News

IT strategy

• 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 26, 2011 26 Sep'11

  Businesses must invest in ICT to boost economy, finds research

  The European economy could be boosted by billions of euros over the next decade if businesses increase investment in information and communication technology.

• September 26, 2011 26 Sep'11

  Boots launches mobile site to expand multichannel offering

  Retailer Boots has launched a mobile version of its website to expand its multichannel portfolio.

• September 23, 2011 23 Sep'11

  Police IT not fit for purpose, police-led ICT company needs a lot of work, says Home Office report

  A Home Office report into policing has labelled police IT as not being fit for purpose and made recommendations to shake up a mess of different IT systems across 43 forces which is hindering police attempts to fight crime.

• September 23, 2011 23 Sep'11

  Anti-piracy group FAST applauds government business guide to navigating UK IP law

  The government has published a guide to UK intellectual property law for businesses, providing information on IP policies; procurement of goods and services; reporting IP crime; and auditing IP. The Federation Against Software Theft (FAST) said it ...

• September 23, 2011 23 Sep'11

  Burying the NHS National Programme for IT

  The government's decision to accelerate the dismantling of the NHS National Project for IT (NPfIT) came as little surprise to those who have followed the terminally ill project since 2002. But what is the prognosis for the NHS's badly needed ...

• September 22, 2011 22 Sep'11

  Government pulls plug on ailing £11bn NHS IT programme

  The troubled £11bn NHS National Programme for IT is to be axed, the government is expected to announce later today.

• September 22, 2011 22 Sep'11

  Researchers claim to have broken SSL/TLS encryption

  Two security researchers claim to have found a way of breaking the SSL/TLS encryption that is widely used to guarantee the reliability and privacy of data exchanged between web browsers and servers.

• 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 22, 2011 22 Sep'11

  SQL injection attacks increasing in number, sophistication and potency, researchers find

  The prevalence and intensity of SQL injection attacks are increasing, according to Imperva.

• September 21, 2011 21 Sep'11

  Gartner: Best defence against social media threats is monitoring and education

  Blocking social media in the enterprise encourages bad behaviour by employees but does not prevent access, warns Gartner.

• September 21, 2011 21 Sep'11

  HP webOS lay-offs could affect European employees

  Hewlett-Packard could lay off European employees as part of the company's decision to discontinue its webOS hardware division, including the Touchpad tablet range.

• September 21, 2011 21 Sep'11

  RightMove renders property maps with Google

  RightMove is the UK's biggest user of Google Maps and one of the largest users of the mapping software in the world.

• 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 20, 2011 20 Sep'11

  Gartner: Keep encryption simple and standardised to cut cost and complexity

  Businesses should consider self-encrypting drives (SEDs) for new installations that hold significant volumes of sensitive data, says Gartner.

• September 19, 2011 19 Sep'11

  Visa Europe opens its doors to IT trainees on Higher Apprenticeship programme

  Visa Europe has recruited 14 IT apprentices through its Higher Apprenticeship programme, launched in April 2011. Most will study for a foundation degree and "level 4" diploma while working in the company's technology division.

• September 19, 2011 19 Sep'11

  New Look increases sales by 45% after mobile site launch

  Fashion retailer New Look has increased sales by 45% three months after the launch of its mobile commerce site.

• September 15, 2011 15 Sep'11

  Cyber attacks are becoming lethal, warns US cyber commander

  Cyber attacks are escalating from large-scale theft and disruption of computer operations to more lethal attacks that destroy systems and physical equipment, according to the head of the US Cyber Command.

• September 15, 2011 15 Sep'11

  Groupon to float as Facebook puts off IPO until late 2012

  Online discount site Groupon is reported to be planning a flotation, while Facebook is rumoured to be delaying its IPO until the end of 2012.

• September 14, 2011 14 Sep'11

  IT development underpinning Universal Credits comes under fire from MPs and experts

  The delivery of Universal Credits is coming under fire as observers are casting an increasingly critical eye on the IT systems underpinning the politically sensitive project.

• September 14, 2011 14 Sep'11

  PricewaterhouseCoopers takes 40 graduate IT interns on security and testing teams

  Consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers has selected 40 graduate interns for its IT department. The trainees will work with PwC's information security and testing teams.

• September 14, 2011 14 Sep'11

  Security update: Light Microsoft Patch Tuesday with low application impact plus critical Adobe fixes

  Microsoft's September Patch Tuesday security update is relatively light with only five security updates.

• September 13, 2011 13 Sep'11

  Retailer Aurora gives iPads to shopfloor sales staff to check stock and shorten queue times

  Fashion retailer Aurora is providing iPads to sales staff at London branches of Coast, Oasis, Warehouse and Karen Millen.

• September 13, 2011 13 Sep'11

  Sabre develops apps marketplace for travel industry

  Sabre, the global distribution system for reserving hotels, airlines, cruise ships, rail tickets and car hire, has taken the concept of the app store and applied in to its own travel market.

• September 13, 2011 13 Sep'11

  GlobalSign web certificate authority back online after breach by hacker

  Belgian web certificate authority (CA) GlobalSign is back online after investigating claims by the hacker who breached the Dutch DigiNotar CA that its systems had also been breached.

