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Business applications

March 06, 2008 06 Mar'08
Nursing home firm cuts costs with 40% by integrated systems

The Brendoncare Foundation has cut operational costs by 40% by implementing integrated payroll and time and attendance software.
March 06, 2008 06 Mar'08
Havering council uses GIS to boost efficiency

The London Borough of Havering is using a geographic information system (GIS) to boost its efficiency.
March 06, 2008 06 Mar'08
How to negotiate virtualisation licensing

IT managers negotiating the price of virtualisation licences with software suppliers such as Microsoft, SAP and Oracle could get cheaper deals if they audit software use beforehand.
March 06, 2008 06 Mar'08
Banks rush to invest in business intelligence

The spend by retail banking institutions on business intelligence (BI) IT in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific, will reach £4.5bn by 2012, up from the £2.8bn in 2006, says analyst Datamonitor.

March 06, 2008 06 Mar'08
Government says ID cards will not be compulsory for all citizens

The government has delayed the widespread introduction of ID cards, and will instead initially target three groups for the £18bn scheme.
March 06, 2008 06 Mar'08
Oracle releases Secure Backup 10.2

Oracle has released Secure Backup 10.2, its tape back-up software for Oracle Databases and NAS storage devices.
March 06, 2008 06 Mar'08
Anti-malware failing firms, Nato expert says

Organisations with sensitive data remain at risk from increasingly cunning spies because anti-malware firms are not interested in "low traffic" problems, a top Nato expert said yesterday.
March 06, 2008 06 Mar'08
Ministry of Defence deploys IRIS system to improve health and safety

TheMinistry of Defence has launched its £5m Incident Recording Information System (IRIS)to improve the health and safety of 300,000 personnel.
March 05, 2008 05 Mar'08
Microsoft to offer hosted software services

Microsoft is following Google and Amazon with a cloud computing service that will allow businesses to buy hosted software services over the internet.
March 05, 2008 05 Mar'08
Chelmsford council deploys hosted e-mail security platform to cut costs

Chelmsford Borough Council has selected the hosted Websense E-mail Security system to protect its network and reduce costs.

March 04, 2008 04 Mar'08
SAP and Intel partner at CeBIT to showcase pre-installed business software on Linux Xeon servers

SAP and Intel are using this week's CeBIT to showcase pre-installed business software systems for midsize companies on optimised quad core Xeon-based servers.
March 04, 2008 04 Mar'08
Microsoft CEO Ballmer unveils server products at Cebit 2008

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer anounced the company's new hosted Sharepoint and Exchange Server products that signal the supplier's increasing shift to green computing.
March 04, 2008 04 Mar'08
Microsoft releases Office Live Workspace Beta

Microsoft has released Office Live Workspace beta, a web application that lets people access their documents online and share their work with others.
March 04, 2008 04 Mar'08
FSA tells firms to record communications

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has created a new set of rules that require all investment firms to record electronic communications to help the FSA fight market abuse.
March 04, 2008 04 Mar'08
Size does matter when it comes to security

SMBs are outspending their larger counterparts on security technology.
March 03, 2008 03 Mar'08
Nationwide fails to debit thousands of withdrawals in ATM blunder

The Nationwide Building Society has admitted an ATM blunder which has seen thousands of customers not charged for machine cash withdrawals.
March 03, 2008 03 Mar'08
Dream offers Paperchase financial reassurance

Stationery retailer Paperchase is improving its accounting transparency with CODA's Dream financial platform.
March 03, 2008 03 Mar'08
Microsoft to launch cloud computing service

Microsoft is following the likes of Google and Amazon with a cloud computing service to provide businesses with a way to buy computing services on demand over the internet.
February 29, 2008 29 Feb'08
Schroders enhances portfolio construction tool with speedy algorithms

Global asset management firm Schroders has enhanced its in-house portfolio construction tool.
February 29, 2008 29 Feb'08
Data warehousing and business intelligence still on an upward curve

Data warehousing and business intelligence software is being increasingly used by businesses, says research commissioned by software procurement firm the Evaluation Centre.
February 29, 2008 29 Feb'08
MindManager aids Ice Warrior Project

