Opinion

Opinion

Internet technology

• An evidence-based approach must underpin digital transformation

  The government IT profession needs to question failings in IT delivery and consider a different approach to business analysis  Continue Reading

• Why the internet is forcing retailers to rethink their supply chains

  The growth of internet shopping is causing retailers to radically rethink the way they manage their supply chains  Continue Reading

• Giving UK SMEs the digital tools they need

  It is vital that organisations use the digital tools at their disposal to ensure they are able to take advantage of growth opportunities.  Continue Reading

• Managing costs on your journey to cloud

  Procuring cloud services can be relatively easy, but integrating them into existing IT environments can be complicated  Continue Reading

• The future of application development

  As cloud adoption continues to increase , most organisations are making important decisions in executing their cloud strategies  Continue Reading

• The Great Deverticalisation – part 5: Mind the GaaP

  Politicians and government have the opportunity, through the power of open platforms, to take the lead in creating modern public services  Continue Reading

• Forrester: The secrets of digital disruption

  Companies can exploit digital disruption to unleash the next wave of innovation, says Forrester Research  Continue Reading

• Interflora versus M&S: taking advantage of the internet

  The long-standing dispute on the trademark infringement of the Interflora brand by M&S in keyword advertising will be decided by the High Court in mid-April 2013  Continue Reading

• The Great Deverticalisation - part 4: The role of the private sector

  Why do we persist in running vertically integrated organisations when standardising many of these processes would free us up to do things so much better, and more cheaply?  Continue Reading

• How to create business value from social intelligence

  Social media gives access to huge amounts of data about markets, customers and competitors. The challenge is to turn this into intelligence  Continue Reading

• Turning retail space into a digital environment

  Robin Young, COO of Mitchells and Butlers, on turning its pubs and restaurants into digital environments to attract new customers  Continue Reading

• SMEs open to public cloud – provided it is easy with local sales and support

  It is no surprise that small and medium-sized businesses are the most inclined to adopt and use public cloud to deliver the majority of their IT, but there are significant barriers to overcome  Continue Reading

• The Great Deverticalisation - part 2: The power of open

  The public sector has the opportunity, through the power of 'open', to take the lead in creating organisations for the future success of UK plc  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Web-based app security needs data-centric, risk-based approach

  What are the security pitfalls of web-based applications and how are they best avoided?  Continue Reading

• Open source is just a weapon

  If open source is rapidly growing and dominating many industries, should the answer to every IT question be "open source"?  Continue Reading

• Developing the modern datacentre into a services hub

  More businesses are choosing private cloud over public cloud. Analyst Andrew Buss explains why  Continue Reading

• Rackspace CTO predictions for 2013

  Rackspace chief technology officer John Engates gives his IT predictions for 2013  Continue Reading

• Mind the digital gap - a strategy for accessibility

  There still exists a digital gap and it is vital to understand the ways in which digital exclusion might be remedied in the future  Continue Reading

• Technology is helping the fight against corruption

  All over the world citizens are using new technology to shine a light on fraud and bribery, and to blow the whistle on corrupt practices  Continue Reading

• Forrester: The impact of cloud on outsourcing contracts

  Although still in its early stages, the transition of outsourcing engagements toward cloud-based models has begun  Continue Reading

• Getting to grips with managing supply and demand

  The way that companies connect with each other to do business can have a big effect on overall performance  Continue Reading

• European Commission should keep its hands out of the cloud

  Would you be surprised that the European Commission believes the way to promote the growth of cloud computing is to regulate it?  Continue Reading

• Why Atos is eliminating email

  At best, email is a distraction – while at worst it can lead to a drop in performance and employee disengagement, writes Lee Timmins  Continue Reading

• Forrester: Five important guidelines for business technology governance

  Forrester believes that "good" IT governance is business technology governance – a conscious process by senior executives to establish strategies, structures, processes, and measurements for the management of technology to boost business results  Continue Reading

• Consumer capital: The new reality of 21st century data exchange

  Consumers are beginning a counter-offensive against the monopoly that industry has enjoyed over the spoils of big data  Continue Reading

• A new age of sentimental data

  Sentiment-analysis is nothing new - we just have new ways of capturing multiple digital sources and making better sense of the data  Continue Reading

