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Business applications

October 23, 2007 23 Oct'07
HSE improves information management

The Health and Safety Executive is improving information management with an electronic document and records management (EDRM) system.
October 23, 2007 23 Oct'07
Helly Hansen deploys supply chain platform to reduce downtime

Sports clothing firm Helly Hansen is deploying a supply chain system from Lawson Software to improve its operations.
October 23, 2007 23 Oct'07
AXA Financial adopts anti-money laundering platform

AXA Financial has adopted financial crime and compliance software to support its enterprise-wide anti-money laundering compliance strategy.
October 23, 2007 23 Oct'07
Banks fail on information management

Managing risk is a priority, but less than a third of bank executives takes an integrated approach to information management.

October 23, 2007 23 Oct'07
RSA 2007: Software Suppliers aim to head of threat of legislation

The software industry is trying to head off the threat of legislation that would make it liable for poor quality code.
October 23, 2007 23 Oct'07
Burton Group Catalyst 2007: Amadeus automates billing

Global travel distribution company Amadeus has managed to save 15% on its telecommunications costs by automating billing with its network providers.
October 23, 2007 23 Oct'07
RSA 2007: mobile phones will be the security tokens of the future, predicts Verisign

Mobile phones are likely to become the security tokens of the future because they are already pervasive and customers have few reservations about running security applications on them, according to Simon Church, vice president of VeriSign's European...
October 23, 2007 23 Oct'07
Carphone Warehouse to use automation for delivery of core IT services

Carphone Warehouse's IT department has cut the time it takes to provision servers to ad hoc business needs from six weeks to thirty minutes using virtualisation and automation technology.
October 23, 2007 23 Oct'07
RSA 2007: security will become embedded in IT products, predicts Schneier

Security will become embedded in IT products so that users no longer have to worry about it, predicts Bruce Schneier, CEO of BT Counterpane and keynote speaker at RSA Europe 2007.
October 23, 2007 23 Oct'07
European Union reaches settlement with Microsoft

The European Commission has reached a settlement with Microsoft that aims to open the software company up to greater competition from open source developers.

October 22, 2007 22 Oct'07
Alliance & Leicester updates ATM network for deposits

Alliance & Leicester is installing NCR Intelligent Deposit ATMs at all its 250 branches.
October 22, 2007 22 Oct'07
IBM upgrades z/VSE mainframe OS for wider ecommerce and Linux use

IBM has upgraded its z/VSE mainframe operating system to further support ecommerce and widening Linux use.
October 22, 2007 22 Oct'07
MP3 stock spam rears its head

Security software firm Kaspersky Lab says the mass mailing of MP3 spam is now a potential threat to users.
October 22, 2007 22 Oct'07
Roadworks planning IT law ‘unworkable’

The Department for Transport has come under fire amid allegations that new legislation requiring councils to invest in IT systems to co-ordinate roadworks is "unworkable".
October 22, 2007 22 Oct'07
Mobile phone retailer signs £100m IT deal

Carphone Warehouse has signed a five-year outsourcing deal worth at least £100m with Indian-based IT services company Patni.
October 22, 2007 22 Oct'07
Consolidation helps Holstein cope with data

Holstein UK has consolidated its storage infrastructure to make data retrieval quicker and easier, as demand for its services increases.
October 22, 2007 22 Oct'07
Airmiles sharpens security en route to PCI compliance

Travel loyalty scheme Airmiles is on course to achieve compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) in March following a 14-month project.
October 22, 2007 22 Oct'07
Plus Markets and Project Turquoise end takeover talks

The widely reported talks between trading platform Plus Markets and Project Turquoise concerning a take over by the Turquoise came to an end last week after the companies failed to reach agreement.
October 22, 2007 22 Oct'07
Cambridgeshire saves £1.2m on call costs and travel with VoIP

Cambridgeshire County Council has saved £1.2m over two years after installing voice over IP technology.
October 21, 2007 21 Oct'07
Brocade talks 8Gbit, but it is mum on new director

