News

Business applications

May 22, 2009 22 May'09
Microsoft pulls out of EC browser monopoly hearing

Microsoft has moved closer to European sanctions for monopolising the internet browser market by withdrawing from oral hearings scheduled to take place in Brussels next month.
May 21, 2009 21 May'09
Adobe co-ordinates fixes with Patch Tuesday

Adobe will start producing regular bug fixes and patches for Acrobat Reader to tie in with Microsoft's Patch Tuesday updates.

In a blog posting yesterday...
May 21, 2009 21 May'09
Notes reporting a good fit for Nautica and Wrangler company

VF, the apparel company that owns Wrangler, Lee and Nautica brands, has simplified its Lotus Notes groupware system using a tool from Integra to reduce the burden of producing company-wide reports.
May 19, 2009 19 May'09
Sybase broadens mobile apps and device security

Sybase re-engineers mobile device management and security solution to support OMA DM and adds Samsung enterprise apps

May 19, 2009 19 May'09
Facebook's OpenID support gives user single login

Facebook has begun supporting the OpenID login standard, which means users can register for the social networking service using another OpenID provider.
May 18, 2009 18 May'09
SMEs capture business opportunities from social networking

Software claimed as first e-commerce solution to integrate payments into bookings platform within social network .
May 14, 2009 14 May'09
Google and Amazon will be key future cloud suppliers

Amazon, Yahoo, eBay and Microsoft are key business IT providers of the future, offering companies access to millions of servers in the cloud.
May 14, 2009 14 May'09
Bantec uses SaaS to boost efficiency by a quarter

Business processing company Banctec claims to have improved the efficiency of its work processes by up to 30% after introducing an on-line capacity planning...
May 14, 2009 14 May'09
Sapphire: SAP bullish as firms sign up to 'Salesforce killer'

Widespread adoption of SAP's Business ByDesign will not occur before 2010, but early adopters of the firm's long-awaited software as a service (SaaS)...
May 14, 2009 14 May'09
Can IT improvements help prevent another Baby P case?

A range of measures to try to improve the IT used by social workers have been announced, after a report found poor IT played a role in the failures at Haringey Council that led to the death of 17-month-old Baby Peter.

May 13, 2009 13 May'09
Google wins biggest Google Apps contract

Manufacturer Valeo is the first company to use Google Apps globally after it signed a deal to use the software as a service (SaaS) for three years.
May 13, 2009 13 May'09
Netsuite woos redundant Sage staff

Netsuite is trying to attract redundant employees from accountancy software maker Sage to support its expansion.

Sage recently offered...
May 12, 2009 12 May'09
Sapphire: Companies must rebuild trust with customers, says SAP boss

Organisational clarity must become the top corporate priority if trust is to be restored among customers in the post-economic meltdown world, says SAP CEO...
May 12, 2009 12 May'09
Sapphire: SAP launches an 'iTunes for business analytics'

SAP has launched an "iTunes for business analytics", a BusinessObjects-based reporting tool that the firm boasts is "so easy that even a CEO can use it"....
May 12, 2009 12 May'09
Cost of software piracy reaches record levels

The cost of software piracy in the UK has risen to its highest level at £1.49bn last year, with more than a quarter of all products in the market now being illegal, an anti-piracy group claims.
May 12, 2009 12 May'09
DVLA software glitch duplicates 62,000 tax discs

A software glitch led to around 62,000 duplicate tax discs being sent out from the Driving Vehicle and Licensing Authority (DVLA).
May 11, 2009 11 May'09
Google Android set for 900% growth

Shipments of mobile phones based on Google's Android software platform will grow 900%, but off a low base
May 11, 2009 11 May'09
Comms/email integration gives Ultralase single customer view

Auomated customer communications delivers single customer view of multi-channel communication routes and contact data tracking
May 07, 2009 07 May'09
Google to launch BlackBerry business productivity apps

