Business intelligence and analytics

Post Office boosted its ‘coffers’ as Horizon system threw up unexplained shortfalls, inquiry told

The Post Office was ‘keen’ to make subpostmasters cover unexplained accounting shortfall as its business struggled, public inquiry hears Continue Reading

Microsoft 365 banned in German schools over privacy concerns

German schools cannot legally use Microsoft Office 365 over lack of clarity about how data is collected, shared and used, as well as the potential for unlawful transfer of European citizens’ personal data to the US Continue Reading

Parity AI talks about auditing recruitment algorithms for bias

Algorithmic auditing firm Parity speaks to Computer Weekly about the process of auditing artificial intelligence for bias, following its partnership with AI-powered recruitment platform Beamery Continue Reading

‘Legal but harmful’ clause dropped from Online Safety Bill

Online Safety Bill’s ‘legal but harmful’ provision will be dropped by the UK government in favour of public risk assessments, tools to help users control the content they consume, and new criminal offences around self-harm Continue Reading

How to stop data retention from killing the planet

In this week’s Computer Weekly, there’s a hidden environmental cost to the vast volumes of data being generated – we examine what can be done to address it. We talk to the CISO of consumer reviews site Trustpilot, about building trust in IT security. And we look at what IT leaders can do if they inherit a toxic team environment. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Protecting children as they spend years in virtual worlds

To protect children online, we must now focus on pre-emptive and robust regulation around immersive technologies Continue Reading

UKISUG 2022: S/4 skills deficit worsens but SAP Rise use increases

On the opening day of its 2022 conference, the UK and Ireland SAP User Group unveils member research showing concerns that an S/4 Hana skills deficit appears worse than it was 12 months ago Continue Reading

Getting data analytics right

Organisations will need to marry the art and science of data analytics to drive innovation in their analytics initiatives, according to Gartner Continue Reading

Meta faces UK lawsuit over surveillance business model

The High Court case against Meta could set a precedent for millions of UK users to object to their personal data being collected and processed for advertising purposes Continue Reading

Oracle’s Steve Miranda on the value of turning inside out

In a Q&A with Computer Weekly at Oracle Open World, applications head Steve Miranda discussed the supplier’s opening out and its intensification of an industry cloud approach, signally with healthcare Continue Reading

AI accountability held back by ‘audit-washing’ practices

Algorithmic auditing will be useless in holding artificial intelligence accountable until there are common standards, approaches and goals that scrutinise systems at each stage of development and deployment, says think-tank Continue Reading

CW APAC: Trend Watch: Artificial intelligence in APAC

Artificial intelligence is becoming more commonplace across business. In this handbook, focused on the adoption of the technology in the Asia-Pacific region, Computer Weekly looks at what still stands in its way, Dell’s deep learning model, how AI can realise its potential in healthcare, and the pros and cons of using AI and ML applications in the cloud. Continue Reading

AI adopted without due consideration for workers, MPs told

MPs have been warned that the rapid roll-out of artificial intelligence in workplaces has changed UK enterprises’ management practices so much that current employment law is no longer fit for purpose Continue Reading

How to get structure from unstructured data

We look at how to gain structure from unstructured data, via AI/ML analytics to create new records, selecting object data via SQL and storing unstructured files in NoSQL formats Continue Reading

Applying blockchain, Kafka and MongoDB in green energy trading

Energy trading platform Powerledger has leveraged the power of blockchain, Kafka and MongoDB to make its mark in renewable energy trading in Australia Continue Reading

SAP Build launched at TechEd to appeal to business user developers

SAP is launching a low-code platform, SAP Build, aimed squarely at line of business users, at its TechEd conference in Las Vegas. Build is part of the supplier’s Business Technology Platform Continue Reading

How to protect against ransomware attacks

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we look at how to prepare for and protect against ransomware, and what to do if you’re hit by an attack. We gauge industry reaction to Ofcom’s plan to investigate the big three cloud providers. And we find out how travel giant TUI is implementing self-service analytics. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Siemens aims to pioneer industrial metaverse usage

German engineering giant is exploring industrial metaverse use cases, and the Biosphere Foundation in Devon is proving out Siemens technology Continue Reading

Scrutinising AI requires holistic, end-to-end system audits

Understanding the full impacts of artificial intelligence requires organisations to conduct end-to-end social and technical audits of their systems, but the process comes with a number of challenges Continue Reading

CW Benelux: Heineken finds the right brew for digital

Heineken’s data management director has revealed some of the ways the company is using information technology to transform digitally. Also read how a PhD student in the Netherlands is detecting hidden messages on the internet by exploring the practice of steganography. Continue Reading

