Opinion

Opinion

• DPM's diary: 24 July 2007

  Weekly round-up of events at Bogcaster Council...  Continue Reading

• Your shout: NHS IT, the value trap, NPfIT

  Readers discuss working in IT for the NHS, CIOs stuck in the value trap and the NPFIT in the light of recent terror attacks  Continue Reading

• Invitation to innovate

  Amid the moans about skills shortages, and a general raging against the dying of the light in the UK IT community, it is heartening to know that the heartbeat of technology innovation is still strong.  Continue Reading

• NHS IT: an open letter to Gordon Brown

  Senior IT industry figure Robin Guenier sets out some simple steps that the incoming prime minister could take to transform the £12.4bn National Programme for IT in the NHS and make a real difference to clinical care  Continue Reading

• Better to be safe than sorry with security

  CIOs must take action now to avoid problems later  Continue Reading

• Time for NHS to take stock

  With the announcement of Richard Granger's departure, there is a danger that the NHS's £12.4bn National Programme for IT (NPfIT) will sink into oblivion  Continue Reading

• DPM's diary: 19 June 2007

  Weekly round up of events at Bogcaster Council...  Continue Reading

• Downtime: Nasa, Tim Berners-Lee, botnets

  A lighter take on Nasa's IT difficulties, Tim Berners-Lee's Order of Merit, and the FBI's advice regarding botnets  Continue Reading

• PCI: a lesson worth sharing

  Large UK retailers, such as John Lewis and Tesco, have shown a relaxed, in control, strategic approach to meeting the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard.  Continue Reading

• There is more to business success than technology

  We regularly hear that "there is no such thing as an IT project, only business initiatives." But we do not need to look far to find business initiatives being managed as IT projects.  Continue Reading

• No, minister

  We are a self-effacing crew at Computer Weekly. It is, therefore, with some colour flushing our cheeks that we rise to stammer out a rebuttal of a remark made by the minister of state for public health, Caroline Flint, about one of our number.  Continue Reading

• Secrecy and abuse of trust

  Lord Falconer, the lord chancellor, said of the Freedom of Information Act, "The more there is a culture of openness, the better decision-making will be." He promised a "change in way we are governed" because "real, informed accountability improves ...  Continue Reading

• Security begins with the reception desk

  A security policy is no help if nobody is listening  Continue Reading

• Don't ignore Wi-Fi worries

  The concerns raised by the BBC TV Panorama report on the possible dangers of Wi-Fi in schools is just the latest manifestation of society's simultaneous enthusiasm for and fear of new technology.  Continue Reading

• Brown must cut red tape

  UK businesses face an ever-growing mountain of legislation. Although the more ludicrous moves - such as the spy in your rubbish bin - are understandably ridiculed in the national press, much of this is well-intended.  Continue Reading

• Action is the deal on Naked Leader's blog

  The Deal is the latest blog to launch on ComputerWeekly.com - and one with a twist. David Taylor, author of The Naked Leader, said, "My blog won't be about discussion and debate, but about action."  Continue Reading

• Computer Weekly's campaign for NHS openness awarded

  Computer Weekly has won the publishing world's "Oscar" for campaigning journalism in recognition of our fight for an independent and published review of the NHS's £12.4bn National Programme for IT.  Continue Reading

• Your shout: SLAs must focus on business, data protection, agile methods could boost NHS IT scheme

  Computer Weekly's readers give their views on the weeks news  Continue Reading

• Plan now for a power grab

  Much has been said about businesses becoming more energy efficient to tackle climate change, but energy demands could become a deal breaker in the datacentre for much more immediate reasons.  Continue Reading

• Opinion: The perilous path to project management

  Taking a specialist's ability on trust can be costly  Continue Reading

• Web conferencing: How will it affect the relationship between Cisco and Microsoft

  Cisco's entrance into the web conferencing market, with its acquisition of WebEx, could spell the end of a beautiful friendship.  Continue Reading

• Business and education must unite to tackle IT skills shortage

  A lack of graduates and A-level IT entrants threatens business.  Continue Reading

• Report exposes stark reality of NHS IT

  Alan Shackman, an expert in NHS IT and contributor to the Public Accounts Committee report on the National Programme, gives his take on the way forward for the scheme  Continue Reading

• Information security: Who can you trust?