Brocade says it has 8Gbit blades for its SilkWorm 48000 director switches sampling with OEM partners, but it declines to give details on an all-new 8Gbit director.
October 21, 2007 21 Oct'07
DreamWorks draws on storage for animation

DreamWorks' senior technologist says it takes a lot of emerging storage technologies to make an animation movie.
October 21, 2007 21 Oct'07
VoIP certification credentials

Many certifications touch on voice over IP topics tangentially, but numerous credentials now focus a fairly substantial portion of their coverage on this subject matter. In this certification survey, we take a look at available certifications, ...
October 21, 2007 21 Oct'07
Microsoft pumps up Data Protection Manager

A more scalable version of Data Protection Manager is coming, but it's still missing policy-based backup management features and granular recovery capabilities.
October 21, 2007 21 Oct'07
Will Microsoft Office Communication Server change unifed comms market?

Microsoft Office Communication Server officially into business applications and hinting that software-based telephony could mean the demise of the IP PBX.
October 19, 2007 19 Oct'07
Cadbury Schweppes to cut project risk by reusing code

Cadbury Schweppes is rolling out a strategy to reduce the risks major IT projects pose to the business by creating a library of reusable software components.
October 19, 2007 19 Oct'07
JDA sizes up South African retailer

South African fashion retailer Foschini group is using a size-scaling software package from JDA to ensure that it sells more garments at full price.
October 19, 2007 19 Oct'07
Becta reports Microsoft to OFT

The British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (Becta) has complained to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) about Microsoft's alleged anti-competitive practices in the schools software marketplace.
October 19, 2007 19 Oct'07
Electoral Commission to build election and party finance database

The Electoral Commission plans to build a new database to give the public increased access to information on political parties' finances.
October 19, 2007 19 Oct'07
Poor Vista sales hit PC World’s profits

Slow Windows Vista sales have hit the operating margins of DSGi, the owner of the PC World chain.
October 19, 2007 19 Oct'07
Next move: Novell skills

Expert advice for readers' career problems
October 19, 2007 19 Oct'07
Hertel deploys ERP for global expansion

Hertel, a UK construction company whose clients include BNFL and Shell, is preparing to roll out an enterprise resource planning system to underpin its global expansion.
October 19, 2007 19 Oct'07
Will politics hamper objectivity reviews of NHS IT?

Health minister Lord Darzi opens his interim review of the NHS - a report that is likely to have significant ramifications for the NHS's IT investment programme - by saying he is a doctor, not a politician.
October 19, 2007 19 Oct'07
Data warehouses go for operational business intelligence

Even though many organisations have an established data warehouse, the demand for operational business intelligence is increasing
October 18, 2007 18 Oct'07
SAP donates Netweaver tool to open source Eclipse project

SAP is to contribute its memory testing tool from Netweaver to the Eclipse open source project.
October 18, 2007 18 Oct'07
Hammersmith and Fulham links 11 databases to boost customer service

The London borough of Hammersmith and Fulham has linked 11 databases across council departments to improve the service it offers to residents.
October 18, 2007 18 Oct'07
Symantec helps government prepare for web-safety week

Symantec has become a sponsor of the government's Get Safe Online campaign, ready for the campaign's web-safety week on 12-16 November.
October 18, 2007 18 Oct'07
Stay on top of IT industry news

In the 1990s, any self-respecting CIO with a travel budget would make his or her annual trip to Las Vegas for the Comdex show. It was the place to be, and a chance to rub shoulders with the likes of Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison and Michael ...
October 18, 2007 18 Oct'07
Wal-Mart to roll out SAP

Wal-Mart is to roll out SAP to support its global expansion, improve efficiently and respond to new regulations.
October 17, 2007 17 Oct'07
Selling and training ERP end-users still challenge for IT managers

IT managers who successfully deployed ERP systems advised others managing similar projects to allow plenty of time in project plans for selling the benefits of the system to users and for training.
October 17, 2007 17 Oct'07
Google Analytics gets makeover

Google is overhauling its Google Analytics service to online merchants and websites.
October 17, 2007 17 Oct'07
SMEs to spend more on security next year

