Opinion

Opinion

• A lifetime in technology

  Tom Wills-Sandford, deputy director general of Intellect, the trade body for the technology industry, retires at the end of 2011 after 49 years in the industry. Computer Weekly invited him to look back on his career and what has changed.  Continue Reading

• The real risk of cyber attack on unsecured networks

  New revelations of the cyber threat to government and business identify the risk of attack even when stopping for a cup of coffee.  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

• Byte Night 2011: IT definitely matters - a thank you

  On Friday 7 October, more than 800 people from the IT and business communities slept out across the UK to raise vital funds for Action for Children.  Continue Reading

• Poor corporate data quality strategy impedes business progress

  Data quality at today’s corporations is perennially poor, according to MDM expert Andy Hayler. And yet only a minority of corporates have DQ technologies.  Continue Reading

• Establishing the profession of IT service management

  Are you a service management professional? Or an IT professional specialising in service management? Either way the number of people who consider IT service management (ITSM) a true profession has grown exponentially over the last few years.  Continue Reading

• Byte Night 2011: The generous generation

  Technology is turning young people to donate to charity in new ways - helping the IT industry's annual Byte Night fundraising event.  Continue Reading

• ITIL 2011: it’s how you use it that counts

  ITIL, the UK government-owned guidance on IT service management best practice, has been widely adopted across the IT industry since it first appeared, but what has its latest update achieved?  Continue Reading

• Top skills for IT managers - Part 6: Change management

  Mergers, acquisitions, redundancies and other organisational changes often create anxiety and uncertainty because such business changes affect every level of an organisation.  Continue Reading

• What identity management strategies should enterprises deploy for cloud environments?

  The identity management strategies enterprises should be deploying to ensure they meet the security challenges of an increasingly connected and cloud-based business environment.  Continue Reading

• Opinion: Infosec pros must advocate for cloud computing in IT

  UK Bureau Chief Ron Condon says by promoting the use of cloud computing in IT, infosec pros have a chance to finally say ‘yes.’  Continue Reading

• Online monitoring: An undemocratic move for Internet control

  Infosec expert Dinesh Bareja speaks about the Indian government’s directive to Telco’s to monitor Internet traffic in the country.  Continue Reading

• The SME security challenge

  Over the years, research findings have consistently demonstrated widespread exposure to risk when it comes to data protection and security among smaller businesses, writes Dale Vile, managing director of Freeform Dynamics.  Continue Reading

• Security Think Tank: Measuring security maturity in the supply chain

  Experts provide valuable advice on how organisations can measure the security maturity in their supply chains and apply the results to improve their overall security posture.  Continue Reading

• Business-critical projects ensure strong IT recruitment despite economic fears

  There has been a distinct split between organisations favouring caution and avoiding permanent recruitment, while others have continued to implement strategic and operational plans intended to support organisations' future success.  Continue Reading

• Round table: Data management and the cloud

  Our round table of experts considers the question of what are the benefits and drawbacks of deploying database systems in the cloud.  Continue Reading

• Security Zone: Utilising a dedicated network test team to enhance security and reduce vulnerability

  In recent times we have witnessed multiple successful attacks on the network and infrastructure at various large organisations, writes Mugdha Raje, member of the Ethernet Testing and Certification group at AT&T Labs.  Continue Reading

• Opinion: Evolution of incident response

  During the internet's infancy, threats generally targeted a large, random audience. "Script kiddies" and "crackers" were the main culprits and their motivation stemmed from boredom to their need for recognition among their peers, writes Christopher ...  Continue Reading

• Does it make sense to spend more on government IT than on Wales?

  How would you describe an organisation losing £164bn every year on £585bn revenue with a net position already £1.2tn in debt? If this were a private company, the polite answer would be "no longer trading". But this is the state of affairs faced by ...  Continue Reading

• Video: The psychologist spam king – social engineering evolves

  Sometimes, there are random pieces of information we never forget. Important information, such as birthdays, or even validation that you turned off the oven or locked the front door, can be replaced by an IP address used years earlier or a funny ...  Continue Reading

• Court ruling on self-employed contracts could make IT managers liable for tax bill

  Many IT workers who should be considered "employed" are working on a self-employed basis and, in the light of a Supreme Court ruling, this could unexpectedly land IT managers with tax and National Insurance bills.  Continue Reading

• Proposed Digital Copyright Exchange IP database could ease software licensing

  As part of its review into the suitability of IP laws for the market, the government is considering providing access to a digital marketplace where users can search for and purchase licences to use copyright. The Digital Copyright Exchange (DCE) is ...  Continue Reading

• ICANN's expansion of domain names suffixes: the benefits and disadvantages to businesses

  ICANN is to allow limitless variations of domain suffixes, and, organisations can apply for gTLDs containing almost any word in any script or language". Are custom gTLDs set to dramatically change the internet landscape?  Continue Reading

• 3G review: Is next-generation mobile broadband ready for business?

