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Business applications

March 23, 2018 23 Mar'18
Telefonica cuts HR running costs by 40% as it replaces hundreds of ageing IT systems

Multinational telecoms group Telefonica is on the verge of completing a project to replace 175 incompatible HR IT systems with a cloud service covering more than 40 countries
March 22, 2018 22 Mar'18
HMRC sets August launch date for customs IT system

HMRC plans to begin a phased deployment of its Customs Declaration Service this August, with completion expected by early 2019
March 21, 2018 21 Mar'18
AB InBev settles out of court in $600m SAP licensing dispute

SEC filing reveals that brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev has come to an agreement with SAP over the ERP provider's under-licensing claim
March 20, 2018 20 Mar'18
Oracle Q3 2017-18 results see cloud revenue grow to $1.6bn

Oracle’s third-quarter results for fiscal year 2018 show an increase of almost 7% of overall revenue to $9.8bn, of which 18% was cloud

March 20, 2018 20 Mar'18
SAP at the core of S Group’s €100m IT renewal

Finnish retailer S Group is putting SAP at the core of its IT transformation, which will be complete by 2021
March 19, 2018 19 Mar'18
First Direct enables customers to pay by Siri

Customers of online bank First Direct can now use voice commands to transfer money through Apple’s digital assistant
March 16, 2018 16 Mar'18
Employers face hiring crisis as AI replaces mid-skilled jobs

Artificial intelligence could replace two-thirds of existing jobs within 20 years, and employers will face growing difficulties recruiting skilled staff
March 16, 2018 16 Mar'18
IT contractors not a risk despite Snowden leaks, GCHQ tells court

The government argues in the Investigatory Powers Tribunal that contractors with systems administration rights to computers holding GCHQ’s most sensitive intelligence pose no more of a security risk than the agency’s employees
March 16, 2018 16 Mar'18
IBM sets up no-fee Data Science Elite team to speed up AI adoption

IBM uses Think conference in Las Vegas to launch a no-fee data science consultancy and a platform for artificial intelligence app development
March 16, 2018 16 Mar'18
Defence industry urges government to relax controls on crypto exports

Trade body representing defence, aerospace and security companies calls on government to make it easier to export “non-contentious” cryptography to secure organisations against cyber crime

March 15, 2018 15 Mar'18
Online data can be used to create better housing for all, says Resi’s Depledge

Alex Depledge, CEO of Resi, will speak at Datafest on how online data can open up architecture to more people – but she warns against over-hyping data science
March 14, 2018 14 Mar'18
Microsoft's Chinese-English translation system achieves human parity

A China-US research team at software powerhouse Microsoft has developed an AI-powered system that can translate Chinese news articles into English as well as humans do.
March 13, 2018 13 Mar'18
Government ‘unlawfully delegated’ bulk data powers to GCHQ, court hears

Privacy International urges Britain’s most secret court, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, to rule that the government illegally collected surveillance data from internet and phone companies until at least September 2017
March 13, 2018 13 Mar'18
Russian augmented reality startups break into enterprise space

Augmented, virtual and mixed reality technologies edge closer to enterprise adoption in Russia as a strong local developer network grows
March 13, 2018 13 Mar'18
Watch out for digital legacy in manufacturing

Digital twins are the next innovation in manufacturing, but will the file formats and hardware be around for as long as the assets being modelled?
March 05, 2018 05 Mar'18
How to improve SAP ROI with smart licensing

A recent study suggested most SAP projects have a 50% chance of failure. The risk of having incorrect SAP licensing could be far higher
March 05, 2018 05 Mar'18
Hershey’s outsources SAP roll-out to Accenture

US chocolate maker has signed up Accenture to support its SAP Hana S/4 implementation
March 02, 2018 02 Mar'18
New privacy fears as IT challenges delay surveillance oversight body by a year

IT challenges have delayed government plans for an independent body to authorise requests to access the public’s internet and phone records by nearly a year, raising new legal and privacy concerns
February 28, 2018 28 Feb'18
Chances of success with SAP are only 50-50

Companies can spend millions, but half of SAP projects fail because there is no connection between the implementation and the original business case
February 28, 2018 28 Feb'18
Government must rewrite illegal sections of Snoopers’ Charter, court told

A court has been asked to give ministers until July 2018 to rewrite powers to require phone and internet companies to retain data on the population. The government acknowledges parts of surveillance regime are unlawful
February 26, 2018 26 Feb'18
Surveillance watchdog investigates security risks of GCHQ IT contractors

