News

IT strategy

August 22, 2011 22 Aug'11
Gartner figures show BPO contracts on the rise with Asia Pacific suppliers in the lead

Business process outsourcing (BPO) contracts will continue to increase with suppliers in emerging economies in Asia/Pacific to the fore as multinational companies return to a period of growth.
August 22, 2011 22 Aug'11
Search engine optimisation and PPC professionals get 70% pay increase

Executives leading corporate search strategies have seen their pay increase 70% over the last three years. Employees who manage search engine optimisation and pay per click strategies can command annual salaries around £75,000 per year.
August 19, 2011 19 Aug'11
Orange broadband customers locked out of e-mail services since July

Orange broadband customers have been unable to access e-mail accounts for weeks, due to an unidentified problem with Orange's e-mail servers.
August 19, 2011 19 Aug'11
Bristol website launch highlights limitations of government SME policy

The launch of Bristol City Council's open source website this week has exposed the limitations of government SME procurement policy.

August 19, 2011 19 Aug'11
A-level IT decline could increase offshoring, says UK Microsoft education director

This year's IT A-level results mark a worrying trend for the IT sector, according to Microsoft's director of education.
August 19, 2011 19 Aug'11
What does HP's Autonomy acquisition mean for the UK tech sector?

HP's bombshell announcement that it is to acquire Autonomy has left many questioning where this leaves the UK software industry. Computer Weekly asks the experts what the deal means for UK home-grown tech talent and what HP is likely to achieve with...
August 19, 2011 19 Aug'11
Customers may think twice about HP as PC business looks uncertain

As HP announces a major shake-up of its product range and services, analysts warn customers could think twice about HP contracts as a result of uncertainty surrounding its PC business.
August 18, 2011 18 Aug'11
Anonymous hits San Francisco’s Bart transport authority site a second time

Hacktivist group Anonymous has hit San Francisco's rail transport authority for a second time.
August 18, 2011 18 Aug'11
Amazon launches government-only cloud storage service for US authorities

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has launched a government-only cloud storage service for US government departments and contractors.
August 18, 2011 18 Aug'11
UK IT profession could suffer as postgraduate course fees face huge rises

The UK IT profession could suffer as a result of the soaring cost of postgraduate courses on the back of rises in the fees for undergraduate studies.

August 18, 2011 18 Aug'11
Students can request marked A-level exam papers under data protection laws, says ICO

Students receiving A-level results today can request to see exam paper marks and examiners' comments under data protection laws, according to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).
August 18, 2011 18 Aug'11
Mahindra Satyam recovery gathers pace with European expansion

Mahindra Satyam is moving into the growth phase of its recovery from near collapse as it invests in another delivery centre in Europe.
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 18, 2011 18 Aug'11
Former IT worker admits revenge server attack on drug company Shionogi

A former IT administrator has admitted disrupting the communications infrastructure of his former employer after his contract was terminated in September 2010, highlighting the risk of insider threats.
August 18, 2011 18 Aug'11
A-level STEM student numbers fail to meet employer demand, warns CBI

The low number of students gaining A-level science, maths and technology qualifications is causing a skills gap to emerge, according to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).
August 18, 2011 18 Aug'11
A-level results show decline in IT student numbers

This year's A-level results show a continued decline in the number of students gaining IT-related qualifications.
August 18, 2011 18 Aug'11
Apprenticeships will nurture young talent despite falling A-level numbers, says Capgemini chairman

Apprenticeships can remedy the decline in students gaining IT-related A-level qualifications, according to Capgemini's UK chairman.
August 18, 2011 18 Aug'11
A-level IT curriculum needs urgent review to prevent future skills gap, warns Intellect

The ICT and computing A-level curriculum requires an "urgent review" following a continued decline in the number of students gaining qualifications, according to industry body Intellect.
August 17, 2011 17 Aug'11
CIO Interview: Mittu Sridhara, global CIO, Ladbrokes

The global chief information officer at betting giant Ladbrokes talks about building a multi-channel business, customer-driven innovation and staff development.
August 17, 2011 17 Aug'11
Logica calls for register of university IP to commercialise academic research

