News

Managing IT and business issues

November 08, 2010 08 Nov'10
Business intelligence helps Toys R Us build 600 pop up stores a season

The global toy store Toys R Us will open 600 new stores, and shut as many again this season. Most will take just two weeks to open their doors from when the lease is signed.
November 01, 2010 01 Nov'10
Windows ‘irrelevant’, says DWP CTO James Gardner

The concept of the Windows-based business desktop is irrelevant according to James Gardner, chief technology officer at the Department of Work and Pensions.
November 01, 2010 01 Nov'10
Forrester Research: Making IT work in small and mid sized firms

Small and medium-size businesses (SMBs), like their enterprise brethren, are shifting their technology focus from IT to business technology (BT).
October 28, 2010 28 Oct'10
Interview: Dr James Martin

Dr James Martin, entrepreneur, visionary, "guru of the information age", "father of Case", ranked fourth in the world by Computerworld among the most influential people in the computer industry, Martin is not only a distinguished technology expert, ...

October 27, 2010 27 Oct'10
BMW, Deutsche Bank, Shell and UBS form alliance to build enterprise cloud standards

A group of the largest businesses across the world have joined forces to provide a set of requirements for the future of cloud computing.
October 22, 2010 22 Oct'10
Top 10 IT strategies for smaller businesses

Small businesses can use IT to cut costs, stay one step ahead of the competition and avoid breaking the bank. Read our ten top tips on the best IT strategies for SMEs.
October 21, 2010 21 Oct'10
Seven things CIOs should do to calm the CEO

As the steam evaporates from the economy, market analyst Gartner has identified seven things CIOs should know about panicky CEOs.

They are not as bullish...
September 15, 2010 15 Sep'10
Mergers critical for survival of European ICT market, says CEO

The European ICT market will need to undergo a series of mergers if it is to compete with the big American players, said Rheinhard Clemens, CEO of IT...
August 05, 2010 05 Aug'10
10 technology trends businesses must not ignore

Management consultancy McKinsey has identified 10 technology trends that will force executives to anticipate and respond to their effects on their enterprises.
August 03, 2010 03 Aug'10
Geo-data is business critical for CIOs, finds survey

Location information and data relating to place - geo-data - are vital for achieving efficiency savings, according to a survey of users.

July 21, 2010 21 Jul'10
Interview: Mike Sackman, chief information officer, Mitchells & Butlers

The IT boss at hospitality firm Mitchells & Butlers tells Angelica Mari about the IT change supporting a shift in the overall business strategy
July 01, 2010 01 Jul'10
New chairman sees special role for Corporate IT Forum

Business IT user group the Corporate IT Forum will aim to better prepare IT professionals for the changes in the industry, says new chairman John Harris.
June 21, 2010 21 Jun'10
IT services firms under pressure as CIOs look for value

Demands to reduce costs and the increasing need to innovate and transform business operations through IT will see outsourcing firms struggling to prove their worth, according to the latest KPMG report.
June 09, 2010 09 Jun'10
How Lloyd's of London moves IT into the business

The IT department at Lloyd's of London has worked with the business to provide technology capabilities to support business requirements. Cliff Saran finds out how it works.
June 08, 2010 08 Jun'10
In-house IT does not add business value, claims survey

A survey of 600 business and IT decision makers has reported that in-house IT does not add any business value.

According to the study from Vanson...
May 20, 2010 20 May'10
Managing application licences will define limits of cloud computing

While businesses assess the value of cloud computing they will need a way to manage application deployment.
April 28, 2010 28 Apr'10
Indian IT spend figures to reach $67 billion in 2010: Gartner

Telecom, government, manufacturing, SMB and banking verticals to lead IT spend charts. Utilities and retail are emerging verticals for IT spends.
April 26, 2010 26 Apr'10
CIO Klub survey highlights process improvement as top IT priority

IT priorities for 2010-'11 move from last year's focus on cost reduction to process and performance improvement.
March 26, 2010 26 Mar'10
Government plans high-tech clusters to target global markets

Information and communications technologies will spearhead the government's attempt to grab a significant share of tomorrow's global multi-billion-pound markets, the government said today.
February 23, 2010 23 Feb'10
Retail IT spending in India to revive this year

