News

IT for government and public sector

January 27, 2017 27 Jan'17
Microsoft to teach more than 560,000 people digital skills

Technology giant Microsoft announces a programme designed to boost digital skills and tech job prospects across the UK
January 27, 2017 27 Jan'17
Bett 2017: Knowing what edtech to invest in is a challenge for schools

Minster Rob Halfon has urged those building use cases for tech in schools to help others choose the right technology for use in the classroom
January 27, 2017 27 Jan'17
Growing UK's tech skills base will make or break prime minister's industrial strategy, panel claims

Speakers at the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology's industrial strategy debate demand greater clarity on how the government intends to tackle the UK tech and science sector's skills, diversity and regional inequalities
January 26, 2017 26 Jan'17
Mixed feelings on Australian enterprise app market

The enterprise mobile app development market is attracting big money despite a lack of corporate appetite

January 26, 2017 26 Jan'17
MoD accelerator launches Enduring Challenge tech contest

Enduring Challenge seeks to bring innovative technology to the front line for the UK’s armed forces and security services
January 25, 2017 25 Jan'17
Emergency Services Network will not be ready in time, says PAC

A Public Accounts Committee examination of the Emergency Services Network concludes that the controversial project may need more testing and assurance than its delivery date allows for
January 25, 2017 25 Jan'17
Nordic CIO interview: Peter Krantz, Sweden’s national library

Making information accessible for hundreds of years is the challenge facing the CIO at Sweden’s Kungliga Biblioteket
January 24, 2017 24 Jan'17
TechUK outlines its Brexit negotiation priorities

IT industry body TechUK outlines what it believes are the Brexit negotiation priorities for the UK IT sector
January 24, 2017 24 Jan'17
GDS signals intent to move public sector off PSN

Government Digital Service’s Technology Leaders Network determines that the internet is an adequate solution to support the vast majority of public sector work
January 23, 2017 23 Jan'17
Government reaffirms broadband funding in industrial strategy plan

The government reaffirms previous commitments to further funding of rural broadband roll-out and 5G mobile networking in its post-Brexit industrial strategy plan

January 23, 2017 23 Jan'17
UKGovCamp attracts record attendance in 10th year

Popular ‘unconference’ celebrates enters its 10th year by talking IoT, open government, making agile stick and archiving records in a digital age
January 23, 2017 23 Jan'17
Industrial strategy to power post-Brexit Britain

Theresa May has launched an industrial strategy green paper, which aims to create a prosperous post-Brexit Britain through developing Stem skills, investments in science and innovation, and infrastructure upgrades
January 20, 2017 20 Jan'17
Lords ‘deeply concerned’ about Digital Economy Bill data-sharing clauses

Digital Economy Bill comes under fire again for its data-sharing principles, this time from the House of Lords Delegated Powers Committee
January 19, 2017 19 Jan'17
Cloud-based contracts make up a third of IT outsourcing contracts in 2016

Traditional outsourcing contracts reduce in number and are being replaced by cloud-based services
January 19, 2017 19 Jan'17
IT failures contributed to failed HMRC outsourcing contract

IT delays and failures contributed to a failed HMRC outsourcing contract, finds NAO investigation
January 19, 2017 19 Jan'17
National crime survey figures show growing cyber crime

Cyber crime is on the up and is now included in official crime figures
January 19, 2017 19 Jan'17
UK firms struggling to manage cyber threats, survey shows

Businesses want security suppliers to offer more complementary products and collaborate more effectively as they struggle to manage data protection in the light of new laws, a survey shows
January 19, 2017 19 Jan'17
How Singapore can help Southeast Asia reach its digital potential

Singapore could play a vital role in supporting the digital transformation of its Asean partners in the Asian Century
January 18, 2017 18 Jan'17
GDS declares public cloud secure enough for "vast majority" of public sector

Government Digital Service moves to allay public sector concerns about using off-premise services in a bid to speed up cloud adoption beyond Whitehall
January 18, 2017 18 Jan'17
2017 may be crisis year for DDoS attacks, warns Deloitte