IT services firm Logica is lobbying government to set up a central register of the intellectual property (IP) of universities to help good ideas make it into commercial environments.
August 17, 2011 17 Aug'11
UK business should educate internally to get the right IT security skills at lower cost

UK businesses should look to internal training to meet future IT security needs rather than paying high prices by competing to recruit scarce skills externally, warn experts.
August 17, 2011 17 Aug'11
Organisations still making common security mistakes with their websites, says hosting firm

Business software default settings need to be more secure, says European hosting company LeaseWeb.
August 17, 2011 17 Aug'11
HTC turns up the heat in the smartphone patent wars with a new lawsuit against Apple

Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC has filed a fresh lawsuit against Apple in the US, deepening the legal wrangle between the two companies.
August 17, 2011 17 Aug'11
Dell reports second quarter profit growth, but shares loses value over reduced sales forecast

Dell has reported second quarter profit of $890m, up 63% on the same period a year ago, but not all its investors are happy after sales missed target.
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 17, 2011 17 Aug'11
London Fire Brigade seeks IT system to replace FireControl for £248m

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) is to update its control centre IT systems at an estimated cost of up to £248m, delivering the functionality planned for the failed FireControl project.
August 16, 2011 16 Aug'11
Cadbury nearshores digital development to engage customers online

Cadbury outsourced development work to a supplier based in Eastern Europe when it required the creation and maintenance of a digital platform to support online consumer engagement activities.
August 16, 2011 16 Aug'11
Anonymous hackers hit San Francisco transport site in protest at mobile blocks

Hacking group Anonymous has defaced a website of San Francisco's rail transport company in protest at the rail company's decision to disable mobile phone transmitters to hamper protests.
August 16, 2011 16 Aug'11
UK IT profession reaches all-time high, but training is reducing

The UK IT profession is as big as it has ever been, according to the latest research from E-skills UK, but fewer IT professionals are receiving training.
August 16, 2011 16 Aug'11
Information Commissioner calls for more privacy improvements at Google

The Information Commissioner's Office says an audit at Google's London office shows the company has taken reasonable steps to improve its privacy policies, but could do more.
August 16, 2011 16 Aug'11
Schools could close IT courses due to funding cuts

IT courses for students taking A-levels at school could be closed due to funding gaps, according to a report from the Committee of Public Accounts on value for money in further education.
August 16, 2011 16 Aug'11
GCHQ to help police catch rioters who used social networks to coordinate violence

The Government Communications Headquarters and MI5 are working with police to hunt rioters by trawling social networks.
August 16, 2011 16 Aug'11
Facebook submits forensic evidence in ownership battle with web developer

Facebook lawyers have presented evidence they say proves a New York developer faked a contract with the social network company.
August 15, 2011 15 Aug'11
Aurora Fashion extends e-commerce deal

Aurora Fashions has extended its deal with BT’s retail e-commerce arm as it attempts to increase its online sales.
August 15, 2011 15 Aug'11
CIO interview: Alastair Behenna, technology director, Telecity Group

Alastair Behenna, technology director at datacentre specialist Telecity Group and former CIO at recruitment firm Harvey Nash, talks about the UK skills shortage and challenges for the future.
August 15, 2011 15 Aug'11
Google buys Motorola Mobility for £7.65bn

Google has moved into the hardware market after striking a deal to buy Motorola’s handset division, Motorola Mobility.
August 15, 2011 15 Aug'11
Government must change the way it stores citizens' personal data, calls the EHRC

The government must bring in changes to better protect personal information, calls the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
August 15, 2011 15 Aug'11
Swift proposes identity management system to banks

Banks could become the guardians of their customers' digital identity if a pilot being run by the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (Swift) is accepted by its members.
August 15, 2011 15 Aug'11
Telcos offer cloud alternative

Telecommunications companies are providing businesses with a credible alternative to established IT suppliers, according to analyst firm Ovum.
August 12, 2011 12 Aug'11
LinkedIn bows to pressure over “social ads” privacy concerns

LinkedIn has responded to criticism of its "social ads" feature over its use of members' names and photos in advertisements on its website.
August 12, 2011 12 Aug'11
Surrey Council sets out plans for shared network service

Surrey County Council has put out a tender for a managed network service that will be shared between public sector organisations within the council as well as neighbouring Berkshire.
August 12, 2011 12 Aug'11
US university takes over a month to notify students and staff of potential data breach

The US University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is notifying 75,000 students and staff that their personal information may have been exposed in a breach of one of the institution's IT systems in May, but the delay is highlighting the need for more timely ...
August 12, 2011 12 Aug'11
UK law is proving adaptable to tech-assisted crime, but is blocking social media going too far?