The investigatory powers commissioner is reviewing the security arrangements for IT contractors that have access to live computer systems at GCHQ holding highly sensitive records on the UK population
February 22, 2018 22 Feb'18
Hana and S/4 users more sophisticated but beset by licensing doubts

Research sponsored by SAP consultancy Centiq finds SAP customers maturing their use of SAP Hana and S/4 Hana, but hindered by licensing concerns and dearth of skills
February 19, 2018 19 Feb'18
Lauri Love can stay in UK: prosecutors will not appeal extradition ruling

Crown Prosecution Service gives undertaking to Lauri Love that it will not appeal against a court decision not to extradite him to the US – but prosecutors are seeking leave to appeal over part of the court ruling on extradition procedure
February 14, 2018 14 Feb'18
Australia’s national payment system will ease peer-to-peer payments

New Payments Platform is expected to accelerate the decline of cash and cheques in Australia, as well as simplify invoicing for businesses through overlay services
February 12, 2018 12 Feb'18
Oracle pushes automation beyond database to cloud services

At Cloud World New York, Oracle announced the extension of its machine learning efforts to services in its cloud platform
February 07, 2018 07 Feb'18
HPE opens APAC innovation lab to tap IoT market

Facility in Singapore will rope in partners across the internet of things ecosystem to test new applications powered by HPE’s edge computing capabilities
February 05, 2018 05 Feb'18
Appeals court rules Lauri Love will not be extradited over US hacking charges

The lord chief justice, Lord Burnett, says 33-year-old engineering student Lauri Love will not be extradited to the US to face hacking charges, in a landmark legal decision, and the Crown Prosecution Service should bring proceedings against Love in ...
February 02, 2018 02 Feb'18
Appeal Court to give landmark verdict on Lauri Love extradition

The Appeal Court will decide whether Lauri Love, who has serious health issues, should be extradited to the US to face hacking charges, or face trial in the UK. The landmark case is the first test of legal protections introduced by Theresa May to ...
February 02, 2018 02 Feb'18
Google Q4 results show businesses are buying into its public cloud

The Google Cloud Platform is earning the search engine giant $1bn per quarter. Expect more cloud investment this year
February 02, 2018 02 Feb'18
CIO interview: Aaron Powell, CDO, NHS Blood and Transplant

NHS Blood and Transplant chief digital officer Aaron Powell explains why pushing a digital transformation agenda has a real impact on people’s lives
February 02, 2018 02 Feb'18
Faster data is a safer bet for risk exposure

Betting platform service supplier FSB Technology (UK) has used GridGain’s in-memory database to support its existing PostgreSQL transactional system
January 30, 2018 30 Jan'18
SAP 2017 results: Cloud revenue nears €3.8bn, 7,900 S/4 Hana customers

SAP has declared full year 2017 revenue of €23.5bn, of which nearly €2.8bn was cloud, alongside acquisition of Callidus, a cloud-based “lead to money” service
January 30, 2018 30 Jan'18
Davos: Cyber risks grow as countries turn towards protectionism

The cost of natural disasters is now at record levels, but the cost of cyber crime is far higher. The World Economic Forum hopes to persuade governments to work together on the problem, but with isolationist politics back in fashion, can it succeed?
January 29, 2018 29 Jan'18
UK gas supplier outsources to the cloud with HCL

Cadent is modernising its IT operations through a five-year outsourcing deal with Indian IT services supplier
January 25, 2018 25 Jan'18
Robots are needed to manage the automation robots

The next decade will see robots transform from invisible forces obeying our commands to lifelike objects interacting with humans on a daily basis
January 25, 2018 25 Jan'18
Forensic investigation into Post Office IT system at centre of legal case nears completion

The investigation into the fairness of court cases brought against sub-postmasters is close to finishing its forensic examination of the IT system at the heart of the controversy
January 23, 2018 23 Jan'18
Modern methodology gives Sweden’s 100-year-old SKF a digital push

Long-established engineering company takes a leaf out of the startup guide to software development
January 23, 2018 23 Jan'18
New controversies as Trump passes US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act

The amended Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which seeks to legitimise US surveillance on foreigners, has been signed off by president Trump
January 22, 2018 22 Jan'18
Privacy International warns of global risk to citizens if Microsoft loses US data access appeal

Privacy International warns of widespread privacy violations if Microsoft loses US data access appeal
January 22, 2018 22 Jan'18
European Parliament votes to restrict exports of surveillance equipment

