Business applications
At the heart of enterprise software strategy are the key business applications upon which every organisation relies. From enterprise resource planning (ERP) to customer relationship management (CRM), financial and accounts software to business intelligence (BI), such applications demand high investments and can deliver high returns. We analyse the latest product developments and the news from major suppliers such as Oracle, Microsoft and SAP.
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News
29 Apr 2025
Edinburgh University evaluation of NHS AI Lab finds early promise
A report into the NHS AI Lab from the University of Edinburgh identifies early signs of return on investment amid barriers to scaling and implementation Continue Reading
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News
29 Apr 2025
VeeamON shows Veeam on Linux, RAG from backup, and cloud features
Veeam showed a new Linux appliance, features in Veeam Backup & Replication that will see it run corporate backups as RAG data, and new cloud features that include Entra ID backup Continue Reading
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News
10 May 2022
NetApp’s cloud-era storage competitors in ‘world of hurt’
NetApp is busily reinventing itself as a cloud services provider, with its competition years behind, according to its public cloud vice-president Continue Reading
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News
10 May 2022
Post Office scandal inquiry chair brings forward urgent compensation hearings
The chair of the Post Office Horizon scandal inquiry has brought forward hearings about compensation as victims warn that at this rate “people will die” before they get anything Continue Reading
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News
10 May 2022
How one Australian firm is creating smarter menus
Me&u’s smart menus are intelligent enough to recommend food items based on customer preferences, and even help to reduce food waste and alleviate bartender workloads during peak periods Continue Reading
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News
09 May 2022
Post Office scandal victims in Scotland to tell their stories, raising questions of law
Inquiry into Post Office scandal moves to Scotland, with differences in English and Scottish law raising further serious questions about subpostmaster prosecutions Continue Reading
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News
06 May 2022
How Rimini Street is growing its footprint in ASEAN
Rimini Street is expanding its reach in ASEAN as more companies, such as Malaysian carmaker Proton, look for cheaper software maintenance options Continue Reading
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News
05 May 2022
How PB Traffic is preventing traffic light theft
New Zealand’s PB Traffic has deployed an IoT-based tracking system to gain oversight of its portable traffic light systems and prevent theft Continue Reading
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News
04 May 2022
Inside UnaBiz’s bid for Sigfox
Singapore-based UnaBiz has made a successful bid for the French low-power wide area network technology supplier, in a deal that will advance its vision of a unified IoT world Continue Reading
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News
03 May 2022
Post Office scandal CEO could be stripped of CBE
Honours Forfeiture Committee to review Paula Vennells’ CBE in the light of Post Office scandal Continue Reading
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E-Zine
03 May 2022
A prescription for digital accessibility at Boots
In this week’s Computer Weekly, millions of people have difficulties when using websites – we find out how Boots is making its e-commerce offering fully accessible. Our new buyer’s guide examines communications as a service. And we talk to Trainline’s CTO about how the rail app provider survived and thrived post-pandemic. Read the issue now. Continue Reading
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Opinion
29 Apr 2022
Totting up a decade of ones and zeros at the ODI
As the Open Data Institute turns 10, managing director Louise Burke reflects on its first decade and what comes next Continue Reading
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Podcast
28 Apr 2022
Metaverse, women in software – Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast
Cliff Saran joins Clare and Brian, in Caroline’s absence, to discuss the metaverse, Windows 11, the Makers Women in Software Power List, and how CIOs do technology in 2022 Continue Reading
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News
28 Apr 2022
Oracle teams with Verizon as it expands global network of industry innovation labs
New facility outside Chicago will explore how 5G can create and test use cases to solve industry challenges, from carbon reduction to worker safety and sustainable building Continue Reading
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News
28 Apr 2022
Slack and Salesforce go public with first major integrations since acquisition
Slack and Salesforce have announced a set of developer products and integrations that Slack cofounder Cal Henderson says marks the first big public step to realising the value of the 2020 acquisition Continue Reading