The UK government is considering blocking access to social media sites in the wake of this week's riots in London and elsewhere, but is this really the right way to go?
August 12, 2011 12 Aug'11
Hong Kong stock exchange hack attack highlights need for real-time security systems

The hacking attack on a website of the Hong Kong stock exchange demonstrates the need for real-time vulnerability scanning, say IT security professionals.
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 12, 2011 12 Aug'11
Medical specialist BPL virtualises IT

Medical research and blood product supplier Bio Products Laboratory (BPL) has outsourced a project to virtualise its server and storage infrastructure to help it cut costs and energy consumption while actually providing more computing resources.
August 12, 2011 12 Aug'11
Standard published for securing biometric authentication systems

Two international standards bodies have published a joint security and privacy standard to help ensure biometric data used for authentication will not be compromised.
August 11, 2011 11 Aug'11
Technology Strategy Board plans series of launchpad investment events to boost UK’s tech start-ups

The Technology Strategy Board (TSB) is proposing to set up investment launchpad programmes for technology start-ups in different locations across the country.
August 11, 2011 11 Aug'11
Standard Life increases IT spending as tech-enabled efficiency savings reach £64m

Insurance firm Standard Life increased IT spending in the first half of 2011 and says an ongoing technology-enabled transformation programme is already delivering benefits.
August 11, 2011 11 Aug'11
South Wales Police arrest two men in Cardiff for inciting criminality on Facebook

South Wales Police have arrested two men in Cardiff for inciting criminality through social networking website Facebook.
August 11, 2011 11 Aug'11
US woman sues Google over Gmail scanning

A woman has filed a class action suit against Google for scanning all e-mail sent to Gmail account holders to use for targeted advertising campaigns.
August 11, 2011 11 Aug'11
IT firm grows business five-fold after hiring apprentices

Computer repair company D&J Henry says its business has grown five-fold after hiring apprentices.
August 11, 2011 11 Aug'11
Hong Kong Stock Exchange suspends trading after hackers close news website

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange was forced to suspend afternoon trading in seven listed companies after the news portion of its website was hit by hackers.
August 11, 2011 11 Aug'11
NPIA’s National Police Procurement Hub goes live

The National Police Improvement Agency (NPIA) has launched an online procurement process to allow police forces to buy specified goods and services.
August 11, 2011 11 Aug'11
Norwegian Stock Exchange to migrate operations to LSE MillenniumIT platform

The Norwegian Stock Exchange will migrate trading to the London Stock Exchange's MillenniumIT trading system, cementing a partnership signed in 2009.
August 11, 2011 11 Aug'11
Hacker group threatens Blackberry for assisting police investigating UK riots

A group of hackers has threatened to publish the personal data of Research in Motion employees if the Blackberry maker co-operates with police investigating UK riots by handing over user data.
August 11, 2011 11 Aug'11
Government will crack down on rioters using social media, says PM David Cameron

Prime minister David Cameron has said government will crack down on rioters using social networks to communicate, as Parliament was recalled from its summer recess to discuss the outbreak of violence this week.
August 10, 2011 10 Aug'11
China blames US for cyber attacks

China has blamed the US for 15% of foreign cyber attacks in 2010 followed by India, which it holds responsible for around 8% of foreign attacks.
August 10, 2011 10 Aug'11
Adobe issues security updates for Flash, Shockwave, Photoshop and RoboHelp

Adobe has issued fixes for vulnerabilities in Flash, Shockwave, Photoshop, RoboHelp and Flash Media Server in the latest security update.
August 10, 2011 10 Aug'11
Lush escapes ICO monetary penalty after thousands of customer details were exposed

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has decided not to punish cosmetics group Lush for a major hack of its online trading site from October 2010 to January 2011.
August 10, 2011 10 Aug'11
Insurance sector CIOs plan to increase IT spend on CRM and private clouds