European Parliament votes to tighten export controls to restrict supply of surveillance and encryption technology to states with poor human rights records amid fears British companies may not have to comply after Brexit
January 22, 2018 22 Jan'18
2018 UK software budgets double for AI and blockchain

Artificial intelligence and blockchain initiatives are earmarked for a doubling of investment, finds the Computer Weekly/TechTarget IT Priorities survey for 2018
January 18, 2018 18 Jan'18
451 Research shines light on how enterprise attitudes to digital transformation are evolving

Enterprises are capitalising on their infrastructure upgrades and are increasing their use of cloud to take advantage of emerging technologies and accelerate business change, says 451 Research
January 18, 2018 18 Jan'18
Demand for cloud services drives increase in IT outsourcing

Cloud services spending in Europe, the Middle East and Africa offset a drop in traditional IT outsourcing in 2017
January 17, 2018 17 Jan'18
CIO interview: Tom Read, CDIO, Ministry of Justice

The MoJ’s chief digital and information officer, Tom Read, is keen on doing his bit to tear down the Whitehall silos, creating collaborative, simple and effective digital services for staff and the public
January 17, 2018 17 Jan'18
Davos: Disintegration of the internet could create economic turmoil

Politicians and business leaders will discuss the risks posed by fake news, cyber attacks, and artificial intelligence to jobs, political stability and global security, at the World Economic Forum in Davos
January 17, 2018 17 Jan'18
UBS uses predictive analytics to manage its travel spend

Swiss bank is getting a better insight into its business travel costs through an automated software platform
January 16, 2018 16 Jan'18
Financial savings just the beginning for CIOs who understand code quality

Businesses need to understand the quality of the code in their applications if they are to avoid unnecessary costs and glitches
January 12, 2018 12 Jan'18
Call for statutory regulation of police number plate cameras amid concerns over accuracy

The UK’s automatic number plate recognition database – one the largest non-military data-gathering systems – records up to 1.2 million false readings of number plates every day. It should be subject to statutory regulation, says an independent ...
January 10, 2018 10 Jan'18
Marks and Spencer eyes £30m annual cost savings from digital-first retail push

High-street retailer has fleshed out plans to put digital at the heart of its business to boost operational efficiency in response to changing consumer demands
January 05, 2018 05 Jan'18
Oxford and Cambridge Club shelves ledgers for time and attendance

London club has modernised its time and attendance paper-based procedures to manage its staff, using Planday software
December 28, 2017 28 Dec'17
Top 10 stories on state surveillance, technology and the law in 2017

In 2017, the government faced multiple legal challenges over the legality of mass surveillance of the population, most of whom pose no threat, in cases that will set the parameters between individual freedom and state intrusion
December 20, 2017 20 Dec'17
Top 10 enterprise IT in the Middle East stories in 2017

Countries in the Middle East are putting digital transformation high on their priority lists and are already leaders in areas such as smart city development
December 19, 2017 19 Dec'17
Nordic states innovate to attract global tech players

The Nordic region is already a hotbed for tech startups and has the ingredients to attract more investment from the established tech giants
December 19, 2017 19 Dec'17
Top 10 enterprise IT in the Nordics stories in 2017

The Nordic region might be best known in IT circles for its startup communities – but it has much more to offer
December 19, 2017 19 Dec'17
Australia’s Kogan.com breaks IT silos

E-commerce company used to run separate systems across different business functions, but has implemented an SAP system to streamline operations
December 18, 2017 18 Dec'17
Top 10 business applications stories of 2017

Indirect licensing of SAP software was the big story, with SAP’s victory over Diageo in the High Court proving a tinderbox. AI, machine learning and blockchain oscillated between hype and reality
December 15, 2017 15 Dec'17
Oracle Q2 2017-18 results see cloud revenue grow to $1.5bn

Oracle’s second-quarter 2017-18 results show an increase in cloud revenue of 44%, and overall growth of 4% to $9.6bn. Executives are bullish against competition, buoyed by artificial intelligence makeover of database
December 06, 2017 06 Dec'17
Mayor of London opens Bangalore office to strengthen links with Indian businesses

City of London’s office in India’s tech hub aims to promote Indian investment and IT jobs in UK capital
December 05, 2017 05 Dec'17
US utility provider PG&E on ditching the datacentre and going cloud-first

US-based utility provider Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) discusses how getting out of the datacentre business and into the cloud is helping meet its regulatory, affordability and innovation targets
December 01, 2017 01 Dec'17
SAP and customers still in cockpit of debate about indirect licensing

