Some stall while others progress

  The PCIe SSD market is still important, but PCIE flash drive makers are split between those that continue to develop their products and those for whom product evolution has stalled  Continue Reading

• Datacentre heat reuse: Why aren’t more operators doing it?

  With the datacentre industry’s sustainability habits coming under increasingly close scrutiny, we find out why operators are not rushing to reuse their waste heat  Continue Reading

• Hybrid flash array roundup 2016: The Big Six

  Will 2015 be remembered as the last big year of hybrid flash storage? The Big Six offer hybrid flash, mostly based on HDD-era designs, and innovation has slowed as all-flash rises  Continue Reading

• Microservices: Small parts with big advantages

  Microservices go hand in hand with containers and the idea of software portability – but how do they work and why should you care?  Continue Reading

• Microsoft’s underwater datacentre: The pros and cons of running subsea facilities

  Underwater datacentres can help providers save on land costs and cooling, but at what cost to the environment?  Continue Reading

• What are containers and microservices?

  Independently deployable bits of code can be used to build agile applications. We look at some of the main players  Continue Reading

• Divide and conquer in software architecture

  Applications built out of independently deployable modules are the future of flexible solution development  Continue Reading

• Modular datacentre helps Belgian IT firm support Dutch and German customers

  Cegeka commissioned a new datacentre when its customer base expanded and decided on a modular approach to get it up and running quickly  Continue Reading

• The state of all-flash versus hybrid storage in Australia and New Zealand

  Magnetic disk drives are yesterday’s technology. Soon all servers will be based on all-flash arrays – or will they?  Continue Reading

• Interview: James Bamford on surveillance, Snowden and technology companies

  Investigative journalist and documentary maker James Bamford was among the first to uncover the secrets of the US National Security Agency and its global surveillance  Continue Reading

• Top 10 datacentre stories of 2015

  Computer Weekly's top 10 datacentre stories and trend pieces of 2015  Continue Reading

• Four CIO tips for implementing DevOps

  Esure CIO Mark Foulsham shares his advice for IT leaders about successfully implementing DevOps methods to become a more agile organisation  Continue Reading

• Why the cloud provider community needs to get on board with ISO 27018

  Despite being published more than a year ago, cloud providers are only really just starting to take notice of ISO 27018. We explore what it is and why it matters to the enterprise  Continue Reading

• EU Data Protection Regulation: What the EC legislation means for cloud providers

  With the European Commission's data protection rules set to drop before 2016, take a look at what the changes mean for the cloud and datacentre community  Continue Reading

• IT services procurement: Could G-Cloud be the answer Europe is looking for?

  With European public sector organisations looking to overhaul how they buy IT, some are wondering if the UK's G-Cloud model could be the answer they are looking for  Continue Reading

• Case study: Philips takes agile approach to building bridges between business and IT

  Dutch technology giant talks up the success of its attempts to embrace agile IT delivery methods, and how it's shaping future customer engagements  Continue Reading