In Depth

In Depth

IT strategy

• Inland Revenue spikes one million tax records

  
  
  Tony Collins

  The Government has approved an Inland Revenue move to clear one million unresolved tax records from its systems.

  It...

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• E-gov hit by move to prevent ITdisasters

  
  
  Mike Simons

  Tony Blair's plans for wired-up government have been dealt a savage blow by new project review processes introduced by the...

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• Ageism threatens economy

  
  
  Despite repeated warnings to companies that they ignore the contributions of 'older' workers at their own peril, a report released last week claims that...  Continue Reading

• Thumbs down for accountants

  Traditional accountancy firms and conventional umbrella services are failing to meet the needs of today's IT contractors,...  Continue Reading

• Secret Agent

  Agent Technology could help us carry out many of life's tasks with little effort, but will it ever come out of the dark?  Continue Reading

• UK firms not ready for mobile commerce

  There is no shortage of enthusiasm for mobile commerce among suppliers but, as new research reveals, many users feel far from...  Continue Reading

• Things can't get any better

  Business has never been better for the UK's recruitment industry, according to its representative body, the Recruitment and...  Continue Reading

• Ensuring back up is guaranteed in a small IT department

  With a very small ITdepartment ensuring adequate back-up can sometimes be difficult. Our panel of experts advises on solutions  Continue Reading

• New directives beef up trust in e-commerce

  
  
  Ross Bentley

  The European e-commerce market will not be comparable to the US until users within the EU learn to trust the security of the...

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• NetIQ launches Exchange migrator

  Software for migrating from Microsoft Ex-change 5.5 to the recently released Ex-change 2000 messaging platform will be launched...  Continue Reading

• IR35 costs will put IT projects over budget

  Bill Goodwin Major IT projects will come in over-budget because IT departments are not considering the effect that the IR35 tax reforms...  Continue Reading

• How to scour the world when outsourcing

  
  
  Thanks to Y2K compliance programmes, it is now perfectly acceptable for a firm to consider moving all or part of its systems development and support...  Continue Reading

• Genuity takes global tack for one-stop network

  One-stop, global e-business Internet provision was on offer at TMA 2000, in the shape of a network services platform from...  Continue Reading

• Stiffing suspicion at NHSnet

  Pathology group switches to per-message fee. Mike Simons reports.  Continue Reading

• Why work can be a real pain in the neck

  To coincide with European Week for Safety and Health, Roisin Woolnough reports on how you can stay in the pink at work.  Continue Reading

• Lock in to security

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• Zero tolerance policy on e-delivery failure

  
  
  Mike Simons

  Cabinet Office minister Ian McCartney told 300 public sector IT leaders last week, "We'll never, ever tolerate failure," as...

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• UK sick of Net hype

  
  
  

  The UK public is sick of internet hype because the Net has already become an everyday part of life, according to a survey by msn.co.uk.

  The...

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• It's in the palm of your hand

  Once software matches hardware mobile business promises a wealth of opportunities, writes Ross Bentley  Continue Reading

• Forum unites to stop cyber crime

  Government ministers, police forces, security services and business executives are to meet in Edinburgh next year, in a drive to...  Continue Reading

• The changing face of management

  Corporate life is under the microscope. Monica Seeley peruses the management journals for the past quarter to discover the issues...  Continue Reading

• The e-revolution becomes last year's political fashion

  The recent party conferences suggest that attempts to gain political ground by being IT-friendly are on the wane. Bill Jacobs...  Continue Reading

• forget all about the toe in the water

  In the move from mainframes to a distributed system financial services company Anfis dived in with both feet. Liz Warren has been...  Continue Reading

• ITers' ageist employment fears

  
  
  Bill Goodwin

  Revelations in Computer Weekly that IT employers are exacerbating the skills shortage by ignoring older workers...

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• The web site for thrifty swappers

  Thrift was high on the agenda when Steve Oldfield set up a Web site for people who like to swap  Continue Reading

• Imagine there's no Bill Gates...