SAP and the UK & Ireland SAP user group have been thrashing out the topic of indirect licensing in 2017. Is there an amicable settlement in sight?
December 01, 2017 01 Dec'17
Alexa for Business: Amazon embarks on voice-activated workplace productivity push

The final day of Re:Invent 2017 sees Amazon set out plans to help enterprises automate problematic workplace tasks using its voice assistant, Alexa
November 30, 2017 30 Nov'17
AWS fleshes out cloud database proposition, while taking aim at Oracle

The second-day Re:Invent keynote saw AWS lift the veil on 22 new cloud products and services, and aim a few more jabs at Oracle's database proposition
November 29, 2017 29 Nov'17
Lauri Love would face ‘medieval’ conditions in US prison if extradited over hacking charges

Engineering student Lauri Love should be tried in the UK, court hears, as new evidence is presented on the “medieval” conditions in US jails for people with medical problems
November 27, 2017 27 Nov'17
UKISUG 2017: only 2% of British and Irish SAP users plan to use Leonardo

Connect, the SAP UK and Ireland User Group conference, hears that just 2% of customers intend to use the supplier’s Leonardo AI toolbox, and 49% are unaware of new licensing policy
November 22, 2017 22 Nov'17
Meg Whitman steps down as HPE CEO

Hewlett-Packard Enterprise CEO Meg Whitman is to step down after six years in charge
November 21, 2017 21 Nov'17
SAP indirect access: Prepare for the impact on third-party applications

SAP is acting in an anti-competitive manner and could be in breach of the US Sherman Act, according to a Duke University School of Law professor
November 20, 2017 20 Nov'17
CA World 2017: Shifting robotics from transactional to social

Cynthia Breazeal, founder and chief scientist of Jibo, describes how artificial intelligence and robotics is gradually transitioning away from transactional to social
November 16, 2017 16 Nov'17
Private Swiss bank Julius Baer to save $1m a year with cloud HR

Julius Baer banks on higher returns after replacing on-premise systems with cloud HR services
November 16, 2017 16 Nov'17
Post Office court case judge issues warning to legal teams

The high court judge managing the sub-postmasters versus Post Office legal case over an allegedly faulty computer system tells legal teams to cooperate
November 15, 2017 15 Nov'17
Critical IT problems cost UK organisations £200,000 a month

UK companies are losing hundreds of thousands of pounds a month because of IT problems, but are relatively good at preventing the same issues recurring
November 13, 2017 13 Nov'17
GE Digital to transform Middle East industry using the power of the internet

Bill Ruh, CEO at GE Digital, outlines the company’s vision of the industrial Internet of things (IIoT) in the Middle East and how it plans to transform industry through the power of the Internet
November 07, 2017 07 Nov'17
Benioff vaunts Google partnership at Dreamforce 2017

At Dreamforce 2017, Marc Benioff announces public cloud partnership with Google in keynote embracing AI-driven fourth industrial revolution
November 07, 2017 07 Nov'17
Dreamforce 2017: Benioff hails fourth industrial revolution

Salesforce CEO bangs drum for AI-infused cloud CRM as plank in so-called “fourth industrial revolution”, with increased customisation of its software to the fore
October 31, 2017 31 Oct'17
NHS to get open source API lab

NHS Digital plans on launching an API lab before the end of the year, with the goal accelerating development of interoperability in health and social care
October 31, 2017 31 Oct'17
Shell makes $200m saving with virtual learning environment

Royal Dutch Shell has saved hundreds of millions by replacing field trips with interactive training that allows employees to interact with geological formations from their computer screen
October 31, 2017 31 Oct'17
TomTom navigates move onto global HR platform

TomTom went live with HR platform in all 37 countries, serving 5,000 staff, in March 2017
October 31, 2017 31 Oct'17
SAP opens Leonardo Centre in India

New facility in Bangalore will showcase the software giant’s Leonardo portfolio of machine learning, analytics and blockchain capabilities to organisations in the Asia-Pacific region
October 30, 2017 30 Oct'17
UK must speed up and skill up to co-drive fourth industrial revolution

UK manufacturing is falling behind the pack leaders in the revolution to apply digital technologies to industry, says a government-sponsored report led by Siemens’ UK CEO
October 30, 2017 30 Oct'17
Court dates set for Post Office accounting system trials

An end is in sight for sub-postmasters’ campaign against alleged wrongful prosecution, which they blame on a faulty computer system
October 27, 2017 27 Oct'17
Nordea lays off 6,000, citing digital transformation as the driver