• Moving on from a culture of collaboration by email

  The time has come to think seriously about enterprise social networking (ESN) and consider its role within wider enterprise collaboration strategy.  Continue Reading

• How to make effective use of social media in your job search

  Useful advice on using various social media platforms such as Twitter and LinkedIn to land your next IT job  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Best practice to target SQLi

  Why does SQL injection remain a successful way of attacking web applications?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: No quick fix to SQLi attacks

  Why does SQL injection remain a successful way of attacking web applications?  Continue Reading

• Managing shadow IT

  Shadow IT is the use of IT systems within an organisation without the approval, or even the knowledge, of corporate IT. What should you do in response?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: SQLi is basically a process problem

  Why does SQL injection remain a successful way of attacking web applications?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: SQLi attacks fly under security testing radar

  Why is SQL injection still a successful way of attacking web applications and what should you do to eliminate this common vulnerability?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Quick time to market to blame for many SQLi attacks

  Why does SQL injection remain a successful way of attacking web applications?  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Development and testing key to reducing SQLi attacks

  Why does SQL injection remain a successful way of attacking web applications?  Continue Reading

• Hacking open data on development aid

  Using open data to analyse information about international aid shows the benefits - and the limitations - of the ICT for development field  Continue Reading

• Technology innovators are critical for growth

  The government needs to improve its appetite for technology innovation and apply it to the toughest challenges this country faces  Continue Reading

• BYOD V.2 and spotting the next big trend

  An analytical look into how the BYOD trend began may help IT leaders to be more prepared to spot the next big trend  Continue Reading

• How cloud vendors can sell to the banks

  Martin Maisey, CTO Consulting Division at BJSS explains how cloud vendors can sell to the banks.  Continue Reading

• Has going public lost its appeal?

  Charlie Mayes, managing director of DAV Management, discusses how the public is starting to lose interest in company IPOs.  Continue Reading

• Why are we making 'lose-lose' technologies?

  With access to the lowest interest rates in history, corporates are undertaking a massive capital-intensive restructuring where technology is quietly replacing human jobs  Continue Reading

• To be open or not to be – that is the question

  We are heading to a world where being open, or exploiting open, isn't optional, and for many it will become a question of “to be open or not to be”.  Continue Reading

• Delivering social change through crowdsourcing

  Free and open source tools now mean that anyone can quickly create an online map to visualise the issue they most care about and use it to build a compelling case for action.  Continue Reading

• Why the Data Communications Bill is proportionate, measured and necessary

  Data-sharing Czar Sir Bonar Neville-Kingdom defends Her Majesty's Government's internet monitoring plans in the face of "self-righteous conspiracy theorists".  Continue Reading

• Cookie consent: Preparing for the compliance crunch

  Data privacy specialist Phil Lee from law firm Field Fisher Waterhouse answers some commonly asked questions about the new cookie rules  Continue Reading

• Why great companies die - repeatedly - and is Microsoft next?

  The Penny Black stamp revolutionised comunications - and taught us lessons that some IT giants today are failing to learn.  Continue Reading

• Leveraging the benefits of ‘Big Data’

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• How tech geeks in Africa are transforming IT education

  Zambia, like the UK, is awash with unemployed graduates. But tech geeks in Africa are helping each other to fill the gap left by deficient education.  Continue Reading

• The implications of identity assurance for public services

  Jerry Fishenden, chairman of the ID Assurance privacy and consumer stakeholder group, says a new approach to identity will transform government IT.  Continue Reading

• What businesses need to do before the cookie law deadline

  Organisations have to get their house in order ahead of the 26 May 2012 deadline for European e-commerce regulations governing the use of cookies.  Continue Reading

• Security Zone: LinkedIn or left out?

  LinkedIn is a great tool to market yourself and it claims 150 million members in 200 countries and territories; but who vouches for the integrity of LinkedIn?  Continue Reading

• Social media: the tiger the senior Civil Servant must ride

  The exclusive thoughts of Sir Bonar Neville-Kingdom, permanent Secretary at Large and Her Majesty’s Government’s Data Sharing Czar.  Continue Reading

• UK courts show the way on piracy

  The UK courts are taking the right approach to online piracy, says John Moffat, senior attorney at Avidity IP  Continue Reading

• Security Zone: Adopting cloud services with confidence

  Cloud-based services are highly attractive to many organisations. But what are the emerging issues you need to know about?  Continue Reading

• A place for cloud-based office productivity tools

  Recent research by Freeform Dynamics suggests that a cloud-only approach to office productivity is worth considering.  Continue Reading

• Social media and IT support - which side is your bread buttered?

