Opinion

Opinion

IT management skills

• From CDO to CTIO – what tech leader job titles really mean, and who calls the shots  

  In your organisation, do you have a CIO? A CTO? A CTIO? We offer a brief guide to the top roles in IT and the differences between them.  Continue Reading

• The digital education problem at the heart of government transformation

  A recent NAO report on digital government highlights some progress and ongoing challenges – but Whitehall needs to tackle a more fundamental flaw if it’s to deliver true digital change  Continue Reading

• Women on Boards: how to get there, how to flourish there

  Having a good network, listening to advice, taking on more responsibility coupled with drive and commitment can help women reach a place on the board  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Training can no longer be a compliance exercise

  Historically, security training has tended to take a compliance-based focus, a ‘tick-box’ exercise using generic, off-the-shelf courses. This needs to change, says Hayley Watson of Turnkey Consulting.  Continue Reading

• Cyber training in 2023 needs to drive measurable change

  2023 will see more focus on security training programmes that not only provide employees with an understanding of the risks they face but more importantly drive measurable behavioural change, says PA Consulting’s Richard Allen  Continue Reading

• Cyber security training: Insights for future professionals

  Future cyber security professionals need soft skills as well as technical ones, says security educator Sudeep Subramanian  Continue Reading

• What do the tech sector redundancy rounds mean for international employees working in the UK?

  Individuals that have chosen to relocate to the UK to develop their careers sponsored by their employers face not only losing their job but their right to remain in the UK. What are the options?  Continue Reading

• What’s the technology talent and recruitment outlook for 2023?

  Despite layoffs from technology companies demand for IT staff in 2023 is expected to be robust, but organisations may turn towards contractors and off-shoring  Continue Reading

• Improve business outcomes by developing employees' skills

  Cloud experts, cybersecurity professionals and data scientists are among the most sought after vacancies. Building up skills internally can help  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Poor training is worse than no training at all

  Bad security training is a betrayal of users, a security risk, and ultimately a waste of money, but there are some reasons to be optimistic about the future, say Mike Gillespie and Ellie Hurst of Advent IM  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Getting the training and development mix right

  Rob Dartnall, CEO at SecAlliance and chair of Crest’s UK Council, describes the need for formal, varied and continuous development in the cyber security sector  Continue Reading

• Chartered status and aligned standards are crucial for the UK's cyber sector

  As the UK moves closer to ushering in the world’s first chartered cyber professionals, the UK Cyber Security Council’s Simon Hepburn outlines the sector’s defining moment  Continue Reading

• Why robots will make work more human

  Smart technology should be about making people’s lives easier, freeing them up for judgement-based tasks and giving them the data and information they need for smart decision-making  Continue Reading

• Three million empty seats: What can we do about the cyber skills shortage?

  Companies should look for candidates with the right skills potential, rather than insist they tick a hundred different security skills boxes  Continue Reading

• More women in tech will bridge the skills gap and bolster growth

  Large global technology firms will reach nearly 33% overall female representation in their workforces in 2022. Growth is slow, but heading in the right direction  Continue Reading

• Fewer CIOs have a seat on the board but we still need technology leaders

  This democratisation of technology still needs a leader, but it’s a healthy sign that discussion of tech has become part of business as usual at board level  Continue Reading

• How to maximise tech recruitment in an uncertain and unpredictable market 

  Six tips for employers to maximise your chances of securing the IT talent you need  Continue Reading

• We’re all technologists now – the powerful impact of low-code platforms

  Low-code platforms are bringing a shift in how organisations develop and use technology – and it’s the job of the CIO to let it happen in a controlled, secure and connected fashion  Continue Reading

• Governance and progression of AI in the UK

  Artificial intelligence and machine learning are essential to growth in the global digital economy, and the UK has ambitions to lead the way  Continue Reading

• Succession in the world of ERP

  Succession planning is not a simple business, especially in the age of the Great Resignation  Continue Reading

• Digital begins in the boardroom

  Successful organisations need a digitally savvy board to shape their business agenda  Continue Reading

• Building distributed systems requires effective developer teams

  Technologies edge computing and containerisation call for teams capable of building distributed systems  Continue Reading

• We must target a broad church to fill vacant cyber roles

  The security industry focuses a lot on cyber-specific specialisms and technical skills, but it could really benefit from widening its search. Take it from a social anthropologist  Continue Reading

• How cyber security teams can conquer the four-day working week

  The four-day week may be an idea whose time has come, but for always-on cyber security professionals, the impact of squeezing more work into fewer days is a tricky proposition  Continue Reading

• Gartner: How to overcome a lack of cloud skills in your organisation

  IT chiefs are struggling to tackle cloud skills shortages across their organisations. Here are five key steps to overcome this challenge  Continue Reading

• Five key tech trends for digital leaders in 2022

  The past two years have seen a surge in investment that will bring new challenges to digital leaders over the next year  Continue Reading

• The way we talk and think about tech is crucial to helping solve the skills shortage crisis

  Companies are looking to short-term fixes to find IT specialists, but there is still a need for long-term solutions  Continue Reading

• How software development will change in 2022

  Businesses need a pipeline of software-enabled functionality that has to be delivered quickly and reliably without overworking software teams  Continue Reading

• Building bridges to better diversity

  Tibco CIO Rani Johnson describes how the C-suite need to make themselves uncomfortable if they are to increase diversity in their organisations  Continue Reading

• Will the end of furlough help fill tech vacancies?

