Opinion

Opinion

• Opinion: What Facebook should do next

  Facebook is at a crossroads. If it continues to give the impression that its approach to consumer privacy is flexible or indifferent, it risks alienating its 400 million users.  Continue Reading

• The impact of technological change on risk management

  As the business community begins to investigate opportunities to introduce new technology devices in their business, questions are starting to arise about...  Continue Reading

• Security Zone: Setting security boundaries for de-mergers

  There are many texts explaining how information security can be affected by company mergers. But what happens when part of your organisation is being sold off, or spun off as a separate company? Michael Pike, CISSP, an information security ...  Continue Reading

• Government spending cuts: can outsourcing save public sector IT jobs?

  It seems inevitable that internal IT staff are likely to be the main victims of the spending cuts as the government turns to the private sector to get a better return on investment  Continue Reading

• Microsoft Q&A: What the new government could mean for IT staff

  Phil Cross, Microsoft UK's professional audience manager, looks forward to life under the coalition government as the recession comes to an end,  Continue Reading

• Is the future of enterprise Wi-Fi on the edge?

  Devin Akin, Aerohive's chief Wi-Fi architect, has identified clear phases in the development of the Wi-Fi industry and believes intelligence is finally making its mark  Continue Reading

• Are businesses ready for the MySpace generation?

  Over the next few years, businesses worldwide will be welcoming in a new generation of employees. As many companies still view social media as bad for business and restrict employees' access to collaborative tools, they may soon have a battle on ...  Continue Reading

• BI: How to make intelligent use of data

  BI: How to make intelligent use of data Over the past few years the number of businesses implementing business intelligence (BI) projects has grown....  Continue Reading

• Whitehall focus on long-term IT cuts deflects focus from short-term savings

  While public sector budgets will be falling in 2010, Whitehall's preoccupation with long-term strategies may distract attention from initiatives to reduce costs today and, in doing so, create barriers to lasting efficiency gains.  Continue Reading

• Software patents – what the European Patent Office ruling means

  The European Patent Office's (EPO) long-awaited decision on the issue of software patentability brings little change at...  Continue Reading

• New breed of project managers drive the recovery

  Holistic project management skills are in the ascendancy, along with the five-figure-plus salaries that such talent now demands, writes Andrew Gardner, senior...

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• Lowering IT costs through hosting

  Small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) have reason to feel optimistic - despite the recession, in the past 12 months, 52% of SMBs reported an increase in revenue, up from 39% in 2008, according to Microsoft Small Business Technology Index 2008. Now ...  Continue Reading

• Opinion: Is IT a utility function?

  Many would argue that the information function, and specifically IT, should be considered a utility. But is this really the case, writes David Chan, director of the Centre for Information Leadership at City University London.  Continue Reading

• Election to bring more flux for banking

  The UK will tomorrow hold its first General Election since the recession, writes Colin Rowland, senior VP EMEA operations at OpTier. With the economy...

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• A tale of two universes - how the Milky Way provides more milk for some than others

  "On the face of it, shareholder value is the dumbest idea in the world. Shareholder value is a result, not a strategy." So said Jack Welch, former chief executive of GE, writes Peter Skyte, national officer at Unite.  Continue Reading

• Security zone: Application security spans IT and information security

  Web application security is an area of IT security that deals primarily with the security of applications - are we vulnerable to SQL injection, cross-site scripting, XSRF, session fixation and a smorgasbord of other nasty Open Web Application ...  Continue Reading

• What’s in a name? Apple fights for rights to iPad name

  With the global roll-out of its much anticipated iPad, Apple has had plenty to deal with, particularly with the branding and trademark issues that have arisen since it announced the launch of the new must-have gadget worldwide.  Continue Reading

• Collaboration is key to ensuring digital data security

  The iPad is the latest addition to a variety of mobile devices that can change the way we interact with people, businesses and, in some cases, government....

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• 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

• Living with Windows 7, six months on

  Six months ago Microsoft began shipping Windows 7. Greg Lambert, chief technical architect at app compatibility specialist Changebase AOK, has worked with some of the world's biggest enterprises supporting their Windows 7 migrations and examines the...  Continue Reading

• Where are the opportunities in information security?

