News

IT for retail and logistics

• September 21, 2018 21 Sep'18

  Businesses that take humans with them on robotics journeys gain the most

  Businesses that put human development at the centre of their automation strategies will profit the most

• September 20, 2018 20 Sep'18

  Asda outsources app development to support digital future

  Supermarket chain Asda is outsourcing its application development to HCL to access and build skills and experience in agile development methods

• September 19, 2018 19 Sep'18

  Waitrose to launch same-day delivery trial

  High-end supermarket Waitrose is partnering with retail delivery startup On the Dot to trial same-day delivery for its food and wine goods

• September 17, 2018 17 Sep'18

  Invest to be customer obsessed

  We share insights from Forrester’s ‘Digital Store Playbook’ on how to transform retail operations to enhance the digital customer experience

• September 13, 2018 13 Sep'18

  John Lewis blames profit drops on high IT costs

  Department store John Lewis has pinned the blame on high IT costs and the rising price of store real-estate for a drop in profit

• September 11, 2018 11 Sep'18

  Fashion retailer Desigual boosts sales opportunities with data-sharing technology

  Spanish fashion group Desigual reports 2% fewer lost sales after investing in technology to share stock, sales and pricing data between stores, websites and franchise partners

• September 07, 2018 07 Sep'18

  Why AI should assist humans, not replace them

  At the 2018 Disruption Summit in London, BT’s lead of customer insight and futures said artificially intelligent systems should be there to assist humans, not get rid of them

• September 07, 2018 07 Sep'18

  Argos launches voice shopping capability on Google Home Assistant

  Retailer Argos has developed a voice shopping service so customers can reserve items for pickup using the Google Home Assistant app

• September 06, 2018 06 Sep'18

  How Rituals is using Salesforce Commerce cloud to replicate physical experience online

  Cosmetics firm Rituals is using Salesforce Commerce Cloud to translate its website into 25 languages, helping the brand reach customers its physical stores can’t

• September 05, 2018 05 Sep'18

  Nordic states collaborate in Arctic IT projects

  Nordic countries are working together to introduce advanced communications networks in the most isolated Northerly regions

• September 05, 2018 05 Sep'18

  How Ocado has disrupted its own model

  At the Disruption Summit in London, Ocado’s head of technology explained how the firm built a technology-based model for efficient grocery delivery and how it has been disrupting that ever since

• September 05, 2018 05 Sep'18

  Amazon becomes second publicly traded company to hit $1tn market cap

  Retail giant Amazon follows Apple's lead to become second company in history to achieve a $1tn market cap, with analysts predicting that its market value could double by 2020

• September 04, 2018 04 Sep'18

  Element AI teams up with AI Singapore

  The Canadian upstart is co-developing AI applications for local industries as part of its efforts to build new research capabilities via local talent pools

• August 30, 2018 30 Aug'18

  Machine identity management crisis looming

  Managing machine identities is looming as the next big security challenge, a study reveals, with few organisations capable of protecting them as they increasingly form the basis of online communications

• August 29, 2018 29 Aug'18

  IT leaders at a crossroads as they grapple with digital technology

  CIOs have the opportunity to influence their company strategy as digital technology reshapes business. A survey of CIOs across 70 countries charts a path for IT leaders through emerging technologies

• August 29, 2018 29 Aug'18

  Heineken and Oracle create chatbot helper for polo events

  Beer brand Heineken has enlisted the help of Oracle to create a chatbot to assist people attending the annual Heineken Urban Polo events ahead of expansion in 2019

• August 28, 2018 28 Aug'18

  Debenhams rolls out Doddle click-and-collect service in all its stores

  Debenhams and parcel collection and return firm Doddle are working together to roll out Doddle’s click-and-collect services to all of the retailer’s stores

• August 23, 2018 23 Aug'18

  No Deal Brexit papers warn of stark future for UK tech

  The government has published the first of its No Deal Brexit contingency planning notices, containing sobering messages for the UK technology industry

• August 22, 2018 22 Aug'18

  Language barrier won’t hold back chatbots in the Netherlands

  The use of chatbots by Dutch organisations is on the up, with KLM's chatbot a pioneering example

• August 22, 2018 22 Aug'18

  Superdrug denies data breach

  Superdrug has warned online customers it believes may have had personal details exposed, but claims its systems were not compromised, in what could be the first GDPR-related extortion attempt

• August 21, 2018 21 Aug'18

  The risk of upgrading to S/4 Hana

  S/4 Hana has been touted as the evolution of SAP's long-standing ERP suite, but with just six years to upgrade, how can businesses avoid an expensive SAP flop?