Nordea is cutting staff as a result of its ongoing digital transformation, which means it needs less people
October 27, 2017 27 Oct'17
Carglass France feels benefit of employee knowledge sharing

Automobile glass repair company Carglass France is using knowledge-sharing technology to distribute expertise among 3,000 employees
October 27, 2017 27 Oct'17
Airbus saves millions after building a digital learning library

Airbus has created a digital learning library that is helping more than 100,000 staff in 35 countries keep their skills updated
October 26, 2017 26 Oct'17
How UCAS uses Splunk to protect students’ sensitive data

Universities and Colleges Admissions Service’s enterprise security architect describes how the organisation uses Splunk to keep user data secure, and how it copes with its yearly spike in traffic
October 26, 2017 26 Oct'17
Transformation agenda in HR tech ‘is gathering pace’

Digital technology is changing the way companies manage their workforce at an accelerating rate
October 25, 2017 25 Oct'17
Oversight of intelligence agencies’ data sharing has ‘failed’, court hears

UK’s intelligence services lack adequate oversight and written guidelines when sharing databases of sensitive information, Privacy International argues in secret court
October 24, 2017 24 Oct'17
Scottish Water extends ServiceNow following HR success

Having pioneered optimising the joiners and leavers process, the IT service management team at Scottish Water can now show other areas of the business the benefits of ServiceNow
October 23, 2017 23 Oct'17
Microservices are about organisational change

Microservices technology can pave the way for companies to decentralise the way they build software to deliver innovation and reduce the cost of failure
October 19, 2017 19 Oct'17
SAP Q3 2017 results show steady growth in cloud revenue to €937m

SAP’s third quarter 2017 results show steady growth in cloud revenue, S/4 Hana adoption, and some uptake for its “digital transformation” spearhead SAP Leonardo
October 19, 2017 19 Oct'17
Millions being lost due to downtime in industrial systems

Industrial companies are losing $260,000 per hour due to unplanned downtime, but predicting failure using digital twins can help overcome the problem
October 19, 2017 19 Oct'17
Post Office computer system legal case reaches important procedural juncture

Sub-postmasters group action against the Post Office reaches an important milestone
October 17, 2017 17 Oct'17
Apple Irish datacentre objectors to seek fresh High Court appeal against project

The remaining objectors to Apple’s plans to build a datacentre in Athenry, Ireland, are preparing to launch another appeal against the project, which has now been delayed by more than two and a half years
October 17, 2017 17 Oct'17
SAP Hybris paints the future of commerce

Technological advancements and swathes of data have made machine learning and mass personalisation of products possible, but companies are still sailing on the edge
October 17, 2017 17 Oct'17
UK intelligence agencies ‘unlawfully’ sharing sensitive personal data, court hears

A secret court will decide whether Intelligence agencies are “unlawfully” sharing huge datasets containing sensitive information about the population with industry, government departments and overseas intelligence services.
October 17, 2017 17 Oct'17
AI adoption still nascent, says SAS survey

At its 2017 conference in Amsterdam, analytics software supplier discloses research into enterprise readiness for artificial intelligence, and identifies blockages
October 16, 2017 16 Oct'17
Puppet on why people, process and technology are mission critical to DevOps success

At the PuppetConf user and partner summit in San Francisco, Puppet and its customers shared insights on how best to address the people, process and technology sides of the DevOps success equation
October 16, 2017 16 Oct'17
Employees will book time off using Alexa-style devices

Voice recognition and artificial intelligence will take the drudgery out of HR, but CIOs need to help their HR team develop a long-term strategy
October 13, 2017 13 Oct'17
WEF gets to grips with risks posed by transformative technologies

World Economic Forum is bringing technology, insurance and government sectors together to better understand the risks posed by technology failures
October 11, 2017 11 Oct'17
House of Lords committee hosts clash between AI enthusiasts and sceptics

In the first session of its enquiry into artificial intelligence and the UK economy, a House of Lords select committee takes contrasting testimony from academic enthusiasts and press sceptics
October 11, 2017 11 Oct'17
Teva Pharmaceuticals turns to cloud HR as it weathers difficult trading conditions

One of Israel’s largest manufacturing companies has invested more than $10m in cloud HR. The technology is helping Teva Pharmaceuticals turn its fortunes around.
October 04, 2017 04 Oct'17
Global IT spending to hit $3.7tn next year, says Gartner

IT spending is taking on a different shape as organisations embark on, and accelerate, digital transformation projects