  While IT underpins the social media revolution, IT managers are only scratching the surface when it comes to using these tools to improve IT service and support.  Continue Reading

• The problem with Open Data

  Although clearly a good thing in theory, Open Data risks increasing the digital divide and social inequality unless approached right.  Continue Reading

• Three trends that will shape the master data management market

  Master data management (MDM), has become a crucial discipline. Three key trends will shape this market's growth and evolution, and each trend has its complexities.  Continue Reading

• Why consumer habits are changing retail IT strategies

  Graham Benson, CIO of online clothing business M&M direct, discusses the reason why consumer habits must change retail IT strategies.  Continue Reading

• Opinion: Cloud, mobility, social among top infosec challeges for 2012, says ISACA

  What is the most important nut for infosec to crack in the coming year and why? Global IT security association ISACA gives its views.  Continue Reading

• Mobile security among top priorities for 2012

  Solving security issues relating to the use of mobile technologies will be among the most pressing priorities for businesses in 2012.  Continue Reading

• Top tips for avoiding fraud on the internet

  The Serious Organised Crime Agency estimates that online fraud costs internet users £3.5bn per year. Follow these 12 tips on how it can be avoided.  Continue Reading

• A touch of SaaS: Feeling the benefits for mobility

  As internet connections get faster and devices get smaller and more portable, we have seen a sea-change in the definition of a “mobile” workforce.  Continue Reading

• Is time running out for internet domains?

  The world’s political leaders are taking an unusually intent interest in the technical system of Internet domains’ naming and numbering (the DNS).  Continue Reading

• Why trust is a big deal for UK companies

  The Technology Strategy Board is working with businesses across the ICT sector to ensure they are developing secure information assurance products.  Continue Reading

• Back to the future with government ID plans

  The government's new identity scheme promises to put citizens at the centre of online public services, says Centre for Technology Policy Research director Jerry Fishenden.  Continue Reading

• ITSM and social media: maintaining best practice and adding business value

  Following mainstream adoption at the turn of the millennium, ITIL has set the pace for best practice in IT service management (ITSM), writes Patrick Bolger. By providing a practical framework for delivering and supporting IT services, ITIL has ...  Continue Reading

• Dragons' Den star Deborah Meaden backs online micro-finance initiative

  Dragons' Den star Deborah Meaden came face to face with entrepreneurs she described as "inspirational" during a recent trip to Cambodia with leading aid and development agency CARE International UK.  Continue Reading

• Prepare for the mobile wallet

  Entrepreneurs like tipping-points. Their sources are many and varied; a spur from technology perhaps, the first time you say 'no' to business you don't need...  Continue Reading

• Fibre rates – time to repeal the modern equivalent of the window tax

  Why would anyone tax windows? Well it seemed like a good idea to some in late 17th century England and in 18th century Scotland and France  Continue Reading

• The new EU cookie rule – so, we need to get consent then?

  In October 2009 the European Commission adopted the Citizens Rights Directive, part of the reform package for the regulation of the electronic communications...  Continue Reading

• Will a UK technology hub really rival Silicon Valley?

  Earlier this month, prime minister David Cameron set out the government's ambitious plans to create a technology hub to rival Silicon Valley in London's...  Continue Reading

• Ensuring online traffic doesn’t hit a dead end

  Online retail sales in 2009 reached €68bn (£59bn) for Western Europe, recent research from Forrester has revealed, and are projected to grow to €114bn (£99bn) by 2014. On average, €483 (£420) was spent online per person. So, retailers are likely to ...  Continue Reading

• Making the mobile internet accessible for all

  A recent survey found that 53% of people with a vision impairment were using a screen reader on a mobile device, suggesting that an increased emphasis on the accessibility of mobile content and devices is overdue.  Continue Reading

• Revised Google Book search deal 'a massive disappointment'

  Last Friday the parties to the US Google...  Continue Reading

• Online presence: an essential strategy for the public sector

  As Britain becomes digital, Adrian Moss, head of Web 2.0 at Parity, calls for better online engagement at a local level.  Continue Reading

• Finance's lack of cloud commitment is a surprise

  The finance sector is holding back on implementing cloud technologies  Continue Reading

• Cloud computing faces security storm

  A storm-front is brewing for cloud computing, writes Paul Zimski, vice-president of market strategy at Lumension. As developers continue to reach towards the sky with insecure infrastructure, the chances for a disastrous squall increase every day.  Continue Reading

• Engage, don't enrage: how to connect with customers on Twitter

  Twitter is rapidly becoming one of the most popular social networking sites, with more than 44 million users, according to market research firm comScore....

