In Depth

In Depth

• Open source makes a good donation

  Two disparate charities have successfully implemented open source software, saving money and creating happier users in the process. Jane Dudman looks at how open source can give smaller organisations greater control at minimum expense  Continue Reading

• Yell to introduce biometric sign-on for internal systems

  International directories company Yell plans to meet compliance regulations by using fingerprint recognition devices to authenticate thousands of staff logging on to its computer systems.  Continue Reading

• WHSmith News delivers smooth Exchange switch

  WHSmith News has migrated 1,200 email users from Microsoft Exchange 5.5 to Exchange 2003 in one week without incurring any downtime  Continue Reading

• Open source is facing a long climb

  CIO Index: Computer Weekly's survey of IT leaders reveals the rise of mobile IT and voice over IP, but open source and service oriented architecture have yet to take off  Continue Reading

• Clothing firm to overhaul its core systems

  Edinburgh Woollen Mill has begun an 18-month project to replace its core systems.  Continue Reading

• House of Fraser raises sales visibility

  House of Fraser has been able to cut its stock levels and boost its gross margins by linking shelf and space planning software into stock ordering systems, to give better visibility of its sales for every store for every week.  Continue Reading

• Five application security threats and how to counter them

  A guide to the five most common and insidious threats to applications - and what you can do about them.  Continue Reading

• Call centres get a break as Cook revamps flights site

  Travel website flythomascook.com is rolling out a hosted customer self-service system to reduce the number of calls handled by contact centre staff by 30%.  Continue Reading

• Has open source come of age?

  Open source is finding its way into businesses, thanks in part to the availability of open source development tools, applications servers, databases and a host of other middleware essential to build an open source infrastructure.  Continue Reading

• Key to success with IT suppliers

  Striking a good deal is always a bit hit and miss. What is important is that the contract with your IT supplier is flexible enough to cope with the changing nature of your business.  Continue Reading

• IT volunteers needed for local charities and projects

  Companies that encourage their employees to offer their skills to help local charities stand to improve staff retention, attract the best potential recruits and promote a positive image for their organisation.  Continue Reading

• Moving out of the comfort zone can put your career back in your hands

  Glenn Martin tells how moving to a challenging new role gave him greater control, but warns that being too protective of your staff can hinder project success  Continue Reading

• Software trends for the 21st century

  Changes in processor architecture will lead to a transformation in software design, according to Andrew Herbert, managing director of Microsoft research, Cambridge.  Continue Reading

• Identifying Service Providers’ SOA Value

  IT services firms offer a spectrum of SOA Support and Solutions: how do you get the best deal?  Continue Reading

• European IT Outsourcing Deals: 2005 in review

  Why service providers ran faster to stand still  Continue Reading

• Adaptive Sourcing: Outsourcing’s New Paradigm

  Why outsourcing needs a new business model  Continue Reading

• Next move: How do I escape trap of a technical role?

  Expert advice for readers' career problems  Continue Reading

• NCC: 40 years on - towards a new age of innovation

  As the National Computing Centre celebrates its 40th anniversary, chief executive Michael Gough sees innovation management bringing deeper integration of human and digital interaction. John Riley reports  Continue Reading

• Skills development: Build your CV with cutting-edge job

  The opportunity to experience IT at any level in a large software company can help you to develop skills that will move your career on  Continue Reading

• Data recovery: Eliminate the weak links in back-up

  Every company must have a comprehensive back-up and continuity plan to cover data loss, but checks must also be made on the back-ups themselves.  Continue Reading

• IFA service goes flexible on IT sourcing

  Progress, friendly society Royal Liver’s e-business service for independent financial advisers, has evolved a multisourcing strategy to buy in the functionality it needs on a project-by-project basis.  Continue Reading

• ING bank signs £274m deal in multisourcing initiative

  Dutch bank ING has signed a £274m, seven-year document processing contract with UK outsourcing supplier Astron. The deal is part of the IT multisourcing drive announced by ING last November.  Continue Reading

• BA expands Newcastle IT centre to help streamline back-office systems

  British Airways is expanding operations at its IT centre in Newcastle, as it gears up to streamline its back-office systems and develop BA.com as its primary IT system.  Continue Reading

• Smart projects: Council streamlines processes by putting education benefits online

  East Renfrewshire Council links school and back-office systems  Continue Reading

• SAP and council link for modernisation project

  Trafford Metropolitan City Council is two-thirds through a three-phase joint development project with SAP to modernise its ageing social services IT system.  Continue Reading

• Northern rejigs its supply chain to optimise RFID

  Northern Foods, which supplies £1.4bn of convenience food a year to UK supermarkets, is redesigning its supply chain to better use the information it has gathered from deploying radio frequency identification tags on pallets.  Continue Reading