  There is no single answer to internet authentication, and businesses must employ different internal systems to meet requirements  Continue Reading

• Government must step up open source adoption

  Public sector called to action  Continue Reading

• We must utilise the younger generation

  Give young people a chance to prove their worth  Continue Reading

• Criticism and opportunity for NHS IT

  Five years into the NHS's National Programme for IT a Public Accounts Committee report has depicted the scheme as a failure.  Continue Reading

• The human factor is key to good security

  Forget about attacks through your firewall. What about the guy who phones up the IT helpdesk, pretends to be a senior manager and gains access to your information that way? This is social engineering - exploiting human vulnerabilities rather than ...  Continue Reading

• Newer is not always better

  It is good to see older systems still going strong in spite of all the efforts of IT suppliers to encourage users to upgrade to the latest version.  Continue Reading

• We must turn 'nerd' into badge of honour

  Why would any young person not wearing an anorak seek a career in IT? Traditionally the defining reasons for young people embarking on any career have been three-fold: their excitement with the subject, their academic inclination or ability, and the...  Continue Reading

• The best ways to renegotiate your outsourcing deal

  If you have an outsourcing contract, the chances are that at some stage you will need to consider some form of renegotiation. Up to three-quarters of all outsourcing deals are renegotiated at some point, and this figure is rising.  Continue Reading

• A clear case for operating system harmony

  There was scepticism last year when arch-rivals Microsoft and Novell signed an alliance which would see Microsoft sell and support Linux systems.  Continue Reading

• High price of failing to tighten IT security

  Security policies are useless if not backed by action, says Kenneth Mullen  Continue Reading

• Your shout: Serious videoconferencing, IT nexus of business change

  Computer Weekly readers have their say  Continue Reading

• Integration is key to effective VoIP

  A "quick fix" view of VoIP implementation can lead to problems relating to quality, compliance and complexity. Even for small firms a strategic approach is vital  Continue Reading

• Legacy IT support in the takeover age

  Oracle has been out shopping again and is to buy business intelligence software firm Hyperion for £1.7bn.  Continue Reading

• A relationship that's in need of improving

  IT knowledge has to be matched with people skills, says Shirley Redpath  Continue Reading

• Productivity - why can't the UK keep up?

  We must look to US methods to make most of IT  Continue Reading

• IT systems evolve, but the challenges remain

  The hurdles faced by PC pioneers in delivering affordable, usable and manageable computers are still very much at the heart of modern IT  Continue Reading

• What's stopping CIOs from getting the top jobs?

  Neil Pullen, managing director of interim management and executive search firm Freestone, talks about the ambitious new mood of today’s CIOs  Continue Reading

• Videoconferencing is a technology to watch

  Business communications can benefit from video  Continue Reading

• Embrace the new era of IT

  The past 40 years have witnessed a steady transformation in the way computers are used and who has ultimate control over IT.  Continue Reading

• Making a case for VoIP

  End-user education and acceptance is the key to realising the full business benefits of converged voice and data networks  Continue Reading

• How IT can bridge the gap with business

  Aligning business and IT is a four-stage process  Continue Reading

• Time to put security first

  With each new generation of software, it seems that designers introduce yet more challenges for IT security - usually in the name of "usability" or "productivity".  Continue Reading

• Dual effort is needed to avert a skills crisis

  Employers and employees need to collaborate  Continue Reading

• Government ministers should learn to account for IT failures

  Openness is key to effective project management  Continue Reading

• What direction will IT take in 2007?

