News

Artificial intelligence, automation and robotics

October 30, 2019 30 Oct'19
Singapore startup plugs AI skills gap with pre-trained microservices

Sentient.io is offering artificial intelligence microservices that developers can use to augment their applications with speech recognition and other AI capabilities
October 29, 2019 29 Oct'19
How Aussie Broadband is improving service levels with automation

Australian telco Aussie Broadband has improved customer service though automation, even with a lean team and a growing subscriber base
October 28, 2019 28 Oct'19
Unit4 CEO Mike Ettling: enterprise customers won’t pay extra for AI

Mike Ettling, chief executive, Unit4, spoke to Computer Weekly at the Unleash HR conference in Paris about ERP trends, and how he is positioning the firm he started running this year
October 24, 2019 24 Oct'19
How Singtel and Dell are approaching digital transformation

Singtel employees are learning to create their own robotic process automation-powered bots while Dell has speeded up application development from months to weeks

October 23, 2019 23 Oct'19
Kinetica opens Melbourne office, bullish on data analytics

Analytics startup is bullish about the Australian market as more organisations leverage GPU-based platforms to support real-time analytics
October 23, 2019 23 Oct'19
Take responsibility for cyber security basics, urges NCSC CEO

At the launch of its third annual review, NCSC head Ciaran Martin appealed for individuals and businesses to address the fundamentals of cyber security hygiene to help lighten the load
October 23, 2019 23 Oct'19
Interview: Abdul Nasser Al Mughairbi, head of digital, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company

Abdul Nasser Al Mughairbi is leading digital developments at Abu Dhabi's state-owned oil giant
October 22, 2019 22 Oct'19
Australia, Singapore emerge tops in data readiness index

Organisations in Australia and Singapore are among the most advanced in the Asia-Pacific region in harnessing data to achieve key business outcomes
October 22, 2019 22 Oct'19
Executive interview: How Moleskine digitises ideas

Handwritten notes jotted down on paper are not often shared, but capturing these digitally can encourage a creative approach to collaboration
October 22, 2019 22 Oct'19
APAC spending on AI systems to hit $6.2bn in 2019

Led by China and organisations in the banking industry, APAC spending on artificial intelligence is set to grow by almost 64% this year, according to IDC

October 18, 2019 18 Oct'19
Mark Hurd, co-CEO of Oracle, has died

The software giant announced a leave of absence for Hurd only last month, while he underwent treatment for undisclosed health problems
October 18, 2019 18 Oct'19
Talent shortage impedes UK business data analytics efforts

Research from data blending and preparation supplier Alteryx finds UK businesses struggling to make the most of their data due to a shortage of data analytics expertise
October 18, 2019 18 Oct'19
Two-thirds of UK financial services firms are using machine learning

The use of machine learning in the finance sector is set to increase as obstacles to its take up are not seen as being insurmountable
October 17, 2019 17 Oct'19
Barclays demonstrates proof-of-concept quantum clearing algorithm

Barclays and IBM researchers publish paper on a quantum computing algorithm for securities transaction trading
October 17, 2019 17 Oct'19
Abu Dhabi AI university open for applications

New university in UAE aims to enable students, businesses and governments to increase the use of artificial intelligence technology
October 16, 2019 16 Oct'19
Zopa continues in its mission to apply a Netflix user experience to banking

Zopa has made a credit scoring tool available as it continues to expand the portfolio of products it offers beyond loans.
October 15, 2019 15 Oct'19
AI Singapore to set up on-premise HPC infrastructure

Singapore’s national AI programme is getting its own high-performance computing infrastructure to support more compute intensive workloads
October 14, 2019 14 Oct'19
The Security Interviews: Applying AI to Lego, and security

Ann Johnson, Microsoft corporate vice-president of cyber security, is on a mission to prove that artificial intelligence holds great promise for the security sector, and she has the analogies to back it up
October 11, 2019 11 Oct'19
Why would a bank that made billions of pounds’ profit cut thousands of staff?