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News
28 Apr 2022
Scotland’s tech sector recovers pre-pandemic verve
According to ScotlandIS research, the Scottish technology sector has recovered pre-pandemic levels of growth, and cyber security emerged as the hottest growth area from the industry body’s annual report Continue Reading
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News
27 Apr 2022
Police question former Fujitsu worker again in Post Office scandal perjury investigation
Police have interviewed a former Fujitsu employee for the third time in the investigation into potential perjury during trials of wrongfully convicted subpostmasters Continue Reading
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Opinion
26 Apr 2022
Why it makes sense to use best-of-breed SaaS to power a business strategy
A hybrid multicloud model is playing an ever greater role as the IT platform of choice in driving a business-first strategy Continue Reading
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Feature
22 Apr 2022
Top 7 metaverse tech strategy do's and don'ts
Technology and business leaders must be strategic when entering the new world of metaverse projects. Here are critical tips that help provide guidance. Continue Reading
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News
22 Apr 2022
SAP Q1 2022: Revenue up 11%, Ukraine war impact projected to be €300m
SAP has announced first-quarter revenue of more than €7.1bn, and the Ukraine war is projected to have a €300m impact for 2022 Continue Reading
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News
22 Apr 2022
Asda adopts Workday as part of digital transformation
As Asda undergoes a digital transformation as part of its separation from Walmart, the supermarket has adopted Workday to manage its 140,000 employees Continue Reading
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News
21 Apr 2022
More Scottish subpostmaster conviction reviews expected as part of Post Office scandal
The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission expects more subpostmasters with potential wrongful convictions to come forward Continue Reading
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News
20 Apr 2022
Nationwide Building Society streamlines payment dispute process through software
Building society has speeded up the resolution of customer disputes over Visa payments by using Pegasystems software Continue Reading
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News
20 Apr 2022
Financial Ombudsman Service chooses TCS as digital transformation partner
Tata Consultancy Services will build and implement key systems as part the Financial Ombudsman Service’s digital transformation Continue Reading
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News
19 Apr 2022
ODI data literacy report laments technical skills inflation in government data strategy
An Open Data Institute report on data literacy and UK government data strategy sees a lack of clarity in definition, fragmentation of responsibility, and a disconnect between government and citizens Continue Reading
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News
19 Apr 2022
Softbank and UnaBiz team up on internet of robotic things
Japan’s Softbank Robotics and Singapore-based UnaBiz are bringing IoT and robotics technology together to improve facilities management, among other applications Continue Reading
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News
14 Apr 2022
Multi-ERP systems are on the menu for SAP implementations
Organisations using SAP may build future ERP systems from composable building blocks from multiple software providers Continue Reading
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Feature
14 Apr 2022
How algorithmic automation could manage workers ethically
Managing workers by algorithm and automated process has generated ethical problems aplenty. Can such means be pressed into the service for a more ethical mode of worker management? We find out Continue Reading
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News
14 Apr 2022
Government agrees bulk surveillance powers fail to protect journalists and sources
Campaign group Liberty to launch legal appeal that will call for journalists to receive stronger legal protections from state surveillance Continue Reading
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News
13 Apr 2022
Oracle vaunts ME as employee experience platform geared to post-crisis workforce realities
Oracle has launched an employee experience platform, dubbed ME, said to be designed for post-Covid, individualistic pandemic workforce trends Continue Reading
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News
13 Apr 2022
More ANZ organisations warm to DevSecOps
About four in 10 organisations in Australia and New Zealand are undertaking the transition to development, security and operations, while a further 36% plan to do so in 2022, study finds Continue Reading
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Feature
12 Apr 2022
Enterprises shore up supply chain resilience with data
Using data to gain better visibility over their supply chains and forge closer connections between disparate links is helping organisations respond to disruptions faster Continue Reading