  The closure of the government’s furlough scheme may not help the tech sector fill the most technical vacancies, but it could bolster available talent for the longer term  Continue Reading

• Is tech team remuneration opening up a new form of cyber risk?

  Failing to reward cyber security staff in line with increases for other members of the tech team could open up new risks to organisations  Continue Reading

• The secret to building a future-proof cyber security team

  In a post-pandemic digital world, where cyber criminals see a feast of opportunities, what are the secrets to building a world-class cyber security function?  Continue Reading

• How CIOs can help their organisations accelerate digital transformation

  Companies need to win the trust of their customers to gather the data they need to transform their businesses  Continue Reading

• Shaping a Digital Strategy to support UK productivity and jobs

  With an all-party parliamentary group calling for evidence on digital skills, there are three key areas that policymakers should address    Continue Reading

• Why it’s fantastic to be a woman in the technology sector (and what’s stopping more from joining)

  The enforced move by many employers to flexible home working during the pandemic is challenging the culture of long hours in the office – and opening up new opportunities for women in tech  Continue Reading

• Could ambiguous rules spur IT personnel offshoring bonanza?

  Could the combination of Brexit and ambiguous rules on recruitment enable businesses to hire IT staff from overseas to carry out work remotely?  Continue Reading

• Martha Lane Fox: My life in tech

  The internet entrepreneur discusses the role of tech in society, confidence in coding and encouraging young people to embrace technology  Continue Reading

• How to write an executive CV for IT leadership jobs

  Knowing how to write an IT executive CV requires a deep knowledge and skillset that not everyone has. Find out how to set yourself apart from the competition  Continue Reading

• Top 10 skills to include in your IT CV

  Find out what skills and keywords you should include on your CV to stand out as an IT professional in a competitive market  Continue Reading

• Tech executives need new skills to lead in a remote world

  After helping organisations adapt to new ways of working during the Covid-19 pandemic, IT leaders worldwide are now enjoying greater influence, according to this year’s Harvey Nash/KPMG CIO Survey  Continue Reading

• Digital leaders and the widening divide

  This year’s Harvey Nash/KPMG CIO Survey shows a widening of the digital business divide, with companies that have already adopted digital technologies more likely to accelerate those investments than those still in the planning stage  Continue Reading

• How the chancellor’s Plan for Jobs could benefit the UK tech sector

  Technology has a strong role to play in the UK’s recovery, with Rishi Sunak’s Plan for Jobs offering opportunities for the sector  Continue Reading

• The new future of work

  We may come to stop talking about ‘remote’ working altogether after the coronavirus pandemic. It could become just ‘working’ – part of the normal mix of how things are done  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: CISO stress – moving from recognition to action

  Cyber criminals are enjoying a boom during the Covid-19 pandemic, and security teams are working overtime as a result. How can security professionals manage their increased workload, safeguard their mental well-being and avoid burnout?  Continue Reading

• How effective security training goes deeper than ‘awareness’

  Cyber criminals are constantly developing their techniques and strategies, so security training needs to do the same  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Burnt out CISOs are a huge cyber risk

  Cyber criminals are enjoying a boom during the Covid-19 pandemic, and security teams are working overtime as a result. How can security pros manage their increased workload, safeguard their mental wellbeing, and avoid burnout?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Create healthy habits to avoid burnout

  Cyber criminals are enjoying a boom during the Covid-19 pandemic, and security teams are working overtime as a result. How can security professionals manage their increased workload, safeguard their mental well-being and avoid burnout?  Continue Reading

• IT transformation steps pave the path to new ways to work

  The CEO of Difrent discusses how her roles in local and central government have played a role in public sector IT transformation  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Caring for the IT security caretakers

  Cyber criminals are enjoying a boom during the Covid-19 pandemic, and security teams are working overtime as a result. How can security professionals manage their increased workload, safeguard their mental well-being and avoid burnout?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: CISOs must adapt to fight Covid-19 burnout

  Cyber criminals are enjoying a boom during the Covid-19 pandemic, and security teams are working overtime as a result. How can security pros manage their increased workload, safeguard their mental wellbeing, and avoid burnout?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: How to manage security team well-being

  Cyber criminals are enjoying a boom during the Covid-19 pandemic, and security teams are working overtime as a result. How can security professionals manage their increased workload, safeguard their mental well-being and avoid burnout?  Continue Reading

• Unsteady state: Building collaboration, innovation and responsiveness during unprecedented change

  The coronavirus crisis is challenging business and tech leaders in new and unprecedented ways – but the skills developed by successful leaders can forge better business and government going forward  Continue Reading

• Coronavirus: What does the ‘new normal’ mean for how we work?