HSBC is the latest bank to make thousands of staff cuts as even profitable businesses need to reshape themselves for the challenges that digital transformation brings
October 10, 2019 10 Oct'19
Kroger drives data-driven customer experience

Scott Crawford, data science lead at 84.51°, the data business at US grocery retailer Kroger, discusses data projects and iterative programmes
October 09, 2019 09 Oct'19
Inside Singapore Airlines’ cloud and DevOps journey

A team of engineers at Singapore’s flagship carrier shed light on how they are overcoming challenges in embracing cloud computing and DevOps
October 08, 2019 08 Oct'19
Nadella sees Azure as the world’s computer

The Microsoft CEO wants organisations to consider Azure as a distributed cloud for next-generation AI applications
October 08, 2019 08 Oct'19
Dutch AI Coalition wants to put the Netherlands on artificial intelligence map

To ensure the Netherlands keeps pace in the artificial intelligence race, an AI coalition has been formed to help organisations in the sector to collaborate
October 08, 2019 08 Oct'19
Hype vs reality: Is the tech industry on the cusp of another ‘AI winter’?

Artificial intelligence is a hot topic for enterprise users, but will the technology fail to live up to the hype this time around, ponder panellists at the NetEvents Global IT Summit in San Jose
October 07, 2019 07 Oct'19
Interview: BHF on using cloud and big data to improve heart patient outcomes

The British Heart Foundation (BHF) has set itself the lofty goal of eradicating the fear of developing heart and circulatory disease by 2030, with the help of cloud, big data and personalisation technologies
October 04, 2019 04 Oct'19
Swedish authorities introduce robots to help social workers

Software robots free up time for social workers to help benefits claimants find employment
October 03, 2019 03 Oct'19
NatWest bank uses artificial intelligence to predict the future

NatWest is using artificial intelligence to help it paint a more accurate picture of future trends
October 03, 2019 03 Oct'19
Why data-driven applications need a governance framework

Data is the new oil – but without tight control, how can business determine that the data is valid? Data catalogues are back in vogue
October 02, 2019 02 Oct'19
How Qlik is driving the data revolution in Australia

Australian firms are using data management software from Qlik to speed up data analysis while grappling with how to make data more accessible under a new consumer data-sharing regime
October 02, 2019 02 Oct'19
John Lewis Partnership sells its automation to business

The John Lewis Partnership will expand its use of automation technology as its early projects bear fruit
October 02, 2019 02 Oct'19
Future Decoded: AI-powered data revolutionises software development

Microsoft believes artificial intelligence will drive an entirely new way to develop software that can take advantage of massive data growth
October 01, 2019 01 Oct'19
Citrix looks to grow APAC footprint with the intelligent workspace

Citrix is looking to expand its footprint in Asia-Pacific – particularly in Japan, where firms are starting to warm up to flexible work arrangements
October 01, 2019 01 Oct'19
Future Decoded: How AI plus automation adds up to transformative change

Robotic process automation combined with artificial intelligence is a recipe for digital transformation, and new research suggests businesses that use AI are gaining a competitive advantage
October 01, 2019 01 Oct'19
Polaris Transportation digitises with RPA and hyperledger tech

Transportation group has embarked on a digital transformation journey using WorkFusion and blockchain hyperledger for straight-through processing
October 01, 2019 01 Oct'19
Marketplace push aims to get the NHS automating

Thoughtonomy is hosting a new marketplace to encourage NHS trusts to share their intelligent automation bots
September 30, 2019 30 Sep'19
Australia gets ready for open banking

Traditional banks and fintech firms alike will need to bite the bullet in the crucial startup period if Australia’s open banking regime is to succeed
September 30, 2019 30 Sep'19
The bots turning businesses into digital transformers

As companies increasingly turn to robotic process automation to accelerate digital transformation, Computer Weekly takes a look at how the market is evolving
September 30, 2019 30 Sep'19
Pure Storage APAC CTO talks up storage trends

Flash-based storage will be around for at least two decades more, while crystal- and DNA-based storage needs a lot more work before becoming mainstream, according to Pure Storage’s CTO for the Asia-Pacific region
September 27, 2019 27 Sep'19
How Graphcore is putting AI on steroids

UK chipmaker Graphcore’s intelligence processing unit may just hold the key to unlocking the full potential of artificial intelligence
September 27, 2019 27 Sep'19
Bristol, CNRS and Oracle join forces against tropical disease

Scientists from the University of Bristol and the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) in Grenoble have identified a candidate synthetic vaccine against tropical disease Chikungunya, using Oracle Cloud Infrastructure
September 26, 2019 26 Sep'19
Government launches guidelines for AI procurement