Arctic explorer Jim McNeill is using project management software to support an expedition to explore the North West Passage, which links the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
February 29, 2008 29 Feb'08
Konica Minolta UK drops SAP Netweaver Mobile following fall in productivity

The UK division of document systems company Konica Minolta has abandoned using the off-the-shelf packageSAP Netweaver Mobile to communicate with its field engineers following a sharp drop in productivity.
February 29, 2008 29 Feb'08
Abbey integrates systems to speed invoicing

Abbey is integrating its in-house e-invoicing platform into its core banking system in a move that will offer businesses faster invoicing and what Abbey describes as a new form of financing.
February 28, 2008 28 Feb'08
LV Friendly Society offers web-based financial guidance

Financial services provider LV has created a web portal to offer advice to the public. The Friendly Society, formerly known...
February 28, 2008 28 Feb'08
Data warehousing and business intelligence increasingly important

Data warehousing and business intelligence increasingly important The use of data...
February 28, 2008 28 Feb'08
Wyse ships desktop thin clients with VMware to simplify desktop delivery

VMware desktop virtualisation is now available on Wyse thin clients, to simplify desktop delivery.
February 28, 2008 28 Feb'08
F-Secure offers improved security to Windows servers

F-Secure has launched the latest version of its F-Secure Anti-Virus for Windows Servers system.
February 28, 2008 28 Feb'08
Drinks maker Nichols saves £100,000 a year with electronic document management

Soft drinks group Nichols, maker of drinks including Vimto and Sunkist, is saving £100,000 a year after rolling out electronic document management and imaging software.
February 28, 2008 28 Feb'08
Government will have to ask permission for ID card information

People will have to give explicit permission for the government to access their personal details held on various databases before they can get a national...
February 28, 2008 28 Feb'08
Premier Foods and Specsavers adopt virtual network operator model

Virtual network operator (VNO) Vanco has announced a series of contracts with companies at its annual press and customer event in Barcelona.
February 28, 2008 28 Feb'08
Cisco and Microsoft join forces to optimise branch apps

Cisco and Microsoft will develop joint architectures that combine Windows Server...
February 28, 2008 28 Feb'08
Microsoft interoperability announcement gets a mixed reception

Microsoft's plans to open up hidden programming interfaces in its Office and Windows products, should make it easier for IT directors to combine open source with Windows platforms.
February 28, 2008 28 Feb'08
EasyJet plans Web 2.0 travel engine to increase sales

EasyJet plans Web 2.0 travel engine to increase sales - by John-Paul Kamath EasyJet will redesign its website using
February 27, 2008 27 Feb'08
Microsoft launches Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008

Microsoft’s Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer has unveiled the next generation of server products, including Windows Server 2008, Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 and Microsoft SQL Server 2008.
February 27, 2008 27 Feb'08
AVG upgrades security protection for SMEs with Internet Security 8.0

AVG has upgraded its security protection software for SMEs and consumers with the release of AVG Internet Security 8.0.
February 27, 2008 27 Feb'08
Dell bundles VMware virtualisation with enterprise servers

Dell and VMware are broadening their relationship to simplify server virtualisation offerings to customers.
February 26, 2008 26 Feb'08
Sun Microsystems completes £500m acquisition of MySQL

Sun Microsystems has completed the £500m acquisition of MySQL, the open source database server, in a move the company regards as the most significant in the open source community.
February 25, 2008 25 Feb'08
Pernod Ricard deploys global data integration platform

Pernod Ricard is using the Informatica PowerCenter platform to globally standardise its data integration requirements.
February 25, 2008 25 Feb'08
South African bank implements LogicaCMG system

Standard Bank in South Africa is replacing legacy payment systems across its corporate and investment banking business globally with a system from LogicaCMG.
February 25, 2008 25 Feb'08
HSBC update causes card payment downtime

An upgrade to a telephone banking system for business customers caused some HSBC retail customers problems on Saturday (24 February).
February 25, 2008 25 Feb'08
Horseware rides on with Lawson Opportunity Analyzer