  Chaos theory tells us that the flutter of a butterfly wing in Brazil can alter the weather on the other side of the globe. So...  Continue Reading

• Insurance giant slashes staff

  
  
  Nick Huber

  Commercial and General Norwich Union (CGNU) is to axe hundreds of IT staff jobs by closing down one of its main IT...

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• Job-hopping banker with an MSc... meet the IT high flyer

  
  
  What's the secret of IT success? Bill Goodwin sifts through a massive careers survey from the NCC and Computer Weekly to find...  Continue Reading

• Revealed: how to earn big bucks in IT

  
  
  Bill Goodwin

  If you want to improve your chances of earning a big salary in IT, take a degree in engineering, join a financial services...

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• Why the hard work is paying off

  Camden council hopes to be rewarded for its commitment to IT in education, after a £500,000 system overhaul.  Continue Reading

• Java retraining costs will be high

  Java: Research reveals the high price of retraining and retaining developers to create e-business apps.  Continue Reading

• What have I got to prove?

  I am an IT manager with expert knowledge of integration, but I now find that I need to prove that I know about management too. Do...  Continue Reading

• CRM chief says Java's the only game in town

  
  
  Paul Mason

  When it comes to solving the skills crisis, Java is the only game in town, an e-commerce software chief said this week....

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• Limited liability must be written in the contract

  
  
  Effective exclusion and limitation of liability clauses in technology supply contracts are essential for managing supply risks. However, contractual protection...  Continue Reading

• Digging behind ASP hype

  Ross Bentley talks to three small companies that have adopted application service provision  Continue Reading

• All-pervading, all-pervasive AS/400

  Wireless networking has already caused a revolution in communications, and we have only seen the first wave.  Continue Reading

• Supercomputers: the long arm of the law?

  On the basis that the Top 500 listing isn't just the subjective pronouncements of a couple of blokes in Texas, and that not being...  Continue Reading

• Are you being served?

  Just a few years ago, the idea of the AS/400 as a web server would have raised a few eyebrows. Not now.  Continue Reading

• Web auctions revolutionise procurement process

  One of the most extraordinary successes in the e-commerce world has been that of online trading company ebay.com, which employs...  Continue Reading

• Training helps boost BCS' income by 17%

  Big growth in demand for IT qualifications has helped boost BCS income by 17% in its last financial year and enabled it to invest...  Continue Reading

• Web success: a moving story

  Former accountant James Moeskops is a 28 year-old director of burgeoning Web-based staff relocation service ActiveAbroad. He...  Continue Reading

• Cut your Web costs

  As the dotcom boom slows, those setting up e-commerce sites must look to make cost savings. Nick Booth considers the options  Continue Reading

• So, you want to be an ethical manager?

  
  
  Is the term "ethical management" an oxymoron? Those of the Machiavellian school of management would think so, believing that the only way to climb to the...  Continue Reading

• Merging offices brings opportunity to grow IT department

  A year from now our company is going to amalgamate two offices into one central location in the Midlands. As head of IT, what...  Continue Reading

• Jamjars on the highway

  Direct Line built on its reputation for selling insurance via telephone to launch its online service, and now the company is...  Continue Reading

• When two (almost) become one

  Briefing: As Voice over IP becomes a reality, what are the likely business benefits, asks Nick Booth  Continue Reading

• 2010: an e-commerce odyssey

  David Targett of Imperial College looks into the future of e-commerce and outlines three attractive features  Continue Reading

• Accessible and accountable: MP gets on the Net

  Robert Key MP asked Salisbury-based Web designer Cravenplan to design him the best site in Westminster  Continue Reading

• Government IT projects put the consumer last

  Government IT projects are notoriously prone to failure - over budget, delivered late, don't work, systems integration nightmares...  Continue Reading

• Broadband: The big band

  Antony Savvas offers a user's guide to high-bandwidth technologies  Continue Reading

