In Depth

In Depth

IT strategy

• Strategy Clinic: How can I cut costs?

  Like many of my peers in IT, I am under pressure to contain costs at the moment. Can the members of the panel give me three easy...  Continue Reading

• Sleepless over stress

  IT managers' stress levels in Europe are definitely rising, but Julia Vowler finds that the increase in stress is not just...  Continue Reading

• Fancy doing my job?

  Jenny Searle has been fronting the Government's push for UK e-business progress from a secondment at the DTI, but as it draws to...  Continue Reading

• Trust me I'm a reseller

  Buying IT can put you at the mercy of suppliers if you don't do your homework. Nick Booth looks at how to avoid being stung  Continue Reading

• Where should you look for jobs?

  The latest SSP quarterly survey of recruitment advertising has some surprises for job-hunters. Nicholas Enticknap reports  Continue Reading

• Women need to take on the geeks in fight for recognition

  With the number of women working in IT-related jobs falling, government initiatives and industry think-tanks are working together...  Continue Reading

• How to tame suppliers

  Tough IT director John Yard gives his tips on managing outsourcing deals. Tony Collins reports  Continue Reading

• Hero of the hour

  When trouble strikes, do you always come up covered in glory? This year's search for the Helpdesk Hero drew some great stories...  Continue Reading

• Hot topics

  A panel of academics, IT directors, analysts and vendors give their views on the current state of the industry and predict what...  Continue Reading

• McNealy defends Sun's record

  Scott McNealy, chairman and chief executive officer of Sun Microsystems has a reputation for speaking his mind. In a major...  Continue Reading

• Are you getting your money's worth from e-business?

  While e-business offers an easy way to measure the success of customer interactions, you need benchmarks of internal processes to...  Continue Reading

• The new realism rules in e-business:

  Companies are no longer racing to be first past the e-business post at any cost. As the economic slowdown fosters a more...  Continue Reading

• Devise a sound strategy to reduce project risk

  IT project strategies often need better clarity if they are to succeed, writes James Rogers.  Continue Reading

• Prepare to streamline lengthy outsourcing talks

  Companies are spending too much time and resources in negotiating outsourcing contracts, the director of a leading outsourcer...  Continue Reading

• SRM: Shopping for discounts

  We report on how supplier relationship management can save firms millions of pounds.  Continue Reading

• The contract crossroads

  Time to re-let your outsourcing contract? Julia Vowler looks at the options open to you  Continue Reading

• Staffing: Hurry up and hire

  Take too long to recruit staff and the best candidates will end up taking a job elsewhere. Computer Weekly explains how to get...  Continue Reading

• How to survive the SAD winter blues

  The clocks have gone back, the days are shorter and most of us are stuck in offices during the brief periods when the sun deigns...  Continue Reading

• Catch the B2B bug

  Many suppliers to the travel industry held back when the rest of the sector rushed to embrace e-business. But now one supplier,...  Continue Reading

• The slippery slope

  There are now more people chasing fewer and, probably lower-paid IT positions. But is a step back down the career the answer?  Continue Reading

• Learning leadership from the field

  If you are looking for an exemplar in leadership, they don't come any finer than Francois Pienaar, writes Ross Bentley.  Continue Reading

• User fury mounts after HP drops 3000 series server

  Users on both sides of the Atlantic have reacted angrily to last week's decision by Hewlett-Packard to stop selling the...  Continue Reading

• Stamping out the fraudsters

  A surprisingly high number of candidates stretch the truth on their CVs. Wise employers should verify the accuracy of applicants'...  Continue Reading

• Finding the right formula

  Despite Formula One team Jordan's recent success on the track, its Web site was being lapped by those of its rivals. Computer...  Continue Reading

• Beat stress at work - sleep more

  The key to coping with workplace stress is to get things right at home first, including making sure of your full 40 winks, as...  Continue Reading

• Perfect partners

  In ICL, Internet services provider Affinity found a partner willing to take a share of the risk while meeting its outsourcing...  Continue Reading

• A case to answer in stressed-out Britain?

  In today's compensation culture, stress is more than a feeling. But employees hoping to use the law to cash in may find the road...  Continue Reading

• A ride on the stress express

  Technology is speeding up the demands on everyone in business. But sandwiched between the demands of directors and users, IT...  Continue Reading

• Microsoft spells out .Net security strategy

  Microsoft's chief technology officer, Craig Mundie, has acknowledged the company's software security problems.  Continue Reading

• Ageing IT undermined service

  An Audit Commission report blames outdated and inadequate IT systems for housing benefit departments that struggle to cope. James...  Continue Reading

• Double exposure

  Nick Langley explains how to set about engaging in a partnership where the supplier company takes most of the risks and its...  Continue Reading

• BCS launches three new forums for IT specialists

  Following the recent annual general meeting, a new BCS structure has come into being. It is designed to ensure that the...  Continue Reading

• A fine place to work

  A stimulating work environment can improve staff morale and boost productivity.  Continue Reading

• Web services drive up costs at BP Amoco

  Oil giant BP Amoco saw its human resources costs rise by 33% after outsourcing the entire HR department to Web services company...  Continue Reading

• How does new technology evolve?