• Case study: VoIP revolutionises Bury Metropolitan Council communications

  Voice over IP (VoIP) has revolutionised communications at Bury Metropolitan Borough Council, and saved the local authority hundreds of thousands of pounds.  Continue Reading

• ERP – latest analysis, opinion and news

  There has been much change in the world of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, with both Oracle and SAP buying rival enterprise software companies to boost their product portfolios.  Continue Reading

• IT governance – latest analysis, opinion and news

  There are governance frameworks covering most aspects of IT.  Continue Reading

• IT spend stabilises as industry matures

  Over the last five years, annual growth rates relating to UK spend on IT have stabilised at around 5%, which reflects the growing maturity of the industry.  Continue Reading

• Smart projects: Waltham Forest wraps up four-year overhaul to unite IT infrastructure

  The London Borough of Waltham Forest has migrated 3,200 desktops to a single network in the final stage of a four-year project to overhaul its IT infrastructure.  Continue Reading

• Drug firms' high IT spend reflects emphasis on R&D but outsourcing takes its cut

  Business Focus is a weekly column providing at-a-glance statistics and commentary on spending priorities and trends in particular sectors. This week we look at the pharmaceuticals industry.  Continue Reading

• BCS members win top prizes at the Female Inventor of the Year awards

  Two BCS members have been awarded prizes at the Female Inventor of the Year 2006 awards, run by the British Female Inventors & Innovators Network.  Continue Reading

• The changing face of outsourcing

  There is a lot of talk these days about the rationale for outsourcing migrating from cost to quality. But ask the CEO or board of most large companies for their primary motivation in signing an outsourcing deal, and cost savings will not be far from...  Continue Reading

• Next Move: How do I break into investment banking?

  I work for British Airways but my aim is to get into IT in the City as I like the idea of investment banking.  Continue Reading

• Who is really behind the internet?

  Back when the internet was a gleam in the eye of the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the question of control was easy. The people that controlled it were the people that built it, and they could be counted on the fingers of two hands.  Continue Reading

• Britannia insources HR and payroll systems to aid development plans

  Britannia Building Society is to bring its payroll and human resources systems back in house to give it more control over future developments, which include providing “self-service HR” functionality for its 4,500 employees.  Continue Reading

• British Airways cites IT investment as key factor in 20% profit increase

  Investments in IT have played a key role in boosting British Airways’ profits by 20% to £620m in the face of rising fuel prices and growing competition from no-frills airlines.  Continue Reading

• London NHS trust set for biometric single sign-on

  Lewisham Primary Care Trust is poised to implement one of the first biometric single sign-on security systems in the NHS.  Continue Reading

• Tetley rolls out global wireless remote access

  Tea company Tetley Group has rolled out a wireless remote access service that allows senior staff to connect their laptops securely to critical head office applications from locations around the world.  Continue Reading

• FirstGroup on road to consolidation

  FirstGroup is consolidating 191 IT systems to fewer than 40 as it enters the second phase of a five-year project to transform the business and cut IT costs.  Continue Reading

• Liverpool declares war on paper to free up buildings

  Liverpool City Council is to extend its document management system to social workers in an effort to cut costs by streamlining administration and freeing up buildings used to store paper records.  Continue Reading

• Network optimisation

  Nothing infuriates users more that the slow performance of applications. More often than not the lack of responsiveness is down to slow network traffic.  Continue Reading

• Project management - latest analysis, opinion and news

  IT projects large and small all require strong project management and boardroom-level backing if they are to succeed. Catch up with the latest analysis, opinion and news covering management issues here.  Continue Reading

• ABV goes for BCS

  How a leading Austrian bank depends upon a flexible, high-performance platform for its core business, including both servers and storage systems.  Continue Reading

• Project management: Getting everyone on the same track

  Cultural fit and communication proved crucial as London Underground sought to standardise the management of some 1,700 projects across a diverse range of users and partners. Arif Mohamed reports on the lessons learned along the line  Continue Reading

• Cashing in on the value of compliance

  The world’s desire for corporate regulation swings like a pendulum. In the late 1980s, the so-called “Big Bang” freed the financial markets from all but minimum regulation.  Continue Reading

• Prepare well to win over the board

  Thorough preparation is the secret to winning funding for complex security projects from company boards, according to two leading IT directors.  Continue Reading

• Next move: How do I go about getting my first IT job?