• PC in IT: attracting staff from outside the sector

  Shortages of IT skills are attracting people into the sector from different walks of life. Guy Campos meets a former policeman...  Continue Reading

• Training responsibilities

  Enterprise resource planning (ERP) users within our company have been complaining that they have inadequate levels of training.  Continue Reading

• Thompson Racal Defence gets feel for customer requirements

  The key to giving your customers what they want is making sure you have a comprehensive picture of what that is from the outset....  Continue Reading

• Bugs on the move: mobile viruses start to bite

  Summer always brings out the bugs and this year was no exception as the first mobile viruses started to bite.  Continue Reading

• Sun goes cheap and cheerful with $2bn Cobalt acquisition

  
  
  Sun has accelerated its push into the server appliance market by buying Cobalt Networks in a share swap deal valued at $2bn (£1.2bn) writes Nicholas...  Continue Reading

• MPs lack faith in UK Online aims

  
  
  Mike Simons

  MPs are losing faith in ministers' ability to deliver their e-commerce and e-government goals, according to a new survey by...

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• Entering the post-Y2K doldrums

  Our biannual survey of IT spend shows that it is firmly back in synch with the GDP index after the Y2K boom. John Riley reports  Continue Reading

• Don't forget the human touch

  A Web presence can substantially reduce business costs but savings should not be chased at the expense of customer relationships,...  Continue Reading

• Hackney launches HackneyConnect site

  
  
  One London council has leapfrogged over other sites in order to drive e-commerce and e-government ahead

  Prime Minister Tony Blair's...

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• Whyhelpdesks need alternatives to the telephone

  
  
  Lee Chadwick

  Opinion

  If during a normal working day the MD walked into the support office and said that ringing telephones were a...

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• Broadvision gets personalised

  
  
  Paul Mason.

  Broadvision, the e-commerce software supplier, has launched Market Maker - an application to build e-commerce hubs that combine...

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• Standards required for Web pensions profits

  
  
  Nick Huber

  The profitability of stakeholder pensions is at risk unless insurers invest in an electronic remittance standard, according to...

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• Intelligent wires at war?

  BRIEFING: With the onset of apps-on-tap and the growth of wide area networks, there is a danger that intelligent devices from...  Continue Reading

• The Maginot Line syndrome

  The collapse of Barings Bank was as much a matter of compromised systems security as it was of rogue trading.Helga Drummond,...  Continue Reading

• Ageism fuels skills gap

  Employers are cutting their own throats in the long run by discriminating against older ITers  Continue Reading

• Emotions run high in the race for dotcom promotion

  IT professionals on the look out for a new job should consider the state of their emotional intelligence, writes Antony Savvas  Continue Reading

• EDS drives into new markets

  The US outsourcer is setting its sights on government contracts across Europe, writes Mike Simons  Continue Reading

• E-growth threatened as BT locks out rivals

  Antony Adshead The promise of affordable broadband Internet access, which is essential for e-commerce growth, looks even further...  Continue Reading

• ASP me no questions, I'll sell you no lies

  Making outsourcing deals with ASPs is all very well, but if you don't keep a close watch on your service level agreement you...  Continue Reading

• Bosses welcome security warnings from outsiders

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• BCS and unions to work towards common goals

  
  
  The BCS is talking to trade unions about co-operative deals which will not only boost membership but also help the society to get closer to employers to...  Continue Reading

• Open all hours advice lines

  UK Online aims to boost e-awareness among small businesses. But will it work, asks Robert Dunt  Continue Reading

• Security: not an IT problem but a business risk

  Security breaches in the e-world can destroy public confidence and your business in an instant  Continue Reading

• Tories will reform RIP and IR35, says Hague

  A future Conservative government would reform the IR35 "brain-drain tax'' and review Labour's cyber snooping law as part of a...  Continue Reading

• IT support: better out or in?

