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
20 Jun 2025
Election workers’ data stolen in cyber breach of Oxford City Council
Oxford City Council election workers had personal information stolen by cyber attackers in an attack over the weekend of 7-8 June. The council has stated that most disrupted systems are back online Continue Reading
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News
20 Jun 2025
UK data reforms become law
UK passes wide-ranging data protection reforms to ‘simplify’ organisations’ sharing and processing of data, but questions remain whether changes will be accepted by European Commission when renewing UK data adequacy Continue Reading
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Feature
15 Jan 2014
Big banks' legacy IT systems could kill them
A banking T-Rex is dying and nimble competitors will pick at its carcass. Is it too late for the retail bank giants to overhaul their IT and survive? Continue Reading
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News
15 Jan 2014
The IT risks facing Universal Credit
Despite Iain Duncan Smith's robust defence of his flagship welfare reform policy, Universal Credit, evidence to the contrary continues to mount Continue Reading
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News
14 Jan 2014
Post Office seeks contractors for network and back-office work
The Post Office is looking for IT services firms to provide back-office IT applications and networking technologies in contracts worth hundreds of millions of pounds Continue Reading
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News
07 Jan 2014
Computer Weekly founding editor, Chris Hipwell, dies after short illness
Chris Hipwell, the founding editor of Computer Weekly, the world’s first IT magazine, has died after a short illness Continue Reading
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News
06 Jan 2014
Universal Credit IT suppliers to be left out of new digital system development
HP, Accenture, IBM and BT will have 'significantly less' involvement in the digital system developed for full roll-out of the benefits scheme Continue Reading
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Feature
03 Jan 2014
Minerals firm Imerys upgrades IFS ERP as economy lifts
Imerys has 30 different ERP systems around the globe. A plan to move to a single instance of ERP, thrown off course by recession, was achieved in 2012; other business benefits have accrued Continue Reading
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Photo Story
23 Dec 2013
IT at the WWF Living Planet Centre
WWF’s Living Planet Centre is one of the greenest buildings in the UK and aims to demonstrate to the public using technology how it is possible for people to live in harmony with nature Continue Reading
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Opinion
19 Dec 2013
User acceptance testing needs real training, not just a short course
In spite of its importance, user acceptance testing (UAT) is often chaotic, problematic and ineffective Continue Reading
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News
17 Dec 2013
NHS clinical research body uses QlikView to forward open data
The clinical research delivery arm of the NHS is developing an open data platform using QlikView Continue Reading
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News
16 Dec 2013
Nvidia delivers GPU grid to power Citrix virtual workstations
Nvidia has released vGPU grid technology for Citrix XenDeskop and Xenserver to support remote, hardware accelerated graphics processing. Continue Reading
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News
13 Dec 2013
Avon drops SAP big bang transformation
Cosmetics giant Avon has halted its multi-year SAP rollout due to a poor return on investment. Continue Reading
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News
06 Dec 2013
Firm works with Google maps to provide fleet management software
Greater Anglia rail company will roll out a taxi booking app in 2014 developed by fleet management software provider TDispatch and powered by Google Maps Continue Reading
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News
06 Dec 2013
Nokia Solutions Networks HR rejects best of breed for best of platform
Nokia Solutions and Networks has chosen a ‘best of platform’ approach for its global HR programme in the wake of a reduction in staff from around 80,000 to 50,000, consequent to a restructure in 2011 Continue Reading
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News
05 Dec 2013
700,000 benefit claimants miss out on Universal Credit deadline
The secretary for work and pensions has admitted the Universal Credit benefit scheme will miss its 2017 deadline Continue Reading
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News
04 Dec 2013
Microsoft changes its licensing terms
Microsoft is offering a single Microsoft Products and Services Agreement (MPSA) to simplify its volume licensing agreements. But what does it mean to SAM? Continue Reading
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News
03 Dec 2013
Where is Satyam now? Well, it’s not Satyam for a start
Satyam, which was rescued from collapse in 2009, has plans for restoring its position as a top-tier Indian IT services provider Continue Reading
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News
29 Nov 2013
Mobile business intelligence adoption slows, BARC BI survey finds
Mobile BI adoption is slowing and much vaunted social media analytics are little deployed, according to the latest BARC BI global survey Continue Reading
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News
29 Nov 2013
IT budgets to rise by 3% in 2014 as companies step up spending on mobile
IT spending will increase by 3% in 2014, up from 1.8% last year. But shadow IT spending will add another 40% to technology budgets Continue Reading