  I have been working in the public sector as personal assistant to a service manager for five years.  Continue Reading

• Cheapflights boosts data delivery

  Online travel agent Cheapflights is rolling out an enterprise content management system to improve the way it delivers time-sensitive content such as special offers and resort information.  Continue Reading

• Out of the office but in the know

  The impact of wireless technology pervades our lives. The ability that it confers to work while on the move has filled airport lounges with executives feverishly toggling a Blackberry or tapping at a laptop or personal digital assistant (PDA).  Continue Reading

• Rapid return and improved service levels vindicate decision to insource

  IT director Jane Kimberlin shares what she considers to be her best and worst IT decisions.  Continue Reading

• Retailers keep a tight rein on their technology spending as CRM tools fail to satisfy

  Business Focus is a weekly column providing at-a-glance statistics and commentary on spending priorities and trends across particular sectors. This week we look at non-food retailers.  Continue Reading

• Doughnut firm swaps SAP for Coda

  Global doughnut and coffee chain Krispy Kreme has switched financial systems from SAP Business One to Coda.  Continue Reading

• Risk control is a double-edged sword

  Consolidation of systems means the impact of corporate IT failures are greater than ever, but the strategies for mitigating risk involve cons as well as pros  Continue Reading

• Nutricia adds flexibility to BI mix

  Nutricia, maker of Cow & Gate baby food, has installed Cognos’ Powerplay and Report Net products to improve data integration and business intelligence across the company.  Continue Reading

• Council integrates CRM for single customer view

  Southwark Council is conducting a major analysis of how the public uses its services after creating a single view of its “customers”.  Continue Reading

• Free your net but protect your data

  For mobile working, connectivity via wireless – whether inside the corporate environment or via publicly available hotspots, Wi-Fi, Wi-Max or cellular data (GRPS, Edge, 3G) – offers the ability for mobility while remaining connected to your ...  Continue Reading

• SOA lets insurers make the most of software modules and legacy data

  Two major UK insurance companies have taken different approaches to cutting costs by using service oriented architectures.  Continue Reading

• Gallaher deploys smart tokens to 2,500 worldwide

  Tobacco group Gallaher is rolling out identity management technology that will provide 2,500 staff worldwide with secure access via the internet to company systems from desktops and remote laptops.  Continue Reading

• Automated collaboration boosts functionality in .net ERP system

  Intuitive adds breadth and flexibility to .net-based offering  Continue Reading

• Strategic skills high on wanted list

  Nicholas Enticknap analyses the latest SSL/ Computer Weekly salary survey to discover the roles, skills and areas that offer the richest pickings  Continue Reading

• Network Rail IT waits for clear signal from business

  Network Rail’s information management department is only backing IT-enabled projects that have a sponsor in the business, as it looks to limit the risks in major IT projects.  Continue Reading

• BT ups revenue as billing switch is completed early

  BT has reported substantially increased revenues after its IT department used advanced technology to migrate the records of its 500 largest business customers from a legacy mainframe-based system to a state-of-the-art billing system 13 months ahead ...  Continue Reading

• Next move: How do I move from support to DBA role?

  The question: I am an IT support analyst with six years’ experience of first- and second-line roles. To get off the helpdesk, I want to pursue a career as a database administrator.  Continue Reading

• Business and IT leaders to discuss future of the web

  The global World Wide Web Conference (WWW2006), which comes to Edinburgh next week, is set to be one of the most influential IT events in the UK this year.  Continue Reading

• Vista packs the prettiest of punches

  The next version of Windows offers some productivity improvements over XP, but its advanced graphics capabilities will trigger a multimedia onslaught  Continue Reading

• Council moves datacentre to reduce costs

  The London Borough of Lewisham is to transfer its datacentre to a new outsourcing provider in autumn.  Continue Reading

• Insurers tap claims archive to ease compliance burden

  Audatex, which provides motor claims services to insurers such as Norwich Union and Royal & SunAlliance, has deployed archiving technology from EMC to give insurers improved access to closed cases.  Continue Reading

• Britannia ready to roll out storage virtualisation to check server growth

  Britannia Building Society is extending its use of a storage virtualisation tool that enables it to duplicate key systems for investigating problems in a live environment without affecting normal back-end services.  Continue Reading

• Video conferencing units give rural residents remote access to services

  Bassetlaw Council installs 13 video conferencing units  Continue Reading

• Keeping development tools sharp

  IDE suppliers have been consolidating and stuffing their products with value-added tools, but which offers most for the corporate developer?  Continue Reading

• Your shout: website speed, sat nav

  Computer Weekly readers have their say  Continue Reading

• Mini maximises SME search results

  Google's search plan could bring enterprise search to the masses  Continue Reading

• Deliver benefits to the business by keeping IT systems simple

  Brian Jones kicks off a series of commentaries by chief information officers about the lessons to be drawn from initiatives they got right and where they had problems. He explains how he handles contracts and projects, and how he promotes ...  Continue Reading