• August 21, 2018 21 Aug'18

  Retail and finance top cyber targets

  Retail and finance remain the top cyber attack targets, but the second quarter also saw a spike in attacks against the manufacturing industry and an increase in remote desktop attacks, a report reveals

• August 21, 2018 21 Aug'18

  CIO interview: Celia Pronto, chief customer and digital officer, Casual Dining Group

  Casual Dining Group’s chief customer and digital officer, Celia Pronto, is overhauling technology, consolidating IT and improving collaboration across its 300 restaurants

• August 20, 2018 20 Aug'18

  Job losses caused by artificial intelligence will dwarf those of Victorian revolution

  The disruption to the jobs market caused by artificial intelligence will be far greater than that caused by industrialisation in Victorian times

• August 16, 2018 16 Aug'18

  Lidl dumps €500m SAP project

  Discount supermarket chain Lidl has spent millions on a SAP Hana system, and found it will need to spend even more to make it work

• August 15, 2018 15 Aug'18

  Apple faces strong competition from Amazon

  As Apple is set to become the first trillion dollar company, a strong rival is only just behind – and it's not Google or Samsung.

• August 15, 2018 15 Aug'18

  Alibaba eyes retail sector with new cloud offerings

  Chinese cloud supplier says retailers will be able to use its machine learning platform to understand consumer preferences, among a slew of services it is making available globally for the first time

• August 14, 2018 14 Aug'18

  Businesses urged to patch Microsoft flaw allowing MFA bypass

  Security researchers are urging enterprises to update their software after the discovery of a vulnerability that could undermine the security provided by multifactor authentication

• August 14, 2018 14 Aug'18

  Consumers accept fraud danger as online shopping increases, research finds

  The majority of UK consumers see the threat of online fraud as “inevitable” as e-commerce popularity rises

• August 14, 2018 14 Aug'18

  Phishing remains top fraud enabler, RSA reports

  Phishing is the most popular way of enabling fraud for cyber criminals, who are also increasingly using rogue mobile apps, mobile browsers and social media, a report reveals

• August 13, 2018 13 Aug'18

  Banks lead in digital era fraud detection

  All e-commerce businesses should follow the banks’ lead in how to detect fraud in the digital era, says RSA fraud and risk expert

• August 13, 2018 13 Aug'18

  HP Inc to kit out new Spurs stadium

  Tottenham Hotspur Football Club is building a technically advanced stadium to take fan experience to new heights. It will include zBook workstations, as used on the International Space Station

• August 09, 2018 09 Aug'18

  Smart cities a tempting target for cyber attackers

  Smart cities are an attractive target for cyber attackers because of the growing number of connected systems embedded throughout their infrastructure

• August 07, 2018 07 Aug'18

  M&S partners with Doddle for easier click-and-collect returns

  Retailer is using Powered by Doddle on its in-store devices to allow returns of online items, as well as the use of click-and-collect services

• August 07, 2018 07 Aug'18

  Starbucks to advise on development of bitcoin trading platform

  Coffee giant Starbucks has joined a group of firms advising Intercontinental Exchange on the development of a digital assets platform

• August 07, 2018 07 Aug'18

  Lack of Dmarc email validation puts brands and customers at risk 

  There is a worldwide lack of Dmarc email validation to defend against fraud and phishing attacks, putting organisations and customers at risk, a study shows

• August 06, 2018 06 Aug'18

  Sweaty Betty revamps website to cater for digital customers

  Activewear brand has partnered with e-commerce firm Tryzens to launch a responsive site that is better suited to its increasingly digital customers

• August 06, 2018 06 Aug'18

  Half of UK consumers to exercise GDPR rights within a year

  More than half of UK consumers will exercise their General Data Protection Regulation rights within a year and almost two-thirds will retract or review data use because of the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal, a study shows

• August 03, 2018 03 Aug'18

  CIO interview: Alex von Schirmeister, CDTIO, RS Components

  The electronics distributor’s chief digital, technology and innovation officer (CDTIO) on putting in place a new IT infrastructure, creating a digital business and accepting risk