SMEs will spend more on security systems next year, with vulnerability assessment, data leakage and web-application risks key areas of concern.
October 17, 2007 17 Oct'07
SMEs less aware of the Data Protection Act

SMEs are less aware of the Data Protection Act, says the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).
October 17, 2007 17 Oct'07
Test Maturity Model makes enterprise inroads

As test and test-related quality disciplines of IT mature, there is a growing need to assess process maturity quickly and robustly to accepted industry standards. There are many models available, but the Test Maturity Model (TMM) could provide the ...
October 17, 2007 17 Oct'07
IBM unveils Information Mainframe System 10

IBM has unveiled a new version of its mainframe Information Management System (IMS) to bolster its on-demand web services offering.
October 16, 2007 16 Oct'07
EMC releases data de-duplication tool

EMC has introduced a range of tools designed to help users to integrate data de-duplication and continuous data protection (CDP) technologies into their existing back-up and recovery environments.
October 16, 2007 16 Oct'07
Samsonite deploys open-source ecommerce platform

Samsonite has deployed an open-source global ecommerce platform to launch its top Black Label luggage brand.
October 16, 2007 16 Oct'07
IBM enhances enterprise content management offering

IBM has unveiled enhancements to its enterprise content management systems.
October 16, 2007 16 Oct'07
Gloucestershire Constabulary rolls out Unifi software

Gloucestershire Constabulary is deploying a new criminal justice system to help improve efficiency.
October 15, 2007 15 Oct'07
Ingres delivers improved BI and reporting to open source database with OEM deal

Ingres has announced...
October 15, 2007 15 Oct'07
International Securities Exchange improves market data system

The International Securities Exchange has launched the ISE Depth of Market Feed to improve trading efficiency.
October 15, 2007 15 Oct'07
NHS online library adopts single sign-on system for 257,000 NHS staff

The NHS National Library for Health (NLH) is deploying an identity management system to enable 257,000 NHS staff to securely access its resources.
October 15, 2007 15 Oct'07
Next move: returning to UK market

Career advice for IT professionals
October 15, 2007 15 Oct'07
Canon finds solution to problem of its own naming

Canon has interviewed 3,000 workers across Europe to find out what frustrates them most about office life. Curiously, paper jams and epic warm up times on printers did not top the list. Instead, the chart-topper was long and pointless meetings.
October 15, 2007 15 Oct'07
Microsoft investigates Automatic Update user complaints over unauthorised updates

Microsoft is investigating complaints from Windows users that patches have been installed without their consent as a result of the Automatic Update (AU) application being turned on without their knowledge.
October 15, 2007 15 Oct'07
Image database is latest technology added to border control platform

Immigration minister Liam Byrne last week unveiled a £50,000 image-based database system that associates fingerprints, a visa and a unique passport number with an individual. The system is the latest plank in the government's £400m e-Borders border ...
October 15, 2007 15 Oct'07
Converged networks ‘need rethink’, Quocirca says

Spending on converged voice, video and data networks could be wasted if businesses fail to audit how information travels between departments before installation, analyst firm Quocirca has warned.
October 15, 2007 15 Oct'07
Business analysis suite spot enhanced

New automation and scheduling features to streamline processing and analysis and help improve operational efficiency.
October 14, 2007 14 Oct'07
Oracle patch update to contain 51 flaw fixes

Oracle's Critical Patch Update will address 51 fixes, addressing critical holes in Oracle database 10g, Application Server, E-Business Suite and PeopleSoft Enterprise software.
October 14, 2007 14 Oct'07
Archiving suppliers beef up integration

CA, Autonomy and Prostor look to differentiate products in a sea of archiving and e-discovery compliance players.
October 14, 2007 14 Oct'07
Copan adds data deduplication to Maid

Copan is claiming that with new support for FalconStor's data deduplication in its virtual tape library, it can support up to 6Pbytes in 10 cubic feet of space.
October 14, 2007 14 Oct'07
SNW Preview: Data protection makes a stand