• Storage: Private life of data

  The loss or theft of customer details can be a publicity disaster for a business. Antony Adshead looks at how to keep your vital data safe  Continue Reading

• Collaborative IT is the way forward

  Capgemini global chief technology officer, Andy Mulholland, talks about his vision for where IT is heading, and the need to move away from centralised IT  Continue Reading

• BP uses remote sensoring to keep vessels shipshape

  BP is going live this week with a remote sensoring application for shipping based on wireless technology it helped to develop through a proof-of-concept implementation.  Continue Reading

• Thames Water plugs gap with IT

  Thames Water is using a central project management system to locate and fix leaks as it embarks on a one-year, £3.9m programme to replace ageing water pipes across North London.  Continue Reading

• Standard Life saves £6m with SOA

  Standard Life has saved £6m by developing new products on a life and pensions platform wholly built using a service oriented architecture.  Continue Reading

• Storage: Is your company data well preserved?

  Your data is only as good as the media it is stored on and the format that it is stored in, writes Danny Bradbury – and in the long term, both are transient at best  Continue Reading

• Air ambulance speeds up rescues with NHS broadband net

  The Yorkshire Air Ambulance has reduced the time taken from receiving an emergency call to getting in the air from seven to two minutes, after linking its computer systems to three local ambulance services through the NHS N3 broadband network.  Continue Reading

• BCS honours inventor of the web and computer imaging pioneer

  Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web and director of the World Wide Web Consortium, is to be awarded the BCS Lovelace Medal in recognition of his contribution to the development of IT.  Continue Reading

• Software helps Sheffield establish process for Housing Act compliance

  Council installs system to register and track rented properties  Continue Reading

• Drugs firm develops monitoring system for compliance check-ups

  Pharmaceuticals firm Novartis has developed software to automatically monitor and report on the security of more than 150 critical web servers, firewalls and switches to help meet its compliance obligations under Sarbanes-Oxley and other regulations.  Continue Reading

• CIOs are optimistic, although some see a lack of business support

  In the first of Computer Weekly's comprehensive surveys, we asked COIs to rate the factors affecting the success of IT within their organisation, and found that many still feel their firms lack the processes, understanding, training and ...  Continue Reading

• New-look Computer Weekly greets 40th year

  Computer Weekly today celebrates its 40th anniversary year by moving to a new compact format and unveiling an exciting programme of editorial innovations.  Continue Reading

• Web Application Attacks Learning Guide

  This guide explains how Web application attacks occur, identifies Web application attacks, and provides Web application security tools and tactics to protect against them.  Continue Reading

• Drive dysfunction? The disc doctor can help

  Efficient PC usage depends on maximising the capabilities of the hard disc. Third-party software may offer advantages over what is available on your operating system  Continue Reading

• ABN Amro reuses compliance tool for global risk assessment project

  Investment bank ABN Amro is using technology it developed last year for ensuring regulatory compliance to help it conduct a broad-based risk reassessment of its global client base.  Continue Reading

• A platform for all seasons

  Moving from the mainframe to a distributed SOA is hotel group Starwood’s overall IT strategy. Helen Beckett reports on how installing a middle-tier cache is playing a key role  Continue Reading

• Study can unlock door to IT security riches

  Recognised certifications are vital to get your foot on the IT security ladder, and it can be well worth the effort as demand for specialists pushes up salaries  Continue Reading

• IBM RFID system addresses privacy concerns

  IBM has developed a system limiting the distance a radio frequency identification (RFID) chip tag can transmit information from retail goods.  Continue Reading

• Cutting your apps down to size

  The average corporate application portfolio is growing in size. Danny Bradbury looks at how IT departments can rationalise applications and strip cost and complexity out of the business  Continue Reading

• Open source move could be a dead end for Ingres users, analyst warns

  It has been nearly nine months since Computer Associates gave away the source code for its Ingres enterprise database to the open source community, fuelling speculation that Ingres could develop into a true open source alternative to commercial ...  Continue Reading

• House of Fraser takes fast track to data integration

  House of Fraser has successfully integrated the IT systems of department store group Beatties into its core merchandising system, following the acquisition of the business last year.  Continue Reading

• Transport Direct maps out nation’s bus routes to enable online journey planner

  GPS used to measure 350,000 bus stops throughout Britain  Continue Reading

• Hot skills: Novell’s Open Enterprise Server makes the open source connection

  Common open source skills come in handy for Novell work  Continue Reading

• Embarking on a voyage of asset discovery

  Using software tools to keep track of your technology assets will help with regulatory and licensing compliance and can net some businesses big savings  Continue Reading

• How to show you mean business with SOA

  SOAs can provide a credible way to relate the productivity of systems in their IT context to their ultimate value in the business world, says Neil Ward-Dutton  Continue Reading