Document intended to inform public sector buyers has been created by the Office for AI and the World Economic Forum
September 26, 2019 26 Sep'19
How drones and machine learning can prevent crocodile attacks

Cloud-powered drones equipped with machine learning algorithms will soon be able to detect crocodiles lurking in the waters of Queensland, Australia
September 25, 2019 25 Sep'19
European enterprises 'waste' £24,000 a day on unused cloud services, says Insight research

The latest Insight Intelligent Technology Index report highlights the economic impacts of wasted cloud resources within European enterprises
September 25, 2019 25 Sep'19
Executive interview: Speed is cloud apps benefit, says Oracle’s Miranda

In a Q&A with Computer Weekly at Oracle Open World 2019, applications head Steve Miranda discussed the supplier’s approach to cloud applications, digital assistants and machine learning
September 24, 2019 24 Sep'19
How Malaysia is nurturing data analytics talent

The Southeast Asian nation has spearheaded several programmes to build up its data analytics talent pool in efforts to improve efficiency and productivity of Malaysians
September 23, 2019 23 Sep'19
AWS G4 aims to lower cost of GPU-powered AI inference

Amazon Web Services seeks to cut the cost of running artificial intelligence inference engines with the introduction of a Nvida V100 GPU-based instance
September 20, 2019 20 Sep'19
Enterprises can hire software robots at the push of a button

IPsoft is beta testing a marketplace where businesses can look at what software robots are available and interview them about their suitability to take roles
September 17, 2019 17 Sep'19
Robotics and Automation: UK must tackle skills, immigration and SME challenges

Home-grown skills may not be enough to enable the UK to build on the government's Industrial Strategy and push robotics and automation
September 17, 2019 17 Sep'19
Oracle Open World 2019: Ellison states ‘fully autonomous cloud’ as goal

Oracle CTO Larry Ellison said a ‘fully autonomous cloud’ is now Oracle's goal, eliminating human labour, during his main keynote at Open World 2019. AWS was, again, in his sights as an inferior rival
September 16, 2019 16 Sep'19
Ensign InfoSecurity opens global headquarters in Singapore

The Singapore-based cyber security firm’s new headquarters will also be home to a new security operations centre that will be supported by Singapore-centric threat intelligence
September 16, 2019 16 Sep'19
Police use of algorithms needs stronger safeguards to prevent bias, report says

A study by the Royal United Services Institute calls for new code of practice to guide use of algorithmic tools in policing
September 13, 2019 13 Sep'19
When AIs go to war: Autonomous cyber weapons ‘inevitable’

CISOs must start thinking about how to engage with intelligent, adaptive, non-human attackers, says Trend Micro’s Rik Ferguson
September 13, 2019 13 Sep'19
Fintech lender increases loan limit as customer demand accelerates

Small business lender Esme Loans has increased its loan limit to quarter of a million pounds as businesses are drawn to its simple and fast digital platform
September 12, 2019 12 Sep'19
Oracle Q1, 2019-2020: revenue flat, cloud progress vaunted

Oracle’s first quarter 2019-2020 results show revenue growth to be flat, but executives claim cloud headway and vaunt progress on autonomous database uptake. Co-CEO Mark Hurd takes leave of absence on health grounds
September 11, 2019 11 Sep'19
Fintech Fluidly combines Google’s cloud and AI tech to ease SME cashflow management woes

London-based fintech Fluidly explains how its recent all-in move to the Google Cloud is supporting its continued growth, and delivers new features to customers faster
September 10, 2019 10 Sep'19
Inside NatWest Ventures

NatWest Ventures is helping NatWest bank to remain relevant to its SME businesses customer community through digital innovation
September 10, 2019 10 Sep'19
Nokia, NTT Docomo and Omron to test 5G at factory floor

Three firms – Nokia, NTT Docomo and Omron – have banded together to test the feasibility of running a layout-free production line operated by 5G-connected robots and human technicians
September 09, 2019 09 Sep'19
Brain-computer interfaces: Promising tech needs regulating

Connecting a computer directly to the brain could revolutionise healthcare, but the tech giants might monopolise data and application areas
September 09, 2019 09 Sep'19
IT leaders need to speak up about the voice channel

