News

IT for government and public sector

September 04, 2014 04 Sep'14
Ordnance Survey to release open data on green spaces

The Ordnance Survey is to release information and statistics on green space in England and Wales as open data
September 04, 2014 04 Sep'14
NHS England informatics head wants more CCIOs

NHS England director wants to see a chief clinical information officer in every NHS provider and clinical commissioning group
September 03, 2014 03 Sep'14
DWP appoints Mayank Prakash as new technology director

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has appointed Mayank Prakash as its new director general of technology
September 03, 2014 03 Sep'14
Nato to adopt new cyber defence policy

Nato leaders are expected to accept there is no distinction between cyber attack and physical attack at the organisation’s 2014 summit

September 03, 2014 03 Sep'14
Prescribing digital videos could help NHS deal with chronic diseases

Videos and digital interactions with patients are being prescribed as part of a pre-trial to see if they encourage patients with chronic diseases to better manage their conditions
September 03, 2014 03 Sep'14
Aberdeen to get city-wide gigabit network

Aberdeen will this month become Scotland’s first city to be fully covered by a high speed fibre network
September 03, 2014 03 Sep'14
HSCIC and MOJ first to procure on government managed email framework

The Health & Social Care Information Commission and the Ministry of Justice to procure managed email using a new government framework
September 02, 2014 02 Sep'14
Natural Resources Wales takes to the cloud with Microsoft

The Welsh envoronmental public body adopts Microsoft cloud functionalities including Office 365 and Azure
September 02, 2014 02 Sep'14
Telstra reports hefty jump in government data access demands

Australian telecommunications company Telstra reports a substantial increase in government data access requests
September 01, 2014 01 Sep'14
Applications open for government Digital and Technology Fast Stream

Applications are open for the 2015 Civil Service Fast Stream, which offers digital graduates an opportunity to work in government

September 01, 2014 01 Sep'14
Suppliers discuss Emergency Services Network with Home Office

Suppliers have attended an event held by the Home Office to discuss details of the new Emergency Services Network
September 01, 2014 01 Sep'14
Nato set to clarify stance on cyber attack

Leaders will discuss changing the mission of collective defence with respect to cyber attack at this week’s Nato summit
September 01, 2014 01 Sep'14
Rolls-Royce CIO joins HMRC as non-executive director

Rolls-Royce CIO Simon Ricketts has been appointed non-executive director of Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs
September 01, 2014 01 Sep'14
Local government calls for a local GDS

Local government needs a local version of the Government Digital Service (GDS) with dedicated in-house digital teams, says Socitm
September 01, 2014 01 Sep'14
UK helps found international cyber crime taskforce

The UK is a founding member of the international cyber crime taskforce at Europol's European Cybercrime Centre
August 29, 2014 29 Aug'14
Shrivenham hosts bootcamp for Cyber Security Challenge UK

Civilians and military personnel have completed an intensive cyber security bootcamp at the Defence Academy in Shrivenham
August 29, 2014 29 Aug'14
Bristol council migrates to the cloud to aid mandated cost savings

Bristol City Council is moving its ICT estate onto the cloud to help meet wider cost savings mandated by the government
August 29, 2014 29 Aug'14
GDS launches research lab for testing digital services

The Government Digital Service (GDS) has revealed a digital research lab to allow departments to test their online services
August 29, 2014 29 Aug'14
BT faces further investigation over link to US drone network

The UK government has reopened a complaint against BT after a Computer Weekly investigation into links supporting US drone strikes
August 28, 2014 28 Aug'14
Government appoints former Credit Suisse CIO as deputy CTO

The government has appointed former Credit Suisse CIO Magnus Falk as its new deputy chief technology officer (CTO)
August 28, 2014 28 Aug'14
Poor data quality hindering government open data programme

Poor data quality is hindering the UK government's open data programme, intended to reform the public sector
August 28, 2014 28 Aug'14
Scottish government signs Virgin voice deal

Scottish government to procure fixed voice and other communications services from Virgin Media Business
August 27, 2014 27 Aug'14
BDUK arrives on the Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight inaugurates its first rural fibre cabinet delivered by BDUK as the project finally crosses the Solent
August 27, 2014 27 Aug'14
Foreign Office spends £92,574 on social media training

The FCO has spent £92,574 on social media training since 2010, according to a freedom of information request
August 27, 2014 27 Aug'14
Government sees 820,000 voters register online

Over one million UK citizens have registered to vote over the last two months, with around 820,000 opting for a new online registration service
August 26, 2014 26 Aug'14
Central Bedfordshire Council links up with Essex for PSN services