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E-Zine
12 Apr 2022
Disney combines digital, data and creativity to win advertising opportunities
In this week’s Computer Weekly, we talk to the executive vice-president for client and brand solutions at Disney Advertising Sales about how it is using data to subserve story-telling excellence. We delve into how rising energy costs negatively impacted the UK arm of Sungard Availability Services. And we look at the role of infrastructure as code in edge datacentres. Read the issue now. Continue Reading
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Opinion
08 Apr 2022
Why CIOs must prioritise system integration in 2022
System integration is a core part of operating enterprise systems. How can it be simplified? Continue Reading
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Podcast
07 Apr 2022
Pure says unstructured data needs storage scale and performance
Podcast: Pure Storage says huge growth of unstructured data and its diversity means storage has to be able to scale with it and offer performance to gain insights Continue Reading
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News
06 Apr 2022
APAC organisations to spend more on AI
The higher investments in AI will be led by the region’s banking industry which is harnessing AI systems to mitigate risks and detect fraud Continue Reading
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Opinion
05 Apr 2022
How data sharing and collaboration can solve great challenges
Daniel Hirst and Arjan Dhaliwal from Ordnance Survey argue for the value of data sharing, collaboration and data skills enhancement to address social, ecological economic problems Continue Reading
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News
01 Apr 2022
TechUK calls on government to seize post-Brexit data opportunities
Ahead of the government’s reply to its late 2021 consultation about proposed post-Brexit reforms to the data protection regime, TechUK has published a paper declaring six data governance principles Continue Reading
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News
01 Apr 2022
How X2M Connect is spreading the IoT word
Australian IoT technology provider X2M Connect has been making headway in key Asian markets, where sustainability and air and water quality are gaining more attention Continue Reading
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News
31 Mar 2022
EU Act ‘must empower those affected by AI systems to take action’
Ada Lovelace Institute publishes recommendations on how European institutions can improve the Artificial Intelligence Act by establishing a ‘comprehensive remedies framework’ around those affected by the deployment of AI systems Continue Reading
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News
31 Mar 2022
Spain’s La Liga looks to enleague data analytics with Databricks
La Liga, the first division of the Spanish football league, has turned to Databricks’ Lakehouse Platform to analyse footballer performance and engage with fans Continue Reading
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News
30 Mar 2022
Compensation goal finally in sight for 555 Post Office scandal victims
The subpostmaster campaign group which exposed the Post Office Horizon scandal could be close to achieving the objective it was established for, with fair compensation for its members in sight Continue Reading
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News
30 Mar 2022
UKISUG: Big majority of SAP users beset by data problems in migrating to S/4 Hana
In a survey prior to its Analytics Symposium, the UK & Ireland SAP User Group finds 61% of SAP customers say data management issues are slowing down process automation and impeding moves to S/4 Hana Continue Reading
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News
30 Mar 2022
Why integration and automation are two sides of the same coin
Workato’s regional leader explains why integration and automation are intertwined and how the company is addressing the Asia-Pacific market Continue Reading
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E-Zine
29 Mar 2022
Ten years of the Raspberry Pi
In this week’s Computer Weekly, as the Raspberry Pi reaches its 10th anniversary, we look back on how the low-cost computing device went from schools to supercomputers and even into space. Gartner offers tips on how to motivate IT staff in a hybrid working environment. And we meet the Dutch hackers helping to secure the internet. Read the issue now. Continue Reading
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News
28 Mar 2022
IT professionals wary of government campaign to limit end-to-end encryption
Members of the Chartered Institute of IT, the professional body for technology professionals in the UK, warn against limiting end-to-end encryption Continue Reading
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News
28 Mar 2022
NHS England deploys pilot AI tool to forecast A&E admissions
The NHS is deploying an AI-based demand forecasting tool to accurately predict activity levels and free up staff, space and resources to tackle post-pandemic treatment backlogs Continue Reading
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Feature
28 Mar 2022
Industry clouds are all the rage, but are they driven by marketing or customer need?