Apps Connector for BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) to make Google products more compelling for the mobile business community
May 07, 2009 07 May'09
Wolfram Alpha gives Deep Thought to user questions

Wolfram Alpha, a search tool which is due to be launched this month, is set to revolutionise how businesses and users pull together reports based on information gathered across the internet and corporate networks.
May 07, 2009 07 May'09
Firefox company Mozilla attacks Windows 7 as anti-competitive

Mozilla, the open source organisation behind the Firefox web browser, has complained that Windows 7 is too closely integrated with Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser.
May 07, 2009 07 May'09
Windows 7 leaves open door for malware writers

Windows 7 repeats a fault in previous Windows operating systems that allows users to mistake executable programs for ordinary text files
May 07, 2009 07 May'09
Government aims to save £75m in Microsoft deal

The British government has signed a government-wide deal to buy Microsoft software, following 18 months of wrangling.

The deal would...
May 07, 2009 07 May'09
Communications gap causes software failures

A communications gap between businesses and software developers is leading to too many software failures, according to research.

In a survey of 100...
May 07, 2009 07 May'09
Micro Focus buys Borland

Mainframe tools specialist Micro Focus has acquired application development company Borland and the application testing and automated software quality business...
May 06, 2009 06 May'09
Gartner: middleware market continues to grow

Middleware suppliers are prospering despite the downturn, the latest data from analyst Gartner has revealed.

Revenue in the application infrastructure...
May 05, 2009 05 May'09
Suppliers pour cold water over licence sharing plans

The software trade has poured cold water over the government's plan to reuse old software licences.
May 01, 2009 01 May'09
SAP blows away maintenance cash cow

SAP appears to have listened and taken on board user feedback on how it should charge for its maintenance contract.

The ERP company and the SAP User...
April 30, 2009 30 Apr'09
Infosec 2009: IT security industry is maturing, says Schneier

The shift away from security products to services at Infosecurity Europe in London shows that the industry is maturing, says Bruce Schneier, chief security technology officer at BT.
April 30, 2009 30 Apr'09
Windows 7 release candidate available for download

Users can now download the Release Candidate of Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system. In an unprecedented move, Microsoft is allowing anyone to...
April 30, 2009 30 Apr'09
New snooping plans just as invasive as central database, say campaigners

The government's apparent U-turn on the "snooping" central communications database is no such thing, privacy campaigners say.

Home Secretary Jacqui...
April 30, 2009 30 Apr'09
SAP results lower than expected

SAP's first quarter financial results released yesterday confirm that large software suppliers are not immune from the effects of the economic downturn.
April 30, 2009 30 Apr'09
Software developer resigns in his own Super Mario game

Play the game a software developer in Australia used to announce his resignation from work.
April 29, 2009 29 Apr'09
SAP user group welcomes value-based maintenance increase

The SAP UK & Ireland User Group has welcomed SAP's decision to provide benchmarking and key performance indicators (KPIs) for its maintenance.

SAP...
April 29, 2009 29 Apr'09
SAP revamps Enterprise Support Ts&Cs

SAP has fleshed out new terms and conditions for Enterprise Support following a run-in with the SAP user group.
April 28, 2009 28 Apr'09
SMEs get mobile data storage and access boost

Day-today file sharing service aims to improve mobile SMEs’ productivity and flexibility
April 27, 2009 27 Apr'09
Windows 7 release candidate due this week

Windows 7 release candidate will be available to a select few later this week.
April 27, 2009 27 Apr'09
First Android netbook due this summer

The first Netbook using Google's Linux-based Android operating system is expected to released in the next three months.
April 24, 2009 24 Apr'09
Government departments to swap spare software licences

The government is setting up a software swap-shop to allow government departments to use spare software without paying extra licensing costs.