Horseware Ireland, a leading manufacturer of turnout rugs, riding clothing and accessories, has run a performance management assessment of its business before upgrading to its latest supply chain system.
February 25, 2008 25 Feb'08
SAP encourages smaller firms to adopt All-in-One systems

SAP is encouraging more small and mid-size companies to adopt its SAP Business-All-in-One systems with a new fast-start programme.
February 25, 2008 25 Feb'08
Adobe Systems floats AIR web services platform

Adobe Systems has announced the availability of Adobe AIR and Adobe Flex 3 software to extend its offering for developing rich internet applications (RIAs).
February 25, 2008 25 Feb'08
South Africa HIV hospital deploys TrakCare system

A hospital in South Africa is rolling out a web-based healthcare system already in use in the UK and 24 other countries to improve the quality of care in its HIV/AIDS treatment centre to an increasing number of patients.
February 25, 2008 25 Feb'08
Pork Farms picks reduces costs with ERP system

Savoury pastry products supplier Pork Farms is implementing an ERP system tailored for the food and beverage industry to improve visibility of business processes at a lower cost of ownership.
February 25, 2008 25 Feb'08
Sainsbury's partners with LMG for analytical reporting system

Sainsbury's is working with the company behind its Nectar card reward scheme, LMG, to develop an application to enable the supermarket and its suppliers to find out how well products are selling.
February 22, 2008 22 Feb'08
Alcatel-Lucent and HP team up to deliver SOA security

Alcatel-Lucent has teamed up with HP on a product that will aim to secure service-orientated architectures (SOAs).
February 22, 2008 22 Feb'08
Glasgow school tackles anonymous proxies with new web filtering system

The High School of Glasgow has installed a web filtering solution to combat the threat of anonymous proxies.
February 22, 2008 22 Feb'08
SMEs to be offered cut-price Linux-based unified comms platform

A Linux-based unified communications platform will be launched at next month's CeBIT show in Germany. The software-based beta solution will be available for firms to download from next month.
February 22, 2008 22 Feb'08
Stella Travel Services automates ticket workflow

Stella Travel Services UK is using a new financial system to automate reconciliation workflow and mitigate risk.
February 21, 2008 21 Feb'08
Microsoft pulls faulty Windows Vista update

Microsoft has suspended the distribution of a Windows Vista software update after users experienced problems on their computers following installation.
February 21, 2008 21 Feb'08
Endoscope firm integrates ERP and CRM to boost efficiency

Medical equipment distributor and service contractor Endoscopy UK is saving more than £20,000 a year by integrating its ERP and CRM systems to improve operational efficiency.
February 21, 2008 21 Feb'08
Biometrics could be answer to trader frauds, SocGen says

An internal investigation by French bank Societie Generale (SocGen) into the £3.6bn fraud that resulted after a rogue trader made unauthorised investments has recommended the use of biometric security to prevent a similar event happening again.
February 21, 2008 21 Feb'08
Microsoft to launch Open Source Interoperability Initiative

Microsoft has said it would be supporting open source development as part of its interoperability initiative. Microsoft chef executive officer, Steve...
February 21, 2008 21 Feb'08
Highways Agency uses pictogram signage to warn drivers of hazards

The Highways Agency has started to use new pictogram signs on the M42 in the West Midlands to warn drivers of upcoming hazards.
February 21, 2008 21 Feb'08
Microsoft to work with open standards bodies

As part of its interoperability announcement Microsoft has said it would work with open standards bodies to help developers support Microsoft extensions...
February 21, 2008 21 Feb'08
Microsoft announces plans for greater interoperability

Microsoft has announced a strategy to increase the way its software works with other systems, including the open source community.
February 21, 2008 21 Feb'08
Software failure causes check-in delays at Heathrow

A computer software failure prevented thousands of passengers at Heathrow's Terminal 4 from checking luggage in on Tuesday and Wednesday (19 and 20 February).
February 20, 2008 20 Feb'08
Microsoft releases latest test version of Windows XP SP3

Microsoft is making public its latest test version of Windows XP Service Pack 3.
February 20, 2008 20 Feb'08
Notts County Council consolidates customer service with rostrvm

