In Depth

In Depth

• Inside track from Computer Weekly bloggers

  Computer Weekly has launched three new blogs to bring readers incisive comment and views from leading commentators and IT practitioners.  Continue Reading

• Active Directory security school: Management

  Lesson two of the Active Directory security school.  Continue Reading

• Active Directory Security School

  An improperly configured Active Directory can render the rest of your security measures useless. So how can you protect yourself from a hacker with their eyes on your AD? How can you recover from such an attack? Find the answers to all of your AD ...  Continue Reading

• Accelerating data to iWarp speed

  Network performance: iWarp aims to bring together traditional Ethernet technology and remote direct memory access to overcome bottlenecks in handling TCP/IP traffic  Continue Reading

• Recordless email: magical or menacing?

  A new startup promises recordless email. Is this a stroke of genius that will reward the company with billions of Internet bucks, or is it the end of the world as we know it?  Continue Reading

• Managed and hosted VoIP: muddling through

  For companies looking for an alternative to a premise-based phone system, there are plenty available, and they come in all shapes and sizes. Get a clearer understanding of exactly what's available so you can ask the right questions to get the ...  Continue Reading

• DPM's diary: 29 November 2006

  The weekly round up of events at Bodcaster City Council.  Continue Reading

• Vista: Do you need it?

  Windows Vista is the next release of Microsoft’s XP desktop operating system. Released on 30 November, it holds out the prospect of increased end-user productivity, tighter control over security and a brand-new graphical user interface, and IT ...  Continue Reading

• Yorkshire Water upgrades comms network

  Yorkshire Water is investing heavily in the latest managed IP communications network to improve the resiliency of its network, boost IT customer services to 2,500 employees and enable a more proactive approach to tackling problems when they arise.  Continue Reading

• Sandvik seeks global standard with ERP roll-out

  Sandvik Mining and Construction has completed the first stage of an overhaul of its enterprise resource planning systems to enable it to standardise its business processes across 40 countries and keep track of many of its products after sale.  Continue Reading

• Document-level system boosts O2's data safety

  Mobile phone operator O2 has deployed rights management software to protect confidential documents and e-mails sent by board executives and other senior managers handling sensitive financial and business information.  Continue Reading

• Travelling with your laptop

  A Day-to-Day Networking guide including a quick networking technical tip, and a calendar that lets you know what's happening in the networking industry.  Continue Reading

• Discarded hard drives can be dangerous

  A treasure trove of sensitive information can end up in the wrong hands if old hard drives aren't properly disposed of, one security expert warns.  Continue Reading

• The end of the web as we know it?

  Vint Cerf, chairman of Icann and co-creator of the TCP/IP standard, talks about the future of the internet and warns against creating a two-tier web system  Continue Reading

• Security is automatic for Travelodge

  Hotel chain Travelodge has saved more than 20 staff days a year after investing in systems to automatically monitor its compliance with security standards for online credit card sales.  Continue Reading

• BEA portal speeds mortgage process

  Law firm Goldsmith Williams has re-engineered its business processes and exploited a service oriented architecture to cut the average time taken to complete mortgage application conveyancing from 18 days to six.  Continue Reading

• Converged IPnet puts it all under one roof

  Northamptonshire Enterprise, a group of economic development agencies, has implemented a converged IP network to connect its office-based and remote users and allow a centralised IT department to manage several business-critical applications from ...  Continue Reading

• Council reaps cost and workflow benefits of record sharing roll-out

  Smart projects: North Warwickshire improves data sharing across key departments  Continue Reading

• A speedy lift-off in Oxfam's quest for faster data back-up

  Oxfam has solved a thorny data storage problem caused by a bottleneck in its IT system by implementing database back-up optimisation software.  Continue Reading

• IT salary survey

  The SSL/Computer Weekly quarterly salary surveys analyse advertisements for IT professionals on the web and in the trade press and the quality national dailies and Sunday newspapers  Continue Reading

• Offshoring transforms the market

  Harvey Nash group development director Paul Smith reports that his company is seeing boom conditions in its outsourcing business, with annual growth rates of about 40%.  Continue Reading

• DPM's diary: 21 November

  Weekly round up of events at Bodcaster City Council.  Continue Reading

• Cross the transformation chasm

  All too often there is a huge gap between what we know and what we do in practice.  Continue Reading

• Virtue and vice cross the virtual line

  Web frontiers: Despite incidents where destructive web fantasies crossed into real life, virtual reality sites have much to teach us about communications and commerce  Continue Reading