  Mobile broadband has undergone a makeover of late. Developments in technology, increased competition and falling prices mean it is getting easier to work on the road using a mobile dongle. The question still remains, however, should more businesses ...  Continue Reading

• The fog of software licensing: dissatisfaction reigns - even in clouds

  There are some things in life that you just have to get on with, and in IT one of those is the management and administration of software licences, writes Tony Lock, programme director at Freeform Dynamics.  Continue Reading

• The importance of mutual understanding: A faster track to business alignment and satisfied users

  The benefits of a service-centric approach to IT tend to come back to IT in numerous ways - users are happier, the business functions more effectively, and in return IT tends to receive both more funding and freedom to develop, writes Andrew Buss, ...  Continue Reading

• Top skills for IT managers - Part 5: Coaching and mentoring

  It is no secret that people tend to absorb only 10% of their knowledge from formal training, 20% from working with role models and 70% from on-the-job experiences. In other words, people learn best by observing a master at work, then applying those ...  Continue Reading

• Google enters the fray in battle for smartphone technology patents

  Patents equal real strategic value, right? It was only last week that Google, one of the world's largest technology companies, purchased Motorola Mobility in a deal worth $12.5bn.  Continue Reading

• 'Surround Sound' IT training: A multi-dimensional learning approach

  According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, the annual training budget for 46 percent of British organisations ranged between £50,000 and £1,000,000 in 2010 alone. But is that money going to waste? The latest training research...  Continue Reading

• Byte Night 2011: Why size doesn't matter for CSR

  Byte Night board member Mike Barrett says you don’t have to be a big company to build charitable work into your business - all companies can give something back and make a difference.  Continue Reading

• Rumours of the PC's death are greatly exaggerated

  If recent headlines are anything to go by, the days of the humble PC are numbered, regardless of whether it's a desktop or a notebook. We at believe that's far from the case, and expect the PC to be an essential element of the corporate and personal...  Continue Reading

• The elephant in IT's room

  There is a difference between form and function. IT departments often deliver the form (systems, infrastructures, services), but our businesses want the function (well managed customer relationships, reduced costs, competitive differentiation).  Continue Reading

• Data breaches: Steps businesses need to take to protect data

  It is a tough time for IT managers, writes Garry Sidaway, director of security strategy at Integralis. Not a week goes by without news of another data breach. The EU is discussing new regulations on data breach notification. When even security ...  Continue Reading

• Byte Night 2011: Using technology to create a digital democracy

  In 1982 over 10,000 people were massacred in Hama in Syria, yet it was months before news leaked out; stifling the opposition was relatively easy. It's striking how different the situation is today.  Continue Reading

• Security Zone: Conquering password paranoia

  David Emm from Kaspersky writes a good article on securelist.com about the tug-of-war between the need for passwords to be strong and variable for each account and the human tendency to make them weak and similar for easy recall. He gives two ...  Continue Reading

• It is time for new IT suppliers for government

  The report from the Public Administration Select Committee into government IT pulls no punches, with its theme of an oligopoly of giant system integrators, says government SME advisor Mark Taylor.  Continue Reading

• Let the taxman pay your software development costs

  On the back of government consultation, tax relief for companies involved in development activity is set to become even more generous and software development companies should ensure that they are taking advantage of this valuable relief, writes ...  Continue Reading

• Making cuts count through efficient processes

  Roy Garlick, country manager at business process analysis software maker iGrafx, says the private sector will have to become more efficient if it is to fill the hole left by public sector cuts.  Continue Reading

• Green technology offers network managers cost-reduction and operational benefits

  Cutting carbon emissions and going green is no longer just an option: it is the inevitable future of business in the 21st century. Execs are being urged to junk their Jag and pick up a Prius. Business travellers are encouraged to take the train over...  Continue Reading

• Service management: we are all judged on service delivery

  All IT departments are judged on the basis of service delivery, whether they work that way explicitly or not. Although thinking of IT as a service is unpopular with IT professionals, embracing the concept of services proactively when it comes to IT ...  Continue Reading

• Underinvestment erodes UK knowledge economy and blunts competitive edge

  It is somewhat ironic - particularly to non-British observers - that the country that shaped the industrial revolution and the process of globalisation through its outward expansion of empire should have such difficulty in sustaining a competitive ...  Continue Reading

• Are you ready to respond to a security breach?