The proliferation of IoT devices and IoT exploit kits may make 2017 a turning point in DDoS attacks requiring new defence tactics, warns Deloitte
January 18, 2017 18 Jan'17
Better use of data can improve government delivery of services, says John Manzoni

Civil service chief John Manzoni highlights the potential and need for the government’s use of data to improve public services
January 17, 2017 17 Jan'17
Post-Brexit UK success depends on digital, says tech industry

TechUK responds cautiously to prime minister Theresa May’s 12-point plan, calling for a “smooth and orderly” Brexit
January 17, 2017 17 Jan'17
Artificial intelligence critical to business growth

There are many hurdles to overcome before the full benefits of AI can be realised by organisations
January 17, 2017 17 Jan'17
3D printing proves a disruptive force in Asean manufacturing

3D printing adoption is set to accelerate in Southeast Asia after a delayed start
January 16, 2017 16 Jan'17
Australian government technology suffers failure after failure

Former government IT leader says Australia’s IT is so bad that if the government were a private sector organisation, it would fail
January 16, 2017 16 Jan'17
Science and Technology Committee slams government digital strategy delays

Science and Technology Committee chairman says he is “disappointed” that the government has still not published its digital transformation strategy
January 16, 2017 16 Jan'17
Treasury Committee calls for delay to HMRC’s digital tax project

MPs urge HMRC to push back the go-live date of its Making Tax Digital project amidst concerns over costs, software and readiness
January 16, 2017 16 Jan'17
England’s largest NHS trust investigates cyber attack

A cyber attack on England's largest NHS trust has underlined the importance of cyber security at healthcare organisations and has raised renewed fears about NHS legacy IT systems
January 15, 2017 15 Jan'17
The evolution of smart Dubai

Aisha Bin Bishr, director general at Smart Dubai Office, discusses how Dubai is evolving as a smart city with the support of local telecoms provider Du.
January 13, 2017 13 Jan'17
Obama administration relaxes NSA data-sharing rules

Civil liberties organisations express concern at US move to disseminate raw NSA communications surveillance to 16 other government agencies
January 13, 2017 13 Jan'17
Davos: Technology poses new risks to jobs, economies and society

Politicians and business leaders will discuss the risks posed by technology to jobs, political stability and cyber security at the World Economic Forum in Davos
January 12, 2017 12 Jan'17
AWS commits to addressing long-term UK cloud skills shortage

Amazon Web Services debuts its Re:Start programme, as it strives to do its bit to close the UK cloud skills gap
January 12, 2017 12 Jan'17
US college admits paying $28,000 ransom to cyber attackers

Los Angeles college was forced to pay ransomware attackers after being locked out of key computer systems and data
January 11, 2017 11 Jan'17
Tech focus helps Singapore go second in globalisation index

Singapore is the second most globalised economy in the world and its IT infrastructure is critical to this achievement
January 11, 2017 11 Jan'17
Asean storage moves towards hybrid model

Storage is moving to the cloud in the Asean region and a number of storage companies are jostling for position
January 11, 2017 11 Jan'17
Firms should take note of EC privacy proposals, warns KPMG

Professional services firm KPMG is urging UK firms to ensure they are prepared for proposed EU privacy rules for electronic communications set to become law by May 2018
January 11, 2017 11 Jan'17
Australian websites defaced by Tunisian Islamist hacktivists

Tunisian Islamist hacktivists have defaced websites in Australia, Russia, Italy and Pakistan with messages calling for a halt to the killing of civilians in Syria
January 10, 2017 10 Jan'17
Brexit should not hinder 5G development, says report

A report commissioned by the government claims the UK’s 2016 vote to leave the European Union should have minimal impact on the country’s ability to lead on the development of 5G networks
January 10, 2017 10 Jan'17
Digital technology helps Environment Agency deliver earlier flood warnings

The latest flood forecasting system that covers England will use cloud computing, data analytics and data visualisation technologies
January 10, 2017 10 Jan'17
Liberty launches cash appeal to challenge Snoopers’ Charter