• September 09, 2011 09 Sep'11

  Twitter plans to expand advertising business as investment raises value to $8bn

  Twitter has outlined plans to increase advertising revenue and avoid an initial public offering (IPO) after reaching more than 100 million active users.

• September 09, 2011 09 Sep'11

  Morrisons checks out a milestone in £310m IT transformation

  Supermarket chain Morrisons has completed a major electronic point-of-sale (EPOS) roll-out as part of its ongoing £310m IT transformation programme.

• 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.

• September 08, 2011 08 Sep'11

  Web security certificate breach widens

  GlobalSign, the fifth largest digital certificate issuer, has suspended the issuing of authentication certificates for websites after the DigiNotar hacker claimed to have breached its systems

• September 08, 2011 08 Sep'11

  University challenge: using IT to improve services and reduce costs

  Universities face a balancing act as they become increasingly expected to improve the experiences of more demanding students while making budgets go further, and IT is a critical tool in finding this balance.

• September 08, 2011 08 Sep'11

  Nike+ problems demonstrate the risk of social media success

  The rewards for creating a customer-focused online community are huge. But success comes at a price, as recent issues encountered by Nike's Nike+ running site illustrate. Matt Scott investigates.

• September 07, 2011 07 Sep'11

  CIO interview: Mike Bracken, UK government director of digital

  Whitehall is not exactly known for being at the bleeding edge of technological innovation. But as the newly appointed government director of digital, Mike Bracken is set to change that perception. In an exclusive interview, he discusses the ...

• September 07, 2011 07 Sep'11

  DigiNotar certificate authority breach: Why it matters

  There has been much speculation around the identity and motive of the hacker who was able to breach DigiNotar and issue fraudulent digital certificates for hundreds of websites, but putting such speculation aside, what is the broader significance of...

• September 02, 2011 02 Sep'11

  Two men arrested in UK as police investigate Anonymous and LulzSec hacking activities

  Two more people have been arrested inthe ongoing crackdown on hacktivist groups Anonymous and Lulz Security (LulzSec). The Metropolitan Police's Central e-Crime Unit arrested two men in South Yorkshire and Wiltshire for conspiring to commit offences...

• September 02, 2011 02 Sep'11

  ICO slams Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration for data breaches

  The Information Commissioner's Office has criticised the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration for twice leaking sensitive personal information about young children in breach of the Data Protection Act.

• September 01, 2011 01 Sep'11

  Pakistan bans VPNs to prevent users accessing banned websites

  The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority has virtual private networks. Pakistanis are banned from accessing social networking sites and all internet traffic is monitored, but virtual private networks (VPNs), have enabled internet users to connect ...

• September 01, 2011 01 Sep'11

  Undergraduate interns help Jaguar Land Rover research in-car intelligence

  Rob Watts and Jess Cummings are second-year undergraduates demonstrating future car technology for Jaguar Land Rover through an internship programme called Extreme Blue at IBM's UK research facility in Hursley

• September 01, 2011 01 Sep'11

  Ofcom gives green light to use TV spectrum for rural broadband

  Telecommunications regulator Ofcom has given the go-ahead for internet providers to use unused TV spectrum to deliver broadband to rural areas.

• August 30, 2011 30 Aug'11

  Orange restores broadband customers' e-mail account access but loses data

  A problem with Orange e-mail – which locked out broadband customers – has been partly fixed as access to the accounts is restored, but weeks of e-mails may be lost.

• August 30, 2011 30 Aug'11

  Facebook pays security bug bounty hunters $40,000 in three weeks

  Facebook has revealed its security bug bounty initiative has paid out more than $40,000 in just three weeks – but has not revealed how many security vulnerabilities have been reported or how many have been fixed.

• 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 30, 2011 30 Aug'11

  The business architect role is vital to business process transformation

  If you have not yet heard the term "business architect", you soon will, write John Rymer and Alexander Peters of Forrester Research. Whether business architects report into the business or IT, this emerging role will help usher in organisations' ...

• August 26, 2011 26 Aug'11

  Lack of soft skills training is curbing IT career progression

  Employers are failing to provide IT professionals with the business...

• August 24, 2011 24 Aug'11

  London boroughs seek integrator to support Oracle ERP software-sharing project

  Four London boroughs are looking for a systems integrator to support their plan to share a single instance of Oracle's latest ERP software.

• August 24, 2011 24 Aug'11

  CompTIA+ provides young IT pro with career boost

  Dujon Walsham is a 23 year old IT consultant who has worked on high-profile projects such as the IT infrastructure to capture programmes for ITV Player. His current job involves helping companies like eBay and British Airways adopt cloud computing ...

• August 24, 2011 24 Aug'11

  RBS pay leak reveals the contractors paid £2,000 a day

  A blunder by recruitment company Hays has revealed contractors at Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) earn £2,000 per day.

• August 23, 2011 23 Aug'11

  BT services division takes 15 school leavers for IT apprenticeships in recruitment drive

  BT Engage has taken on 15 school leavers to embark on three-year IT apprenticeships.

• August 23, 2011 23 Aug'11

  Why major IT projects are more likely to fail than any others

  Major IT projects are 20 times more likely to fail than other business initiatives because project managers are ignoring unpredictable events, says a major research study by Oxford University.