ODI fuel poverty survey shows young adults most hard up

A fuel poverty data report and index from the Open Data Institute shows that young adults and people in multi-occupied accommodation are most at risk Continue Reading

How organisations can right-size their data footprint

More data is not always better, says Gartner, which is calling for organisations to focus on metadata and synthetic data to reduce their data liability and address privacy challenges Continue Reading

How the US-China chip war will affect IT leaders

In this week’s Computer Weekly, as the US ramps up semiconductor sanctions on China, we examine the ramifications across the tech sector. Cyber criminals are turning to new forms of encryption – we talk to the Dutch researchers trying to catch them. And we look at what cloud providers need to do to improve customer experience. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

How government can capitalise on a revolution in data sharing

Alison Pritchard, deputy national statistician at the Office for National Statistics, says the new government Integrated Data Service enables tackling questions that we don’t yet know we need to answer Continue Reading

Public sector IT projects need ethical data practices from start

Data ethics needs to be integrated into public sector IT projects from the very start, and considered throughout every stage of the process, to be effective Continue Reading

Candidate experience evolves to engender more emotional engagement

Despite the cost-of-living crisis, employment is high and companies need to create a compelling candidate experience when competition is strong and ‘ghosting’ is common Continue Reading

How Globe is driving data analytics with Snowflake

The largest telco in the Philippines has moved its on-premise data warehouse to Snowflake to address scalability challenges and improve customer experience Continue Reading

Data-driven decision making will fail – and here is why

Marc Warner, CEO at Faculty, contends that corporate organisations need to go through a cycle similar to the development of scientific thought – from divination, via data deluge to theoretical understanding Continue Reading

Computer simulation at work for the future of nuclear fusion

Nuclear fusion works, just not yet well enough. Learn how software simulations running on modern supercomputers and data science are lighting up possible paths forward Continue Reading

CIO interview: Marc Jennings, CIO of analytics and AI, TUI

The international travel group is overhauling its data stack and aims to provide self-service analytics to key employees across the organisation Continue Reading

Data Summit majors on ethics in data use, demonstrates diversity

The Data Lab’s Data Summit majored on the ethical use of data, and featured Scottish government minister Tom Arthur, science broadcaster Hannah Fry, and Nasa chief science data officer Kevin Murphy Continue Reading

Data Lab bolsters business execs data course in time with Data Summit

Course focuses on the leadership skills needed to design, resource and implement a data strategy that will enable organisational change Continue Reading

Scotland’s Data Lab CEO Brian Hills on its ambition to change lives

Brian Hills, chief executive of The Data Lab in Scotland, on why he thinks the organisation’s mission is less about data and more about changing lives by giving people career opportunities Continue Reading

How the pandemic accelerated tech adoption in hospitality

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we look at how the hospitality sector is turning to technology to rebuild after it was devastated by the pandemic. Google’s cloud business is growing but remains well behind the market leaders – what does its future look like? And we look at the benefits of AIOps for storage. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

AI experts question tech industry’s ethical commitments

The massive proliferation of ethical frameworks for artificial intelligence has done little to change how the technology is developed and deployed, with experts questioning the tech industry’s commitment to making it a positive social force Continue Reading

Top 50 women in UK tech, IR35 Truss fiasco – Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast

The team reflects on the announcement of the Most Influential Women in UK Technology 2022, the IR35 reforms being scrapped, then not, and Dreamforce & Oracle Cloud World in the US Continue Reading

ICO warns against using biometrics for ‘emotional analysis’

ICO warning highlights risk of ‘systemic bias’ and discrimination associated with organisations using biometric data and technologies for emotion analysis Continue Reading

When technology lets you sleep easy

Indian mattress supplier Duroflex has taken a leaf out of mattress design in its technology implementation to double its growth in an industry dominated by unorganised players Continue Reading

SAP Q3 2022: revenue up 15%, Ukraine war impact €250m

SAP has announced third-quarter 2022 revenue of more than €7.8bn, up 15% year on year, with cloud revenue at 42% Continue Reading

One in five tech workers subject to workplace surveillance

Digital surveillance is now a common feature of the UK’s post-pandemic economy, says Prospect Union, adding to growing calls for workers to be given a greater say over how technologies are deployed in the workplace Continue Reading

The Most Influential Women in UK Technology 2022

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we reveal our annual list of the 50 Most Influential Women in UK Technology. We talk to the No.1 on the list, Flavilla Fongang, about how to improve diversity and inclusion in the sector. And we introduce our seven rising stars – the future female leaders of UK IT. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Digital Transformation Week Amsterdam: The growing divide between the haves and have-nots

The most successful companies carefully manage how data is taken in and processed – and they use tools to ensure they squeeze the most they can out of every bit of information Continue Reading

Improving finance and accounting software with AI

Artificial intelligence algorithms and datasets have potential value across many areas in finance and accounting, but usage isn’t yet widespread Continue Reading

HSBC chooses Oracle Exadata [email protected] service to underpin digital

Bank selects Oracle’s [email protected] service to upgrade and migrate some of its database systems as part of its digital transformation Continue Reading

Did Truss authorise ‘war risk’ provocation over Black Sea?