Civil rights group Liberty is appealing for donations to raise £10,000 by 8 February 2017 to challenge the lawfulness of bulk surveillance powers in the new Investigatory Powers Act
January 09, 2017 09 Jan'17
Former Surrey NHS IT chief and supplier both jailed for corruption

Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust’s former informatics director goes to jail for accepting £80,000 worth of bribes from a supplier in return for an IT contract
January 09, 2017 09 Jan'17
UKCloud cuts cloud storage pricing for public sector customers and sticks boot into US rivals

Public sector-focused cloud provider claims latest round of price cuts means its services are cheaper to use than some of its US counterparts
January 08, 2017 08 Jan'17
Cloud-based infrastructure is a top ANZ priority in 2017

Projects involving cloud storage and back-up will feature strongly for CIOs based in Australia and New Zealand this year
January 06, 2017 06 Jan'17
Telco turns Jersey into connected internet of things testbed

Telecoms operator JT will build a long-range wide area network to support IoT deployments across Channel island
January 06, 2017 06 Jan'17
Security research links Russia to US election cyber attacks

Security researchers say the hacking of the US Democratic National Convention's email system is linked to a wider Russian cyber campaign
January 05, 2017 05 Jan'17
UK youngsters unwittingly exposing private data

The UK children's commissioner has called for better support for child privacy after study shows most are unknowingly agreeing to share private data
January 05, 2017 05 Jan'17
London hospital signs Atos deal as part of digital transformation

UCLH aims to improve patient and staff access to IT systems through 10-year contract to support care, education services and research
January 04, 2017 04 Jan'17
California legislates against ransomware

US state introduces legislation to make it easier to bring ransomware attackers to justice and jail them for up to four years
January 04, 2017 04 Jan'17
Customer-first approach will make 2017 a challenge for Dutch CIOs

CIOs in the Netherlands could see their strategies lead to thousands of jobs being cut as businesses automate
January 04, 2017 04 Jan'17
Thai military to recruit civilian “cyber warriors”

The Thai military is to recruit civilian experts to help improve IT systems and cyber defence capabilities
January 04, 2017 04 Jan'17
CES organiser slams UK government for lack of support for tech startups

Consumer Technology Association CEO calls out the government for not offering to help startups attend the annual CES event
January 03, 2017 03 Jan'17
London Ambulance Service suffers New Year system crash

Control room staff forced to use pen and paper as five-hour outage hits performance of ambulance service’s communication systems
January 03, 2017 03 Jan'17
Australian state’s human rights commission website hit by hacktivists

Anonymous hacktivists deface Victoria Human Rights Commission website with message in support of AnonPlus social networking service
December 29, 2016 29 Dec'16
Top 10 public sector IT stories of 2016

In the year the UK public voted to leave the European Union, and the Government Digital Service saw an exodus of several senior leaders, large government IT projects continued to stir up controversy
December 29, 2016 29 Dec'16
Top 10 HR technology stories of 2016

Here is a rundown of Computer Weekly's most popular stories on HR technology in 2016
December 28, 2016 28 Dec'16
Top 10 IT outsourcing stories of 2016

Read 10 of the best of Computer Weekly IT outsourcing articles of 2016
December 28, 2016 28 Dec'16
Top 10 mobile stories of 2016

A look back at Computer Weekly’s most-read mobile stories from 2016
December 23, 2016 23 Dec'16
CIO interview: MoD’s DII replacement will feed government as a platform

Mike Stone, who will soon be leaving his position of CIO at the Ministry of Defence (MoD), explains how the MoD’s DII replacement will feed into government as a platform
December 22, 2016 22 Dec'16
Extra £440m to get superfast broadband to hardest-to-reach places in UK

Government announces extra funding for its superfast broadband roll-out, with 600,000 more premises expected to benefit
December 22, 2016 22 Dec'16
Top 10 state surveillance, investigatory powers and activism stories of 2016