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News
26 Nov 2013
The state of agile software development in the UK
Lately it is more surprising to hear that businesses are developing using a methodology other than agile, such is its widespread use Continue Reading
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News
25 Nov 2013
150 subpostmasters file claims over 'faulty' Horizon accounting system
About 150 subpostmasters have filed claims to the investigation into the allegedly faulty Post Office accounting system used by thousands of subpostmaters Continue Reading
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Feature
25 Nov 2013
Optimising performance and security of web-based software
On-demand applications are often talked about in terms of how suppliers should be adapting the way their software is provisioned to customers. Continue Reading
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News
22 Nov 2013
Jaguar Land Rover builds data sharing infrastructure
Jaguar Landrover (JLR) has used a proposed data sharing standard to improve car development within its product lifecycle management (PLM) system. Continue Reading
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News
21 Nov 2013
Pegasystems CEO Alan Trefler plans his next move for the $500m software company
Alan Trefler discusses his plans for Pegasystems, the BPM and CRM specialist that has grown into a $500m a year company Continue Reading
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News
20 Nov 2013
Case study: McGraw-Hill Education mobilises with Salesforce
The educational resources provider utilises Salesforce to develop a mobile app and get its sales reps selling more on campus Continue Reading
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News
19 Nov 2013
Human Capital Management
Computer Weekly looks at the steps companies have taken to improve talent management; bridging the gap between the cost savings promised by cloud technologies and the value they deliver. Continue Reading
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Feature
18 Nov 2013
Procter & Gamble uses Teradata cloud analytics for global marketing
Procter & Gamble has 15,000 websites, but sells almost exclusively through retailers. This makes gathering intelligence on customers tough Continue Reading
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News
13 Nov 2013
Poundland chooses Microsoft Office 365 as it overhauls IT infrastructure
Poundland is implementing Microsoft Office 365 to enable staff to collaborate and communicate more efficiently. Continue Reading
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News
06 Nov 2013
IT spending up as companies invest in digital technology
Businesses are stepping up their spending on IT as they invest in strategic digital technologies, a CIO survey by Deloitte reveals Continue Reading
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News
05 Nov 2013
Business-defined storage will help reconnect businesses with IT, says Forrester
Business-defined storage and datacentres will make IT more business-centric, according to Forrester Continue Reading
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News
05 Nov 2013
Nationwide to carry out mortgage consultations by video
Nationwide Building Society will enable mortgage consultants to meet customers via high-definition video links using Cisco technology Continue Reading
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News
31 Oct 2013
Companies are not taking advantage of data analytics, research says
Research by Bersin by Deloitte shows that 86% of businesses have yet to progress beyond using their HR data to generate basic reports Continue Reading
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News
28 Oct 2013
Loughborough University implements 400 virtual desktops
Loughborough University has cut maintenance costs and enabled a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) scheme for academics with virtual desktops. Continue Reading
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News
28 Oct 2013
End in sight for sub-postmaster claims against Post Office's Horizon accounting system
Sub-postmasters' claims of errors made by the Horizon accounting system could be completed in three months Continue Reading
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News
25 Oct 2013
HP and Diageo take different paths to cloud-based HR
HP and Diageo took very different approaches when they deployed cloud-based human resources (HR) software from Workday Continue Reading
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News
24 Oct 2013
European Central Bank warns against last-minute Sepa migrations
The European Central Bank warns firms that have left migration to the Single European Payments Area (Sepa) they could face problems Continue Reading
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News
22 Oct 2013
BT signs multimillion HR technology contract with Oracle
The project, one of the largest contracts signed so far for Oracle’s Fusion technology, is strategically important both to Oracle and BT Continue Reading
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News
22 Oct 2013
Case study: Pumps maker Hayward Tyler’s restructure sharpened ERP business focus
When a restructure arrives half way through an ERP upgrade, it could be a threat to the IT programme. But Hayward Tyler saw it as a chance to ensure business goals were at the heart of its Epicor project. Continue Reading
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Photo Story
21 Oct 2013
SAP provides Extreme Sailing Series analytics platform
Since 2007, the Extreme Sailing Series has brought together 40-foot multihulls designed especially for match racing. SAP provides a dedicated application to manage the Extreme Sailing race start. Continue Reading
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News