The pool,...
April 24, 2009 24 Apr'09
Microsoft’s revenues fall 6% in its first ever quarterly drop

Microsoft's revenue of $13.65bn posted yesterday for the first three months of 2009 is 6% lower than for the same period last year.
April 23, 2009 23 Apr'09
RSA 2009: McAfee unveils 'predictive security' plan

Security in the face of increased cybercrime, huge compliance requirements and complex networks demands that all security products exchange intelligence,...
April 23, 2009 23 Apr'09
VMWare licence revenue falls as recession bites

VMware has reported revenues for the first quarter 2009 of $470.3m, an increase of 7% from the first quarter of 2008. However, the company has been impacted...
April 21, 2009 21 Apr'09
London Stock Exchange announces technology partners

The London Stock Exchange has announced its key technology partners as it gears up to roll out a "dark pool" trading system across Europe.

The Baikal...
April 21, 2009 21 Apr'09
VMWare develops operating system for the cloud

VMWare has introduced what it claims is the world's first cloud computing operating system. Based on its virtualisation technology, the operating system, known as vSphere 40, targets IT departments with a flexible IT infrastructure to run ...
April 20, 2009 20 Apr'09
GRC concerns push identity and access management

Governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) making firms embrace identity and access management (IAM)
April 20, 2009 20 Apr'09
Sun rises for Oracle in $7bn deal

Oracle Corporation is to buy Sun Microsystems in a deal worth $9.50 a share, valuing Sun at over $7 billion. The deal comes a fortnight after talks...
April 16, 2009 16 Apr'09
Oracle database at risk from easy hack, warns database security expert

Oracle users have been urged to update the database patches Oracle issued yesterday as quickly as possible, because the flaw can be easily exploited, a database...
April 16, 2009 16 Apr'09
Cisco's John Chambers rules out bid for Sun

Speaking at an industry event in Korea, Cisco CEO John Chambers has ruled his firm out of a potential bid for Sun Microsystems after the supplier was jilted...
April 15, 2009 15 Apr'09
Microsoft patch Tuesday update raises compatability issues

Microsoft's latest security patch update, issued yesterday, includes five critical security fixes, of which three require the user to reboot their PC. One...
April 14, 2009 14 Apr'09
Spam increases global carbon footprint

The annual energy used to transmit, process and filter spam totals 33 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), according to security software company McAfee....
April 14, 2009 14 Apr'09
NetSuite aims to simplify global SAP with cloud-based ERP

Saas provider NetSuite has introduced a version of its OneWorld software that lets users of SAP enterprise software integrate reports from company divisions...
April 09, 2009 09 Apr'09
Red Hat makes data intergration open source

Red Hat has launched an open source project called Teiid, which provides data virtualisation, and is designed to simplify data management.
April 09, 2009 09 Apr'09
Recession buster: open source on the increase but security concerns remain

Use of open source software (OSS) is increasing but companies are still concerned about its security, a report ...
April 09, 2009 09 Apr'09
Council chief's apology after SAP go-live

Officials in Somerset say that the first stage of a SAP go-live for two councils, a police authority and a fire brigade has had a "high degree of success", though an internal e-mail to staff concedes that there are multiple problems.
April 08, 2009 08 Apr'09
Should IT directors consider building their next business app on Force.com?

Many IT directors and CIOs are considering the impact of cloud...
April 08, 2009 08 Apr'09
Hardware spend first to be cut by recession beating SMEs

Cutting hardware spend first tactic used by SMEs forced to cut costs to get through recession
April 08, 2009 08 Apr'09
Wakefield Council places faith in unified communications

£3 million investment in IP-based UC infrastructure to reduce costs and enhance operational efficiency
April 08, 2009 08 Apr'09
Total IT security threats fall as focus moves to third party apps

Increase in threats from rogue software and a move to hit third party apps identified in Microsoft’s Security Intelligence Report .
April 07, 2009 07 Apr'09
Police computer system updated to improve data sharing

Investigators using the UK police forces' computer system for processing the large volumes of data related to major investigations can now easily find and...
April 07, 2009 07 Apr'09
Web 2.0 content ‘out of control’

Modern business communication channels uncontrolled and off the corporate radar.
April 07, 2009 07 Apr'09
Cloudforce: Salesforce hits 10,000 user mark in Europe

Take-up of Salesforce.com's software as a service customer relationship management software has reached 10,000 customers in Europe.