Led by EMC's integration of data deduplication and CDP into its backup software, data protection products are prominent at Storage Networking World.
October 14, 2007 14 Oct'07
VMware takes on data migration

VMware supports migrating data between disc arrays with Storage VMotion, changing the equation between server and storage virtualisation devices.
October 12, 2007 12 Oct'07
DaimlerChrysler security drive targets 360,000 staff

DaimlerChrysler is rolling out an information security awareness programme to 360,000 staff, as part of a drive to protect the company against a rising tide of online attacks.
October 12, 2007 12 Oct'07
CIOs must ‘reassess role of IT function’

IT directors and CIOs need to reassess the role of the IT department as tech-savvy end-user departments buy their own systems and make use of web collaboration tools.
October 12, 2007 12 Oct'07
Nato secures its network against attack

Nato, the joint European-US defence force, has taken delivery of intrusion detection technology to protect its business and battlefield communications networks against cyber attacks.
October 12, 2007 12 Oct'07
Standardise, simplify and save

Standardising IT and business processes can lower costs and reduce complexity. And by introducing an enterprise architecture, Cath Jennings discovers that businesses can gain even bigger rewards
October 12, 2007 12 Oct'07
Sabre optimises travel web services with BEA

Travel firm Sabre is using a system from BEA Systems to optimise its web services.
October 12, 2007 12 Oct'07
Corporate desktop users still the biggest security headache

Despite increased mobile working and IT outsourcing, firms fear network security threats via staff desktops the most.
October 12, 2007 12 Oct'07
Citrix unveils on-demand provision of virtual servers and desktops from datacentre

Citrix has added on-demand provisioning of virtual servers and desktops to its application delivery infrastructure.
October 12, 2007 12 Oct'07
Software houses offer rich rewards

As well as giving lucrative bonuses, software suppliers offer the chance for client-facing work on the leading-edge of technology
October 12, 2007 12 Oct'07
IT fails to prove business value to manufacturers

Manufacturing companies do not consider IT as important to the business as other industry sectors, seeing it more as a basic utility, according to Forrester Research.
October 12, 2007 12 Oct'07
Teradata version 6 released

Teradata has released Relationship Manager Version 6 software, which allows businesses to manage relationships with customers.
October 12, 2007 12 Oct'07
What does future hold for Business Objects after £3.4bn SAP takeover?

SAP's £3.4bn acquisition of Business Objects last week could be good news for users, providing there is no erosion of the business intelligence software's general-purpose capabilities, analysts have said.
October 12, 2007 12 Oct'07
Shadow promises mainframe saving

Mainframe middleware firm DataDirect Technologies has developed technology to enable businesses running IBM z/OS mainframes to save on software licensing costs by offloading applications on to dedicated mainframe processors.
October 12, 2007 12 Oct'07
Find your ideal mobile e-mail system

The growing range of mobile e-mail technologies available means that organisations of all sizes can find systems that closely match their needs
October 12, 2007 12 Oct'07
ChangeBase tool speeds Vista compatibility testing

UK software house ChangeBase has developed a tool designed to speed up compatibility tests ahead of Windows Vista roll-outs.
October 11, 2007 11 Oct'07
Web users underestimate malware threat, survey says

A survey of consumers from the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and McAfee shows that while users think they are protected - 93% feel safe from viruses, for instance - they are actually at risk because of outdated security software on their ...
October 11, 2007 11 Oct'07
HP joins forces with Cisco and Microsoft for unified communications

HP has introduced a portfolio of bundled unified communications (UC) systems in partnership with Cisco and Microsoft.
October 11, 2007 11 Oct'07
Government ignores e-crime in spending plan, says Lords select committee member

The government has promised £11m to fund three bodies to fight fraud, but appears to be ignoring e-crime.
October 10, 2007 10 Oct'07
San supplier Compellent completes IPO

Compellent goes public at a higher price than expected, but still has its work cut out to succeed against established San suppliers EMC, IBM, HP and NetApp.
October 10, 2007 10 Oct'07
Unified communications new priority for HP