15 Oct 2013
Siemens Enterprise Communications rebrands as Unify
The communications company will rebrand in time to launch its latest unified communications solution, code-named Project Ansible Continue Reading
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News
14 Oct 2013
Scottish Government pilots Windows 8 tablets to improve services
The Scottish government is piloting how Windows 8 could be used to improve citizen relationship Continue Reading
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News
11 Oct 2013
Toyota e-learning upgrade aims to cut mechanics' training time by up to a year
Car distributor Toyota Motor Europe is using e-learning to manage the training and certification of motor technicians and engineers Continue Reading
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News
09 Oct 2013
Tesco.com uses agile development offshore to roll out internationally
Tesco used agile methodology, co-ordinating a team of 100 offshore developers, to roll out the Tesco.com website internationally Continue Reading
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News
08 Oct 2013
Rugby Football Union uses analytics to educate and engage with users
The RFU is introducing data analytics technologies for public use to encourage engagement with existing fans and education of the sport Continue Reading
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Feature
07 Oct 2013
High street stores embrace digital to entice customers
Customers are using technology in favour of the high street, but some stores are fighting fire with fire. Continue Reading
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News
01 Oct 2013
Ministry of Defence upgrades Oracle HR and payroll system
The Service Personnel and Veterans Agency of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has upgraded its Oracle HP and payroll system Continue Reading
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News
30 Sep 2013
Charity uses cloud HR system to keep track of staff working in danger zones
It took a disaster in Haiti to demonstrate to charity World Vision why it needed better HR systems Continue Reading
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News
27 Sep 2013
Software acquisition is risk acquisition, says industry panel
New software often means new security vulnerabilities, panel tells the (ISC)2 Security Congress 2013 Continue Reading
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News
26 Sep 2013
Oracle OpenWorld 2013: Tesco takes a multi-channel approach to customer experience
Tesco has been using an array of Oracle technology, including its customer experience (CX) portfolio to turn the company in a multi-channel retailer Continue Reading
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News
25 Sep 2013
Google to rethink resilient networking following dual failure
In spite of running a dual redundant network, Google's Gmail system has had a major failure. Continue Reading
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News
25 Sep 2013
Oracle OpenWorld 2013: Oracle customers continue to invest in big data
Airbus, Thomson Reuters and the New York Stock Exchange have all implemented Oracle's big data products to improve their businesses Continue Reading
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Photo Story
24 Sep 2013
Big trends from Oracle OpenWorld 2013: Big data and cloud
Oracle tackled issues of big data and cloud head on at its annual OpenWorld 2013 user conference in San Francisco Continue Reading
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News
23 Sep 2013
Poor connectivity and battery life hamper mobile working
A study conducted by Vanson Bourne for HP finds almost two-thirds of mobile workers are unable to work effectively due to connectivity issues Continue Reading
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News
19 Sep 2013
Software licences drive Oracle revenue, but hardware takes a hit
A drop in hardware sales dragged down Oracle’s revenue in its Q1 financial results, but software revenue increased Continue Reading
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Feature
19 Sep 2013
A guide to WebRTC
Real-time communications standards aim to help more users speak with ease over the internet. Computer Weekly looks at how the systems work Continue Reading
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News
18 Sep 2013
Most businesses suffer major technology failure over 12 months
79% of businesses had a technology failure in the past year, costing £6.9m, according to a survey of IT professionals and business line heads Continue Reading
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News
18 Sep 2013
BMW gears up IT resilience with private cloud infrastructure
After testing and validating its own private cloud services, BMW's IT team is ready to use it in production Continue Reading
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News
18 Sep 2013
MPs brand NHS National Programme for IT a 'fiasco' as posthumous costs rise
The now-axed NHS National Programme for IT (NPfIT) is still incurring significant costs following the failure of the government IT project Continue Reading
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News
16 Sep 2013
British Army’s manpower planning saves £770m through SAS BI
The British Army's headquarters is using SAS to analyse and more efficiently allocate manpower and resources Continue Reading
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News
13 Sep 2013
After virtualising IT estate, Jaguar Land Rover now eyes cloud computing
Jaguar Land Rover's IT team takes its newly virtualised infrastructure to the next stage of IT evolution by adopting cloud-based services Continue Reading
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News
13 Sep 2013
Businesses hit digital roadblock due to paper processes