  Security breaches and compromises are no longer just a possibility but a simple matter of fact. The arduous (and arguably pointless) discussions on how to prevent organisations from ever being hacked is steadily moving on to a more productive ...  Continue Reading

• Byte Night 2011: Why IT matters

  As technology professionals, you are unlikely to need convincing that IT matters, but I am a strong proponent of the belief that, right now, IT has never mattered more, writes Ken Deeks.  Continue Reading

• English is the second language of CIOs

  It keeps happening - Let me give you an example: I was sitting in a Board presentation of a CIO's budget, and the CIO said: We need 2 million year week for DR. One Board member leaned over and whispered to another: "What's DR?" The other paused for ...  Continue Reading

• Top skills for IT managers - Part 4: Financial and Outcome Management

  In this six-part series, Joseph R. Czarnecki, project management specialist and senior consultant at ESI International, identifies six top business skills at which every IT project managers needs to excel.  Continue Reading

• Security Zone: Planning is the key to successfully implement data governance

  When some people think about data governance they immediately jump to the conclusion that a technological solution is a holy grail for defining an answer to this substantial task, writes Finn Rye, CISSP. While a technology solution is an integral ...  Continue Reading

• Why IT leaders need to prepare for the Bribery Act

  The Bribery Act hits the UK statute book on 1 July 2011. The new legislation widens coverage from public officials and their agents to the whole of the private sector and associated transactions. Clearly this area is being taken seriously as failure...  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

• Security profession must banish flu symptoms with nimble risk-based decisions

  We talk a lot about new technology, but there are few times when technology really tears up an organisation's rulebook - but that is what the "cloud" and the iPad have done, writes Matthew Lord, CISSP. These technologies have entered our ...  Continue Reading

• Top five tips for gTLD strategy: What does Icann's decision mean for your business?

  The generic top-level domains (gTLDs) programme, approved by Icann has seen the introduction of tailored domain name suffixes and means that brands will be able to pay to use their own name as a gTLD. The shift marks one of the biggest changes to ...  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

• Cutting costs with variable SLAs

  CIO Connect CEO Nick Kirkland looks at how service level agreements (SLAs) are often overlooked as vehicles for reducing costs.  Continue Reading

• When an IT function does as little technology as possible

  I've just returned from giving a key-note address at the Ovum Industry Congress in London, writes Terry White, research director, CXO Advisor.  Continue Reading

• What are the opportunities mCommerce offers?

  Throughout 2010, a flurry of announcements from players in the mobile value chain placed the spotlight squarely on the potential of the mCommerce market and highlighted it as a valuable revenue driver in a tough and competitive economic environment,...  Continue Reading

• Seven trends in public sector procurement that are scaring suppliers

  The government's austerity programme is having predicable knock-on effects on IT procurement and outsourcing strategies, and while there are a number of inter-related themes they all stem from a single overriding imperative - the need to cut costs.  Continue Reading

• The IT team of the future: Jack of all trades, but certainly not master of none

  Despite the growing consensus around the advantages of cloud computing, be that private, hybrid or public, there is often an elephant in the room during many of my cloud conversations with customers - what will cloud mean for my IT team?  Continue Reading

• An evolutionary approach to cloud computing

  In the midst of the hype surrounding cloud computing it is sometimes difficult to remember that it is not the panacea, or silver bullet, for all IT service delivery issues. While it will be the right answer in certain, perhaps many, scenarios it ...  Continue Reading

• Don’t listen to marketing – IT is working

  If one were to believe even a tenth of the marketing messages that are thrown out by IT vendors, the quality of IT services delivered inside organisations today are horribly expensive, poorly delivered and way too inflexible, writes Tony Lock, ...  Continue Reading

• PCI DSS v2.0: How does it affect your web application security testing?

