News

IT services and outsourcing

February 19, 2012 19 Feb'12
Government launches CloudStore and names G-Cloud suppliers

The government has launched its CloudStore, a catalogue of 1,700 cloud-based, pre-approved IT services now available for the public sector to buy.
February 16, 2012 16 Feb'12
Capgemini sales jump 11% in 2011 as growth continues in 2012

IT services provider Capgemini increased its sales by over 11% in 2011 as high demand at the end of last year continued into 2012
February 08, 2012 08 Feb'12
CIO interview: Rob Fraser, IT director, Sainsbury’s

Sainsbury’s IT chief talks about why in-house IT works better than outsourcing and how to double revenue without doubling IT spend.
February 07, 2012 07 Feb'12
More than half of government projects behind schedule

More than half of major government projects are behind schedule, according to the head of Whitehall's Major Projects Authority.

January 31, 2012 31 Jan'12
Website launched to monitor cloud computing suppliers

A website has been launched that will monitor the performance of specialist cloud computing suppliers and compare them against traditional IT suppliers.
January 30, 2012 30 Jan'12
Microsoft puts Blackberry service on Office365

Businesses running Microsoft Office 365 can now access Exchange Online on their BlackBerry smartphones.
January 26, 2012 26 Jan'12
Honda deploys hybrid cloud for car launches

Honda UK is using hybrid cloud computing within its IT infrastructure to support the growth of the company's websites.
January 25, 2012 25 Jan'12
UK IT budgets under pressure in 2012

UK IT budgets will remain flat in 2012, a worldwide survey of more than 2,500 IT professionals has revealed.
January 19, 2012 19 Jan'12
Construction firm extends IT outsourcing

Taylor Wimpey has extended an IT outsourcing agreement with Logica as it embarks on a major change programme.
January 17, 2012 17 Jan'12
Indian outsourcers TCS and HCL see profits boom

Indian outsourcing companies Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and HCL both saw profits grow by more than 20% in their quarterly results.

January 16, 2012 16 Jan'12
Apple aims to improve working conditions for technology workforce

Apple has published a list of all suppliers for the first time and says it will allow independent observers into its facilities around the world to monitor working conditions.
January 16, 2012 16 Jan'12
Rupert Murdoch attacks Barack Obama over online piracy legislation

News Corp chief Rupert Murdoch has accused Barack Obama's administration of siding with "Silicon Valley paymasters" as two anti-piracy bills go through US Congress.
January 13, 2012 13 Jan'12
NHS Trust to appeal £375k data loss penalty

An NHS Trust is to appeal against a proposed monetary penalty of £375,000 after after patient records were stolen from a hospital and sold on eBay.
January 11, 2012 11 Jan'12
Cloud solves IT innovation and maintenance imbalance

CIOs can rebalance the scenario of spending 80% of their budget on maintenance and 20% on innovation if they harness cloud computing.
January 10, 2012 10 Jan'12
Healthcare IT is a beneficial force, say doctors

IT in the NHS has had a bad press in recent years as a result of the problems associated with the now defunct £12bn NHS National Programme for IT, but most doctors in England believe IT improves patient care.
January 10, 2012 10 Jan'12
Accenture bolsters public sector skills

Services giant Accenture has recruited two former civil servants to its ranks to boost its UK and global public sector services capabilities.
January 06, 2012 06 Jan'12
Ramnit worm steals 45,000 Facebook passwords

A computer worm has begun targeting Facebook accounts and has stolen at least 45,000 login credentials from users, say security researchers.
January 04, 2012 04 Jan'12
Shell moves SAP maintenance to Accenture

Oil giant Shell has transferred the management of its HR and payroll applications to Accenture as part of a multi-year SAP managed service.
January 03, 2012 03 Jan'12
British Waterways Scotland signs £2.3m ICT deal

British Waterways Scotland has signed a £2.3m deal with business technology company Amor Group to develop its ICT systems.
December 19, 2011 19 Dec'11
Virtualisation technologies: hits and misses of 2011

Amid a slew of virtualisation products and management suites that emerged in 2011, some products such as Spring platform impressed users, while others such as VMware MVP didn’t.
December 15, 2011 15 Dec'11
How HP played a key role in RAF air crew support in Libya

The Ministry of Defence has praised HP over its Advanced Mission Planning Aid system, most recently used to support air crew in Libya.
December 15, 2011 15 Dec'11
Royal Mail posts IT services tender

The Royal Mail Group has put out a tender for IT consulting services, which will be worth up to £50m over four years.
December 13, 2011 13 Dec'11
CIOs believe cloud, SaaS, consumerisation and mobility increase risk

Business models such as cloud computing and trends such as the consumerisation of IT, social media and mobility are exposing performance blind spots in IT management, a CIO survey has revealed.
December 12, 2011 12 Dec'11
Cloud leaves many firewalls wanting – but could automation prove the silver bullet?