• August 02, 2018 02 Aug'18

  GDPR harmonised with local laws in Nordic EU states

  Sweden provides an interesting challenge for the European Union’s data protection regulation due to its laws around freedom of press and free speech

• July 31, 2018 31 Jul'18

  Intelligent automation spending to hit $232bn by 2025

  Technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotic process automation and machine learning could help traditional enterprises gain ground on digital-first giants

• July 31, 2018 31 Jul'18

  UK business overestimating level of consumer trust, study shows

  UK consumer trust is low, with the majority of UK businesses admitting to selling customer data, a report reveals

• July 31, 2018 31 Jul'18

  Why Pinterest pinpointed features for the visually impaired

  Ideas curation site has developed features for people with visual impairment. Its lead designer explains what has been changed and why it matters

• July 31, 2018 31 Jul'18

  Dixons Carphone ups data breach figure to 10 million

  Dixons Carphone now believes the number of personal data records affected in 2017’s data breach is nearly 10 times greater than initially thought

• July 30, 2018 30 Jul'18

  M&S aims to give 1,000 employees data skills

  Luxury supermarket Marks and Spencer has partnered with Decoded to create a programme aimed at teaching its employees data skills

• July 27, 2018 27 Jul'18

  Hackers targeting software supply chains, US report warns

  A US government report on cyber espionage by China, Russia and Iran says software supply chains are increasingly under attack

• July 26, 2018 26 Jul'18

  Brace for PowerGhost cryptominer, warns Kaspersky Lab

  Corporate networks are the target of a new illicit cryptocurrency mining malware that is difficult to detect and eradicate, security researchers warn

• July 26, 2018 26 Jul'18

  Software development remains insecure

  The prevalence of common and well-known web-based vulnerabilities underlines the need for better education around secure software development

• July 25, 2018 25 Jul'18

  Application attacks demand new security approach

  Applying security software updates is an ineffective way to deal with application layer cyber attacks and businesses should change their approach, security experts advise

• July 23, 2018 23 Jul'18

  Marks and Spencer to invest in startups as part of retail partnership with Founders Factory

  Marks and Spencer is continuing its efforts to digitally transform its business by starting an investment partnership for startups

• July 20, 2018 20 Jul'18

  Cloud sales stoke Microsoft’s strong growth

  Microsoft says cloud-based Office products made a huge contribution to sales growth

• July 19, 2018 19 Jul'18

  Cyber criminals use fake domains to scam businesses

  UK police are warning businesses that cyber criminals are using fake domains to scam businesses out of hundreds of thousands of pounds

• July 19, 2018 19 Jul'18

  Just Eat on the lookout for 150 tech professionals

  Online food marketplace Just Eat has announced it is on the lookout for talent to fill 150 technology roles, 80 of which have been recently created

• July 18, 2018 18 Jul'18

  Walmart and Microsoft partner to boost digital in retail

  US retail giant Walmart has signed a five-year partnership with Microsoft, with the aim of speeding up its digital transformation

• July 18, 2018 18 Jul'18

  Retail cyber security spending ineffective as breaches rise

  Cyber attacks on the retail sector are increasing, and although most retailers plan to increase cyber security spending, planned investments are unlikely to be effective, a report reveals

• July 18, 2018 18 Jul'18

  CIO interview: Jon Marchant, CIO, PayPoint

  PayPoint CIO describes the company’s shift to retail services and how it went from knowing very little about electronic point of sale system software to creating its own

• July 12, 2018 12 Jul'18

  Half of young girls don’t think tech careers are exciting

  Young women are put off of technology careers because they don’t perceive them to be exciting, according to research

• July 12, 2018 12 Jul'18

  Three-quarters of consumers have interacted with artificial intelligence

  Capgemini survey finds 55% of people prefer a mix of AI and humans when they interact with organisations

• July 11, 2018 11 Jul'18

  White-hat hackers find record number of vulnerabilities

  White-hat hackers are finding more vulnerabilities than ever before, with crowdsourced security testing continuing to gain popularity, a report reveals

• July 11, 2018 11 Jul'18

  UK firms too confident about cyber security

  Three-quarters of UK companies say their cyber protection is above average, and nearly half think they are a “top performer” despite the growth in data breaches

• July 09, 2018 09 Jul'18

  Holiday Extras uses machine learning and artificial intelligence for personalisation

