Opinion

Opinion

• Opportunities in lean times

  You know things are bad when IT consultants start reducing their charges. The number of job advertisements in the press and on...  Continue Reading

• Bring the board online with IT governance

  The commitment of board directors to effective IT governance is vital, says Paul Williams. And if they fail to take the lead,...  Continue Reading

• Becoming a CIO: the three leadership challenges

  Would you like to be a CIO some day? If so you could make a start today by investing in your personal leadership development,...  Continue Reading

• Coping with e-business change

  Firms should not forget the corporate culture changes a successful e-business demands.  Continue Reading

• EU cookie recipe is half baked

  Brussels' new move on online privacy smacks more of paranoia than a realistic concern for the rights of the individual, argues...  Continue Reading

• Rethinking just-in-time

  Several years ago I interviewed the test pilot of the first British totally fly-by-wire jet - a prototype of the Eurofighter. A...  Continue Reading

• Still locked in behind double-glazed Windows?

  So maybe the "one-armed man" did it after all and what should have been the front-page news of Microsoft's historic antitrust...  Continue Reading

• Sourcing data from way back

  The Alexa Internet archive stops big, powerful companies from trying to bury events  Continue Reading

• Unite and form a band of brothers against Microsoft

  Many firms in the UK are dependent on Microsoft as their software supplier, but how was this situation created and who is to...  Continue Reading

• Make it simple - or else

  Compared to the hard slog of back-office integration, the issue of ensuring a positive user experience may seem to be the more...  Continue Reading

• Taking training for granted

  The Government is facing calls for an enquiry into the failure of its flagship Individual Learning Accounts (ILA) after...  Continue Reading

• Outsourcing to the core

  What are the emerging opportunities in business support services and which of these are appropriate for your company? Outsourcing...  Continue Reading

• Behind closed doors: In at the deep end and drowning!

  The sink-or-swim school of project management training is leading to a growing pile of costly failures. Isn't it time to splash...  Continue Reading

• AOL and Microsoft square up in the message ring

  Imagine the furore if Microsoft dominated the instant messaging arena and blocked people with rival products from communicating...  Continue Reading

• BACs to the future

  The mooted shake-up at Bacs could prove a great leap forward for the role of technology in the UK payments industry.  Continue Reading

• Over-ambitious project stumbles

  Outsourcing rule number one: don't outsource major chunks of your business when it is changing or unstable. Ignore this rule and...  Continue Reading

• Virus prevention is better than 'cures'

  Never before has Internet security been at the forefront of so many minds - and that includes the security experts. Threats of...  Continue Reading

• What's in a name (or job title)?

  There may be more to the name game than meets the eye. The job title of the IT chief, and who he or she reports to, can determine...  Continue Reading

• How corporate IT will be transformed

  We're at the end of corporate computing as it has been practised for the past 50 years. From now on, billions of computers will...  Continue Reading

• Web watch

  In times of trouble you've got to turn somewhere, says Steve O'Brien  Continue Reading

• Talking is not dissent

  Behind the scenes alarm bells are ringing at the lack of consultation as the Government prepares the anti-terrorism legislation.  Continue Reading

• The meaning of the Web

  The World-Wide Web cannot cope with semantics, but version 2.0 addresses the problem  Continue Reading

• Recession can be an opportunity

  Being a winner is a state of mind that IT directors need to hang on to in readiness for better days  Continue Reading

• Software prices: haggle looking forward not back

  The furore about Microsoft's new software licensing conditions has been remarkably shallow. Although there have been many...  Continue Reading

• Accountability is the issue

  The House of Lords hearing into the crash of the Chinook helicopter ZD576 on the Mull of Kintyre continues. Early next year the...  Continue Reading

• Moving from mainframe to Java

  I currently work for a large retail organisation and have three years' experience of IBM Mainframe Assembler and Cobol. I have...  Continue Reading

• Patently forking the Web

  Last week I wrote about the World-Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) proposed policy on patents, and pointed out that the introduction...  Continue Reading

• Dead and buried

  What would we put in a dotcom time capsule? Ironically, says John Charlton, paper records, because magnetic storage will just not...  Continue Reading

• Beware the elephant trap

  The word 'integration' ranks right up there with 'virus' and 'hacker', as one of the most terrifying words to hit the ears of...  Continue Reading

• We have users' interests at heart

  Last week Computer Weekly published a selection of user responses to Microsoft's licensing terms. Here, Duncan Reid from...  Continue Reading

• The capitulation of W3C

  The World-Wide Web Consortium is misguidedly trying to accommodate new US patents  Continue Reading

• Raise your game to play at the top

  Walk the walk and talk the CEO talk if you want to perform at the highest levels of your company, advises Brinley Platts. The...  Continue Reading

• Behind closed doors: Time to warm up your skills

  When recessionary winds blow, it's not good enough to huddle down and wait for better weather, argues Colin Beveridge. There are...  Continue Reading

• New kind of war will breed innovation

  Despite the bombing of Afghanistan, the real war on terrorism has to be fought on the battlefields of information and...  Continue Reading