2010 looks good for Indian retail CIOs, as most companies boost retail IT spending to enhance the customer's shopping experience.
February 19, 2010 19 Feb'10
IT spending of Indian BFSI to touch $2.7 billion by 2013

Cutting edge competition and business expansion will drive IT spending in Indian BFSI , says Springboard's latest research report.
February 08, 2010 08 Feb'10
Reliance on 'gut feel' hinders businesses

Businesses are failing to make the best business decisions because they lack the ability to analyse business data.
February 05, 2010 05 Feb'10
BI, customer apps, cloud computing lead manufacturing budget wishlist

As Indian manufacturing comes out of the recession's aftermath, CIOs now look forward to adoption of trends like cloud computing and business intelligence.
February 04, 2010 04 Feb'10
Gartner identifies IT trends for 2010

Cloud computing and social computing will be major issues for CIOs in 2010, with businesses set to relinquish control over some parts of their IT estate...
January 28, 2010 28 Jan'10
Can IT switch efficiency gains to business effectiveness?

As the UK shifts out of recession, businesses and governments in Western economies are facing a new reality, with increasingly stiff competition from...
January 28, 2010 28 Jan'10
ITSM and virtualization top Indian IT/ITES IT budgets for 2010

A re-look at IT budgets, IT service management, green IT initiatives, human resource management, and more. What does Indian IT/ITES have in mind for 2010?
January 14, 2010 14 Jan'10
A fifth of IT to disappear by 2012

Gartner has painted a bleak future for corporate IT in its latest predictions. The analyst company expects that by 2012, 20% of businesses will own no IT...
January 12, 2010 12 Jan'10
IT budget cuts expected in 2010

Businesses expect to make significant cuts to their IT budgets during 2010 according to the National Computing Centre's (NCC) latest survey of IT infrastructure plans.
January 11, 2010 11 Jan'10
Video: IT resistance to change slows business growth, says Gartner

Companies need entrepreneurial CIOs to help them overcome their IT department's resistance to change, says market analyst Gartner.
January 05, 2010 05 Jan'10
IT heads target strategy and business change in 2010

Strategic planning and process change are the keys to better enabling business in 2010, according to a survey of IT professionals by the British Computer...
December 17, 2009 17 Dec'09
Users say licensing costs slow virtualization adoption

The cost of VMware is deterring at least one organisation from further adoption of virtualization.
December 16, 2009 16 Dec'09
IT bosses lead world in creating wealth

CEOs of IT companies are well to the fore in creating long-term shareholder value, according to a Harvard Business Review article to be published in January.

Apple...
December 04, 2009 04 Dec'09
Will the IT department die if it does not build private clouds now?

IT departments face the challenge of making technology available to business users through the web while retaining control of security and data.

The...
December 03, 2009 03 Dec'09
SAP and data consolidation: Super Religare's top IT priorities in 2010

Join G Radhakrishna Pillai, the CIO of Super Religare Diagnostics, as he talks about his corporate IT vision for 2010.
December 02, 2009 02 Dec'09
Seven steps to outsourcing heaven

Warwick Business School has outlined major challenges for businesses if they are to get the best out of their outsourcing contracts.

Large businesses...
December 02, 2009 02 Dec'09
Post Office will be next new bank

The Post Office could become a full bank after business secretary Lord Mandelson opened a public consultation on new financial products and services that...
December 01, 2009 01 Dec'09
Businesses will use private clouds for now, says Gartner

Businesses will spend more money on developing private cloud computing initiatives than they will spend with cloud computing suppliers, according to Gartner.
December 01, 2009 01 Dec'09
How much are your social network connections worth?

Businesses should use analytical methods to measure the success of social networking and the value of social network users' relationships and connections, according to analyst Gartner.
November 24, 2009 24 Nov'09
CIOs have critical role in guiding business out of recession, says SAP

Chief information officers have a critical role to play in the next five years as businesses continue to feel the effects of the economic recession, says Chakib Bouhdary, chief value officer at SAP.
November 23, 2009 23 Nov'09
CBI predicts decade of IT-driven business change

Businesses need to adapt quickly to meet the opportunities offered by new technology, says employers organisation the CBI.