• Access is key to effective archiving

  The amount of information that is held throughout the company network has been growing ever since computers were introduced to the workplace.  Continue Reading

• Identity management for SOA era

  In the first article in this series I highlighted a broad range of business and technology trends which demand identity management.  Continue Reading

• Linux drives a mainframe revival

  Linux may not be everyone’s idea of a mainframe operating system, but for a growing number of large and medium-sized businesses the synergy between Linux and big iron is the solution to a significant problem.  Continue Reading

• Alliance & Leicester banks on IT to level playing field with bigger rivals

  After a flurry of high-profile contract signings, Alliance & Leicester has told Computer Weekly it has now embarked on a period of IT-driven transformation to strengthen its ability to roll out new online services and technologies to customers in ...  Continue Reading

• Is the SANS Top 20 still useful?

  This week in Security Blog Log: Some experts ponder whether the SANS Institute's Top 20 vulnerability list is as valuable than it once was. Others weigh in on the VoIP threat.  Continue Reading

• Microsoft Kernel Patch Protection should be lauded not criticised

  Microsoft Vista's Kernel Patch Protection feature, designed to prevent malicious people from accessing the kernel, deserves praise, but the software giant's actions bear watching.  Continue Reading

• Purely business for today's hackers

  The blunderbuss tactics of amateur hackers have given way to targeted professional attacks that aim to covertly siphon a firm's data for as long as possible  Continue Reading

• IT chief gets set for cost and timing challenges of London Olympics

  Installing technology for the Olympic Games, London’s largest construction project, is a challenge of timing and cost, Pascal Wattiaux, director of technology at the London organising committee for the games, told a recent BCS Elite event.  Continue Reading

• What is best way to develop J2EE skills?

  Expert advice for readers' career problems  Continue Reading

• The reality of convergence

  Michael Voellinger discusses the obstacles to making convergence another access point to the larger network.  Continue Reading

• Cisco’s cultural revolution puts staff in the front line

  Cisco has begun a drive to bolster its defences against hackers by training its 55,000 employees to take personal responsibility for the secure use of the company’s IT systems.  Continue Reading

• IT cost cuts fund change at Barnsley

  Barnsley Council has begun work on the first of a series of business transformation projects that it plans to fund from back-office efficiencies created by an outsourcing deal.  Continue Reading

• Downtime: One-note lovesong

  The wacky world of IT  Continue Reading

• DPM's diary: 14 November 2006

  Weekly round up of events at Bodcaster City Council  Continue Reading

• Skills focus

  A growing number of companies are achieving efficiencies and retraining staff by using skills frameworks like the Skills Framework for the Information Age to manage their IT workforce better.  Continue Reading

• Business rules software gives lens firm clear view

  Opthalmic lens maker Essilor has embarked on a five-year project to roll-out business rules software to enable it to better manage its customer base and evolving product ranges for markets across Europe.  Continue Reading

• Security Blog Log: Sailing a sea of spam

  This week, bloggers struggle to purge their bloated inboxes. Their experiences lend weight to recent studies showing a breathtaking spike in spam.  Continue Reading

• Internet at a crossroads

  Decisions about the openness of the internet and the technology behind it will affect all web users  Continue Reading

• Test of getting the measure of IT

  Computer Weekly’s survey of IT leaders underlines that demonstrating the value of IT holds the key to fruitful relations between IT and the board  Continue Reading

• UK's top IT leaders to judge awards

  A wide range of IT industry leaders will judge Computer Weekly’s Best Places to Work in IT Awards.  Continue Reading

• Hardware: It's how you use it that matters

  Social factors rather than technical advances are likely to dictate what technologies will take prominence in years to come. Martin Banks examines how future hardware developments will intertwine with what users actually want  Continue Reading

• Council looks to boost use of leisure facilities with .net booking system

  East Riding of Yorkshire Council has developed its own application to let local residents book its leisure facilities after finding that software suppliers could not supply an application with the functionality required.  Continue Reading

• Data protection -- The next generation

  Data protection is changing; it used to be backing up your data to tape; it could be as often as once an hour, once a day, once a week or even once a month. To many IT managers, that is still the meaning of data protection.  Continue Reading

• Network security: Altered attitudes

  It is vital to educate staff on good security practice, to establish clear and workable policies, and ensure effective access control to corporate information. We look at how to do it  Continue Reading