  Will we actually see significant changes within the industry in the year ahead, such as SOA or RFID technology finally coming of age?  Continue Reading

• DPM's diary: 23 January

  Monday: "I really don't know what all the fuss is about. Data sharing within the public sector is a matter of common sense. All that wishy washy data protection is so 20th century."  Continue Reading

• Downtime: Satnav thriller as bank shows us the money

  Downtime has never used satnav. We were put off by all the tales of people being directed off cliffs and suchlike.  Continue Reading

• Careers: Get on to the corporate radar with Dracula management

  Gain visibility and get back on the corporate radar  Continue Reading

• Bosses learning to let staff work to a different tune

  Who hasn't sneakily browsed the web for personal reasons while at work?  Continue Reading

• Simple ways to do more, faster, with older PCs

  Slow and outdated PCs can waste time and reduce end-user efficiency, however, there are easy and cheap ways to upgrade staff computers  Continue Reading

• Infosecurity and IT ops are on the same side, so let's act like it

  Bridging the divide between the information security and operations teams would benefit both sides, the IT department and the business as a whole  Continue Reading

• The productivity challenge: Working with the iPod generation

  Implementing policies that are enabling rather than restrictive can help attract and retain high quality staff, while still ensuring productivity and security  Continue Reading

• IPv6 offers data packet security and quality of service – but so does IPv4

  Don't expect major security and quality gains with new Internet Protocol  Continue Reading

• Government admits mistakes on IT-based programmes

  At last a government agency has had the confidence to admit some of its mistakes on IT-based programmes, publish the wider lessons, and show how it is learning from them.  Continue Reading

• Let's get our act together before extolling the virtues of a career in IT

  Over the past 12 months a lot of “experts” have bemoaned the lack of computer science graduates and predicted doom and gloom for the IT industry in the UK because of it.  Continue Reading

• Your shout: The great ID cards debate

  Computer Weekly readers have their say  Continue Reading

• Feast and famine as skills market unravels

  Polarised jobs market is not enticing to youngsters  Continue Reading

• How CIOs can prove IT's value

  So it’s official: research says 58% of CIOs don’t ensure that IT delivers value – what a surprise.  Continue Reading

• A suitable case for treatment

  Insufficient testing is the bane of many a promising IT project, but in most cases it leads to nothing more than frustration on the part of the end-user.  Continue Reading

• Who will foot the bill for ID card fraud?

  Government looks set to push liability on business  Continue Reading

• Does Vista show us the path to safer IT?

  Ibukun Adebayo outlines the dangers of Microsoft's Jack-of-all-trades approach  Continue Reading

• Your shout: Women, remote working, outsourcing

  Computer Weekly readers have their say  Continue Reading

• IT's future is going greener

  It is getting hard to avoid all things green these days, as environmental issues climb the political agenda, and IT is as much in the spotlight as any sector.  Continue Reading

• Gung-ho approach is the road to disaster

  Unfounded optimism is damaging public sector IT  Continue Reading

• Manage people, not technology

  People are the crucial factor in organisational change, and only by understanding what motivates them can you ensure a major project's success  Continue Reading

• IT needs to act now on climate change

  Our industry should take lead on the environment  Continue Reading

• Opportunity for clarity

  We are delighted that the House of Commons Health Committee is going to hold an inquiry into the NHS's £12.4bn National Programme for IT. We have campaigned hard for an inquiry, as have 23 leading academics who wrote an open letter to the committee.  Continue Reading

• Pretty interfaces alone do not make a business case

  The release of Windows Vista is a great achievement, but Microsoft should not lose sight of the fact that many of its customers will be running Windows XP for a while yet.  Continue Reading

• So what's your survival plan for IT?

  IT chiefs face a choice in defining the long-term role of IT: create and manage business processes or focus on the sourcing and execution of IT services  Continue Reading

• Who's liable for ID cards?