A survey of business and IT leaders has found that paper-based processes are creating inefficiencies Continue Reading
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News
11 Sep 2013
£480bn of government revenue depends on "risky" legacy IT
Almost £480bn of the UK government’s revenues are dependent on legacy IT systems that “could present a very significant risk” Continue Reading
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News
10 Sep 2013
Barclays reception IT system falls over globally
Barclays' reception administration system has been down for almost two days, with no sign of when it is set to get fixed Continue Reading
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News
10 Sep 2013
CW Enterprise Software case studies
Brian McKenna presents 6 case studies on enterprise software drawn from the winners of Computer Weekly's European User Awards. Continue Reading
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News
10 Sep 2013
A CW buyer's guide to software asset management
Computer Weekly looks at best practice for software asset management in this 10-page buyer's guide. Continue Reading
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News
09 Sep 2013
Executive interview: Andrew Brem, Connected Homes, British Gas
British Gas is digitising energy. Andrew Brem speaks to Computer Weekly about the internet connected home Continue Reading
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News
04 Sep 2013
Diageo to change how it manages APIs to support digital strategy
Diageo is contemplating introducing a lightweight middleware layer to better manage the APIs that govern the software services it uses Continue Reading
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News
30 Aug 2013
How networks and data win Formula One races for Mercedes AMG Petronas
Tata Communications joins the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One team to bring speedy connectivity worthy of its cars Continue Reading
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News
28 Aug 2013
eHarmony finds MongoDB the perfect match for data store
Online dating site eHarmony has used open source NoSQL database MongoDB for its data store, to speed up delivery of matches between users Continue Reading
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News
23 Aug 2013
SAP user groups welcome 'partial termination' licensing changes
SAP customers can now partially terminate licenses and will not be required to pay maintenance on unused licenses Continue Reading
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E-Zine
20 Aug 2013
Mixing work and play – how corporate applications can learn from computer games
In this week’s Computer Weekly, we look at the benefits of gamification, the trend for corporate software to use techniques developed for computer games. After the Prism internet surveillance scandal, Switzerland hopes to exploit its neutrality to become a safe location for cloud services – we assess its chances. And we talk to an NHS CIO about the challenges of delivering the government’s goal for a paperless health service. Read the issue now. Continue Reading
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News
16 Aug 2013
UCAS adopts public cloud to process university admissions
Ten days before the A-level results, UCAS adopted a public cloud infrastructure to scale up its IT and to make admission process efficient Continue Reading
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Feature
16 Aug 2013
VPNs: The past, present and future
We give you a rundown of all you need to know about virtual private networks and how the cloud is changing their future Continue Reading
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News
02 Aug 2013
Taylor Wimpey builds cloud forecasting process with Anaplan
Homebuilder Taylor Wimpy teams up with Anaplan to ditch its old Excel suite and head for the cloud Continue Reading
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Feature
31 Jul 2013
Virgin Media uses ETAdirect to manage engineers more predictively
Virgin Media is using predictive analytics to get the right engineer out to the right problem. It believes its use of TOA Technologies cloud-based ETAdirect system gives it a competitive advantage Continue Reading
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Feature
30 Jul 2013
Big data journalism exposes offshore tax dodgers
How journalists harnessed big data to challenge offshore financial secrecy Continue Reading
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News
26 Jul 2013
Hailo taxi app maker drops Sage for NetSuite OneWorld
Taxi cab app maker Hailocab has switched from Sage Line:50 to NetSuite OneWorld, in a bid to speed up accounts reconciliation Continue Reading
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News
26 Jul 2013
Aintree NHS saves £1m a year with electronic patient records
Aintree University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust replaces paper medical records with an electronic system to save £1m per year Continue Reading
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News
19 Jul 2013
Michelin creates fuel efficiency service with Accenture
Tyre maker Michelin has begun a major project to create a business division focused on providing IT solutions for logistics Continue Reading
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News
18 Jul 2013
Case Study: Johnson Matthey consolidates Active Directory with Dell
Chemicals manufacturer Johnson Matthey uses tools from Dell to simplify a complex, multinational Active Directory infrastructure Continue Reading
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News
17 Jul 2013
Windows 8 Secrets
Download a step by step guide to installing Windows 8 from the book Windows 8 Secrets. Continue Reading
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News
17 Jul 2013
Is enterprise social collaboration delivering?