Technology will form the...
November 23, 2009 23 Nov'09
Book extract: Prioritizing security spending

In this excerpt from "The Shortcut Guide to Prioritizing Security Spending," you'll learn how to spend on cloud security and identify data flows that deserve protection.
November 23, 2009 23 Nov'09
SaaS accounting software usage on the rise among Indian SMBs

AMI Partners study forecasts US$30 Mn spends by Indian SMBs on accounting software for 2009. Medium businesses lead SaaS accounting software adoption.
November 20, 2009 20 Nov'09
Hotel technology spends have taken a backseat due to recession

Due to increasing pressure on bottom lines, major hospitality players have scaled down their IT investments. Anil Chiplunkar, the head of Infocounselors and ex-CIO at Kamat Hotels (India) Ltd., talks about IT challenges faced by hospitality industry...
November 13, 2009 13 Nov'09
Understand your CFO: A quick CIO how-to for sleeping with the enemy

How do you become your chief financial officer's best friend? Arun Gupta, the Group CIO of K Raheja Corp. recently shared CFO management mantras.
November 11, 2009 11 Nov'09
Inventory management top IT priority for the retail CIO: Springboard

Springboard research report reveals inventory and supply chain management, ERP, data security and e-commerce as top IT spends for Indian retail in 2010.
November 09, 2009 09 Nov'09
APAC enterprise software spends at 10.2% for 2010, India among leaders

India shows a significant growth of 10.1% on enterprise software spends during 2009, expected to rise to 11.8% in 2010.
October 23, 2009 23 Oct'09
Media140 - Live blogging and updates from today's conference

The Media140 conference on brands is taking place in London on Monday 26 October - The day is called "Everything a brand needs to know about twitter & real-time social media" and will offer brands great help advice on using social media to develop ...
October 22, 2009 22 Oct'09
Indian banking and finance SMBs slot $1.24 bn for FY '09 IT spends

AMI Partners study details small and medium business (SMB) IT budget increase of 3.5% over FY 2008-'09. SMB internet and online spends on the growth path.
October 09, 2009 09 Oct'09
Business climate has improved says Infosys

The India-based business solutions company Infosys Technologies has announced a second quarter revenue increase of 2.9 percent but profits are still down year-on-year by 5.1 per cent.
October 09, 2009 09 Oct'09
Unified communication spending for Indian SMBs in the range of US$48.8 Mn for '09

Indian small and medium business (SMB) to have unified communication (UC) investments upwards of US$48.8 Mn for 2009-10. UC cost savings drive adoption.
October 06, 2009 06 Oct'09
Recession, a shrinking IT budget and the CIO

How can a CIO deal with reduced IT budgets? M D Agrawal, the deputy general manager of IS (refinery) at Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd., shares tips.
October 06, 2009 06 Oct'09
Indian manufacturing SMBs to spend USD 3.7 billion on IT

Indian manufacturing SMBs have earmarked USD 3.7 billion on IT for the fiscal year 2009-10. IT spends grow by 4% over FY 2008-09.
October 06, 2009 06 Oct'09
An IT budget provides opportunities for a CIO even during recession

Global recession has affected Indian budgets, but CIOs need to spot the golden lining. Sunil Mehta, senior vice president and area systems director (Central Asia) of advertising giant JWT, explains how Indian CIOs should prioritize their IT spends.
October 05, 2009 05 Oct'09
Financial services firms fail to invest in recovery

Most financial services organisations are not planning to ramp up their IT systems in preparation for a business upturn.
September 29, 2009 29 Sep'09
Bosses have their heads in the sand over new technology

Senior executives have buried their heads in the sand over the use of social networks and mobile technology in the workplace.
September 28, 2009 28 Sep'09
Small business overconfident of ability to survive IT disasters

Small and medium-sized businesses are over-confident about their readiness to survive a flood, fire or other disaster that disabled their IT systems, a survey...
September 23, 2009 23 Sep'09
Dell may be paying too much for Perot Systems

If the markets are right, Michael Dell has paid too much for Perot Systems. Dell is paying $30 a share cash or about $3.9bn, about half its $7.9bn...
September 21, 2009 21 Sep'09
10 ways to renegotiate your virtualization licenses