  Travel firm Holiday Extras has introduced machine learning and artificial intelligence into its smartphone app to give users a more personalised experience

• July 06, 2018 06 Jul'18

  How changes in retail law could affect customer experience

  New payments regulations could increase the amount of times customers will need to use two-factor authentication to make a purchase, potentially putting a strain on customer experience, according to MasterCard

• July 05, 2018 05 Jul'18

  Beware blockchain security blindspots, warns RSA

  Companies need to ensure that rushed blockchain and other new technology projects are not introducing security vulnerabilities by gaining granular visibility of network activity, according to RSA Security

• July 04, 2018 04 Jul'18

  Industry bets on fixed wireless access for first 5G deployments

  Separate tests in Romania and the UK have been demonstrating the potential of fixed wireless access as a component of 5G

• July 04, 2018 04 Jul'18

  Singapore company turns to blockchain to improve food security

  SMC Nutrition is using a blockchain distributed ledger developed by a Singapore-based company to gain visibility across its supply chain and ensure food security

• June 29, 2018 29 Jun'18

  GDPR exposes breach reporting flaws

  In the month since the GDPR compliance deadline, it has become clear that many organisations are not well prepared for personal data breach notifications, says PwC’s data protection lead

• June 27, 2018 27 Jun'18

  PizzaExpress launches augmented reality football game

  Italian restaurant chain PizzaExpress has launched an augmented reality football game for customers to play during meals

• June 27, 2018 27 Jun'18

  Government must challenge popular smart city misconceptions

  A report by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Smart Cities says many people feel alienated by the concept, and calls on the government to challenge some popular misconceptions

• June 27, 2018 27 Jun'18

  Cyber criminals 'infect and collect' in cryptojacking surge

  Illicit cryptocurrency mining offers cyber criminals lower risk, higher efficacy and greater ease of making money, adding passive exploitation to ransomware extortion, data breach theft and fraud, a report reveals

• June 27, 2018 27 Jun'18

  Technology key to keeping staff happy

  Giving employees access to the latest technologies will improve their satisfaction and increase productivity, survey shows

• June 20, 2018 20 Jun'18

  Nine out of 10 enterprises will use robotic process automation by 2020

  Robotic process automation take-up expected to reach 92% of European enterprises within two years, finds ISG survey

• June 20, 2018 20 Jun'18

  More APAC consumer goods firms expected to adopt blockchain

  The adoption of blockchain technology is likely to increase in the consumer goods industry as more businesses use the technology to address fraud and improve supply chain management

• June 15, 2018 15 Jun'18

  How Ocado built an online grocery delivery platform business

  Ocado has used open source tools and a cloud-native approach to develop its fully automated warehouse management platform

• June 14, 2018 14 Jun'18

  NCSC urges action after Dixons Carphone breach

  The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is urging UK business to improve data protection capabilities after Dixons Carphone revealed that millions of payment card and personal data records may have been compromised in a cyber breach

• June 13, 2018 13 Jun'18

  Dixons Carphone admits 'falling short' on data protection

  Dixons Carphone has warned that millions of credit card and personal data records may have been compromised in a cyber breach

• June 12, 2018 12 Jun'18

  CIO interview: Richard Gifford, CIO, Wincanton

  The CIO of logistics firm Wincanton, Richard Gifford, is in the process of improving its digital propositions and developing a digital supply chain, while dealing with legacy systems

• June 12, 2018 12 Jun'18

  Mayor Khan bids to make London the world’s smartest city

  At London Tech Week, mayor Sadiq Khan launched a city-wide initiative to harness the capital’s technology talent to address London’s most pressing problems

• June 07, 2018 07 Jun'18

  Cyber security focus too much on tech, says Domino’s CISO

  Many organisations are still focusing only on technology and compliance, which means their cyber defences are not as solid as they think, according to Domino’s Pizza chief information security officer

• June 07, 2018 07 Jun'18

  IT spending reaches 10-year high as CIOs struggle with digital technology strategy

  IT leaders have seen their budgets and headcounts rise for the first time in 10 years, but face challenges implementing their digital strategies

• June 07, 2018 07 Jun'18

  Newcastle Council to show off smartest street in Britain

  The Great Exhibition of the North will see Mosley Street in Newcastle upon Tyne transformed into Britain’s smartest street as part of a demonstration of IoT technology