Voice assistants represent the next frontier, and a range of new skills will be needed to move beyond pilot projects to a true voice channel
September 05, 2019 05 Sep'19
EasyJet deploys Google’s natural language processing tech to bring voice search to airline app

Airline claims to be the first in the world to offer customers access to voice search capabilities within its mobile app
September 04, 2019 04 Sep'19
Executive interview: How Figleaves uncovers a data Eden

Online lingerie business that started out at the height of the dot com boom is now focused on using advanced analytics to reveal new data insights
September 03, 2019 03 Sep'19
Assessing China’s machine learning platforms

In a new market research report, technology analyst firm IDC offers insights on key suppliers of machine learning platforms in China
September 02, 2019 02 Sep'19
CISOs turn to AI, detection, response and education

Information security leaders are looking to artificial intelligence, better detection and response capabilities and user education in the face of cyber threats, but need more budget, a study shows
September 02, 2019 02 Sep'19
Nordic greentech attracts investment

The Nordic region is seeing digital innovation across a diverse range of sectors and, not surprisingly, a region known for its green credentials also has a burgeoning green technology (greentech) sector
September 02, 2019 02 Sep'19
APAC enterprises warm to S/4 Hana

SAP customers in Asia-Pacific are assessing migration options in the run-up to 2025, when the German software giant will stop supporting older ERP applications
August 29, 2019 29 Aug'19
Microsoft claims AI breakthrough in Chinese game of Mahjong

An artificial intelligence system trained by Microsoft Research Asia is now nearly as good as human players in the ancient Chinese game of Mahjong
August 28, 2019 28 Aug'19
APAC is epicentre of the experience economy

The experience economy is emerging in the Asia-Pacific region, but to succeed, enterprises will need to understand both operational and experience data
August 23, 2019 23 Aug'19
Travel company Clarity bakes ThoughtSpot into analytics tool

Travel management company Clarity has turned to ThoughtSpot to create an analytics tool for clients as well as for internal use
August 22, 2019 22 Aug'19
Almost 40% of UK tech talent resides in London bubble

Despite cities around the UK being home to a multitude of tech talent, the London bubble still prevails, with a majority of those with digital skills collecting in the capital
August 21, 2019 21 Aug'19
Security concerns blocking UK digital transformation

The majority of UK firms are holding off adopting new, more efficient and cost effective technology because they are failing to see cyber security as a driver of strategic value, report reveals
August 21, 2019 21 Aug'19
Transport and logistics transformation driven by data

Growth in data connectivity and the adoption of technologies such as robotic process automation are fuelling a tech revolution in transport and logistics
August 19, 2019 19 Aug'19
Australian firm to debut smart cricket ball

With the cloud-connected ball and machine learning, amateur cricket players will soon be able to analyse their bowls and improve their game
August 19, 2019 19 Aug'19
Startup unveils trillion-transistor AI accelerator chip

The AI chip has 10,000 times more bandwidth to accelerate artificial intelligence training
August 19, 2019 19 Aug'19
Blue Prism gives Nordics the personal touch

UK automation software company has opened and staffed a Nordic office to give customers in the region a better service
August 19, 2019 19 Aug'19
How EDR is moving beyond the endpoint

An emerging breed of detection and response offerings is going beyond endpoints to collect and decipher telemetry data from across the enterprise
August 15, 2019 15 Aug'19
Nvidia takes chatbots a step closer to conversational AI

New graphics processing unit platform, running on Azure, is set to make Bing a little bit cleverer
August 12, 2019 12 Aug'19
Malaysian transport ministry calls for use of technology to solve traffic challenges

The Malaysian government wants to tap telematics, IoT and other nascent technologies to improve road safety and ease traffic congestion
August 12, 2019 12 Aug'19
Liberty Steel forges future growth with Infor

Steelmaker is using cloud-delivered software from Infor to stoke its growth, replacing SAP systems provided by its former parent, Tata Steel Europe
August 12, 2019 12 Aug'19
South Wales Police starts facial recognition trial despite opposition

The use of the facial recognition app by South Wales Police marks the latest deployment of controversial facial recognition technology by police forces in the UK
August 06, 2019 06 Aug'19
Oracle Generation 2 cloud service to debut in Australia

The Sydney Generation 2 cloud region will be delivered from a new datacentre to meet demand for Oracle’s cloud infrastructure and autonomous database services in Australia
August 06, 2019 06 Aug'19
African bank foils suspected North Korean cyber attack