Almost half (47%) of insurance company CIOs are expecting to increase IT spending next year, focusing on investment in CRM and private cloud deployments, according to research.
August 10, 2011 10 Aug'11
Indian IT services suppliers remain upbeat in face of mounting global economic concerns

Indian IT services industry body the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) is confident despite concerns of a double-dip recession following the downgrading of the US's credit rating.
August 10, 2011 10 Aug'11
Citigroup hit by second data breach in four months

Citigroup has confirmed that hackers have stolen and sold the personal information of more than 92,000 customers of Citi Cards Japan (CCJ) in the second breach within the group in the past four months.
August 10, 2011 10 Aug'11
Computacenter gags Bristol City Council over anti-open source 'bias'

Computacenter has prevented Bristol City Council from publishing details of a consulting project that has been overshadowed by allegations of anti-open source bias.
August 10, 2011 10 Aug'11
Apple and publishers named in Amazon e-book price-fixing lawsuit

Two US citizens have filed a lawsuit against Apple and several book publishers, accusing them of fixing the prices of e-books to boost profits and force Amazon to abandon its discount pricing.
August 10, 2011 10 Aug'11
Seven Scottish councils join forces to save £30m per year

As many as seven Scottish councils are joining up services in a move that is expected to save around £30m a year.
August 10, 2011 10 Aug'11
Apple wins battle in patent infringement war with Samsung

Apple has won an important victory in its patent war against Samsung Electronics by obtaining a preliminary injunction barring the sale of Samsung's Galaxy tablet in nearly all European Union member states.
August 10, 2011 10 Aug'11
Libraries must share services and embrace digitisation to survive, says MLA report

Libraries need to move to a shared-services model and embrace digitisation if they are to survive cuts by local authorities, recommends a report.
August 10, 2011 10 Aug'11
Oracle uses Facebook and Twitter to recruit 1,700 employees in European expansion

Oracle has announced plans to use Facebook and Twitter to recruit 1,700 employees across Europe. Oracle said it wants to boost its workforce to meet demands for technologies such as cloud computing in Europe.
August 10, 2011 10 Aug'11
ICO failure to punish Lush for data breach 'sends wrong message'

The failure of the Information Commissioner's Office to impose a monetary penalty against cosmetics firm Lush - for failing to protect thousands of customer records from hackers - sends out all the wrong messages, according to authentication firm ...
August 09, 2011 09 Aug'11
Information security skills in high demand for 2011

Information security and business continuity skills will be in high demand for 2011, according to the latest Barclay Simpson's Interim Market Report
August 09, 2011 09 Aug'11
Top tech firms hit by stock market sell-off

Despite most technology firms reporting strong second quarter financial results and in many cases revising upwards their financial outlooks for the full year, top tech firms are among those hit by a stock market sell-off.
August 09, 2011 09 Aug'11
Ten-year-old hacker exposes exploitable flaws in Apple and Android games

A 10-year-old Californian hacker has exposed a new type of security vulnerability in many mobile games at a hacker conference in Las Vegas.
August 09, 2011 09 Aug'11
Twitter acquires social network site Bagcheck

Social network site Bagcheck has been bought by Twitter for an undisclosed sum.
August 09, 2011 09 Aug'11
Mahindra Satyam’s journey to recovery continues

Indian IT services provider Mahindra Satyam has returned to profit as it enters the next phase of its recovery following the near terminal decline that occurred following a $1bn internal fraud in 2009.
August 09, 2011 09 Aug'11
Majority of IT professionals want to upgrade skills to progress careers - but 41% want to leave IT

Nine out of 10 IT professionals believe upgrading skills and qualifications is important to progressing their careers - but nearly half of them hope to leave IT altogether.
August 09, 2011 09 Aug'11
Binley’s wins landmark ruling on database infringement

Healthcare information provider Binley's has won a landmark court decision against pharmaceutical mailing services and marketing business Precision Marketing Group for infringing its database rights.
August 09, 2011 09 Aug'11
Blackberry to co-operate with police after youths used BBM to organise riots

Research in Motion has said that it will co-operate with the police after it was revealed that London rioters used Blackberry Messenger rather than Twitter to organise looting sprees across the capital, with violence later spreading to Birmingham, ...
August 08, 2011 08 Aug'11
Government denies claims former CIO John Suffolk will be hauled before MI6 for joining Chinese firm