  Where are the opportunities in information security? By John Colley, managing director EMEA, (ISC)2 Is information security mostly an IT concern...  Continue Reading

• (ISC)2: Crime scene must be protected

  Just because I carry a first aid kit in my car, does that make me equipped to deal with a road traffic incident? Probably not, writes Cheryl Hennell, ISC2 member and head of IT and information assurance LRE, Openreach.  Continue Reading

• BCS: First step is to recognise the threat

  The problem of the internal "black hat" (person intent on doing harm to a computer system) is not a new one. Many organisations choose to implement a system in which they escort staff from the premises when they are made redundant or fired, in order...  Continue Reading

• Gartner: Investigations must be done carefully and correctly

  Human activity is becoming increasingly virtualised. With routine communications and daily activities starting on workstations and taking place across enterprise networks and the internet, it is only to be expected that this is accompanied by a ...  Continue Reading

• ISACA: Rigorous approach is required

  More than 70% of UK homes have a computer, with over 93% connected to always-on broadband. In the majority of criminal and corporate cases, somewhere in the background a computer, PDA or cell phone may be lurking - hence the case for computer ...  Continue Reading

• ISSA UK: Organisations must be prepared

  The scouting motto "be prepared" saved Maldives president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom from assassination in 2008 when a local Boy Scout stepped in to foil his attacker. Being prepared for a security incident affecting computer systems may not produce such ...  Continue Reading

• ISACA Security Advisory Group: Organisations must be forensic ready

  The phrase "Crouching tiger hidden dragon" is a Chinese proverb that has many possible interpretations. My favourite is "everyone conceals their strengths from others to preserve the element of surprise", writes ISACA Security Advisory Group member ...  Continue Reading

• Corporate IT Forum: Downturn has changed employee attitudes

  The plotting of terrorist activity is an extreme example of employee misuse of access, but there is little doubt that the deteriorating economy has impacted on the quality of internal business relationships and, ultimately, heightened employee ...  Continue Reading

• New government must decide quickly how to pay for high-speed broadband

  The news that the 50p-a-month landline tax has been scrapped was widely expected, given the limited amount of time between the levy being announced in the Budget and the dissolution of parliament, as well as the strong Conservative opposition to the...  Continue Reading

• Security Zone: Consider human ability in your IT security policy

  A user who consistently has problems remembering their password may have a learning difficulty such as Dyslexia or poor recall. If this is the case, the problem is not the user, it is the company's password policy.  Continue Reading

• Innovation will suffer without investment

  The 2010 Budget was perhaps the most crucial and eagerly anticipated of our generation, writes Daniel Lowe, founder and managing director, UKSolutions. Yet, as the economy remains disappointingly sluggish following its lowest ebb in almost a century...  Continue Reading

• Socitm’s seven-point plan for IT in tomorrow’s public services

  Martin Ferguson, head of policy at public sector IT professionals association Socitm, suggests the IT priorities that should be adopted by the next government.  Continue Reading

• Election 2010: Forum of Private Business says politicians must tackle ‘digital divide’

  From filing tax returns to bidding for public contracts, the future of entrepreneurship is moving inexorably online. It is therefore surprising to learn that some small businesses are still not embracing the web, writes Phil McCabe, media and PR ...  Continue Reading

• Election 2010: Innovative IT companies need help, says the UK Innovation Initiative

  The General Election provides an excellent opportunity for an incoming government to break away from the destructive status quo that stifles innovation and small and medium enterprises' participation in IT-enabled government service delivery, writes...  Continue Reading

• Effective way for organisations to tackle ‘porn in the office’

  For too long, the "porn in the office" issue has been the elephant in the room - a genuine corporate concern but one that organisations had no idea how to address and so have just ignored, writes Andrew Millington, managing director of Exclaimer ...  Continue Reading

• Election 2010: Communications the life-blood of enterprise, says Communications Management Assn.