• CIO Masterclass: Lesson six - Technology and common sense

  The customer is too often forgotten as suppliers scramble to outdo each other's revenues with new technologies and new versions...  Continue Reading

• How to get and keep the right IT staff

  The way to manage and motivate your IT team is first to employ flexible IT staff and then retain them by involving them in the...  Continue Reading

• Speak in 'boardlish', please

  If chief information officers want to make it on the board they need to make sure that the language they speak can be understood...  Continue Reading

• I want to go permanent

  I have been contracting for four years but want to go permanent and build a career in networks. I have not had much luck so far....  Continue Reading

• Users speak out on cost of licence changes

  Microsoft did not give way on its licence changes and businesses living with the consequences have contacted Computer Weekly to...  Continue Reading

• Editor's comment

  Now's the time of year when major server suppliers unveil their new wares. And, writes editor John Charlton, this year's arrivals...  Continue Reading

• Let someone else do your Web hosting

  Through the stream of headlines chronicling the latest mood swings in the international markets, it is easy to lose sight of the...  Continue Reading

• IT community should heed Turnbull recommendations on risk

  Compliance with the Turnbull Report's recommendations has been a mandatory element of company report procedures for all London...  Continue Reading

• Rekindle the magic of team leadership

  Inspiring people can be the key to your company's success if you know what to do and emerge as a manager with vision and...  Continue Reading

• Making IT a vital part of business success

  For too many boards of directors, IT is still seen as simply a cost, rather than a a way to make the most of business...  Continue Reading

• Create new m-commerce applications

  Forget the attractions of marketing to one billion mobile subscribers - the profit will be in mobile B2B, writes John Fallon  Continue Reading

• Making m-commerce happen

  Mobile commerce has the potential to generate huge revenues, but the industry must pull together to move m-commerce forward and...  Continue Reading

• Negotiate your way into the driving seat

  Negotiating skills are becoming increasingly important to IT professionals as IT and the business get ever closer, writes Nadia...  Continue Reading

• Beyond the spin - the insider's guide to UK politics and IT

  The Government's desire to make the UK 'the number one digital economy in the world' shows the dominance of IT as a key issue in...  Continue Reading

• Judge me by my results

  The e-Envoy has a crucial role to play in creating an e-enabled UK. Industry, government and the public all have different...  Continue Reading

• Consult the expert - Worth learning Lotus R5 and AIX?

  I am an IT contractor performing installation and upgrades mainly on desktops using Windows NT4 and 2000. I am considering...  Continue Reading

• Beyond the Spin: are you ready for the E-lection?

  Tony Blair has called what to all intents and purposes is the UK's first e-election on 7 June.  Continue Reading

• Behind closed doors: the fight for IT's future

  In the first of six monthly articles, one of the UK's leading interim IT managers explains how managing your department more...  Continue Reading

• Behind closed doors: IT re-organisation ad nauseam

  In the third of a series of six articles, one of the UK's leading interim IT managers points out the pitfalls of changing your IT...  Continue Reading

• Election call

  What is on the IT shopping list in the coming election? It depends who you ask  Continue Reading

• Get to work on IT's image

  IT must improve the way it projects itself if it is going to attract high-quality entrants  Continue Reading

• Soon all you'll need is a small plastic card

  The concept of digital identity has moved on so far that PKI is fast becoming outmoded  Continue Reading

• What your CEO really really wants

  For CEOS, the question is not so much 'what do you want from your IT director?', but 'how do you want your IT to work for you?'.  Continue Reading

• E-voting - yes please

  There won't be online voting in the coming general election - but it is likely that four years from now we will see the UK's...  Continue Reading

• E-heads make way for intelligence

  Technology for its own sake is dead. Now business is demanding real, intelligent content.  Continue Reading

• The skills shortage: more bodies is not the best strategy

  We've all been hearing a lot about the skills shortage in the IT industry. Some estimates suggest that as many as 30% more IT...  Continue Reading

• Creating E-business Speed Bumps

  The 2001 Budget deserves a B-minus for its service to UK e-business, says Ian Lynch  Continue Reading

• Why are your customers satisfied?

  Customer feedback is seen as just a by-product of the Net, but why are suppliers failing to use such a valuable resource properly...  Continue Reading

• Anticipating Recession

  The positive side of an economic slowdown is that it can encourage companies to embrace e-business as a means of cutting costs,...  Continue Reading

• Bitten by the bugs

  Ever wondered what goes on in the mind of a hacker? Sten Kalenda reveals all  Continue Reading

• E-Views: Riding the roller coaster to recession

  So, its RIP New Economy and back to business as usual, it would seem. The dotcom roller coaster has derailed and London Techmark...  Continue Reading

• Back to the negotiating table

  For years negotiators acting on a software procurement (or on any other contract for that matter) have engaged in a battle for...  Continue Reading

• A new man in town

  What is the US e-business climate under president George W Bush? Asks Stephen Phillips  Continue Reading

• First past the post

  Internet gambling is a legal minefield despite its relaxed image, says Elsa Booth. Meanwhile, plans are afoot to help protect...  Continue Reading

• Would you let a doctor fix your car?