This year saw the UK introduce the Snoopers' Charter, legalising some of the most extensive government surveillance powers in the world. Computer Weekly exposed state monitoring of Parliamentary emails, and reported on activist Lauri Love's legal ...
December 21, 2016 21 Dec'16
European court delivers blow to Snoopers’ Charter

Parts of the controversial Investigatory Powers Act relating to the bulk collection of communications data have been ruled unlawful by the European Court of Justice
December 21, 2016 21 Dec'16
Top 10 broadband stories of 2016

A look back at Computer Weekly's most read broadband news, analysis and features from 2016
December 21, 2016 21 Dec'16
Top 10 IT security stories of 2016

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 IT security stories of 2016:
December 20, 2016 20 Dec'16
IT error means 420,000 Scottish taxpayers not informed of new rates

National Audit Office report reveals how error in HMRC system led to thousands of taxpayers not receiving notification letters for Scottish Rate of Income Tax
December 20, 2016 20 Dec'16
Top 10 CW Nordics stories of 2016

Read the top 10 Nordic enterprise IT stories from Computer Weekly
December 18, 2016 18 Dec'16
Could blockchain revolutionise the Middle East?

The Middle East could pioneer the use of blockchain, transforming the processes used by organisations in the region
December 16, 2016 16 Dec'16
Government delays release of digital transformation strategy until new year

Sources say strategy is “ready to go”, but GDS is working with government departments to “embed” it further
December 16, 2016 16 Dec'16
2017 IT Priorities: Benelux IT leaders least confident of budget increase

Benelux-based IT decision makers expect to divert more of their IT budgets to cloud technology and services
December 15, 2016 15 Dec'16
Typo allowed Russian hackers to access US Democratic Party emails

Typographical mistake in an email warning of a phishing attack on the US Democrats led to thousands of private emails being accessed and published by Russian-backed hackers
December 14, 2016 14 Dec'16
NAO urges CCS to step up as it fails to achieve value for money target

The Crown Commercial Service is failing to deliver quality services to customers and achieving value for money, according to the National Audit Office
December 14, 2016 14 Dec'16
IT services advisory sector consolidates as ISG acquires Alsbridge

Significant robotic process automation skills included in ISG’s $74m acquisition of Alsbridge
December 13, 2016 13 Dec'16
Is there a Dutch digital delusion?

To stand still is to decline. The Netherlands seems to be losing ground in the digital world, according to new reports
December 13, 2016 13 Dec'16
Saudi Arabia enterprise IT trends for 2017

Computer Weekly looks at the technologies that will dominate enterprise IT in Saudi Arabia next year
December 09, 2016 09 Dec'16
Government Transformation Strategy to 'fundamentally' change the way departments operate

A background document seen by Computer Weekly outlines details of the forthcoming Government Transformation Strategy
December 09, 2016 09 Dec'16
IT Priorities 2017: Nordic organisations to spend more on cloud services

The adoption of cloud computing in its many guises will be a top priority in the Nordic region in 2017
December 07, 2016 07 Dec'16
The United Arab Emirates enterprise IT trends for 2017

The UAE is already a leader in areas such as smart city developments, and 2017 looks set to see organisations in the country increase its adoption of other transformational IT
December 07, 2016 07 Dec'16
IT Priorities 2017: Quarter of Apac CIOs expect IT budget to rise by more than 10%

More than half of Apac-based IT decision-makers expect budgets to rise next year and cloud-related projects look the likely destination of the extra money
December 07, 2016 07 Dec'16
DfT launches £2.5m transport tech funding package

The Department for Transport will make £2.5m available through a series of grants for innovative ideas and technology in the transport sector
December 06, 2016 06 Dec'16
Internet of things gains momentum in Southeast Asia

IoT has been much hyped in Southeast Asia, and organisations in the region are testing the technology's potential
December 06, 2016 06 Dec'16
Aberdeenshire delivers wireless across schools and libraries

Aberdeenshire Council has built an estate-wide wireless network covering its schools, libraries and corporate buildings
December 06, 2016 06 Dec'16
UK falls below global cyber security confidence