  Where do IT innovations come from? For the past few decades, many of them have come out of IBM, which last year registered more...  Continue Reading

• Run budgets as investment portfolios

  One of the secrets to maximising the value of your IT budget is to treat it as an investment portfolio.  Continue Reading

• IT projects need leaders

  Project management is not enough - in order to make real headway in the battle to deliver on time and on budget, we must look for...  Continue Reading

• The negotiators

  When you have decided on outsourcing, future success depends on paying attention to the contract and keeping your wits about you....  Continue Reading

• Service with a smile?

  They should, in theory, provide an open and understandable framework for service delivery. So why, asks Mike Hardwidge - in his...  Continue Reading

• Find a new skills pool to fish in

  Women and late entrants to the IT sector have great potential for closing the skills gap, but employers will first have to shake...  Continue Reading

• IT: no passport to productivity

  McKinsey survey dispels the myth that greater investment in IT leads to higher profits.  Continue Reading

• Top Chinook test pilot reveals unease over engine software

  A campaign by Computer Weekly and Channel Four News has sought to show that a computer problem not pilot error could have led to...  Continue Reading

• Recruiting trust

  Last week we reported on ITers' disappointment at the service they receive from recruitment consultants. This week we get the...  Continue Reading

• Outsourcing the right way

  Outsourcing your IT department can bring benefits as long as you bear in mind some simple rules.  Continue Reading

• BCS launches formal exam in consultancy

  A professional qualification in consultancy has been launched by the BCS IS Examinations Board both for people in consultancies...  Continue Reading

• Money well spent

  Don't start investing in e-business technology unless you can measure the benefits, if any. Delivering an obvious return on...  Continue Reading

• Downloading the knowledge

  E-learning could carve a new niche alongside knowledge management if it is integrated into the business  Continue Reading

• Splitting services from networks

  It is time for telecoms organisations to choose - will they be network operators or service providers?  Continue Reading

• No strings

  Fixed wireless is standing in the wings, ready to relieve broadband service providers of their dependence on incumbent carriers,...  Continue Reading

• Clueless

  Here, in the first part of a two-part investigation, Roisin Woolnough looks at how the recruitment process works, the levels of...  Continue Reading

• CMA demands government push broadband

  The British military machine may be firing on all cylinders, but the future of the UK e-economy is not looking so bright. A...  Continue Reading

• Is the tech sector ready for consolidation?

  When Gartner's chief executive officer and chairman Michael Fleisher declared this week that the IT industry is ready for...  Continue Reading

• Weaving spells in the boardroom

  Authority in the boardroom depends on the ability to speak the financial language of the business  Continue Reading

• Demand for qualifications boosts society's revenue

  Huge growth in demand for independent IT qualifications boosted BCS income by 27% to more than £9m in the financial year to 30...  Continue Reading

• Prove your worth

  The board must know that IT gives value for money  Continue Reading

• Share benefits of outsourcing

  Over the last 10 years the outsourcing industry has gone from strength to strength. The mega deals have got bigger, particularly...  Continue Reading

• The beginning of the end for IR35?

  The recent IR35 employment tribunal confirmed what opponents of IR35 have vigorously maintained for the past few years: that a...  Continue Reading

• Are you a procrastinator?

  Have you ever found yourself cleaning out your hole punch when your monthly report was due within the hour? Or making tea for the...  Continue Reading

• Pension plans

  There's not much money to be made in stakeholder pensions, so financial services firms providing them have had to ensure their...  Continue Reading

• Key escrow is still a bad idea

  The repercussions of the tragic events of 11 September are today being felt far beyond the streets of New York and the deserts of...  Continue Reading

• ITers spend a night on the tiles

  The reality of a night out on the streets was brought home to the 75 IT industry executives who took part in this year's Byte...  Continue Reading

• Future technologies

  We take a closer look at the next top ten "make-it-big" ideas to try and find the killer application that will banish the...  Continue Reading

• Jobs on the Net

  A number of companies are finding that investment in on-line recruitment is really paying off.  Continue Reading

• Legal update: It's the way you sell it

  It's an elusive magic formula that makes online advertising pay. Companies are pushing out the boundaries, but with ethically...  Continue Reading

• How to get into IT

  Computer Weekly receives hundreds of e-mails from people wanting to get into IT, so we have decided to provide a guide on how to...  Continue Reading

• Management: Mind the managing gap

  If times are tough, an interim manager can help put a firm back on track, but you must get the chemistry right.  Continue Reading

• The right stuff

  Keltec's Michael Wheeler discusses the many different issues that you need to consider if your security policy and subsequent...  Continue Reading