Central Bedfordshire Council is to run services over Essex County Council’s NGN following Daisy Updata deal
August 26, 2014 26 Aug'14
Local authorities can improve data protection, says ICO audit

There is room for improvement in how local authorities protect personal data, says an audit report by the ICO
August 26, 2014 26 Aug'14
Land Registry automates document registration using Abbyy

The Land Registry has been automating the way changes are made to its register which documents the ownership of land in England and Wales
August 26, 2014 26 Aug'14
ICO fines Ministry of Justice £180,000

The ICO has fined the Ministry of Justice £180,000 for “serious failings” in personal data protection at prisons in England and Wales
August 26, 2014 26 Aug'14
The internet of things: Britain's next big opportunity

Tech City's Gerard Grech talks about the IoT phenomenon and a startup competition that is intended to accelerate technologies
August 22, 2014 22 Aug'14
GCHQ produces BYOD guidelines for organisations

GCHQ's IT security arm provides guidance to organisations who want to allow employees to use personal devices at work
August 22, 2014 22 Aug'14
Can IT change the course of history? The story of Graham Tottle, the IT guy trapped in Iraq

Rarely does an IT worker affect history, but in 1990 Graham Tottle was in Saddam Hussein’s HQ at the start of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait
August 22, 2014 22 Aug'14
Tor Project claims spy leaks help maintain anonymity

A developer of the Tor browser for anonymous web surfing claims some spies are helping fix flaws exploited by state intelligence agencies
August 21, 2014 21 Aug'14
Case study: Borough of Poole uses Huddle for child adoption meetings

The Borough of Poole has been using Huddle to enable local government teams to collaborate securely on issues of child welfare
August 21, 2014 21 Aug'14
Nest systems support one million members

The National Employment Savings Trust has enrolled more than one million people to its administration system
August 21, 2014 21 Aug'14
Land Registry digital project at risk after senior IT leaders depart

A major digital project at the Land Registry is at risk after two key executives on the programme left due to their tax arrangements
August 21, 2014 21 Aug'14
Load balancing supports Kent County Council's VDI project

Kent County Council picks Kemp Technologies load balancers to support a deployment of VMware Horizon View and Workspace across its estate
August 21, 2014 21 Aug'14
IBM software-defined storage chosen for molecular research

Molecular research centre DESY will use IBM software-defined storage to handle growing data load.
August 20, 2014 20 Aug'14
East Midlands gets cyber threat sharing node

The Cyber Security Information Sharing Partnership has launched the first regional node in the East Midlands
August 19, 2014 19 Aug'14
US nuclear regulator hacked several times over three years

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has been hacked three times in the past three years, a report has revealed
August 19, 2014 19 Aug'14
Government major projects watchdog needs more powers, says MPs

Major Projects Authority needs stronger powers to improve project delivery across government, say MPs
August 19, 2014 19 Aug'14
Kent County Council hands six-year PSN contract to Daisy Updata

Daisy Updata Communications to manage Kent’s public services network (PSN) deployment across more than 1,300 sites
August 18, 2014 18 Aug'14
Labour commits to GDS and says it wants to keep contractors

The Labour party has said it will build on GDS's work and retain the team's staff if it wins the 2015 general election
August 18, 2014 18 Aug'14
Raytheon wins £224m from Home Office over e-Borders cancellation

Tribunal says Home Office unlawfully terminated a contract with Raytheon Systems Limited over its e-Borders programme
August 18, 2014 18 Aug'14
MoD sponsors cyber defence automation competition

The Ministry of Defence has announced £2m funding for a competition to find innovative ways of automating cyber defences
August 14, 2014 14 Aug'14
A-Level results 2014: ICT students and grades fall slightly

The GCE A-Level results showed that 13,650 people sat A-Level computing and ICT, of which 8,301 attained grades A*-C
August 13, 2014 13 Aug'14
Universal Credit uptake slows to lowest since infancy

The rollout of the Department of Work and Pension’s (DWP) troubled Universal Credit system has slowed to its lowest uptake since its infancy
August 13, 2014 13 Aug'14
Home Office pours £3.8m into shared service for biometric cards

The Home Office has awarded a £3.8m contract to Thales for a service to support the production of Biometric Residence Permit cards
August 12, 2014 12 Aug'14
Citizens call for electronic GP medical records

The majority of UK citizens want an electronic record of their GP medical data to be accessible by healthcare professionals
August 12, 2014 12 Aug'14
Land Registry aims to become a digital leader with help from GDS

The Land Registry has launched a new programme called LR Connect which it hopes will digitally transform its business strategy
August 12, 2014 12 Aug'14
Technology simplifies big data for the human brain

