In Depth

In Depth

• IT security leaders debate their cyber threat challenges

  Information security leaders met at a roundtable hosted by Computer Weekly, in association with Trend Micro, to discuss cyber threats they face  Continue Reading

• CW500: Why Channel 4 is crunching big data

  Bob Harris, Channel 4's chief technology officer, charts the broadcaster's technology strategy to use big data to form closer links with viewers  Continue Reading

• Sweating your datacentre’s IT assets - is it a good idea?

  Amid economic uncertainties, businesses want to get more from existing IT assets. But does it make sense from an IT point of view?  Continue Reading

• Wireless charging: The story so far...

  Rupert Goodwins looks into the technology behind wireless charging and whether it is good enough yet for wider adoption  Continue Reading

• VMware storage: SAN configuration basics

  For VMware storage basics start here – the fundamentals of configuring SAN storage for VMware, such as VMFS, VMDKs, connectivity options and VMware storage features  Continue Reading

• CW500: Forget the fancy graphics: how to make big data work for ordinary people  

  If there is one thing big data specialist Chris Osborne has learned after five years of working with big data, it is that the public don’t like graphs  Continue Reading

• Aadhaar project data collection: An interview with Mindtree's CEO

  Get a view into the data collection efforts for the Aadhaar project from Krishnakumar Natarajan, the CEO at service provider Mindtree.  Continue Reading

• UK firms take disciplined approach to cloud applications selection

  Trunki and Reed.co.uk show how more disciplined procurement approaches are replacing the 'land and expand' strategies favoured by pioneering suppliers  Continue Reading

• Pearson integrates Google Enterprise and Office 365

  Publisher Pearson – which owns the Financial Times – uses cloud-based collaboration using Google and Microsoft products  Continue Reading

• What's on an enterprise's checklist when seeking a datacentre provider?

  Is it energy efficiency? Is low cost or low latency the deal maker? Top enterprises disclose their checklists for datacentre providers  Continue Reading

• European banks raise data management game in response to new regulations

  European banks need to improve their handling of data if they are to recover from the financial crisis and comply with demanding legislation  Continue Reading

• SSD RAID essentials: What you need to know about flash and Raid

  With the advent of flash and high-capacity HDDs, what do today’s storage professionals need to know about Raid and its new variants?  Continue Reading

• Users drive BYOD take-off: but can BlackBerry catch up?

  Aviation regulator CAA is the latest business to embrace BYOD but it remains to be seen if BlackBerry can keep its competitive edge.  Continue Reading

• Workplace IT services in flux: wherever, whenever, whatever

  Enterprise computing is in upheaval as the emphasis shifts towards automation and user-device provision.  Continue Reading

• Cloud gold rush: Is it all just supplier noise?

  IT providers are unveiling cloud services at lightning speed and are launching robust price wars. But are enterprise customers equally gung-ho in adoption?  Continue Reading

• EMC ViPR software-defined storage: Why, and can it succeed?

  EMC’s ViPR software-defined storage aims to provide a multi-vendor management layer with cloud and big data capabilities. But can it convince other storage companies to play ball?  Continue Reading

• How improved user experience yields returns on investment

  The consequences of poor customer experience are widely acknowledged but resolving such issues still divides opinion in businesses.  Continue Reading

• Can hyperscale computing eclipse enterprise storage?

  Pioneered by Facebook and Google, hyperscale computing and storage is built on cheap commodity parts with redundancy at device level  Continue Reading

• The dark side of software-defined datacentres

  As different suppliers have different strategies for software-defined datacentres, is the lack of standards leading to chaos?  Continue Reading

• CW500 in the City: IT innovation in financial services

  Finance firms need to overcome their fears of regulation if they are to innovate and IT must be ready to support them when they do  Continue Reading

• CW500: 4G to underpin ubiquitous mobile services

  The catalyst for debate at April’s CW500 Club meeting was the arrival of the 4G mobile network in the UK  Continue Reading

• Do businesses need to pay for VoIP?