  Five reasons why you shouldn't let your in-house staff develop your security systems  Continue Reading

• Are software certification standards helpful to users?

  Before buying software in a box with the word "certified" on it, ask what the term means  Continue Reading

• Hyperthreat

  With BT claiming to have invented the hyperlink and it looking likely that deep linking to anywhere other than a home page will...  Continue Reading

• Another monster mauls the customer

  Customer relationship management - who needs it? Certainly not everyone, says Martin Butler. For many businesses, it's just...  Continue Reading

• Hits and runs

  If Jeremy Paxman can't come to terms with Web-speak such as banner advertisements and click-through, then what hope is there for...  Continue Reading

• CIO Masterclass: Lesson two - Making yourself understood

  You may have a crucial grasp of a company's technology needs, but, says John Handby, if you fail to speak your colleagues'...  Continue Reading

• 22/03/01Have skills, will travel, why no job?

  I am a 39-year-old analyst programmer with 17 years in IT, mainly in the finance and retail sectors. My key skills are the...  Continue Reading

• Taking a snapshot of your health

  Getting content fired at him from Ron Maughan at the British Olympic team training camp on Australia's Gold Coast was one problem...  Continue Reading

• UK MD leaves 3Com

  3Com has parted ways with its UK and Ireland managing director, the company confirmed today.  Continue Reading

• ITers escape through sporting adventures

  Bungee jumping was once viewed as a pastime for nutters. These days, however, many more people are happy to hurl themselves off a...  Continue Reading

• Script explorers use flower power

  Peter Kellett is always striving to find new ways of presenting online information. He had the perfect opportunity to hone his...  Continue Reading

• Mad about the Material Girl

  Michael Kelly, chief executive officer, FINEOS  Continue Reading

• E-mail: good, bad and ugly

  Next time you write an e-mail, ask yourself the following questions: are you an e-mail saint, sinner or somewhere in-between? Do...  Continue Reading

• Time to bridge the IT gender gap

  Women make up just 24% of the IT workforce - and just 7% of the IT management layer. Put another way, if the same number of...  Continue Reading

• End of the road for legacy staff?

  I am an analyst programmer with more than 15 years' Cobol experience on ICL mainframes. I have been made redundant and cannot...  Continue Reading

• Industry split over gender equality in IT

  With the focus on gender equality for International Women's Day, the IT community is split on whether the profession remains a...  Continue Reading

• The future working week

  The work of the future, that shiny timespace where newly nomadic, you will always be found sipping lattés while working on the...  Continue Reading

• A day in the life of Frances Sharpe

  Frances Sharpe, general manager for the UK arm of ASP Network Commerce, spends a gruelling week jet setting around the USA. She...  Continue Reading

• "I've got a little list"

  Your name probably features on someone's marketing list, or maybe two or three lists, even if you don't know anything about it  Continue Reading

• We-commerce: it's not-to-be-commerce

  Group buying sites seemed like a good idea, but failed to attract much attention. Sun and Microsoft's sites, on the other hand,...  Continue Reading

• Dotcom sell-off

  Starved of investment and burning cash way too quickly, many dotcoms are sinking fast. Could you salvage something from the...  Continue Reading

• A day in the life

  Frances Sharpe, general manager for the UK arm of ASP Network Commerce, spends a gruelling week jet setting around the USA. She...  Continue Reading

• Skills gap is the true enemy of the future of e-business

  Martin Butler says the for e-commerce to blossom the IT skills gap must be filled. This is what hinders e-business not a few...  Continue Reading

• Staff put bosses in jail jeopardy says BSA

  Licensing watchdog the Business Software Alliance (BSA) has warned managing directors that staff are putting them at risk of...  Continue Reading

• In praise of chips

  This week is National Chip Week, but forget processing power - we're talking about the hot and salty variety.  Continue Reading

• Money-obsessed gadget lovers?

  They are obsessed with money, opportunistic and love buying new gadgets. That is the average IT contractor, according to research...  Continue Reading

• Canteen's comeback gives food for thought

  Canteens used to be dingy, unfriendly places that served up the worst of British food. They were the adult's version of the...  Continue Reading

• E-envoy's office seeks to break down barriers

  The e-envoy's industry director explains his role and objectives.  Continue Reading

• What can Sun One offer business?

  Sun Microsystems last month announced the Sun Open Net Environment (Sun One), its new software strategy and rival to Microsoft's...  Continue Reading

• Loneliness of long-distance shopping

  Rather like kicking a man when he's down, it has become all too easy to have a pop at B2C e-commerce. But beyond the present...  Continue Reading

• Hidden eyes and ears are the secret of team success

  Our future is now decided by what people think we do, and how they believe we do it. What we do is irrelevant.  Continue Reading

• Whitehall fudges Net regulation

  There is great debate behind the scenes about how to implement the Government's controversial RIP Act. Scaremongers are realising...  Continue Reading