Researchers have created an immersive way for the brain to digest big data
August 12, 2014 12 Aug'14
60% of GDS staff contracts to expire within 12 months of general election

Almost 60% of employees at the Government Digital Service (GDS) could be gone within 12 months of next year’s general election
August 11, 2014 11 Aug'14
Kirklees gets dark fibre injection for PSN deployment

Kirklees Council’s PSN deployment to be enhanced with dark fibre connectivity following agreement between suppliers
August 08, 2014 08 Aug'14
BT picks up Welsh PSN contract

BT gains control of Welsh government PSN broadband and IP services contract, ousting services provider Logicalis
August 08, 2014 08 Aug'14
Energy Saving Trust deploys Esri for Cognos to support policymakers

The Energy Saving Trust, has deployed Esri for Cognos to provide instant access to its mapping analytics portal
August 08, 2014 08 Aug'14
Government breaks grip of IT oligopoly

Figures for public sector software and IT services investments reveal a dwindling share for IT giants, but can the oligopoly be removed?
August 08, 2014 08 Aug'14
Joanna Shields becomes a peer

Former Tech City CEO and the prime minister’s adviser on the digital economy, Joanna Shields, has been awarded a life peerage
August 08, 2014 08 Aug'14
Why John Linwood is not to blame for BBC’s failed technology project

Former BBC CTO has won his case for unfair dismissal over the failed £100m DMI project, but what lessons can be learned?
August 08, 2014 08 Aug'14
European Medicines Agency signs €4.5m Serco contract for IT support

The European Medicines Agency EMA has signed a €4.5m contract with Serco for an outsourced IT helpdesk
August 08, 2014 08 Aug'14
DCMS: BDUK roll-out hits million premises milestone

Culture minister Sajid Javid insists the £1.7bn broadband delivery UK (BDUK) roll-out programme will hit coverage targets on schedule
August 07, 2014 07 Aug'14
Redfern deploys Splunk to comply with Information Assurance

Travel management company Redfern has deployed Splunk for proactive monitoring
August 07, 2014 07 Aug'14
Sacked BBC CTO wins unfair dismissal case

Former BBC chief technology officer John Linwood has won his case for unfair dismissal against the broadcaster
August 07, 2014 07 Aug'14
Manchester has the second largest Wi-Fi network in the UK

The city of Manchester is now home to the second largest Wi-Fi network in the country as it completes a network extension
August 07, 2014 07 Aug'14
Can BlackBerry remain in the mobile enterprise?

BlackBerry is ramping up its drive to remain relevant following recent moves by IBM and Microsoft to target the mobile enterprise
August 06, 2014 06 Aug'14
O2 launches 4G tariffs for public and third-sector bodies

O2 says new ‘No. 10’ service for public and third-sector organisations cements its commitment to customer value
August 06, 2014 06 Aug'14
Virgin Media expands fibre-optic network into East London

Virgin Media is embarking on a major fibre network expansion, doubling broadband speeds to 100,000 East London homes
August 06, 2014 06 Aug'14
Cabinet Office COO Stephen Kelly takes Sage Group CEO role

UK accountancy software supplier Sage appoints Cabinet Office chief operating officer (COO) Stephen Kelly as CEO
August 05, 2014 05 Aug'14
What's the solution to Tech City’s lack of superfast broadband?

Reports of poor internet connectivity for startup tech companies in London’s Tech City have been circulating for some time
August 05, 2014 05 Aug'14
Malware incidents make up 25% of CERT-UK's work in first 100 days

Over half the incidents reported to CERT-UK in the first three months of its operation were not related to critical national infrastructure
August 05, 2014 05 Aug'14
Met Police awards £90m command and control integration contract

The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has appointed Lockheed Martin as systems integrator of its new command and control system
August 04, 2014 04 Aug'14
Camden Council’s BYOD adoption soars by 240%

Camden Council has increased its bring-your-own-device (BYOD) scheme by 240% over the last three years
August 04, 2014 04 Aug'14
US judge rules for Microsoft to release Irish email data

A judge in the US district court has ruled against Microsoft, in its attempt to stop a US government search warrant over emails stored in Ireland.
August 04, 2014 04 Aug'14
Welsh police to develop mobile app for witness statements

Two Welsh police forces are to develop a mobile application that will allow officers to record and send witness statements while on the beat
August 01, 2014 01 Aug'14
Cameron announces £300m big data human genome database project

Prime Minister David Cameron has announced £300m government support for a big data human genome mapping project in England
August 01, 2014 01 Aug'14
HMRC’s Digital Delivery Centre in Newcastle opens for business