  Free services offer VoIP to the masses, but are they reliable enough to use in enterprises or do they need pricey unified communications?  Continue Reading

• Mixed feelings towards Windows 8 in enterprise

  Microsoft has missed a trick or two in the heartland of its business but complex mobile working remains an issue for all in the tablet market.  Continue Reading

• IBM fleshes out flash and looks to the next solid state technologies

  As IBM announces a $1bn bet on flash, UK-based ‘master inventor’ looks beyond flash and its shortcomings to the next wave of solid state storage  Continue Reading

• Mobile device management the Microsoft way

  Microsoft is making a pitch for mobile device management, with System Center 2012 and InTune, its cloud management software  Continue Reading

• Brake-maker Eurac chooses Logi Analytics for more agile BI

  European brake manufacturer Eurac chose Logi Analytics to combine with its Infor ERP system to gain a more agile view of its operations  Continue Reading

• The internet of things is set to change security priorities

  IT leaders must protect against the security risks introduced by the growing interaction between technology and the physical world.  Continue Reading

• Interview: Ed Vaizey MP – part two: on BT and 4G

  In part 2 of our interview with the communications minister, we discuss alleged favouritism for BT and George Osborne’s mixed up spectrum figures  Continue Reading

• Interview: Ed Vaizey MP – part one: on broadband policy

  In part 1 of our interview with Ed Vaizey, we talk about slow take-up of superfast broadband and controversial funding numbers  Continue Reading

• Metro, NI civil service, Reynolds Catering power business innovation

  Enterprise software powers business innovation: new things done at DMG Media, the Northern Ireland civil service, and Reynolds Catering  Continue Reading

• LTFS tape NAS: A great idea stuck in a niche

  LTFS tape NAS: Linear Tape File System offers the potential to build nearline storage at the cost of tape but with NAS-like file access. Sounds great, but when will it catch on?  Continue Reading

• How to create a good information security policy

  Information security policies provide vital support to security professionals, yet few organisations take the time to create decent policies  Continue Reading

• Mobile business intelligence attracts non-traditional users

  Mobile business intelligence gives organisations more accessible, lightweight and flexible decision and operational support  Continue Reading

• How to find out who is doing what to your data systems

  Context-aware security cannot replace point technologies, but it can tell you when an attack is imminent and what form it will take.  Continue Reading

• Windows XP end of support: What to do next

  CIOs may not wish to carry on running a 12-year-old desktop OS, but thousands of incompatible applications leave many with no choice  Continue Reading

• Microsoft SQL Server data profiling tool put to work

  Andy Hogg demonstrates how to clean up dirty data with the data profiling tool that comes with Microsoft SQL Server  Continue Reading

• How to move data and applications in the cloud

  IT must be prepared with a strategy to minimise the impact of the failure of their cloud or datacentre provider  Continue Reading

• 100Gbps Ethernet – is it time to move?

  Do you need 100Gbps Ethernet in your datacentre, or is the technology just going through a hype cycle? Computer Weekly investigates.  Continue Reading

• Sizing VDI storage for I/O performance in flash arrays

  Flash arrays are increasingly being used for VDI storage. But how do customers size flash storage for the I/O requirements of virtual desktops?  Continue Reading

• Putting security in context

  How should organisations approach context-aware security technologies and what business benefits can they deliver?  Continue Reading

• CW500: Thinking outside the big storage box

  Big data doesn’t necessarily mean big storage infrastructure  Continue Reading

• Motorola puts image-enabled police officers on the beat

  The first Tetra handset with a built-in five megapixel digital camera is launched by Motorola Solutions to bring more capabilities to police forces  Continue Reading

• Is outdated terminology deterring females from roles in IT?

  Senior executives discuss whether outdated branding and terminology in job vacancies is deterring females from the IT industry at everywoman roundtable  Continue Reading

• The history of OpenFlow

  Computer Weekly takes a look back at the beginnings of the software-defined networking protocol and the technology behind it  Continue Reading

• Management tools to create a Workload-Centric Network

  Software-defined networking provides the means to automate networks to better support a range of different workloads.  Continue Reading

• What does a petabyte look like?