The Cabinet Office has denied claims in the Daily Mail that former government CIO John Suffolk is to be grilled by MI5 and MI6 as a result of joining Huawei.
August 08, 2011 08 Aug'11
Anonymous hacker group publishes data stolen from US police departments

Hacktivist group Anonymous and its offshoot LulzSec have published information stolen from rural US police departments in revenge for recent law enforcement actions.
August 08, 2011 08 Aug'11
Amazon customers consider on-premise servers after cloud service outage

Amazon cloud customers are considering deploying their own servers after a second Amazon Web Services (AWS) outage brought their websites down.
August 08, 2011 08 Aug'11
IT contractors look to financial services as public sector jobs reduce

IT contractors are becoming increasingly confident about opportunities in the financial services sector as banks and insurance firms step up their IT spending.
August 08, 2011 08 Aug'11
Hampshire school data breach highlights need for multiple passwords

A data breach at Bay House School in Hampshire has highlighted the importance of not using the same password for different websites and applications, say experts.
August 08, 2011 08 Aug'11
Investment company IT spending to show regional shift in bank strategies

Investment banks are increasing their IT spending at a faster rate in Asia-Pacific as the region's economies grow in their importance on the global stage.
August 08, 2011 08 Aug'11
Department for Work and Pensions staff begin industrial action

Workers at the DWP in Newcastle, Sheffield and Lytham will today begin industrial action in protest against HP's plans to offshore 200 DWP jobs to Bangalore in India.
August 08, 2011 08 Aug'11
Lightning takes down Amazon and Microsoft cloud services

Amazon and Microsoft European cloud services were down at the weekend after a lightning strike caused power failures at their datacentres in Dublin.
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 08, 2011 08 Aug'11
US standards body issues warning to energy suppliers over cyber attacks

A US energy industry standards body has warned suppliers to improve their defences against cyber attacks.
August 08, 2011 08 Aug'11
Toxic National Programme for IT contracts to be housed under one body

Billions of pounds of toxic IT contract exposures at the Department for Health could be housed under one central unit, according to reports.
August 08, 2011 08 Aug'11
Microsoft’s August Patch Tuesday security update to tackle critical flaws in IE and Windows Server

Microsoft plans to release 13 bulletins in this month's Patch Tuesday security update on 9 August, according to the advance notification.
August 05, 2011 05 Aug'11
Cabinet Office completes all its structural reform actions for July

The Cabinet Office completed all its July deadlines for the implementation of the department's structural reforms agenda.
August 05, 2011 05 Aug'11
LinkedIn second quarter financial results beat expectations

LinkedIn has reported second quarter revenue of $121m and profit of $4.5m, up 120% and 4% respectively on the same period a year ago, beating market expectations.
August 05, 2011 05 Aug'11
William Hill reports strong growth in online and mobile betting

Betting company William Hill reported strong growth in its online and mobile channels as the company announced in its interim results.
August 05, 2011 05 Aug'11
US names former Microsoft executive as new Federal CIO

The US has appointed former Microsoft executive Steven VanRoekel as its new government chief information officer.
August 05, 2011 05 Aug'11
Logica profit slumps but sales increase

Service provider Logica has reported an 11% drop in profit for the first half of 2011 but increased sales by 15% in the same period.
August 05, 2011 05 Aug'11
E-petitions crashes on first day as 1,700 users try to access it every minute

The government's e-petition site crashed on its first day, having raised 2,400 petitions.
August 05, 2011 05 Aug'11
Microsoft and Apple patent pact could drive Android prices up, warns Google

Google claims a pact between Microsoft and Apple to acquire patents threatens to increase the cost of Android devices.
August 05, 2011 05 Aug'11
Loss of 26,000 housing records highlights poor state of UK data protection

The loss of a memory stick containing the personal details of over 26,000 tenants of two London housing associations shows many UK organisations still have poor operating policies, say experts.
August 05, 2011 05 Aug'11
SAP success leads to job losses at Premier Foods

The UK's largest food producer Premier Foods said its SAP system will be a key part of a cost-saving programme which will include redundancies.
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.