Industry clouds – cloud applications designed for specific sectors – are fashionable staples of supplier marketing, but are they what corporate IT is demanding? Continue Reading
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News
25 Mar 2022
European Commission proposes new cyber security regulations
New cyber and information security regulations have been proposed by the European Commission to create a minimum set of standards in both areas Continue Reading
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News
24 Mar 2022
Unipart maps way ahead with Rise with SAP service
Unipart has chosen the Rise with SAP S/4 Hana-based service as it seeks to develop further the systems integration side of its business Continue Reading
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News
24 Mar 2022
Recognising APAC’s trailblazers in digital transformation
The region’s top industry innovators were recognised for their digital transformation efforts at the Computer Weekly Innovation Awards APAC 2022 Continue Reading
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News
24 Mar 2022
CW Innovation Awards: Plugging supply chain gaps
StratMed’s Integer platform is facilitating data exchanges between healthcare providers and their suppliers to improve transparency in India’s healthcare supply chain Continue Reading
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News
24 Mar 2022
CW Innovation Awards: How Telekom Malaysia scaled its RPA initiative
Telekom Malaysia has been driving automation efforts across the company, not only to serve customers more efficiently, but also to improve a slew of back office functions Continue Reading
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News
24 Mar 2022
CW Innovation Awards: Transforming Australia’s national assessment programme
Education Services Australia has transformed the country’s national assessment programme through an online platform that has enabled teachers to design adaptive tests and improved student engagement Continue Reading
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News
24 Mar 2022
CW Innovation Awards: Tracking cargo on the road
Through Geodis APAC’s One Road platform, supply chain companies have received fewer enquiries on cargo locations and improved on-time performance using roads as an alternative way to move cargo Continue Reading
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News
24 Mar 2022
CW Innovation Awards: How WLTH is disrupting traditional banking
The fintech company built its own technology stack that delivers data analytics and other capabilities as it seeks to win market share from traditional banks Continue Reading
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News
23 Mar 2022
SAP to invest S$250m in Singapore innovation lab
New lab will double SAP’s engineering workforce in Singapore by 2025 and help to shape the company’s product development roadmap Continue Reading
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News
22 Mar 2022
NetApp Cloud Insights gets AI monitoring and ransomware detection
Cloud Insights adds artificial intelligence-based continuous audit and monitoring of entire IT estate and generates impact assessments from performance events, plus anomaly alerting for ransomware Continue Reading
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News
22 Mar 2022
555 subpostmasters to get fair compensation after government U-turn
Government finally agrees to pay 555 Post Office scandal victims fair compensation Continue Reading
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News
21 Mar 2022
Siloed data holding back coordinated health responses
Digital health experts discuss the role of data in coordinating the NHS’s pandemic response and how managing privacy and governance issues are key to further success Continue Reading
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News
18 Mar 2022
University of Reading tracks fruit tree flowering as spring breaks, with Oracle
University is working with Oracle for research to monitor fruit trees as they blossom into spring Continue Reading
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News
18 Mar 2022
Electronic patient records key to NHS digital transformation
Getting EPR systems rolled out across NHS organisations will help boost digital transformation efforts, and are key to fulfilling government healthcare plans Continue Reading
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Opinion
18 Mar 2022
ERP: Join the dots faster with ready-made ecosystems
Pre-integrated IT has a long and honourable history, and it has a role to play in the mesh that makes up cloud-native enterprise systems Continue Reading
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News
18 Mar 2022
Inside Al-Ikhsan’s business analytics journey
The Malaysian sportswear retailer has increased its profits and market share through its investments in business intelligence and analytics over the past five years Continue Reading
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News
16 Mar 2022
UCL report projects 5,500 ‘open data’ jobs in Newham by 2035
Report from University College London’s Institute for Global Prosperity says London borough is ‘uniquely placed to seize the data opportunity’ Continue Reading
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Feature
16 Mar 2022
Dynamic workforce planning gains ground in more turbulent economy
Some organisations are developing dynamic workforce planning approaches to cope with increasing economic turbulence and change – the South Central Ambulance Service is one Continue Reading
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News
16 Mar 2022