  How can you visualise a petabyte of data? What is it in real terms? Some experts try to make real the colossal size of the mighty petabyte  Continue Reading

• Why men in IT see women in IT as a valuable asset

  Men share their views on the importance of mixed gender teams and their experiences of what women in IT bring to the table  Continue Reading

• Technology you can bank on

  Lessons a bank based on social media and Web 2.0 can teach the broader financial services industry  Continue Reading

• SDN will change the world of network professionals

  By providing the capability to move a large proportion of a switch’s work to an abstracted software layer, SDN is the way forward.  Continue Reading

• Social technology, big data can increase productivity, says McKinsey

  Social technologies and the effective use of data can stoke economic productivity, according to the McKinsey Global Institute  Continue Reading

• Organisational design of data analytics sparks brightest and best

  Business leaders confront thorny issues in the organisational design of data analytics. Buy or build vies with data science or democracy as issues in play  Continue Reading

• SDN will transform your network – but not just yet

  Software-defined networking (SDN) will revolutionise the router and switch business and wipe millions off costs. So what’s holding it up?  Continue Reading

• CW500: Why security professionals need to rethink their role

  Security professionals need to think less about technology and more about the business needs of their organisation  Continue Reading

• Wired vs wireless in the enterprise

  What are the pros and cons of wired and wireless connectivity, and what does the future hold for the corporate environment?  Continue Reading

• Dedicated VM storage emerges to meet virtualisation demands

  Virtual machine (VM) storage built to serve the large and random I/O needs of virtual servers and desktops is a key new trend in storage and a departure from existing SAN and NAS  Continue Reading

• Technology in schools and the new curriculum: Shut down or restart?

  Teachers and business share their views and fears of new computer science curriculum and whether the changes will make a difference  Continue Reading

• How to tackle big data from a security point of view

  Before leaping into big data, companies must be clear what they are trying to achieve, otherwise their investment will be wasted  Continue Reading

• Driving datacentre efficiency to meet future demand

  Changes can wreak havoc in a datacentre that will outlive generations of servers. How can green facilities stay efficient in the face of IT progress?  Continue Reading

• Oh dear, our datacentre provider has gone bust

  Ensure that you enter into a sensible contract with your datacentre provider and factor in all possibilities including them going bust  Continue Reading

• Can mobile networks learn to share?

  Mobile operators are not renowned for playing nicely with one another, but sharing networks and backhaul may be the only option for survival  Continue Reading

• CW500: Shared services present challenges and opportunities for CIOs

  Shared IT services can help organisations cut back-office costs by as much as half, but CIOs face political battles to make them work  Continue Reading

• Horror stories of women in tech: The worst advice I’ve ever received

  Women share experiences of being told to think like a male, keep your head down, and to not even bother with a career in tech.  Continue Reading

• How to manage the risk of the human factor in database administration

  Fail to manage the risk of the human factor in database administration and you court disaster. DBAs, like air traffic controllers: work in pairs?  Continue Reading

• Configure datacentres with green tech to save costs

  The current driver for green technology is to save money through optimising energy use, rather than a desire to be seen to be green.  Continue Reading

• Public sector backup strategy: Easier than ever; harder than ever

  Public sector backup strategy is a complex beast that must operate in large and heterogenous IT environments.  Continue Reading

• Top technologies that can make your datacentre green

  Energy-efficient technologies that can reduce running costs in the datacentre and across the business  Continue Reading

• Standards key to realising the benefits of connectivity

  A network of smart appliances could revolutionise energy efficiency but suppliers must agree on common specifications.  Continue Reading

• In-house tape vs cloud archiving: What are the pros and cons?

  Have cloud archiving services reached a tipping point that makes them cheaper and easier to manage than in-house tape archives?  Continue Reading

• Business applications, data analytics can make business lean

  Centralised business apps, such as ERP and CRM can frustrate, but also make a business lean. Data analytics has a fresh Six Sigma role to play  Continue Reading

• How to find the most vulnerable systems on your internal network

  Most corporate networks share common vulnerabilities, but many could be mitigated with education in “hacker thinking” for technical staff  Continue Reading

• Storage struggles to keep up with data growth explosion

  Big data analysis needs a split from the traditional approach of matching back-end infrastructure to application requirements.  Continue Reading

• Social media: A security challenge and opportunity

  Generation Y workers are posing increasing security challenges to their employers as they share data unreservedly  Continue Reading

• Rugby Football Union uses IBM predictive analytics for Six Nations

  IBM tries out predictive analytics software, TryTracker, developed in association with the Rugby Football Union (RFU)  Continue Reading

• CW500: Skills shortages loom as development comes back in-house

  Businesses will have to raise their game to recruit the developers they need to take advantage of cloud, big data and mobile computing  Continue Reading