• June 04, 2018 04 Jun'18

  Subpostmasters told to expect decision on alleged unfair prosecutions in August

  The Criminal Courts Review Commission is expected to announce the findings of an investigation into alleged unfair subpostmaster prosecutions in August

• June 01, 2018 01 Jun'18

  Revamped BHS website to close two years after department store collapse

  The BHS website, which was developed after the department store’s closure in 2016, will be closed at the end of June

• May 31, 2018 31 May'18

  Retail sector flagged as slow to adopt cloud technologies in Bitglass research

  The fourth annual Bitglass cloud adoption survey reveals enterprise appetite for off-premise technologies is continuing to rise, but some industries are moving more slowly than others

• May 31, 2018 31 May'18

  Nestle nips unwanted mobile app sprawl in the bud

  Nestle has consolidated its consumer-facing mobile app portfolio to add features to the most successful apps

• May 29, 2018 29 May'18

  Firms step up spending on digital tech, but struggle with strategy

  Businesses and the public sector are stepping up their spending on digital technology, but many business leaders are struggling to keep pace with what it means for their business

• May 29, 2018 29 May'18

  Drone industry set to contribute £42bn to UK economy by 2030

  PwC research has predicted drones could add £42bn to the economy and create 68,000 jobs by 2030

• May 25, 2018 25 May'18

  GDPR puts people first, says ICO

  The day of 25 May 2018 marks the biggest change to UK data protection law in a generation, with benefits for businesses and consumers, according to the UK privacy watchdog

• May 25, 2018 25 May'18

  Commitment is the watchword on GDPR D-Day

  New rules for protecting European citizens’ personal data are now enforceable by law, and organisations are being advised to focus broadly on commitment rather than narrowly on compliance

• May 24, 2018 24 May'18

  Security experts weigh in on GDPR checklists

  Security experts give their views on what final checks businesses should be doing on the eve of the General Data Protection Regulation compliance deadline, while a survey reveals almost half of Brits have not heard of it

• May 24, 2018 24 May'18

  New UK Data Protection Act not welcomed by all

  Legislation makes the UK one of the first countries to implement the GDPR in local law, but some have criticised it as a “lost opportunity”

• May 23, 2018 23 May'18

  UK calls for new data-sharing model with EU

  The UK has proposed a new data-sharing model to ensure ongoing data protection collaboration and free flow of data between the EU and the UK post-Brexit

• May 23, 2018 23 May'18

  Mobile fraud up 680% since 2015, RSA reports

  Fake profiles and throw-away devices are transforming social media into a cyber criminal marketplace, a fraud report reveals

• May 23, 2018 23 May'18

  Marks and Spencer speeds up digital transformation plans as profits plunge

  Retailer announces plans to accelerate its business transformation and close 100 stores by 2022 after continued shifts in consumer behaviour

• May 22, 2018 22 May'18

  Tesco announces closure of non-food website Tesco Direct

  Supermarket giant Tesco has announced it will be closing its Tesco Direct website, which focuses on the sale of non-food-related products

• May 22, 2018 22 May'18

  Social one of the 'most powerful' tools at brand’s disposal, says retail experts

  Using social media to connect with customers is one of the most “powerful” tools retailers have at their disposal, said a panel of experts at the Salesforce World Tour

• May 22, 2018 22 May'18

  Google sued for £3.2bn for tracking UK iPhone browsing

  A lawsuit by a group called Google You Owe Us is seeking compensation from Google for tracking millions of UK iPhone users’ browsing data

• May 21, 2018 21 May'18

  Augmented reality can improve efficiency for retailers

  Augmented reality has been positioned as a way to extend digital experiences onto the retail shop floor – but it has far more uses behind the scenes

• May 18, 2018 18 May'18

  Most UK marketers GDPR ready, but not all firms have a plan

  Most UK marketers believe they are ready for GDPR, but a worrying number believe their employers may not be, as businesses are urged to embrace the positives a week before the compliance deadline

• May 18, 2018 18 May'18

  Use GDPR to propel business forward, says ICO

  GDPR is about a new way of doing things that businesses can use to their advantage, and cyber security is a key element, according to the Information Commissioner’s Office

• May 16, 2018 16 May'18

  CIO interview: Phil Lewis, director of digital experience, Boden

  Fashion retailer Boden is going through a transformation process, using digital elements across the business and fostering innovation