Unified communications is a confusing area with a number of vendors in the mix. HP has launched new services to help ease companies into unified communications and help them determine which integrated tools will best fit their business goals.
October 10, 2007 10 Oct'07
Criminals using Skype to communicate

Criminals are taking advantage of Skype's 256-bit encryption and the internet's unpredictable routing scheme to set up drug deals and other crimes, say Swiss law enforcement officials.
October 10, 2007 10 Oct'07
Net-A-Porter expands MySQL use

Online fashion retailer, Net-A-Porter has expanded its use of the open source database, MySQL, to improve searching on its website.
October 10, 2007 10 Oct'07
Data disk pioneers get Nobel award

This year's Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to Albert Fert and Peter Grünberg for their discovery of Giant Magnetoresistance in the retrieval of data from hard disks.
October 10, 2007 10 Oct'07
SAP buys Business Objects

Months after Oracle purchased Hyperion for BI and CPM, SAP has taken its own leap into BI, buying Business Objects for US$6.8 billion.
October 09, 2007 09 Oct'07
Government gives up on electronic junior doctor recruitment system

The government has given up on a national IT system for the recruitment of junior doctors.
October 09, 2007 09 Oct'07
Insolvency Service signs £20m thin client computing deal with IBM

The government's Insolvency Service has signed a five-year, £20m IT services contract with IBM to help improve its operations using thin client technology.
October 09, 2007 09 Oct'07
Tradeteam upgrades ERP system

Tradeteam, the UK's largest drinks logistics provider, has completed the first stage of an ERP system upgrade to lower the cost of ownership and drive new business growth.
October 09, 2007 09 Oct'07
PC users' passwords habits leave them vulnerable

Nearly one in five PC users in the UK is making themselves vulnerable to online fraud or identity theft because of poor password habits, according to research by Ciao Surveys.
October 09, 2007 09 Oct'07
Italian bank sharpens compliance and cuts costs

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) has sharpened up its payments system and cut costs using Microsoft technology, in order to meet the demands of the forthcoming Single Euro Payments Area (Sepa) payments directive.
October 08, 2007 08 Oct'07
BMC buys Emprisa to extend view of data network

BMC Software has acquired Emprisa Networks, a provider of smart network compliance, change and configuration management systems.
October 08, 2007 08 Oct'07
Messier-Dowty adopts XML-based messaging service

Aircraft landing gear systems manufacturer Messier-Dowtyhas adopted an XML-based messaging service for the air transport industry to reduce the cost of doing business with more than 2,000 aircraft operators.
October 08, 2007 08 Oct'07
E-commerce course aims to improve farmers' buinsess acumen

Hundreds of farmers across the country are signing up to an e-commerce course to improve their business skills.
October 08, 2007 08 Oct'07
IBM offers tailored infrastructure management systems for SMEs

IBM has expanded its software line to help SMEs more easily run their IT infrastructures.
October 08, 2007 08 Oct'07
SAP move for business intelligence specialist Business Objects

SAP is buying business intelligence specialist Business Objects for £3.42bn.
October 08, 2007 08 Oct'07
802-11n to overtake wired Ethernet

Burton Group has released a report comparing 802.11n with Gigabit Ethernet and predicts 802.11n wireless technology will start eroding the wired Ethernet market within the next 24 to 36 months.
October 08, 2007 08 Oct'07
New business analytics software to drive greater business agility

New system designed to provide access to tools, interfaces and applications specifically designed to support integrated business performance management (BPM)
October 08, 2007 08 Oct'07
Microsoft to issue seven security patches next Tuesday

Microsoft will issue four "critical" and three "important" security patches next Tuesday (9 October) as part of its monthly patching cycle.
October 08, 2007 08 Oct'07
Mothercare boosts quality of IT support

Retailer Mothercare has installed software that supports IT Infrastructure Library processes to improve the monitoring of calls to its IT helpdesk.
October 08, 2007 08 Oct'07
Barclays greens and saves as thin clients replace PCs

Barclays is planning to replace more than 10,000 PCs with thin clients across the globe to save £5.2m in costs and reduce its CO2 emissions by 15,000 tonnes.