Nottinghamshire County Council is consolidating its customer service through a single point of contact to make it easier for residents to access services.
February 20, 2008 20 Feb'08
Make Web 2.0 deliver business benefits

It is still early days for the real-world adoption of Web 2.0 technologies and applications to help businesses drive revenues, improve productivity, get closer to customers and reduce costs.
February 20, 2008 20 Feb'08
High Peak council makes over £1m in efficiency savings with new revenue and benefits system

High Peak council in Derbyshire is improving the performance of its revenues and benefits department with a system that promises to deliver over £1m-worth of efficiency savings.
February 20, 2008 20 Feb'08
Power plant construction to be run by new software package

Marchwood Power is to support the operation and maintenance of its £400m gas turbine power plant under construction near Southampton with new software.
February 20, 2008 20 Feb'08
Asda extends online shopping service

Asda, the Wal-Mart-owned retailer, is to extend its online shopping service to another 40 stores and add more than 300,000 items to its online catalogue to meet a sales target of £1bn by 2011.
February 20, 2008 20 Feb'08
Morrisons signs strategic core retail platform deal

Morrisons signs strategic core retail platform deal Morrisons plans to create a core retail...
February 19, 2008 19 Feb'08
Glasgow City invests £265m in IT efficiency drive

Glasgow City Council expects to save £70m with the implementation of a 10-year project to deliver integrated property and IT services.
February 19, 2008 19 Feb'08
UK firm unveils laptop tracking technology to foil data thieves

A UK-based company has developed an intelligent laptop security technology that can block access and even destroy data if a machine is moved from its designated space.
February 19, 2008 19 Feb'08
North Yorks Police deploys performance and information management system

North Yorkshire Police is to install a new performance and information management system to enable intelligence-led policing and to save money.
February 19, 2008 19 Feb'08
Hull College automates document management

Hull College is to automate its purchase invoice approval process to eliminate lost documents and speed up and simplify the process.
February 18, 2008 18 Feb'08
Welsh NHS uses £33m to deploy telemedicine technology

NHS hospitals across Wales are to be given a share of almost £33m to help them adopt telemedicine technology.
February 18, 2008 18 Feb'08
Suzuki International Europe migrates to electronic invoicing

Suzuki International Europe is switching from paper to electronic invoicing at more than 1,200 spare parts dealers to reduce costs and improve efficiencies.
February 15, 2008 15 Feb'08
Property firm King Sturge hones IT service desk with Help Desk Institute

Property firm King Sturge has become a gold member of the Help Desk Institute (HDI) to help further its international IT service desk plans.
February 15, 2008 15 Feb'08
On-demand software firm NetSuite continues to make big losses

On demand business software firm NetSuite continues to make heavy losses despite reporting record sales for the year.
February 15, 2008 15 Feb'08
Calor Gas boosts gas volumes it can transport with Tibco middleware

Calor Gas has boosted the volume of gas it transport in its tankers by 20% following a project to link more than 70 IT systems using Tibco middleware.
February 15, 2008 15 Feb'08
Gabriel to support FSA filing

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is simplifying how it collects information from the companies it regulates by replacing a range of reporting systems with a single system.
February 15, 2008 15 Feb'08
Legoland to implement wireless virtual queuing system

Legoland theme park at Windsor is to introduce a queue management system in March to enable visitors to reserve places on particular rides from anywhere in the park.
February 15, 2008 15 Feb'08
Macmillan Cancer Support enhances IT infrastructure

Macmillan Cancer Support is embarking on a business transformation programme to help attract more supporters and improve service.
February 14, 2008 14 Feb'08
Global enterprise software market to grow by 8.2% this year, says Gartner

The global enterprise software industry will grow 8.2% this year, despite the economic slowdown, says analyst Gartner.
February 14, 2008 14 Feb'08
RightNow enhances on-demand CRM for online retailers

RightNow has enhanced its on-demand customer relationship management system for online retailers.
February 14, 2008 14 Feb'08
Dell launches storage assessment and consulting business to deliver rapid deployments