  The Communications Management Association has a vision for the future of communications services in the UK public and private sectors and how this should be achieved, writes David Harrington, leader, regulatory affairs, CMA. The way in which the ...  Continue Reading

• Election 2010: Eurim calls for rebuilding confidence in ICT's competence to deliver

  Modern society is critically dependent on reliable local access to efficient online systems in both the public and private sectors, writes Philip Virgo, secretary general, The Information Society Alliance (Eurim).  Continue Reading

• Opinion: Google Italy convictions a concern

  A mixture of concern and disbelief has greeted the news that three...  Continue Reading

• Opinion: An asset with little value can be a big problem

  I was recently part of a team that carried out a network and web application penetration test on the external network of a large UK company. Out...  Continue Reading

• Gordon Brown: Labour would create more IT jobs and help Britain become a leading digital economy

  I want a British future that is more democratic, more green, more inclusive, more high skilled and more prosperous - and that means it needs to be more digital...  Continue Reading

• Nick Clegg: LibDems would scrap ID cards, biometric passports and child database

  Liberal Democrats won't use technology to limit freedom. We will use it to promote fairness. It's a different approach, and one I hope the readers of Computer Weekly will support, writes Nick Clegg…  Continue Reading

• Opinion: How public sector could save £4bn on IT without cutting jobs

  Peter Gershon might be right when he says in his efficiency review that the public sector can save between £2bn and £4bn on IT bills, and I would argue that it might not be necessary to cut jobs and projects because savings could come through better...  Continue Reading

• Regulators turn up the heat on online scammers

  The Office of Fair Trading is ramping up its efforts to protect consumers online, following the establishment of its online enforcement team.  Continue Reading

• Automated abattoirs for sacred cows – what IMIS wants from the new government

  We can see splendid aspirations from the main political parties regarding the use of online services to transform public service delivery. Turning these into practical delivery requires first that government rebuilds its in-house skills as an ...  Continue Reading

• Election 2010: Rural broadband needs urgent attention after 50p tax is axed

  The main political parties have all pronounced on how superfast broadband will contribute to the long-term health and welfare of the nation, but so far have not offered much precision, nor any guarantees, on how universal access to broadband will be...  Continue Reading

• Opinion: 50p tax goes – what's next for UK's lagging broadband?

  In the wash-up leading up to the election, the government scrapped plans for the 50p levy on all phone lines. This tax was designed to help fund next-generation...

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• Opinion: BCS CEO's arguments miss the bigger picture

  CEO David Clarke's recent comment on the call for an extraordinary general meeting at BCS, the chartered institute for IT, cherry picks information to support a point of view, but neglects a broader picture and background.  Continue Reading

• Opinion: Tif sets out IT wish list for new government

  Synergy is a much abused term in business, but there is an opportunity for more of it, and better when it comes to central government and the large IT organisations of the UK  Continue Reading

• Opinion: How government CIOs can buy more from SMEs

  Research by the British Computer Society in 2005 found that only 16% of IT projects are truly successful, writes Leanne Johnson, business liaison manager...

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• BCS CEO David Clarke: Why call for EGM is misguided

  When you go through change of any kind, some people won't like it, and BCS has changed significantly in recent years…  Continue Reading

• Opinion: The impact of Google's trademark victory

  The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has delivered its judgment in the landmark case of Google France versus Louis Vuitton Malletier.  Continue Reading

• Legislation to block websites – a move too far?

  Legislation to block websites - a move too far?

  The UK could be about to adopt some of the most stringent anti-piracy legislation seen to date. If...

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• Security Zone: Ensuring security in offshoring

  For some time, many large corporates have been offshoring and smaller companies have followed suit. But how do you ensure that your company's data remains secure?  Continue Reading

• A security expert’s checklist for deploying software as a service

  As the person responsible for the security of your enterprise data, you need more than faith as assurance that SaaS providers will meet your security requirements  Continue Reading

• Google vs Louis Vuitton: When is a trade mark not a trade mark?