  Examining the long-term impact of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic on the world of work, security, privacy and networks  Continue Reading

• Gartner: How CIOs can lead organisational culture

  In large-scale transformations, the technical implementation is often far easier than the change management needed to make IT projects a success  Continue Reading

• Learning from the Travelex cyber attack: Failing to prepare is preparing to fail

  The key lesson to take from the Travelex breach is that an effective response to a breach is a critical business function and no longer the sole province of the IT department  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Hooded hackers? More like ruthless competitors

  The traditional picture of a hacker is of a script kiddie in a hoodie hunched over a computer keyboard, but this stereotype is stale and outdated. Is it time to move away from a fear-based approach to security?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Optimise data-centric strategies with AI

  The belief that effective perimeter security is the best way to protect data is a fallacy that is being repeatedly exposed. We must recognise the need for a data-centric security model to protect data from both internal and external threats, but ...  Continue Reading

• Cyber security: How to avoid a disastrous PICNIC

  Fieldfisher’s David Lorimer examines how individual employees often facilitate cyber attacks, and what can be done to reduce the risk  Continue Reading

• Liberal Democrats: We want to lead the world in ethical, inclusive technology

  Layla Moran, Liberal Democrat MP and party spokesperson for digital, culture, media and sport, writes about the party's technology policies ahead of the upcoming General Election  Continue Reading

• The super-resilient organisation

  We need to build super-resilient organisations that can not only survive in a tempestuous world, but become energised by it  Continue Reading

• The super-resilient IT function

  IT functions don’t have to continue taking the blame for organisational failures, they can take the lead in transforming the business  Continue Reading

• Life under the loan charge: An IT contractor’s story

  Thousands of IT contractors are being pursued by HMRC for “life-changing” tax bills for work they did up to 20 years ago, as part of a disguised remuneration clampdown known as the loan charge policy. One of those affected anonymously shares his ...  Continue Reading

• The super-resilient CIO

  How developing ‘super-resilience’ can help your organisation thrive on adversity  Continue Reading

• What changes are needed to create a cyber-savvy culture?

  PA Consulting's Cate Pye considers the people and process changes that are necessary to build a security aware business culture  Continue Reading

• Why the rise of IT managed by the business is driving creative thinking

  Organisations that encourage business units to implement and run their own IT systems have an edge over competitors that rely entirely on the IT department, research from Harvey Nash and KPMG reveals  Continue Reading

• Agile becomes mainstream

  There are clear parallels between the conditions that led the IT industry to adopt agile approaches and the challenges facing business today  Continue Reading

• The lesson of TSB – testing, 1, 2, 3

  An organisation’s IT system might look good on the surface, but you can’t fix a problem if you don’t know it’s there  Continue Reading

• How to boost your personal brand as an IT professional

  Seven steps to help you build a personal brand in the workplace, articulate the value you provide and build your professional reputation  Continue Reading

• How to attract investors for your enterprise software startup

  Are you looking to find an investor for your enterprise software company? This expert advice explains what investors will be looking to find in an innovative software business seeking backing  Continue Reading

• The problem of smart cities and connectivity in the UK

  Only once leaders develop a framework for local economic and societal development can the “smart city” buzz can evolve into “intelligent communities”  Continue Reading

• The importance of e-leadership in meeting digital challenges

  Henley Business School identifies ICT trends that will alter the demand of e-skills, especially those needed by e-leaders  Continue Reading

• Life’s a breach: How to handle the press after a hacking attack

  Emily Dent, specialist in crisis PR, offers some advice to organisations that unexpectedly find themselves in the headlines  Continue Reading

• The top 10 myths about agile development

  Examining some of the most common misconceptions in the growing field of agile software development  Continue Reading

• Nobody has a monopoly on digital leadership

  As IT becomes more strategic and pervasive, effective digital leadership is needed by just about every organisation  Continue Reading

• Opinion: The Strategic Execution Framework

  Innovation. Agility. Performance. Scalability. Are these among the key initiatives for your company this year?  Continue Reading

• Technology, society and morality: the implications for technology leaders

  Technology is evolving at a pace and scale that has never been experienced. Society is struggling to keep up with the social and moral implications  Continue Reading

• Why IT education is failing

  There are a plethora of UK IT educational projects and initiatives but no focus or urgency to channel the energy of teachers, says entrepreneur, Rick Chandler.  Continue Reading

• The socially intelligent project manager

  IQ alone is not enough to determine project success. Good project managers also require social intelligence  Continue Reading

• Opinion: Is big data just big hype?

  If the deluge of headlines and vendor marketing materials is anything to go by, big data is the next big thing. So how much is there really to all this big data talk?  Continue Reading