As the company...
April 06, 2009 06 Apr'09
HCL dislodges EDS from Xerox datacentres

Indian IT services provider HCL Technologies has signed a six-year deal to provide manufacturer Xerox with datacentre services after replacing incumbent...
April 03, 2009 03 Apr'09
Tesco may use social media to improve customer service

Tesco is considering ways of using social networking to provide better customer service.
April 03, 2009 03 Apr'09
Robot scientist can make discoveries without human help

A robot scientist that can generate its own hypotheses and run experiments to test them has made its first real scientific discoveries, reports New Scientist.
April 02, 2009 02 Apr'09
Twitter is the next big CRM fad

Integrating customer relationship management with Twitter will be increasingly important to help businesses improve profitability during the economic slowdown.

Salesforce.com...
April 02, 2009 02 Apr'09
Windows XP support: the clock is ticking

With Windows XP moving to the extended support phase of its lifecycle next week, businesses need to plan to upgrade before full support for the aging operating system ends.
April 01, 2009 01 Apr'09
London Stock Exchange debuts Italian signing

The London Stock Exchange has started routing UK trades automatically to clearing services.
March 31, 2009 31 Mar'09
Microsoft launches SMB server platform

Aim to put Windows Server functionality within reach of small businesses
March 31, 2009 31 Mar'09
Thorntons POS system cuts transaction times by two thirds

Confectionary retailer, Thorntons, cut transaction times over Christmas by two thirds after rolling out a point of sales system across 380 stores.

The...
March 31, 2009 31 Mar'09
Precise move to improve storage tier

Storage enhancement solution to align with dynamic whereby IT departments need to do more with less resource
March 31, 2009 31 Mar'09
Sybase takes Office to iPhone in mobility drive

New release to offer improvements in business process mobilisation, enterprise admin, security and TCO
March 31, 2009 31 Mar'09
Conficker can no longer hide in the network

Security researchers have discovered a way to identify any network attached computer that has been infected with the Conficker...
March 31, 2009 31 Mar'09
Companies fail to get the most out of business data

Businesses are not using business data effectively, according to a study from analyst Quocirca for Oracle.

The research showed that only a third of...
March 26, 2009 26 Mar'09
Recession leads to more business for Red Hat

Red Hat has reported rising licensing revenue as it benefits from increased customer interest in open source sparked by the recession.

There has been...
March 24, 2009 24 Mar'09
Volkswagen and Ringnes use IBM RFID platform to improve supply chain

Volkswagen and Carlsberg brewery firm Ringnes of Norway have signed radio frequency identification technology deals with IBM to improve their supply chains.
March 24, 2009 24 Mar'09
Public sector still spending on IT, says RM

Educational specialist RM has issued an update on trading for the first half of the year revealing it is on track to meet its expectations as the public...
March 23, 2009 23 Mar'09
FAST calls for whistleblowers to report pirate software

The Federation Against Software Theft has launched a whistleblower campaign to try to encourage those people uncomfortable with the idea of being pressured by their bosses to use unlicensed software to come forward.
March 20, 2009 20 Mar'09
Government defends red light warning in ID card reviews

The Identity and Passport Service has defended the "red" traffic light status given to an early Gateway review on the ID Cards scheme.
March 19, 2009 19 Mar'09
Oracle boosts software licence revenue

Oracle has reported a rise in software licence sales for Q3 2009.
March 17, 2009 17 Mar'09
Computerised self-test for type 2 diabetes

Doctors have developed a computerised test for predicting the risk of type 2 diabetes based on information in patients' electronic health records…
March 17, 2009 17 Mar'09
Gartner analyses four leading BI vendors

Learn Gartner's view on business intelligence platforms from Oracle, IBM, SAP and Microsoft.
March 16, 2009 16 Mar'09
Tim Berners-Lee: Internet at risk from 'wiretapping'

The ever-increasing power of computers that is helping the internet to grow is also threatening its future. That was the warning delivered by Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the web, and online security specialists at the Houses of Parliament in ...
March 13, 2009 13 Mar'09
Google Docs: can we trust free software in the enterprise?