TCS doubles down on innovation and talent in Australia
Indian IT service provider TCS has opened an innovation centre in Sydney and is investing in local talent to meet the digital transformation needs of Australian organisations Continue Reading
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Opinion
15 Mar 2022
Cloud enterprise applications need great developer tools too
Developer and quality assurance tools play an important role in safeguarding cloud enterprise applications from disruption Continue Reading
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Feature
15 Mar 2022
The CIO's guide to understanding the metaverse
Metaverse definitions vary as do predictions on when it will arrive. But smart CIOs should familiarize themselves with the concept and ways it might affect their company. Continue Reading
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Feature
15 Mar 2022
How data analytics drives wind turbine power generation
Data analytics and related software lies behind the burgeoning wind turbine industry, with predictive maintenance to the fore. We find out how Continue Reading
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14 Mar 2022
Best-of-breed cloud ERP applications proffer a modern strategy
How organisations are using best-of-breed SaaS products to fill gaps in their enterprise application strategy and deliver a modern approach to ERP Continue Reading
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Podcast
14 Mar 2022
Ukraine: Cyber warfare and IT industry boycott of Russia – Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast
Alex Scroxton joins the team to discuss the cyber war dimension of the conflict arising from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the IT industry’s response to Putin’s war Continue Reading
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News
14 Mar 2022
First female business computer programmer dies
Mary Coombs, the first woman to write programs for Lyons Electronic Office, has died at the age of 93 Continue Reading
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News
14 Mar 2022
‘Technical issues’ leave Post Office branches with ATM cash discrepancies
Discrepancies of up to £2,000 reported after an ‘IT change’ impacted more than 200 Post Office branches Continue Reading
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Feature
14 Mar 2022
Best-of-breed cloud ERP applications proffer a modern strategy
How organisations are using best-of-breed SaaS products to fill gaps in their enterprise application strategy and deliver a modern approach to ERP Continue Reading
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News
14 Mar 2022
More Tableau-Salesforce integrations on the cards
Tableau and Salesforce are looking to deliver more ‘pre-integrated’ offerings that embed analytics capabilities into the latter’s portfolio of software-as-a-service applications Continue Reading
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News
11 Mar 2022
Majority of UK adults support legal right to disconnect
The introduction of ‘right to disconnect’ legislation to stop employees having to engage in work-related electronic communications outside their normal hours remains popular in the UK Continue Reading
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News
11 Mar 2022
AWS launches its first UK healthtech accelerator
A cohort of 12 startups will use AWS resources to accelerate their technology and business development, with opportunities to sell to public sector healthcare organisations at the end Continue Reading
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News
11 Mar 2022
CW Innovation Awards: Weikfield bags analytics rewards
The success of Weikfield Food’s analytics initiative is underpinned by small successive deployments to overcome resistance from users and ensure requirements are met Continue Reading
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E-Zine
10 Mar 2022
CW Europe: Luxembourg sees big role in global fintech market
Read about Luxembourg’s aim to play a larger role in the rapidly growing global financial technology market. Also find out how a Siri-like digital assistant will automate the completion of government service requests in Estonia, and how drones can get life-saving equipment to heart attack victims in Sweden before emergency services can arrive on the scene. Continue Reading
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News
09 Mar 2022
How Kofax is tapping the groundswell in automation
Kofax is counting on its pedigree in optical character recognition and other capabilities to tap the growing market for automation technologies Continue Reading
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Opinion
08 Mar 2022
Subpostmasters won their David and Goliath battle, but initial goal still not reached
Despite exposing the Post Office Horizon scandal, Alan Bates, the former subpostmaster who drove the campaign for the truth, says the goal of repaying people what they lost has not yet been achieved Continue Reading
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News
08 Mar 2022
Amazon resists independent audit of warehouse working conditions
Two shareholder proposals pushing for an independent audit of working conditions at Amazon are being challenged by the ecommerce giant, which claims it is a matter for management rather than shareholders Continue Reading
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Feature
08 Mar 2022
Why some data-driven decisions are not to be trusted
Companies often express the desire to be data-driven – but what if the data isn’t right? Data democratisation could be part of the solution Continue Reading