  The latest version of PCI DSS came into effect on 1 January 2011. If you are a merchant of any size accepting credit cards, you must comply with PCI DSS v2.0 Standards from 2012, writes Fabio Cerullo, CISSP.  Continue Reading

• Open University prepares students for the business-focused reality of IT

  The stereotypical view of an IT worker separated from their organisation in a windowless basement is increasingly far removed from the reality of the role, writes Kevin Streater, executive director for IT employer engagement at The Open University.  Continue Reading

• Top skills for IT managers - Part 3: Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

  In this six-part series, Joseph R. Czarnecki, project management specialist and senior consultant at ESI International, identifies six top business skills at which every IT project managers needs to excel.  Continue Reading

• Consumerism and productivity: How to deal with employees' devices in the workplace

  In the first part of this discussion, I covered the hard reality of consumerisation and the dangers of letting end users take too much control of IT, writes Dale Vile, chief executive of analyst Freeform Dynamics.  Continue Reading

• No excuses for Lockheed Martin cyber attack

  US defence contractor Lockheed Martin is reportedly blaming an apparently successful hack of its IT systems on an earlier breach of RSA Security's system, but this is nothing but smoke and mirrors, writes Steve Watts, co-founder of SecurEnvoy.  Continue Reading

• Seven critical elements to maintaining a balance between regulation and innovation

  Regulation is sapping IT resources, but is there hope for innovation? asks Dave Upton  Continue Reading

• The cookies monster: How to deal with the new cookies law

  From 26 May 2011, the law concerning the use of cookies and similar technologies for storing information on a user's computer equipment is changing. Henrietta Neate looks at what the new law says and what you will need to do to ensure that you ...  Continue Reading

• Byte Night 2011: IT takes to the streets in the fight against youth homelessness

  Last week, many IT professionals stood together in the offices of BDO Stoy Hayward in Baker Street, London, to pledge support for the launch of Byte Night 2011, the IT industry's annual sleep-out which supports Action for Children's fight against ...  Continue Reading

• Can in-memory computing answer the big questions about Big Data?

  Like it or not, the amount of information an organisation will deal with only ever increases, writes Alan Bowling, chairman of the UK & Ireland SAP User Group. This has led to the concept of "Big Data", whereby organisations will increasingly rely ...  Continue Reading

• Opinion: Personal device momentum will challenge traditional mobile sourcing strategies

  Enterprises are embracing mobility at an unprecedented pace, and this trend will continue to gain momentum over the next five years, writes Brownlee Thomas, principal analyst at Forrester Research.  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

• Seven steps to successful negotiation for IT buyers

  Nigel Owen of training consultancy Huthwaite International provides some key tips for benefiting both seller and buyer when negotiating a sale or purchase.  Continue Reading

• Rationalising software licencing in the virtual age

  During any consolidation project, software licensing arrangements must be given careful thought. Andrew Buss of Freeform Dynamics discusses the legal and commercial considerations.  Continue Reading

• Security Zone: Best of breed versus single vendor solutions creates challenge and opportunity

  The concept of an eclectic mix of security appliances, OS and hardware that seeks to maximise security architectures through diversity may be outdated thinking.  Continue Reading

• Top skills for IT managers - Part 2: Advanced Communication and Interpersonal Skills

  Joseph R. Czarnecki, project management specialist and senior consultant at ESI International, identifies six top business skills at which every IT project managers needs to excel.  Continue Reading

• How evolved is IT in your company?

  There are a number of cartoons...  Continue Reading

• CIOs are from Mars, CMOs are from Venus? Not any more

  To many people, marketing and IT, and CMOs and CIOs could not be more extreme in their differences, writes Forrester's Simon Yates.  Continue Reading

• What is the point of BDUK?