The majority of IT decision-makers are using social networking technologies, but most lack true enterprise collaboration Continue Reading
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News
15 Jul 2013
Lower uptake of cloud, ICT limiting medium-sized enterprises' productivity: CEBR
Medium-sized enterprises in the UK lagging behind large businesses in terms of productivity, because of lower adoption of ICT and cloud Continue Reading
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News
11 Jul 2013
OpenCorporates makes company data public
Company data is being made available as part of an initiative to place more government data in the public domain Continue Reading
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News
10 Jul 2013
Head of Universal Credit denies IT problems
Howard Shiplee tells the work and pensions select committee all is well, denying reports of the failing IT system behind Universal Credit Continue Reading
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News
08 Jul 2013
Post Office Horizon system investigation reveals concerns
Investigation into the allegedly faulty accounting system used by sub-postmasters has revealed serious concerns Continue Reading
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News
08 Jul 2013
Davenport: Travel industry data pioneer has lost way but can be saved
Tom Davenport sees the travel industry as a data pioneer that has lost its way, but can be redeemed Continue Reading
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News
05 Jul 2013
Case study: Toyota fleet management system gathers global fork-lift truck data remotely
Toyota Material Handling Europe develops operational data management system that monitors and controls fork-lift trucks globally Continue Reading
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Feature
04 Jul 2013
From chess to ping pong: How Pegasystems is capturing the Fortune 500
Pegasystems is winning business from the world's leading companies as business process management technology enters the mainstream Continue Reading
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News
04 Jul 2013
CIO interview: Pete Marsden, CIO, Asos.com
As online fashion retailer Asos.com continues to expand, its IT strategy is focused on new international locations and keeping up with web retail Continue Reading
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News
03 Jul 2013
Ocado delivers with in-house software development
Online grocery retailer Ocado built its own software for its own business – and now it delivers for Morrisons Continue Reading
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News
02 Jul 2013
NHS IT to embrace open source
A new report from NHS England promises open source will be at the heart of the plans to digitise the health service Continue Reading
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Feature
01 Jul 2013
Tools for talent management
An increasing number of human resources management systems are coming to market.. What are the benefits? Continue Reading
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News
01 Jul 2013
Oracle 12c database goes to general availability
The Oracle 12c Database is now generally available, its most touted aspect a virtualisation feature called Pluggable Databases Continue Reading
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News
28 Jun 2013
CIO interview: Paul Clarke, director of technology, Ocado
Paul Clarke is responsible for the technology strategy at online grocer Ocado, where IT is used in every aspect of the business Continue Reading
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News
28 Jun 2013
Datacentres must be tuned to the application in the mobile-cloud era: Cisco
Cloud, big data and mobile applications are challenging the traditional datacentre infrastructure, says Cisco Continue Reading
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Photo Story
27 Jun 2013
Computer Weekly European User Awards for Enterprise Software: Winners
The winners of the Computer Weekly European User Awards for Enterprise Software have been announced. See images of the winners. Continue Reading
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News
25 Jun 2013
Oracle offers enterprise software on Azure and Hyper-V
Microsoft and Oracle form an alliance to enable Oracle software to run on Hyper-V and Windows Azure infrastructure Continue Reading
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Photo Story
21 Jun 2013
A tour of the Aston Martin factory
Luxury car maker Aston Martin combines high tech and traditional craftsmanship to design and manufacture its hand made cars Continue Reading
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News
20 Jun 2013
Camden Council goes BYOD with Accellion
Camden adopts a bring your own device (BYOD) strategy to save money, improve security and bring their IT systems into the modern era Continue Reading
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News
19 Jun 2013
HR technology booming as businesses turn to the cloud
Over the next 18 months, 60% of companies plan to roll out HR technology solutions, says analyst group Bersin by Deloitte. Continue Reading