An African bank is among the financial institutions to be targeted by North Korea’s multi-billion dollar cyber theft campaign to support its weapons programmes
August 05, 2019 05 Aug'19
CIO interview: Simon McNamara, chief administrative officer, RBS Group

Brought in after a catastrophic IT failure that affected 6.5 million customers, the IT chief at Royal Bank of Scotland Group says the bank is now a leader in innovation
August 05, 2019 05 Aug'19
Microsoft teams up with Singapore government in training push

Microsoft is partnering SkillsFuture Singapore in a training programme that aims to build a ‘digitally confident’ population
July 26, 2019 26 Jul'19
AWS growth rate slows in Q2, as Amazon retail's run of quarterly record profit growth ends

Amazon's latest set of results suggest the law of big numbers might be kicking in for its cloud division, while its retail arm grapples with spiralling costs pertaining to the roll-out of its one-day delivery service
July 24, 2019 24 Jul'19
AI to advance Swedish military systems

Swedish report into use of artificial intelligence in military systems reveals opportunities and concerns
July 24, 2019 24 Jul'19
HPE reiterates focus on edge computing

Enterprise technology bigwig HPE is trumpeting its ability to help companies better manage edge workloads, claiming that its purchase of Aruba has been its most successful acquisition
July 23, 2019 23 Jul'19
Microsoft talks up benefits and pitfalls of machine learning in security

Software giant Microsoft uses machine learning models to detect emerging threats while keeping an eye on potential bias in security data points that could derail its analysis
July 22, 2019 22 Jul'19
CDEI publishes reports on online targeting and bias in algo decisions

Recommendations due in late 2019 and early 2020 from Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation’s work on online targeting and bias in algorithmic decision-making
July 22, 2019 22 Jul'19
How AntWorks is addressing the pitfalls of RPA

The Singapore-based startup hopes to lower the cost of deploying and maintaining robotic process automation technology with a platform that combines machine learning and data processing capabilities
July 19, 2019 19 Jul'19
Government launches retraining scheme for workers impacted by tech

Amid fears that artificial intelligence and automation will put people out of work, the government is working on a retraining programme to help those affected by AI to fit into new roles
July 18, 2019 18 Jul'19
IBM sees Red Hat as key to hybrid cloud strategy

IBM’s second-quarter 2019 results show a 4.2% decline in revenue, but the supplier is betting big on hybrid cloud and cognitive computing
July 17, 2019 17 Jul'19
Deutsche Bank’s public contraction is a major landmark for fintech

German bank is cutting costs overall but is investing more in the latest digital technology as fintechs chip away at banking business
July 17, 2019 17 Jul'19
Danish government injects €200m into AI R&D

Denmark is investing in a range of programmes to boost research and development into artificial intelligence and its place in various business sectors
July 15, 2019 15 Jul'19
How Suse is taking open source deeper into the enterprise

Suse’s focus on developer needs, industry-specific use cases and engineering partnerships with the likes of SAP are among efforts to take open source software deeper into the enterprise
July 15, 2019 15 Jul'19
Alan Turing to be face of new £50 note

Computing pioneer and code-breaker Alan Turing is to be featured on the new polymer £50 note
July 11, 2019 11 Jul'19
Attacks against AI systems are a growing concern

European research group says attacks against AI systems are already occurring, difficult to identify, and could be far more common than currently understood
July 10, 2019 10 Jul'19
CDO interview: Julia Aymonier, École Hôtelière de Lausanne

As organisations transform digitally, the roles of those leading these IT projects are changing too, says Julia Aymonier, CDO at Switzerland-based hospitality school École Hôtelière de Lausanne
July 09, 2019 09 Jul'19
How ASEAN firms are turning data into critical assets

From enabling consumers to track their energy consumption to improving business operations, businesses in ASEAN are starting to put their data to good use
July 09, 2019 09 Jul'19
Deutsche Bank cuts jobs but increases tech spend

Deutsche Bank is making swingeing cuts to its workforce over the next two and a half years and has pinned its hopes on the latest technology to make it possible.
July 08, 2019 08 Jul'19
Thames Water uses ServiceNow to boost helpdesk efficiency

AI-enabled monitoring helps IT to identify anomalies and improve service levels