  The government is pitching ID cards as a solution for identity theft. But industry needs to recognise that the current approach represents a much greater risk of identity theft liability for businesses, who will be left to pick up the costs if ...  Continue Reading

• Make sure SOA truly starts with service

  The SOA lable is not an automatic seal of quality  Continue Reading

• A clear case for openness

  For the first time, government auditors have explained with clarity and insight what differentiates good IT-based projects from bad ones.  Continue Reading

• Willingness to adapt is vital to stay in work

  I was made redundant in August 2005 at the age of 61 after nearly 36 years in IT with the same company. I found it all but impossible to get another job in IT for a number of reasons, one of which may have well have been my age.  Continue Reading

• Users win in Linux love-in

  It seems the world really is big enough for both Windows and Linux. Earlier this month some of the heat was taken out of the long-standing rivalry between Microsoft and the Linux community thanks to a collaborative effort between old enemies ...  Continue Reading

• Your shout: IT heroes, free data, cool datacentres

  Computer Weekly readers have their say  Continue Reading

• SOA can light up manufacturing IT

  IT directors can help simplify the diversity of manufacturing systems in the business by implementing an efficient SOA platform, says Colin Masson  Continue Reading

• Secure web use for all, without walls

  Few companies would lay claim to being able to protect all end devices. So in a deperimeterised environment a holistic approach to web access is required, says Paul Simmonds  Continue Reading

• Do you know where all your data is?

  Changes to the law mean that organisations will be required to account for all their data and documents in the event of litigation, says Bill Onwusah  Continue Reading

• Yes, IT can deliver an end to pointless toil

  Positive change is achieved by incremental steps  Continue Reading

• Spelling out Vista's value

  One would hope that in this day and age most people have a fair idea of whether an application is adding value to the business. But what is the intrinsic value of a new operating system?  Continue Reading

• New ideas with roots in the past

  With the benefit of 40 years at the sharp end of IT change, a prominent analyst looks at what has changed in the industry, and asks what the future may hold  Continue Reading

• Real rewards of working life

  This week is your final chance to enter Computer Weekly's Best Places to Work in IT awards, created to showcase the best IT departments in the UK.  Continue Reading

• Information security means better business

  It's time for an ongoing dialogue with the board  Continue Reading

• Your shout: course concerns, NHS under scrutiny, security standards

  Computer Weekly readers give their views on the week's news.  Continue Reading

• Professionalism in IT scheme turns to individual best practice

  The future of IT depends on professionalism, where the test of such professionalism is related to business impact and outcomes, not just technical excellence.  Continue Reading

• Oil boom boost for energy sector IT

  Bolstered by a thriving oil market, energy companies are competing to attract the best IT talent, and offer attractive salaries and a wealth of opportunities  Continue Reading

• Forging a career in an offshore age

  Job prospects: Although many technical roles are being moved offshore, the career prospects of younger IT workers in the UK are paradoxically strengthened  Continue Reading

• Educate the IT amateurs

  Everybody is an IT expert these days. It makes you wonder why any company bothers employing an IT director or a security specialist when everyone on the staff not only knows the word firewall but has their very own implementation at home.  Continue Reading

• Future of IT depends on a novel approach

  Old-style process automation blocks fresh thinking  Continue Reading

• Businesses must get behind new diploma

  IT qualification will help meet UK's skills needs  Continue Reading

• Spotlight on data security

  With the recent Dispatches documentary on Channel 4 once again fanning the flames of anxiety around data theft, firms would do well to use the publicity as a wake-up call and turn the security spotlight on themselves.  Continue Reading

• Living in the vanilla world

  Who do you believe? IT controversialist Nicholas Carr has been back in town dampening down enthusiasm about innovative IT creating unique competitive advantage.  Continue Reading

• So who wants to have a career in IT? I do...

  Computing as a career had its heyday in the 1970s and 1980s. Even the 1990s saw the young getting into telecoms, e-security or web design. So what has gone wrong with IT as an appealing career for young people? .  Continue Reading

• NHS IT - A personal view

  The media last week was full of comment on the "problems" at the NHS IT project as Accenture ducked out. Yet again, the comment portrayed the project as a "disaster" - indeed “yet another public sector IT disaster”.  Continue Reading

• Age law could make things worse for us all

  New law will see companies' costs will rise and hit employment  Continue Reading

• Rewards on a two-way road

  For anyone who has got lost in a city centre one-way system, the joys of the two-way street, even if it means a bit of negotiation with vehicles coming the other way, are obvious.  Continue Reading

• Why, when and how to outsource

  More than just a procurement programme, outsourcing arrangements need close management from the outset in order to achieve optimum performance  Continue Reading