Global confidence in ability to accurately assess cyber risk has fallen in the past year, but the UK has fallen below the global average
December 05, 2016 05 Dec'16
Top 10 ANZ enterprise IT stories of 2016

Here is a rundown of Computer Weekly’s most popular ANZ enterprise IT articles for 2016
December 02, 2016 02 Dec'16
Home Office hands out £26m to police transformation projects

Projects offered funding include a scheme to deliver a national policing data analytics lab and an IT system for the UK Protected Persons Service
December 02, 2016 02 Dec'16
Public Accounts Committee questions feasibility of HMRC’s digital plans

After the departure of HM Revenue and Customs IT chief Mark Dearnley, the PAC is concerned about the robustness of the department’s digital transformation plans
December 01, 2016 01 Dec'16
EC proposes simpler VAT rules to help e-commerce businesses

European Commission sets out proposals for simplified tax rules to “unlock e-commerce and make it easier for online businesses”
December 01, 2016 01 Dec'16
US and UK government expand surveillance powers

The US has introduced wide new hacking powers for federal agents a day after the UK's Investigatory Powers Act firmed up bulk surveillance powers for intelligence and polices services
December 01, 2016 01 Dec'16
London mayor launches £7m digital talent programme

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan announces plans for a skills programme to help young people get into digital and tech careers
November 30, 2016 30 Nov'16
Digitising automotive industry could generate billions for UK economy

By investing properly in digital technologies, the automotive industry could gain £74bn for the UK economy by 2035, according to a report
November 30, 2016 30 Nov'16
Transport Scotland turns to IoT mapping to keep roads clear in cold snap

Scottish transport authority is using Esri’s location technology to keep tabs on its gritters in icy weather
November 30, 2016 30 Nov'16
Land Registry to build centralised digital register

Kainos signs up to help HM Land Registry create a digital local land charges register service
November 29, 2016 29 Nov'16
CIO interview: Neil Moore, head of ICT, Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service

Hampshire Fire and Rescue’s CIO talks about collaborating, moving to the cloud and getting staff on board with digital transformation
November 29, 2016 29 Nov'16
Group litigation against Post Office in Horizon system dispute prepares for next stage

Postmasters’ legal case against the Post Office claims that computer system is to blame for losses, not false accounting or theft
November 28, 2016 28 Nov'16
Surrey County Council extends BT PSN contract for two years

Council’s contract for Unicorn network, which provides a fully managed and integrated voice and data communications service, extended to 2021
November 28, 2016 28 Nov'16
HMRC geared up to block 500 million phishing emails a year

HMRC is first department to implement technology to block phishing emails as part of UK government’s active cyber defence programme and self-testing strategy
November 28, 2016 28 Nov'16
Petition to force MPs to consider debate on surveillance bill

Open Rights Group has called on parliament to debate the Investigatory Powers Bill and review it in light of pending court actions, after petition against the bill tops 100,000 signatories
November 28, 2016 28 Nov'16
SMEs still struggle to get foothold in public sector market

TechUK survey shows there are still barriers to small companies gaining access to public sector procurement despite government efforts
November 25, 2016 25 Nov'16
US Navy breach highlights third-party cyber risk

The personal details of more than 130,000 current and former US Navy personnel have been exposed in a breach linked to the compromise of third-party supplier’s laptop
November 25, 2016 25 Nov'16
Experts attack Digital Economy Bill for lack of data-sharing safeguards

Group of 26 experts criticises Digital Economy Bill for vague information-sharing provisions and lack of safeguards, calling on the government to take action
November 23, 2016 23 Nov'16
Are Asean organisations ready for blockchain technology?

Blockchain promises to increase the efficiency and security of transactions in industries way beyond its financial services roots. But what does it mean in the Asean region?
November 23, 2016 23 Nov'16
Chancellor Phillip Hammond announces £400m investment in tech startups

Promises made in the chancellor’s autumn statement include major investment in venture capital to innovative startups and a £390m boost to future transport tech