• Special report: Safe and sound

  Are your security procedures failing to bite? Expert witness Peter Sommer to shares his top 10 lessons in Internet security  Continue Reading

• Investment: The buying game

  E-business projects often go wrong before a penny has been spent. The experts give some tips on the art of IT purchasing  Continue Reading

• Terror in the US: Picking up the pieces

  CW360 reports how IT and telecoms companies have pulled together to help both the human and corporate victims of last week's...  Continue Reading

• Statistics: The naked truth

  The 2001 Census asked some pointless questions, but none so ridiculous as a recent poll which asked if we surf the Net in the...  Continue Reading

• e-Commerce guide: Wherever I may roam

  Location-based services could be just what wireless e-commerce needs  Continue Reading

• Licence to learn

  The uptake of e-learning is slower than many people predicted. For many companies, the e-learning options available are just too...  Continue Reading

• Technology: Get the right staff

  With the e-commerce sector still overshadowed by a skills shortage, Danny Bradbury details how you can get the staff you need -...  Continue Reading

• Corporate portals: I can see clearly now

  Enterprise portals can transform a nightmare maelstrom of online content into a haven of transparent, personalised information.  Continue Reading

• IT's happy hammer finds dream job at Upton Park

  Roy Benjamin started supporting West Ham United football club at the age of five and 25 years later he managed to land himself a...  Continue Reading

• Getting back into the mainstream

  I have a CDI diploma in microprocessor technology and have worked as a computer service and Cat 5 cabling project engineer. Since...  Continue Reading

• Data privacy rules go international

  Safe Harbour was created as a simple and effective way for companies to comply with stringent EU data protection rules. In...  Continue Reading

• Crossing the IT chasm

  Take three men. Each ran an IT department of a multinational corporation and each crossed the gulf between IT users and...  Continue Reading

• Bridging the digital divide

  Computer Weekly looks at how IT has contributed to the increasing gap between rich and poor  Continue Reading

• E-banking boosts IT's status

  E-banking: Investment in online financial services has paid dividends for the sector's big players as consumer confidence in...  Continue Reading

• HP/Compaq: Brave faces hide real fears

  Channel partners are putting a brave face on Hewlett-Packard's acquisition of Compaq, but the mega-merger has triggered genuine...  Continue Reading

• IT department for sale: staff included

  Outsourcing may not be as dreaded a word as redundancy but it can still generate a tidal wave of panic throughout the office.  Continue Reading

• The strategic host

  Technology is facilitating many changes in the hospitality industry. And, as Computer Weekly discovers, the IT director of a...  Continue Reading

• Why the Compaq-HP merger is all about survival

  Despite Wall Street talk of synergies and cost savings, the shock £24bn Compaq-HP merger is about something bigger: survival in a...  Continue Reading

• SMEs bear brunt of RIP legislation

  Recent Home Office consultation on the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIP) Act, due to become law in October this year, has...  Continue Reading

• SMEs prove e-business can pay

  For every high-profile story about another e-business venture being abandoned because of escalating IT costs or integration...  Continue Reading

• Speeding up Internet access

  Slow connections are stopping small businesses gaining maximum benefit from the Internet. Is broadband the right way to...  Continue Reading

• Is it safe for SMEs to do business online?

  It is widely accepted in the business community that for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to prosper in the future they...  Continue Reading

• Special Report: Effective e-strategy in a colder climate

  The fall-out from the dotcom love-in exploded the myth of "first-mover advantage" as the old bricks-and-mortar companies hung...  Continue Reading

• Life's a UK beach

  If you are planning a holiday in the UK, have a look on the Internet before you go.  Continue Reading

• The hunt is on: online recruitment

  How do you lure high-powered executives away from their big corporations? One profession has perfected this art.  Continue Reading

• Design and deliver

  If you believe the developers who are creating your site, Web design is an extremely complex art - which is precisely the reason...  Continue Reading

• All manner of books

  Sharon Cooper, head of e-business development at Oxford University Press (OUP), will shortly go on maternity leave from a job she...  Continue Reading

• All change: e-business technologies

  Effective change management is driven by a clear sense of direction, good communication and staff co-operation, not coercion.  Continue Reading

• Webvan checks out

  Five years and $1bn after its inception, US online grocer Webvan has made its final delivery. Stephen Phillips explores the...  Continue Reading

• All shook up: failed dotcoms

  These days a successful dotcom is about as common an occurrence as an Elvis sighting. But the two have more in common than that,...  Continue Reading

• One for the road: the online courier

  Tired of empty-handed return trips, motorcycle courier Mark Cairns has set up the Expeditus Internet exchange for companies to...  Continue Reading

• Users call for government action on licence changes

  As businesses assess the true cost of Microsoft's decision to impose new licensing terms, Computer Weekly sums up the steps firms...  Continue Reading

• Management: Silicon Valley's secrets

  The Impact Programme, a personal development network for IT executives, takes a group of UK e-commerce and IT directors on a tour...  Continue Reading