  Can you afford to outsource your support? Can you afford not to? Mark Vernon puts both sides of the argument  Continue Reading

• Europe's hub could make the world spin

  Executives believe Europe's superior mobile technology will let it overtake US e-businesses. Hazel Ward reports  Continue Reading

• From £2K to Y2K

  How far has IT come over the last 30 years?  Continue Reading

• The changing future of the helpdesk

  As technology moves forward, so does our application of it, and this is as true in the realm of the helpdesk as in any other.  Continue Reading

• Doing the business

  When users contact a helpdesk they're probably already adrift in a sea of troubles. They need considerate appropriate...  Continue Reading

• Contractor builds jobs site

  
  
  Just when it seems as if the web can hold no more on-line recruitment sites, a Swiss-based European contracting firm has announced the launch of...  Continue Reading

• Indians set up base camp

  
  
  Indian software firms are flocking to London, encouraged by the Government's initiative to "fast-track" the work permit applications of skilled ITers from...  Continue Reading

• E is for euro

  Companies can no longer afford to put off preparations for the euro, even with the race towards e-business still to win, warns...  Continue Reading

• Demand for web skills rises

  
  
  Demand for ITers skilled in internet technologies such as HTML, XML and Perl is continuing to rise, according to research released by IT recruitment...  Continue Reading

• Dead cert or dead duck, who can tell?

  
  
  City Briefing

  With only a few stragglers left to produce their half-term report cards, it's becoming clearer which companies are the winners...

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• Dotcommies work hard, live simple

  
  
  We may imagine him to be young, inexperienced, and money-hungry, but the average dotcom leader is in fact approaching 40, and a workaholic willing to...  Continue Reading

• Cost limits volunteers' IT plans

  As more voluntary organisations gear up for e-business, some have IT take-up stifled by a lack of funding  Continue Reading

• Blair slams 'alarmist' criticism over lack of e-business trust

  
  
  David Bicknell

  The prime minister Tony Blair has denied that the Government needs to regain the trust of business over e-commerce.

  "The...

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• Front runner Jenni Ashwood

  
  
  John Kavanagh

  Jenni Ashwood has moved from being a maths teacher to full-time mother to programmer and is currently business systems manager...

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• Get systems right first

  
  
  BCS president calls for improved systems development rather than increased powers to prosecute when systems fail. John Kavanagh...  Continue Reading

• Will new e-envoy follow US crackdown on outsourcers?

  Government: A tough US outsourcing Bill could point the way for the new e-envoy.  Continue Reading

• Moving targets: supporting a flexible workforce

  As a manager supporting a mobile or home-based workforce for the first time, what do you need to know? Alison Classe reports  Continue Reading

• SMEs must tread warily in e-commerce minefield

  It's a much riskier business getting into e-commerce if you're an SME. Financial outlay, poor supplier service and the daunting...  Continue Reading

• How to get back into the IT workplace after a break

  I have 17 years' experience in IT, but have been out of work since my last contract ended. I am currently taking an MCSD course...  Continue Reading

• Testing times on the AS/400

  During the days when the Y2K problem loomed large, testing tools came to the fore in an almost unprecedented way. It seems...  Continue Reading

• Sainsbury takes second bite of web cherry

  
  
  The first wave of e-commerce offered non-perishable items such as books and CDs. A significant recent development has been the extension of online selling to...  Continue Reading

• The Innovators: Games platform

  When the Commonwealth Games commence in 2002, Andrew Marshall will have his eyes on the prize. And, as Simon Vail finds out, he...  Continue Reading

• Mind your own business

  One of the fundamental promises of e-commerce is that it will allow customers to be better served than with conventional...  Continue Reading

• It recruitment firm RDL buys staff agency M3 Group

  IT recruitment company, RDL Group plc has announced it is to buy staffing agency, M3 Group for up to £14.2 million, in a bid to...  Continue Reading

• The speakernet

  Voice Web technology promises speech-activated Internet access within two to five years. Ian Hugo explains the technology's...  Continue Reading

• Should you go to the marketplace?

  Exchanges are springing up in all vertical sectors. But should your firm get involved? Andrew Robinson investigates  Continue Reading