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has opened the doors to its new digital headquarters in Newcastle
August 01, 2014 01 Aug'14
GCHQ certifies six cyber-security masters degrees

GCHQ has certified six masters degrees focused on cyber-security as the government attempts develop the expertise required to make the UK as part of the National Cyber Security Programme.
August 01, 2014 01 Aug'14
Russian blogger law comes into action

A new information security law which places restrictions on Russian bloggers and social media users has come into force today
July 31, 2014 31 Jul'14
West Herts NHS Trust partners signs £25.5m IT contract with CGI

West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust has chosen CGI to upgrade and manage its IT to improve patient care and employee working
July 31, 2014 31 Jul'14
£700m government hosting deal limits bidders to North-East England datacentre

Want to win the £700m Crown Hosting Service contract? You'll need a major datacentre near Newcastle to stand any chance
July 30, 2014 30 Jul'14
Government drives autonomous cars onto UK roads

The UK government has announced plans to allow driverless cars to be used on public roads from early next year
July 29, 2014 29 Jul'14
BlackBerry to buy anti-phone tapping specialist Secusmart

BlackBerry to buy German voice and data encryption supplier Secusmart for an undisclosed sum
July 29, 2014 29 Jul'14
Joanna Shields joins the government’s digital revolution

Chair of Tech City UK, Joanna Shields is joining the prime minister’s Digital Taskforce to represent the digital sector
July 29, 2014 29 Jul'14
53% of G-Cloud spend on is on SMEs

Just over half of G-Cloud spend is with SMEs, according to June sales figures released by the Cabinet Office
July 28, 2014 28 Jul'14
5G network for London by 2020, says Boris Johnson

Mayor Boris Johnson to promise 5G mobile network for London by the end of the decade
July 28, 2014 28 Jul'14
State security a challenge for global firms, says KPMG

Global firms are being forced to pioneer privacy standards in the face of state data access requests, says KPMG
July 28, 2014 28 Jul'14
Wikipedia ban edits from US Congress

Wikipedia has imposed a ten-day block on edits from computers within US Congress building after the latest series of rogue edits
July 25, 2014 25 Jul'14
G-Cloud supplier blames lack of stability for poor government spend

G-Cloud supplier Databarracks calls for more stability and continuity, warning that lack of guidance and clarity is putting off local government
July 25, 2014 25 Jul'14
Five top UK tech startup clusters outside London

Tech City UK has moved towards promoting the entire UK, rather than just the capital
July 24, 2014 24 Jul'14
TfL wastes millions on telecoms, says IIPAG watchdog

Watchdog IIPAG criticises Transport for London (TfL) for its inefficient and fragmented telecoms contracts
July 24, 2014 24 Jul'14
Yorkshire councils upgrade networks for Tour de France

IP telephony and Wi-Fi upgrades help North Yorkshire and Leeds City Councils meet the demands of the Tour de France
July 23, 2014 23 Jul'14
Skills shortages identified as key risk to government digital strategy

Government Digital Service says skills shortage is one of the biggest risks to delivering more than £1.4bn of annual savings in Whitehall
July 23, 2014 23 Jul'14
PayPal offers working capital to UK small businesses

Payments giant PayPal has announced that it will be providing online cash advances to small businesses in the UK
July 23, 2014 23 Jul'14
Scotland plans to issue £100m IT services tender

The Scottish government plans to create a new IT managed services framework
July 23, 2014 23 Jul'14
Microsoft attacks UK government decision to adopt ODF for document formats

Microsoft has questioned the merits of the UK government’s decision to adopt ODF - but meeting minutes show OOXML was given due consideration
July 23, 2014 23 Jul'14
Business Secretary calls for TSB’s funding to be doubled

Business Secretary Vince Cable has urged the government to double the Technology Strategy Board’s (TSB) funding
July 22, 2014 22 Jul'14
UK government confirms ODF as standard document format, rejecting Microsoft proposals

The government has confirmed plans to standardise document formats and has resisted Microsoft lobbying by rejecting its preferred standard
July 22, 2014 22 Jul'14
HMRC warned over slow progress on Aspire replacement

The National Audit Office has warned HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) about the challenges it will face moving away from its Aspire IT contract
July 22, 2014 22 Jul'14
NAO reveals Home Office spent £347m on failed ICW programme

The Home Office spent £347m closing its Immigration Case Work programme, which was supposed to replace legacy databases
July 22, 2014 22 Jul'14
Law should be strengthened to protect data from mass surveillance, tribunal hears

Privacy of UK citizens' metadata may fall short of European standards
July 22, 2014 22 Jul'14
UK lags US in application security investment

UK enterprises are lagging behind US enterprises in application security, a study has revealed