Earlier this week Google fixed a security problem affecting its Google Docs application suite that caused users to inadvertently share documents.
March 13, 2009 13 Mar'09
UK's first national open source IT project to demo soon

A demonstration version of the UK's first government-backed national open source IT project, is to go live in two weeks' time.
March 12, 2009 12 Mar'09
Bill Gates loses £12.2bn but regains top spot on rich list

Bill Gates' fortune has been cut by a massive £12.2bn, but he has regained the position of being the world's richest person with £28.8bn, according to Forbes Rich List 2009.
March 12, 2009 12 Mar'09
SAP and Sybase bring Business Suite to iPhone

SAP is working with Sybase to provide enterprise software on the iPhone and other mobile devices. The companies said they would collaborate on helping users...
March 10, 2009 10 Mar'09
Recession begins to bite storage software market

Storage software market shows signs of recession in IDC's latest Storage Software Tracker
March 09, 2009 09 Mar'09
Virtualisation uptake spurs SMBs to the Cloud

SMBs rethinking and overhauling IT infrastructure and client systems in order to achieve greater flexibility, efficiency, and performance
March 09, 2009 09 Mar'09
Spam still costing thousands, McAfee report says

Spam is still costing big business thousands of pounds a year in lost productivity, according to McAfee's March 2009 spam report.
March 06, 2009 06 Mar'09
Firms waste £2.6m a year looking for data

Large UK companies waste more than £2.6m a year each as staff search fruitlessly for information they need to do their jobs, according to a survey.

The...
March 06, 2009 06 Mar'09
Zoho upgrades on-demand word processor

Zoho has announced Zoho Writer 2.0, the next generation of the its online word processor.
March 06, 2009 06 Mar'09
Outdated IT system a risk to courts, says NAO report

An out-dated critical computer system poses a "significant risk" for UK courts, according to a National Audit Office report published today.
March 05, 2009 05 Mar'09
IE8 lacks support for enterprise apps

Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) could cause some enterprise applications that use browser-based user interfaces to fail. IT directors must ensure their enterprise applications will be compatible with IE8, which will be launched soon, before rolling it out...
March 05, 2009 05 Mar'09
Legal firm Browne Jacobson streamlines HR and payroll processes

Midlands commercial law firm Browne Jacobson has streamlined its human resource (HR) and payroll processes after implementing a human capital management...
March 05, 2009 05 Mar'09
IBM updates Informix database with warehousing feature

IBM has unveiled new database software its says will help companies make decisions more intelligently to maximise sales opportunities while reducing expenses.

With...
March 05, 2009 05 Mar'09
CRM use cases stable, but satisfying customers won't get easier

Gartner says that CRM usage patters will remain the same and prices for the software should fall as SaaS pressures vendors.
March 04, 2009 04 Mar'09
Microsoft labels trustworthy computing a success

Microsoft issues security updates for its products every month, despite the i ntroduction of its
March 04, 2009 04 Mar'09
Apple updates iMac and rolls out green Mac mini

Apple has updated its iMac and Mac mini desktop lines, including faster processors and twice the memory for all iMacs.

The entire iMac line comes with...
March 03, 2009 03 Mar'09
Microsoft Live Search rebrand leaked on Twitter

A US Microsoft executive has leaked Redmond's plan to relaunch and rebrand its Live Search service on the Twitter mobile blogging service.

The executive's...
March 02, 2009 02 Mar'09
GlaxoSmithKline switches to Microsoft Online

Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline has become one of the first businesses to standardise on Microsoft's Online Services, launched earlier today.