Renegotiating licenses for virtualization software can save you plenty, without limiting your ability to transform a data center.
September 17, 2009 17 Sep'09
Cash injection to boost IT in the North East

For the past decade the North East has been working hard to provide its residents with the kind of technological and business opportunities that are traditionally associated with the South. It has been gaining ground, but the region could be set to ...
September 17, 2009 17 Sep'09
Top 10 best places to start an IT business

The UK has been ranked the sixth best place to run an IT business. But Britain is better than other European nations when it comes to developing IT talent.
September 03, 2009 03 Sep'09
CIOs cut costs with no plan to innovate out of recession

Many CIOs in France, Germany and UK are cutting IT costs without a long-term view of how to help the business innovate...
August 27, 2009 27 Aug'09
PODCAST: How to budget for virtualization

Learn how to virtualize without spending too much in this podcast with analyst Laura DiDdio.
August 19, 2009 19 Aug'09
HP to sell parts of its outsourcing business

HP is considering selling parts of its outsourcing business so it can put more effort in more profitable areas. According...
July 15, 2009 15 Jul'09
Cybercriminals adopt business strategies

Online criminals are using state of the art business strategies to commit cybercrimes, says network equipment maker Cisco.
July 10, 2009 10 Jul'09
IPS to market ID cards to businesses

IPS marketing The Identity and Passport Service (IPS) is to embark on a marketing campaign to persuade businesses to check staff passports and national identity cards.
June 16, 2009 16 Jun'09
Businesses put major IT on hold to weather downturn

Many organisations are taking a step backward and putting major IT decisions on hold while they revisit their strategy during the recession, according to analyst IDC.
June 09, 2009 09 Jun'09
Gartner: IT budgets cut by 10%

CIOs have had their IT budgets cut by as much as 10%, as businesses continue to lower costs to combat the recession.

Analyst firm Gartner...
June 01, 2009 01 Jun'09
Technology will transform UK in new industrial revolution, says HSBC

Technology will reshape the UK business landscape in its biggest shake-up since the industrial revolution, according to HSBC.
April 30, 2009 30 Apr'09
Businesses willing to risk the future for short term gains

Recessions don't last forever and businesses that cut back on IT indescriminantly are likely to be at competitive disadvantage in the future.

According...
April 28, 2009 28 Apr'09
IT chiefs: Security is biggest threat to cloud computing

Most UK businesses (71%) think security is the biggest threat to cloud computing, a survey of IT chiefs has found.

Most organisations would like to...
April 28, 2009 28 Apr'09
IT jobs to be slashed in downturn

Businesses and government departments are planning huge cuts to their IT recruitment budgets which could see some companies cutting 100% of their temporary...
April 22, 2009 22 Apr'09
AMD counters talk of recovery

Following poor first quarter financial results, AMD has dampened talk of the market having hit the bottom, in an announcement seen as a direct reply to Intel's...
March 25, 2009 25 Mar'09
IT mistakes today are business mistakes tomorrow

Business decision-makers often cut IT budgets in times of economic slowdown. But they risk reducing business opportunities in the future.
March 24, 2009 24 Mar'09
Recession buster: five tips to lower software maintenance fees

As the recession bites, businesses can lower their IT expenditure by focussing on the cost of their software maintenance contracts.
January 22, 2009 22 Jan'09
Merged Britannia and CFS can grow on technology

Co-operative Financial Services (CFS) and building society Britannia could use technology to help them win business from struggling competitors.

The...
January 06, 2009 06 Jan'09
Atos Consulting offers tips on boosting business performance in a recession

Atos Consulting has offered its top 10 tips to businesses on how they can improve business performance this...
November 10, 2008 10 Nov'08
Enterprise search engines not realising business benefits

Perceived inability of enterprise search to replicate usability of consumer search engines leading to frustration
November 07, 2008 07 Nov'08
Gartner symposium: How IT can survive the recession

The "dire" outlook for the economy over the next 12 to 18 months means CIOs face tough choices in the short term, but also have an opportunity to help businesses...
November 04, 2008 04 Nov'08
Gartner Symposium: IT directors play key role in building competitive edge