• Network security: Evolving your defences

  New ways of working bring new security threats, but measures to defeat them must apply to everyone throughout the organisation  Continue Reading

• DPM's diary: 7 November 2006

  Weekly round up of events at Bodcaster City Council  Continue Reading

• Business buy-in smoothes Chubb's wider BI roll-out

  Insurance firm Chubb Group is poised to roll out a single view of its business reporting systems to its Latin America offices following a successful deployment in Europe.  Continue Reading

• Online fault mapping means no shocks for electricity customers

  Utility firm Central Networks has launched a live network map on its website to improve the transparency of operations to its 4.9 million customers.  Continue Reading

• Food wholesalers spend heavily on IT

  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 food and drink wholesalers.  Continue Reading

• Homeserve plumbs in better data

  Homeserve GB is upgrading its call centre software to give sales and customer support staff workflows that better match business needs, plus more relevant information to handle customer queries.  Continue Reading

• Trust feels pain of NHS IT roll-out

  After a difficult first year under the national IT programme, centralised IT systems now hold the key to financial recovery at the pioneering Sidcup trust  Continue Reading

• Airline flies towards a cheaper way to block unauthorised applications

  Budget airline FlyBe is assessing anti-virus-style technology for locking down PCs which could reduce the costs associated with keeping blocked-application lists updated.  Continue Reading

• Early cost cuts key to United revamp

  United Utilities has begun upgrading its 3,000-plus desktops to Windows XP Service Pack 2 in a project that the firm's IT operation hopes will prove the value of a wider business transformation project underway at the company.  Continue Reading

• ING branches out with SOA mortgage app

  ING Direct has completed "its most complex IT project to date" using an onshore and offshore programming team from Capgemini to support the bank's move to become a mortgage provider.  Continue Reading

• Next Move: How do I move from reseller to user?

  Expert advice on readers' career dilemmas  Continue Reading

• Axa expert to illuminate darker areas of project management

  Project management theorists would have managers believe that a project has a clearly defined start, goes through a formal lifecycle and ends with a structured close down. If you have ever worked on a project, you will know that is rarely the case.  Continue Reading

• Hertfordshire becomes lead authority for eAdmissions project

  Council creates national blueprint for online school admission system  Continue Reading

• Security on the open source road

  A growing number of suppliers are developing identity management, anti-virus and firewall security products to better support open source systems  Continue Reading

• Drive business change with Web 2.0

  Web 2.0 will alter the way that businesses develop and apply innovative ideas, according to General Motors systems and technology officer Fred Killeen  Continue Reading

• The route to a painless migration

  The move to Exchange 2007 is a strategic necessity for many firms, despite fears about data loss. However, there are tools and methods to help ease the transition  Continue Reading

• Videoconferencing gets a new image

  Advances in videoconferencing technology have given the medium a new lease of life, moving it towards a real-world experience for users  Continue Reading

• Security Blog Log: Dissecting Firefox 2.0

  This week, bloggers examine the security features of Firefox 2.0 and come away with mixed reviews. Does it fare better than Internet Explorer 7?  Continue Reading

• Review: Arbor Networks' Peakflow X 3.6

  Hot Pick: Peakflow isn't cheap and requires an intimate understanding of data flows, applications and network infrastructure. But the investment will pay dividends.  Continue Reading

• Review: Network Intelligence's enVision

  enVision offers excellent value and is highly configurable, though typically that means you have to put a lot into it to get the most out of it.  Continue Reading

• Wireless options abound: WiMAX, EV-DO, VoIP

  The lack of next-generation wireless standards has created not only confusion, but also cutthroat competition and amazing opportunities for WiMAX, EV-DO, VoIP and more.  Continue Reading

• Download Advanced Storage Guide Chapter 2: Backup/Data protection (PDF)

  A printable version of our Advanced Storage All-In-One Guide. Download Chapter 2: Backup/Data protection in .pdf format now.  Continue Reading

• VoIP convergence: Managing staffing issues

  Companies making the transition to IP telephony must find a way to converge their voice and data networks -- and the employees who work on them.  Continue Reading

• Production databases find a home on IP SANs

  Dow Chemical will be cutting costs with a NetApp system; AirClic goes with EqualLogic's newest SAS array after evaluating both NetApp and EMC.  Continue Reading

• Arsenal kicks off with wireless network

  Arsenal Football Club has deployed a wireless network at its new Emirates Stadium.  Continue Reading