  The case of Google vs Louis Vuitton has today been decided by the European Court of Justice, and Google can continue selling its AdWords  Continue Reading

• Opinion: Ensuring a happy marriage between IT and the environment

  With a comparable carbon footprint to the airline industry, IT has gained a reputation as a major culprit in carbon emissions, writes Brian Murray, principal...  Continue Reading

• Opinion: Why IT professionals' world view is wrong

  The IT profession seems to be preoccupied with its role: IT leaders often worry about the function's position relative to the business, and IT professionals view their discipline as something that is distinct from the enterprise in which they work. ...  Continue Reading

• Opinion: IT industry prepares manifesto to make Britain great again

  Intellect is producing a technology manifesto, Making BrITain Great Again, to highlight how the technology sector can drive economic growth  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

• How SMEs can use social networking to get their message across

  In today's business environment, the ability to be available online for your users 24/7 is increasingly seen as a given. As a result, companies of all sizes...  Continue Reading

• Moving beyond the cost benefits of outsourcing

  When thinking about IT outsourcing ,...  Continue Reading

• How can organisations guard against phishing scams?

  What should information security professionals be doing to ensure their organisations are protected from phishing scams aimed at private enterprise? John...  Continue Reading

• Opinion: Is BCS priority the business or its members?

  Is the BCS, the chartered institute of IT, a charitable business that has as one of its income streams a membership base that pays an annual fee, or is it a group of professional members who join together to fulfil charitable and professional aims, ...  Continue Reading

• Security Zone: Enterprise architecture is too often a missed opportunity for security

  As more and more organisations use enterprise architecture as a tool to fight IT complexity and increase business alignment and agility, security is often...

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• Finding space and time for continuous data protection

  Finding space and time for continuous data protection Modern day businesses, large and small, now have an insatiable appetite for digital information,...  Continue Reading

• CIO Interview: Esat Sezer of Coca-Cola Enterprises

  Adam Burns, senior editor at MeettheBossTV, speaks to Esat Sezer, CIO of Coca-Cola Enterprises, about the role of IT in the company's business transformation programme.  Continue Reading

• Balancing efficiency with resilience

  The challenges facing an IT director in balancing multiple simultaneous, and sometime competing, demands, are nothing new, writes Terry Walby, a director...

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• Security Zone: a recipe for project success

  Project managers and security professionals are both managers of risk. Project managers deal with a wide range of risks during the project life cycle, whereas security professionals focus on specific security risks, writes Alex Clayton.  Continue Reading

• Take control with software asset management

  For most, software asset management (SAM) starts with the aim of establishing an organisation's software licence compliance status  Continue Reading

• Try before you BI: budgeting and reducing costs on business intelligence

  It is good business practice to keep tight control of spending and to minimise costs, but traditional business intelligence (BI) systems make it very hard to follow this rule.  Continue Reading

• The Google Nexus One/HTC Desire versus the IT department

  Belinda Parmar of Lady Geek and owner of a Nexus One, discusses why IT departments keep our personal and professional technology lives separate.  Continue Reading

• Why bank data flow to US came to a SWIFT halt

  The European Parliament has vetoed an agreement that gives the US authorities access to banking details of Europeans.  Continue Reading

• Opinion: Virgins to the banking sector

  With two of the UK's biggest banks forced to sell off major sections of their business, the face of retail banking in the UK is set to undergo a major facelift  Continue Reading

• Think Tank: What should corporate IT managers do to ensure data protection?

  Hacks of Google and at least 20 other companies in December prove that sophisticated cyber espionage attacks are a real and present danger. But in the light of the fact that most commercial security tools are ineffective against these attacks, what ...  Continue Reading

• Q&A with Microsoft's head of environmental sustainability

  Darren Strange, head of environmental sustainability in the UK at Microsoft, answers questions from some of our Twitter followers.  Continue Reading

• Outsourcing: a level playing field?

  The practice of outsourcing systems development to specialist IT companies has been around for a long time and is big business. For many companies, it makes...

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• Security Zone: Oracle follows Sun in search of hardware

  Within a sector dominated by well-established titans, hardware is one of Sun's traditional core business areas, with servers and workstations based on its...

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• Should suppliers and customers change their ways after BSkyB vs EDS?

  Everyone who works in the IT industry should be used to hearing sales-reps making exaggerated claims about their company's offering. Equally, any customer...