Most companies rely on firewalls, but the IT landscape is changing and so must approaches to security. Is there a silver bullet?
December 05, 2011 05 Dec'11
Unilever outsources business intelligence platforms to Capgemini

Unilever has signed a deal with Capgemini to provide its global business intelligence platforms. The outsourcing company will work alongside Unilever IT to deliver a three-year programme to create an Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW).
November 29, 2011 29 Nov'11
Standard Life overhauls IT department and cuts jobs

Insurer Standard Life is to axe a number of IT staff following a review of its IT and operations division.
November 23, 2011 23 Nov'11
Government mutual will be a beacon for IT procurement

The pension administration mutual being set up by the government will be the first of a wave of new business models that could shake-up central government outsourcing contracts.
November 21, 2011 21 Nov'11
Government opens its procurement heart to IT suppliers

The government has promised more openness with suppliers and published its first forward-looking pipeline of business, with £25.9bn of IT projects.
November 17, 2011 17 Nov'11
Rentokil moving HR system into cloud with Workday SaaS

Rentokil Initial is moving the management of its 66,000 human resources to cloud based software from Workday.
November 17, 2011 17 Nov'11
Biffa ups virtualisation in infrastructure refresh

Biffa Waste Services is reducing the number of physical servers it uses from over 150 to about 25 as it accelerates its existing virtualisation strategy.
November 10, 2011 10 Nov'11
TCS bags rare megadeal and 1,900 more UK workers

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) business process outsourcing (BPO) subsidiary, Diligenta, has won a deal with life insurer Friends Life worth £1.37bn.
November 04, 2011 04 Nov'11
The Best of vForum 2011 awards: A roundup

Instituted by SearchDataCenter.in and supported by VMware, The Best of vForum 2011 awards saw the best of India Inc battling it out for the honors.
October 11, 2011 11 Oct'11
Moving from in-house IT to third-party hosting services: Case study

A supplier of civil engineering and building materials moved its IT infrastructure to a third-party data centre to resolve its in-house IT problems, including cooling and flooding issues.
October 04, 2011 04 Oct'11
CW500: Andy Beale, technology director, Guardian News & Media

In this CW500 Club video, Andy Beale talks to Computer Weekly editor in chief Bryan Glick to share his practical advice on how to move to the cloud.
October 04, 2011 04 Oct'11
IT supplier CSC repays £170m as NHS complains of Lorenzo record progress

IT supplier CSC has repaid £170m after the NHS said it was unhappy with the progress of CSC's Lorenzo patient care records contract. The NHS paid a £200m advanced payment to CSC for the 2011 project costs when a memorandum of understanding was ...
September 29, 2011 29 Sep'11
IBM signs £525m DWP contract to provide Universal Credit systems

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has signed a seven-year contract with IBM worth £75m per year to provide systems, which will include the delivery of its flagship Universal Credit programme.
September 29, 2011 29 Sep'11
Security firm selects Fujitsu IT services

Security company G4S has outsourced its IT infrastructure and services to Fujitsu and has agreed a £32.9m seven-year contract.
September 27, 2011 27 Sep'11
How BP made its supplier ecosystem work

Oil and gas giant BP spent 65% of its $3bn annual IT budget with 3,000 suppliers in 2008, but now it outsources to only seven and has reduced its annual IT budget by $800m as a result.
September 27, 2011 27 Sep'11
Mitchells & Butlers continues to drive down IT costs

Pub group Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) is continuing an IT cost-cutting plan to respond to pressure on its operating margins.
September 27, 2011 27 Sep'11
Cognizant acquires Zaffera

Outsourcing company Cognizant has acquired Zaffera, an SAP retail consulting and software development firm, for an undisclosed sum.
September 22, 2011 22 Sep'11
BASF extends BT network contract

Chemical group BASF has signed a €200m deal with BT for networking 900 BASF sites in more than 80 countries. The contract includes the provision of IP telephony and local network services (managed LAN services) at 300 sites in North and South ...
September 21, 2011 21 Sep'11
Global BPO sales to reach £60bn in 2015

The world market for business process outsourcing (BPO) will be worth $93.4bn (£59.7bn) in 2015 compared with $72bn last year, according to Ovum.
September 09, 2011 09 Sep'11
Cambridge exam board outsources applications support to Cognizant

Cambridge University's examination group has outsourced applications management and support to Cognizant that will see the company replace 20-year-old bespoke applications with off-the-shelf alternatives.
August 30, 2011 30 Aug'11
Cloud computing and the public sector: What IT managers need from suppliers

IT departments and suppliers have a long way to go before they understand each other on cloud computing – that was the conclusion when IT practitioners and suppliers met at London law firm DLA Piper to discuss the barriers to cloud.
August 18, 2011 18 Aug'11
NHS trusts already planning a way out of National Programme contracts

NHS trusts in the National Programme for IT's beleaguered southern region have already begun drafting specifications for systems that may replace those supplied under the controversial project.
August 17, 2011 17 Aug'11
Atos employees to be investigated over Facebook remarks about disability benefit applicants

Two Atos Healthcare employees are being investigated over allegations they made inappropriate remarks on Facebook about the people they assess for sickness benefit.
August 12, 2011 12 Aug'11
Parliamentary group of MPs to discuss outsourcing and shared services

A parliamentary group of MPs that will look at how the public sector can get more out of outsourcing and shared services will begin work when it has its first meeting this month.
August 08, 2011 08 Aug'11
Royal Pharmaceutical Society outsources to cope with restructure

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain has outsourced the management of e-mail and storage to support a major restructure.
August 05, 2011 05 Aug'11
Energy giant outsources smart meter services to Logica

Scottish and Southern Energy has outsourced some of its smart metering processes to Logica to help support the UK national roll-out.
August 02, 2011 02 Aug'11
NHS trust forced to adopt National Programme patient records system or face £8.8m fine

An NHS trust was forced to buy care records software through the National Programme for IT or face the threat of an £8.8m fine - even though it had a longstanding supplier in place.