• DPM's Diary 31 October 2006

  Weekly round up of events at Bogcaster City Council  Continue Reading

• Esure has Wily way to handle screen scraping

  Online insurance company esure has employed a Wily web performance management tool from Computer Associates to ensure its website availability remained close to 100% throughout its summer sale, despite peaks in CPU demand created by an online ...  Continue Reading

• Council makes 82% power saving with virtual servers

  The London Borough of Hillingdon is on course to cut its power requirements for legacy servers by 82% after using virtualisation software to consolidate 40 servers onto three.  Continue Reading

• Insurer drives efficiencies with IT skills framework

  Norwich Union Life is claiming significant efficiency improvements in its IT department after adopting an industry-standard skills framework to reorganise the way it manages 850 IT staff.  Continue Reading

• Agile programming slashes time to market for anti ID fraud start-up

  Information monitoring company Garlik has used the latest rapid-programming techniques to develop its anti-ID-fraud web and database technologies in just nine months.  Continue Reading

• Starbucks brews up IT services deal

  Coffee chain Starbucks has signed a deal with IT services company Unisys to support its global expansion plans.  Continue Reading

• Long voyage to the land of SOA

  Forty years ago, hardware was the main concern of IT specialists. Now the focus is firmly on the end-user and the strategic needs of the business. We report on the evolution of software development  Continue Reading

• IT greats: Who is the greatest?

  To mark our 40th anniversary Computer Weekly asked you, our readers, to vote for the individuals, organisations, hardware and software that have had the most beneficial impact on our industry over the past four decades.  Continue Reading

• Journey to the future

  Over the past 40 years computers have transformed social and business life, despite remaining pretty unintelligent. Now the challenge is to get them thinking for themselves, writes Cliff Saran  Continue Reading

• Download Advanced Storage Guide Chapter 1: Storage components (PDF)

  A printable version of our Advanced Storage All-In-One Guide. Download Chapter 1: Storage components in .pdf format now.  Continue Reading

• Crisis interventions cut back through data sharing

  Smart projects: West Lothian realises benefits of sharing data across agencies  Continue Reading

• How to make your website fit for all

  An armoury of resources is available to ensure your organisation's website can meet the needs of disabled visitors, boosting usage and keeping you within the law  Continue Reading

• ITSMF to showcase service

  A host of speakers from user organisations will be addressing the IT Service Management Forum's annual conference in Birmingham from 13 to 15 November.  Continue Reading

• How do I get started in IT security?

  Expert advice for readers' career problems  Continue Reading

• Nuffield rolls out ERP to open door to NHS work

  The UK's largest private hospitals group has begun rolling out enterprise resource planning software for testing in a bid to become efficient enough to compete for NHS business under the tariffs on offer.  Continue Reading

• Hounslow Trust targets efficiencies with remote access to clinical data

  Mobile health workers will use Rio system to access data in the field  Continue Reading

• Last call for IT volunteering awards

  Do you know someone who has volunteered their time and IT skills to help a charity or their local community? If so, you only have a short time left to nominate them for the 2006 IT Volunteer Awards, organised by IT4Communities.  Continue Reading

• DPM's diary: 24 October 2006

  The weekly round up of events at Bodcaster City Council  Continue Reading

• Data analysis drives fund managers to spend double the UK average on technology

  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 fund managers.  Continue Reading

• The search for meaning

  Everyone knows that there's masses of valuable information lurking in the enterprise. So all that's needed is a user-friendly way to find the right stuff and put it to good use.  Continue Reading

• NHS IT project is force for good and worth the pain so hush the critics

  The media is unduly critical of Granger and the programme  Continue Reading

• Add human touch to black box tests

  Vulnerability testing software promises much, but what can it actually deliver? The answer depends on how much human expertise you can put in as well  Continue Reading

• What storage managers are buying and why, page 4

  What storage managers are buying and why  Continue Reading

• What storage managers are buying and why, page 5

  What storage managers are buying and why  Continue Reading

• NHS IT watch

  Richard Holway, a respected market analyst, has written a forceful critique of media coverage of the NHS's £12.4bn National Programme for IT.  Continue Reading

• Putting the identity pieces together

  Identity management is key in controlling corporate risk and meeting regulatory requirements. The trick is to find a solution that works any time, any place  Continue Reading

• NHS IT project should not be at the expense of patients or of the media's independence

  The media must remain free to hold the NHS IT project accountable for its shortfalls  Continue Reading