  Guy Jarvis, director at NextGenUs UK, on Broadband Delivery UK's bidding guide for local authorities and others interested in taking part in the government's £530m rural broadband programme.  Continue Reading

• Gartner: Combine strategy and leadership to maximise the contribution of IT

  Strategy and leadership are the two most important disciplines for CIOs to exercise to drive sustained success, writes Dave Aron, vice-president and Gartner Fellow.  Continue Reading

• Unglamorus batch processing is 'the new sexy' for financial services IT

  Sebastien Quoirin, general manager at ORSYP, on why unglamorous batch processing is "the new sexy" for financial services IT  Continue Reading

• Security zone: Extending compliance to the cloud

  Most security and compliance mandates were simply not designed with cloud environments in mind – an unfortunate state of affairs as a huge amount of our data is about to go "cloudwards".  Continue Reading

• Funding for IT businesses - where and how to get it

  Grant Thornton's Wendy Hart shares her insight on sources of funding for high-tech businesses in the current market and what technology companies should do to get it.  Continue Reading

• Spectrum auction ignores delivery, quality, timescale issues

  David Harrington of the Communications Management Association (CMA) gives his views on the Ofcom 4G auction  Continue Reading

• IT teams signing up to CARE IT Adventure Challenge

  Teams from across the IT industry are signing up to challenge themselves and challenge poverty in the CARE IT Adventure Challenge supported by Computer Weekly.  Continue Reading

• Forrester's four steps for CISOs marketing security

  While many security groups focus their communication activities on end-user security awareness, they have stopped short of planning for the fundamental activity of presenting their products, services and capabilities to their key stakeholders  Continue Reading

• Delivering IT for economic recovery

  In many organisations public, private or third sector, it is no longer "business as usual". The almost unprecedented scale of public sector budget...  Continue Reading

• Top skills for IT managers - Part 1: Establishing a business mindset

  In this six-part series, Joseph R. Czarnecki, project management specialist and senior consultant at ESI International, identifies six top business skills at which every IT project manager needs to excel.  Continue Reading

• How technology can make or break a carve-out

  Technology has long been a critical element of M&A transactions. Handled correctly, it can be a key driver of value, enabling business processes to operate more efficiently, but done incorrectly, it can have devastating consequences  Continue Reading

• How tablets are transforming how SAP runs SAP

  Unwiring the enterprise can pay huge dividends for workers and the corporate bottom line, writes Oliver Bussmann, global CIO at SAP. I've seen firsthand proof of that. Since joining SAP as global CIO in late 2009, I have made mobile adoption one of ...  Continue Reading

• Interview: Askar Sheibani, CEO of Comtek - People need to change their ways on e-waste

  Askar Sheibani, CEO of IT repairs firm Comtek, talks to Computer Weekly about fighting e-waste, the benefits of reuse to the UK economy, and how big manufacturers are fuelling an unsustainable future  Continue Reading

• Getting to grips with software licencing

  Building a solid platform for licence management  Continue Reading

• 10 steps to get Internet Explorer 9 going

  As more and more companies migrate to Windows 7, the uptake of Internet Explorer 8 and now Internet Explorer 9 is booming - and it needs just as much careful attention. In fact, if you don't have plans in place for IE8 or IE9, it will hold up your ...  Continue Reading

• High touch is just as important as high tech

  The promise of any form of communication technology, whether paper, the printing press or a PC, has always been to help people connect more effectively. On this measure, the explosion of IT in the last two decades has been disappointing. We all know...  Continue Reading

• Guide for employers on the abolition of the default retirement age (part 1)

  The question of how to deal with older members of staff, particularly those who have worked for a business for a long time, can be a difficult one for managers  Continue Reading

• Guide for employers on the abolition of the default retirement age (part 2)

  The most obvious difficulty for employers will be that there is no longer a ready-made timetable for retirement  Continue Reading

• Check your software licence agreement for these common flaws

  During 2010, Forrester clients bombarded us with an increased volume of questions and complaints about software contract issues  Continue Reading

• Security zone: Mobile malware is already costing you money

  Mobile malware has already been predicted, and it is fair to say that it is now here. There are already numerous exploits and scams in the wild that have been used to exploit users and mobile devices alike.  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

• New assurance standard required for cloud confidence

  One of the perceived inhibitors in the uptake of cloud computing, particularly...  Continue Reading

• Lessons from the NAO's report on government IT

  The UK's public-spending review body, the National Audit office (NAO) last week published "Information and Communications Technology in Government Landscape Review"  Continue Reading

• Are you a natural risk taker? Take our free personality test to find out

  Managing IT risk in today's cyber economy is a high priority. New standards and regulations focus on operational risk management – weighing risk against reward and building in systems and procedures to try to reduce or eliminate risk.  Continue Reading

• Rising values must drive change on software patentability issue

  Recent speculation that Facebook and Google may be considering a takeover of Twitter for an estimated $8-10 billion has shocked the business world.  Continue Reading