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• How will the new Google Caffeine update affect your business?

  The advent of Google Caffeine will see Google's technical infrastructure undergoing a massive change.  Continue Reading

• Opinion: Will the Microsoft Yahoo deal change your online marketing?

  The Microsoft and Yahoo deal announced last week is going to take at least 18 months to come to fruition and will result in a combined UK share of Yahoo/Bing search traffic at about 8%, so will it change your online marketing plans?  Continue Reading

• Opinion: Microsoft and Yahoo still searching for Google's crown

  My favourite of Apple's many jabs at Microsoft came in 2004, at the launch of OS X 10.4: "Redmond, start your photocopiers."  Continue Reading

• Opinion: Wolfram Alpha: How does it work?

  Dr. Peet Morris is an expert in software engineering, computational linguistics, and statistics. Here he explains how Wolfram Alpha works.  Continue Reading

• Defining a primary goal for your B2C website

  One of the biggest pitfalls business-to-consumer (B2C) websites fall into is the lack of a primary goal, writes Adam Sarner, research director at Gartner. Too...  Continue Reading

• How financial services can benefit from social networking

  Thematic Capital CEO Ken Yeadon examines the potential for social networking in financial services.  Continue Reading

• Blogosphere denial can hurt your business

  Technology moves fast. But you know that. It is your job, after all. Even so, sometimes it catches us all by surprise. Web logs, or blogs as they have become known, are barely a decade old as a publishing medium, but they are part of the mainstream ...  Continue Reading

• Rising to the challenge of modern systems

  With new technologies springing up at a prodigious rate, IT managers are under increasing pressure to satisfy growing demands, writes Jim Close, senior vice-president and UK country manager at Software AG.  Continue Reading

• Smoothing the e-mail upgrade path

  Ollie Ross explains what you need to consider before upgrading a Microsoft Exchange system  Continue Reading

• We must put an end to IT victim culture

  IT needs to stand up for itself in the business  Continue Reading

• Time for a PC lock down

  Forget hacking, a significant proportion of unauthorised access to systems occurs when someone sits down at sombody else's computer. In our increasingly litigious and regulation-bound society, e-mail messages have become one of the primary forms of ...  Continue Reading

• Your shout: NHS e-mail, password security and e-recycling

  Computer Weekly readers have their say  Continue Reading

• End the e-mail data management debacle

  Users are losing confidence in e-mail servers and struggling to find the information they require to conduct day-to-day business.  Continue Reading

• You can lead a horse...

  There is a valuable lesson to be learnt from the International Petroleum Exchange's drawn-out shift to online trading  Continue Reading

• Manage the dangers of meta data hiding in the documents you send

  Word files and e-mails can reveal more than users intend  Continue Reading

• Strategy Clinic: Don't forget the users!

  What do you feel is the most common - and avoidable - mistake that organisations make when initiating an e-business operation?  Continue Reading

• Thought for the day: Google bowls itself a googly

  Every business wants to look good on Google but sometimes Google can be a little too helpful, says Simon Moores.  Continue Reading

• Thought for the day: Don't get duped by the spoofers

  Spoof e-mails are on the increase and users should be made aware of how they can avoid being duped, says Pete Simpson.  Continue Reading

• Thought for the day: Make government websites more usable

  Simon Moores argues that the government should spend more time making its websites accessible and attractive.  Continue Reading

• Thought for the day: We've got the e-biz, now where's the gee-whiz?

  The government has to grow up and learn that the e-fairy cannot solve all the problems of small business, says Simon Moores.  Continue Reading

• Thought for the day:Hotmail - why the silence from Microsoft?

  Hard-hitting IT columnist Simon Moores gives his personal take on the hot issue of the day.Corporate responsibility today means...  Continue Reading