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News
07 Mar 2022
India’s Mahindra Group makes cloud move
The Indian conglomerate will migrate SAP S/4 Hana and its data warehouse to Google Cloud and build up its DevOps capabilities Continue Reading
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News
03 Mar 2022
SAP and Oracle express solidarity with Ukraine against Russia
SAP and Oracle suspend operations in the Russian Federation after expressing solidarity with Ukraine in the face of the war against it being conducted by Russia Continue Reading
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News
03 Mar 2022
Post Office warned of software flaw in 2006, but failed to alert subpostmaster network
The Post Office and Fujitsu failed to alert subpostmasters to a software error that caused them to be wrongly blamed for accounting shortfalls Continue Reading
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News
03 Mar 2022
SingHealth researchers to get new supercomputer
Healthcare researchers at SingHealth can look forward to a new supercomputer to support their work Continue Reading
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Feature
01 Mar 2022
Retailers get business-critical IT and data management in order
Decathlon and Toolstation are among the retailers investing in new technology to support business-critical applications and better data management Continue Reading
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News
01 Mar 2022
Workplace surveillance ‘spiralling out of control’, says TUC
Trade union body pushes for workers to be consulted on the implementation of new technologies at work, warning that invasive surveillance practices are getting out of hand Continue Reading
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News
01 Mar 2022
Cloud suppliers eye APAC space industry
Amazon Web Services and Microsoft are working with local governments and supplying cloud technologies to support the region’s growing space industry Continue Reading
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E-Zine
01 Mar 2022
Post Office Horizon scandal enters public conscience – at last
In this week’s Computer Weekly, 13 years after Computer Weekly first reported on flaws in the Post Office IT system, a public inquiry finally allows victims to reveal the devastating impact on their lives. Enterprises are starting to evaluate the uses of 5G. And we look at how SMEs have turned to e-commerce after the pandemic. Read the issue now. Continue Reading
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News
28 Feb 2022
Online Safety Bill updated to deal with anonymous abuse
Social media companies will be forced to deal with anonymous abuse online by the introduction of new measures in the Online Safety Bill Continue Reading
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News
28 Feb 2022
Government set to backtrack on untenable position on subpostmaster compensation
The government looks set to backtrack on its previous stance and outline a means of providing fair compensation to a group of Post Office Horizon scandal victims so far left out of compensation schemes Continue Reading
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Feature
24 Feb 2022
Christal Bemont, Talend CEO: Show up as yourself
Christal Bemont, CEO of data management firm Talend, reflects on coming through difficult times in solidarity with co-workers, and how data quality assumes a heightened significance in the digital era Continue Reading
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Opinion
24 Feb 2022
The complementary strengths of AI and human intelligence
Kathy Peach, director at Nesta’s Centre for Collective Intelligence Design, describes projects the organisation supports that explore the interaction between artificial and human intelligence Continue Reading
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E-Zine
24 Feb 2022
CW Nordics: Swedish drone app gets life-saving equipment to heart attack victims
Thanks to an app developed in Sweden, drones can get life-saving equipment to heart-attack victims before emergency services can arrive on the scene, potentially increasing patient survival rates. Also in this issue, read about a Swedish bank's time-saving robots, and how Finland aims to democratise the ‘wild west’ of AI. Continue Reading
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News
23 Feb 2022
European Commission opens path to a Data Act to stoke digital economy
The European Commission has published a proposal for a Data Act that it hopes will stoke a digital economy, in part by unlocking IoT and other ‘industrial data’ Continue Reading
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News
23 Feb 2022
Salesforce pays out over £2m in bug bounties
Salesforce says it received more than 4,000 vulnerability reports in 2021 alone as it delivers a rare public update on its bug bounty programme Continue Reading
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News
22 Feb 2022
Software AG executives trumpet progress on Helix growth plan
Software AG’s executive team has confirmed progress on a cloud-oriented growth strategy named Helix, launched in 2019 and bolstered by 2021 investment by US technology firm Silver Lake Continue Reading
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News
21 Feb 2022
Union pushes for collective bargaining around technology and data
Prospect union releases guidance on how workers and unions can engage employers over the use of technology at work, with particular emphasis on the need to include technology provisions in collective bargaining agreements Continue Reading