• CW500: Five technology forces that will change businesses forever

  CIOs have a unique opportunity to take the lead in innovation as disruptive technologies overturn traditional business models  Continue Reading

• Process big data at speed

  Low-cost solid state memory is powering high-speed analytics of big data streaming from social network feeds and the industrial internet.  Continue Reading

• How to effectively manage datacentre temperature and humidity

  A datacentre is a complex facility with different cooling equipment and power systems. Here's how to monitor its temperature and humidity  Continue Reading

• How 3D printing impacts manufacturing

  With the ability to create on-demand specialist tools, any initial investment in 3D printing technology could quickly pay for itself.  Continue Reading

• Choosing a platform to manage the big data mix

  Big data requires a change in both mindset and technology as businesses seek to analyse various forms of data from myriad sources.  Continue Reading

• Online gambling sector bets on business intelligence

  Online gambling and gaming industries crave structured business data. Volumes can be huge and they need to react to customer behaviour  Continue Reading

• BYOD policy and the data protection products that can help

  We look at BYOD data protection in backup apps and specialist products as BYOD policy demands backup and remote wipe capabilities  Continue Reading

• Buy or build afflicts data scientist capability

  ‘Data scientist’ once barely registered as a search term but is now close to a million web results. What is this job role, of which so much is said?  Continue Reading

• Consult experts to get the most out of a SaaS roll-out

  Businesses often lack in-house expertise and services providers can help them with the project planning, design and up-to-date practices.  Continue Reading

• GE uses big data to power machine services business

  GE, one of the UK's largest manufacturers, is using big data analytics with data generated from machine sensors to predict maintenance needs  Continue Reading

• How clean is your data?

  Within a transactional system, data rarely appears to be anything other than squeaky clean. Find out why data is dirty, and how to see the dirt  Continue Reading

• The limitations of traditional SaaS integration approaches

  Time and budget constraints are forcing many organisations to rethink their integration strategy and find a well-aligned solution  Continue Reading

• How to integrate SaaS with your local business systems

  As software as a service matures, CIOs need to look at how well cloud-based products integrate with existing on-premise systems  Continue Reading

• Business priorities: what to protect, monitor and test

  How information security professionals can prioritise what to protect, monitor and test in the light of current budget and resource constraints  Continue Reading

• How to manage the security of cloud implementations

  Tips for organisations adopting cloud computing on how to ensure that they secure data in line with the expectations of all stakeholders  Continue Reading

• Six datacentre resolutions IT must make and stick to in 2013

  IT executives must put the datacentre where it needs to be – at the heart of the business – with these new year's resolutions  Continue Reading

• Extreme teleworking from Everest Base Camp

  Technical project manager Astrid Byro is planning to work remotely from 5000m above sea-level in the Himalayas using a Kindle Fire  Continue Reading

• Entry-level SAN products target SME virtualisation projects

  Virtual machines need shared storage. Sometimes that means block access via an entry-level SAN. We survey the entry-level SAN market  Continue Reading

• CW500 Club in 2012

  Computer Weekly's CW500 Club attracts the top IT leaders in the UK to talk to their peers about the topical challenges they face  Continue Reading

• Big data and master data management more coupled than expected

  Master data management provides the dimensions for big data facts, as a slew of big data projects highlight a link to data governance and quality  Continue Reading

• Top 10 networking stories of 2012

  We give a run down of the top 10 stories in the networking industry throughout 2012  Continue Reading

• Top 10 gadget reviews of 2012

  Inspect-a-Gadget has been busy reviewing a range of gadgets over the past 12 months and it has been another big year in the world of tech  Continue Reading

• Top 10 public sector IT stories of 2012

  There were big moves to reform government IT this year, but despite an appetite for change there are also signs that old habits do not die easily  Continue Reading

• Manufacturing execution system captures factory floor data at Cummins

  Operators provide vital MES data for manufacturing processes as global engine maker Cummins standardises manufacturing execution system  Continue Reading

• Amazon: Gold standard of the cloud?

  Amazon Web Services is the benchmark for cloud in the enterprise but can it handle the challenge of federated cloud services?  Continue Reading

• Shore up your organisation’s fleet with the right MDM

  There are many mobile device management products, but approaches vary. We outline how to choose the right one for your business  Continue Reading