Dell has unveiled a range of assessment and consulting services to help firms analyse and rapidly deploy the storage systems they need.
February 14, 2008 14 Feb'08
Turquoise plans testing programme for its new trading platform

Turquoise, the multi-lateral trading facility established by nine leading European investment banks, is partnering with AppLabs to deliver the testing programme which will verify and ensure that its trading platform is fit for purpose.
February 14, 2008 14 Feb'08
Mcdonald’s takes epos system in-house

Fast-food chain McDonald's is taking future development of its electronic point of sale system in-house. The epos system, NewPOS, was originally supplied by software house Torex.
February 14, 2008 14 Feb'08
Kaspersky supports Safer Internet Day

Kaspersky Labs' is offering 1,000 free copies of its Internet Security 7.0 package to punters.
February 13, 2008 13 Feb'08
Fleet management firm LeasePlan speeds networked apps and data back-up times

Fleet management firm LeasePlan is improving application response times and has consolidated data back-up with a system from Riverbed Technology.
February 13, 2008 13 Feb'08
Marks & Spencer launches range of branded home office software

Marks & Spencer has launched a new range of branded software for the home office.
February 13, 2008 13 Feb'08
Twin Valley Homes improves electronic data compliance with Waterford

Twin Valley Homes has improved its electronic data compliance with the eDiscovery system from Waterford Technologies.
February 13, 2008 13 Feb'08
RSPCA builds SOA to support mobile workers

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) has built a service oriented architecture based on BEA WebLogic to support mobile data access for field workers and customer relationship management.
February 13, 2008 13 Feb'08
Specsavers rolls out open source employee access system

Specsavers has completed a project to roll out the open source OpenLdap global directory services software across six countries.
February 12, 2008 12 Feb'08
Mortgage lenders prepare for e-commerce standard

An XML e-commerce standard for the mortgage-sales process that will allow brokers and lenders to cut sales-processing time will be completed next month by financial service technology standards group Origo.
February 12, 2008 12 Feb'08
British Heart Foundation implemements Ultraspeed platform for online health campaign

The British Heart Foundation (BHF) has chosen a high-volume web hosting service to handle more than half a million responses to its first exclusively online awareness campaign.
February 11, 2008 11 Feb'08
Salesforce.com rolls out new online CRM

Salesforce.com has introduced Salesforces 08, the latest version of its online CRM, which now provides add-ons for managing content and capturing ideas.
February 11, 2008 11 Feb'08
Plus Markets sees massive growth following technology upgrade

Investment exchange Plus Markets has increased the number of trades it completes per month by more than six times since completing the implementation of its OMX trading platform.
February 11, 2008 11 Feb'08
Microsoft Office Live enhanced with free online marketing tools for SMEs

The Microsoft Office Live Small Business offering has been enhanced with new tools and free features to help small firms better sell and market themselves online.
February 08, 2008 08 Feb'08
Microsoft purchase of Yahoo readies it for software revolution

Its bid for Yahoo will see Microsoft betting the future of the company on the internet.
February 08, 2008 08 Feb'08
Data mining strikes stock shrinkage gold for Jaeger

Classic British clothing brand Jaeger is to roll out a loss prevention programme based on data mining to cut theft and fraud by a fifth and boost its profit margins by 2%.
February 08, 2008 08 Feb'08
Google issues Team Apps for enterprise collaboration

Google has launched its Apps Team Edition to help staff to collaborate.
February 08, 2008 08 Feb'08
E-trades surge on London and Milan exchanges

Electronic trades across the London and Italian stock exchanges during January were up 85% year on year.
February 08, 2008 08 Feb'08
Epson unveils secure printing for shared offices

Epson has released a print security and authentication product for shared offices.
February 08, 2008 08 Feb'08
Super Tuesday for IT managers with seven critical Microsoft patches

Microsoft will issue 12 security patches on Tuesday, with seven of them deemed "critical".
February 07, 2008 07 Feb'08
IT must help cut red tape in police forces, says report

A report on the future of policing in England and Wales has found that better use of technology will be needed to help cut red tape and enable officers to spend more time on the street.