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• Portable data security - ebb and flow

  Ten years ago the dawn of a new decade brought with it a trickle of employees requiring the ability to access information while away from the office. Today...

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• How will the Carbon Reduction Committment affect IT outsourcing?

  Government plans to cut carbon emissions in the UK will soon be mandatory for large businesses and public sector bodies. An immediate consequence will be...

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• Information overload: lessons from the Christmas Day terror attack

  The foiled Christmas Day attempt to blow up a plane over Detroit has once again sparked debate about international security and how data relating to passengers...

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• Social media needs a social security strategy

  There are plenty of stories about companies using social networking, micro-blogging and online collaborative services to generate business leads, build sales...

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• E-mail management: keeping the business bloodlines flowing

  IT departments ignoring the growth of e-mail data are putting business continuity at risk, warns Richard Ellis, manager UK & Ireland, Iron Mountain Digital.  Continue Reading

• Security Zone: How to complete a security questionnaire

  Michael Pike discusses the rules of responding to a security questionnaire when bidding for IT work from a large company.  Continue Reading

• How to achieve ERP success: part 2 - the software

  How to achieve ERP success  Continue Reading

• Preparing your IT security for the mobile information boom

  Hardly a day goes by without a new innovation in mobile technology. Mobile banking and transactions will soon be commonplace, and organisations such as hospitals and councils increasingly rely on mobile devices to access sensitive information from ...  Continue Reading

• Data encryption is simple safeguard against data breaches

  The government has introduced legislation that enables the Information Commissioner's Office to issue fines of up to £500,000 for serious data security breaches,...

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• Do we need a single cyber-security organisation to secure the internet?

  A poll by Infosecurity Europe has found that 60% of organisations think that the internet needs a cyber-security organisation to oversee it. Here industry experts have their say  Continue Reading

• Opinion: IT systems management on a small business budget

  Although widely adopted at an enterprise level, professional systems management has been out of the reach of small and medium-sized businesses because of the cost and administrative overheads involved, until now.  Continue Reading

• Security Zone: why we should be more concerned about password authentication

  Passwords as the last means of protection beyond physical control have remained essentially unchanged for more than half a century. From a technology perspective, this single control is no weaker than it was when it was created during World War II. ...  Continue Reading

• Extract - Grown-Up Digital: Net Geners in collaboration

  Excerpt from Grown Up Digital by Don Tapscott: Many Net Geners are happy to help with product design.  Continue Reading

• Telcos must transform their businesses to stop slide in profits

  Big companies and organisations of ancient pedigree find it hard, if not impossible, to change quickly in response to market demands and new technologies, and Telcos are no exception.  Continue Reading

• What is the best thing Santa could bring the IT security manager?

  Security leaders from the ISF, BCS, ISACA, (ISC)2, Tif and ISSA present a wishlist for securing corporate systems in 2010  Continue Reading

• VDU eyecare – clearing the confusion

  On the face of it, the regulations regarding the use of VDUs and eyecare are pretty straightforward. The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations have been in force since 1992 (amended in 2002) and require employers to provide all ...  Continue Reading

• The beginning of the end for online tracking?

  While for many at this time of year its a season for gifts which don't last beyond Boxing Day, the draft paper published by the Information Commissioner's...  Continue Reading

• Save blushes and blame with firewall policy analysis

  It happens in a moment - I put my mobile down and suddenly my client is standing in front of me ready for a meeting. Two hours later I am desperately searching...

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• A sorry tale of a CEO and his laptop

  As the CTO of a data protection and encryption company I hear many tales of woe from senior executives who have confessed to losing their laptops. Here is...

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• Smart meters demand smart deployment

  Smart meters are a smart idea, but consider the nightmare scenario: thousands of angry customers calling because they have yet to receive the new smart meters...  Continue Reading

• PCI DSS: the end is more important than the means

  After making its mark in the US and the UK, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) has its sights on the rest of the world, writes...

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• Cross border VAT and the slow death of offshore financial services outsourcing

  Cross border VAT and the slow death of offshore financial services outsourcing.  Continue Reading