IT directors must add value during th e economic slowdown to help their businesses stay competitive. Presenting to a...
October 29, 2008 29 Oct'08
Microsoft virtualization license plan met with cautious optimism

Unlimited virtualization licenses with Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition could save money. But users worry that the new licensing scheme is too good to be true.
October 15, 2008 15 Oct'08
Intel warns of market trouble ahead

Intel has posted improved third quarter results, but has warned it is readying itself for a potentially troubled fourth quarter as a result of the ongoing...
September 11, 2008 11 Sep'08
Global IT shrugs off economic turbulence

Demand worldwide for IT is growing strongly in spite of economic turbulence. According to data from market...
July 24, 2008 24 Jul'08
World IT services market up 9.5%

The worldwide IT services market is on track to grow by 9.5% this year, says analyst Gartner.
July 15, 2008 15 Jul'08
Firms not realising business potential of social networking

Leading analyst belives that social networking will become increasingly important to the competitiveness of large enterprises
July 14, 2008 14 Jul'08
Yahoo rejects latest move by Microsoft to acquire search engine business

Yahoo has rejected another move by Microsoft ...
July 08, 2008 08 Jul'08
Alliance & Leicester IT director steps up to unite business and IT

Financial services company Alliance & Leicester has promoted its IT director to the board, in a move that will help the company get best out of its core banking platform due to be launched in 2010.
July 07, 2008 07 Jul'08
Firms waste £3.5bn a year through poorly managed IT investments

UK businesses are failing to maximise the value of their IT investments, potentially wasting £3.5bn a year, says consultancy KPMG.
July 01, 2008 01 Jul'08
No rise in number of IT firms going bust, says BDO Stoy Hayward

Accountant and business adviser BDO Stoy Hayward says there will be little change in the number of technology business failures in 2008 and 2009, despite the economic downturn.
May 19, 2008 19 May'08
IT departments twice as involved in business decisions

IT departments, including the IT service desk, are nearly twice as involved with business decisions today compared to five years ago.
May 19, 2008 19 May'08
Reporting system drives BI change at Highland agency

New BI system has significant impact on business at Scottish Government Agency
May 14, 2008 14 May'08
BT customer service could be hit as staff prepare to take industrial action

Customer service to BT's business clients is likely to be hit as just under 14,000 BT managers vote on industrial action over pay, the Connect union said...
March 26, 2008 26 Mar'08
CISOs have right objectives but wrong focus

Too many heads of infosecurity too focused on technology and operations rather than on what they can do for the business
January 28, 2008 28 Jan'08
HD technology to boost conferencing benefits

Verizon Business offer HD conferencing to boost the competitive advantage that collaboration can provide
January 11, 2008 11 Jan'08
William Hill blames poor earnings on legacy technology issues

William Hill, the UK's number two bookmaker, has blamed legacy-technology issues with its in-house NextGen platform and a competitive market for missing earnings targets.
January 07, 2008 07 Jan'08
Financial services continue to spend on IT

Despite rising costs and worsening business sentiment, financial services organisations are still investing in technology, according to CBI and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
December 07, 2007 07 Dec'07
Businesses 'confused' over what ITIL version 3 can offer

Adoption of ITIL version 3 is slow because of confusion about what it can offer, according to IT training company Parity.
November 27, 2007 27 Nov'07
Lack of relevant skills preventing IT and business alignment

Lack of relevant skills is the main reason companies are failing to align their IT to their business needs, say CIOs at top firms.
November 19, 2007 19 Nov'07
Durham and Northumberland target savings through shared services

Northumberland and Durham county councils are targeting millions of pounds savings through a shared service built on Oracle's E-Business Suite.
November 08, 2007 08 Nov'07
Business collaboration top priority for IT directors in 2008, firms say

A survey of 250 IT directors by IT consultant Touchstone Group says accessing and sharing business information within a company is the biggest challenge.
October 12, 2007 12 Oct'07
IT underpins Northern Foods' cost cutting

Northern Foods, which supplies millions of pounds worth of convenience foods to UK supermarkets each year, said this week it was using IT to underpin its strategy to cut cost and improve efficiency across the organisation.