A UK Boeing RC-135W Rivet Joint spy plane was ordered to approach Russian territory in a Cold-War-style provocation just days after Liz Truss’s mini-budget collapsed Continue Reading

Efficiency to empathy: Customer experience in cost-of living crisis

Find out how businesses can shore up their CX strategy to support consumers struggling with the cost-of-living crisis Continue Reading

High data quality key to reducing supply chain disruption

What could be the role of data quality enhancement in reducing the supply chain disruption that has beset the UK economy because of Brexit, Covid, and war in Europe? Continue Reading

Parliamentary committee launches inquiry into AI governance

MPs will examine the impacts of artificial intelligence throughout the UK economy and how governance of the technology can be improved ahead of the government publishing its formal regulatory proposals Continue Reading

Oracle CloudWorld 2022: Ellison vaunts centrality of healthcare to mission

Oracle CTO Larry Ellison put the company’s healthcare initiatives front and centre of its vision during his keynote at Oracle CloudWorld 2022 in Las Vegas Continue Reading

Is object storage good for databases?

We look at object storage vs block access SAN storage and ask if object storage can be used for database workloads, or is it just good for bulk storage of analytics datasets? Continue Reading

Turing launches government-backed AI standards information hub

The Alan Turing Institute has launched the AI Standards Hub jointly with the British Standards Institution and the National Physical Laboratory, backed by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Continue Reading

French Supreme Court rejects EncroChat verdict after lawyers question secrecy over hacking operation

France’s Supreme Court has sent a case back to the court of appeal after police failed to disclose technical details of EncroChat hacking operation Continue Reading

Public sector spend on IT climbed to £12.6bn in 2021

Public sector bodies IT spend went up 10% last year, but the majority of the money went to large IT suppliers with 89% of the total spend going to so-called ‘tech titans’, according to a report from Tussell Continue Reading

ODI food poverty study shows black families and North East suffering most

A food poverty data report from the Open Data Institute shows black families and the North East of England are suffering the most Continue Reading

EU rolling out measures for online safety and AI liability

The European Council has approved the passage of the Digital Services Act to protect people’s rights online, while the European Commission has announced proposals to help those negatively affected by artificial intelligence to claim compensation Continue Reading

Clickwork and labour exploitation in the digital economy

Often ignored or assumed to be work conducted by machines rather than people, Computer Weekly explores the hidden human impact of the ‘clickwork’ that underpins the global digital economy Continue Reading

How to design a data architecture for business success

To gain business value from data, enterprises need to get their data architecture right – and the right business leadership and culture is critical to that Continue Reading

Edge storage: What it is and the technologies it uses

Storage is moving from the datacentre to the edge. We define edge storage, look at the characteristics of edge computing that shape it and the technologies it requires Continue Reading

Digital transformation is brewing at Heineken

In a presentation at the Digital Transformation Week conference in Amsterdam, Heineken’s data management director revealed some of the ways the company is using information technology to transform Continue Reading

Interview: Rachel Hilliam, chair, Alliance for Data Science Professionals

Rachel Hilliam talks about the origins, mission and future plans for the Alliance for Data Science Professionals Continue Reading

Essential Guide: Data Analytics in Healthcare

In the healthcare industry, a large amount of data is already being collected to generate insights on emerging conditions and to improve patient care. Yet, like other industries, the healthcare sector continues to grapple with issues such as data silos and security challenges that stand in the way of harnessing insights. Continue Reading

Datacentres and energy, top women in tech – Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast

We discuss the run-in to the announcement of the Most Influential Women in UK Technology 2022 list, the datacentre market and the energy crisis, and the Alliance for Data Science Professionals Continue Reading

American football giants jet into digital age with HCLTech

US football clubs the New York Jets and New York Giants outsource their digital transformations to Indian service provider as they target improved fan engagement Continue Reading

Specsavers clinicians used company data to spot Covid referral collapse

At Big Data London, Specsavers’ global data officer related how clinicians used company data to spot Covid referral collapse Continue Reading

Broadcasters treat data science as niche and sporadic in use

Data science specialists at UK broadcasters conveyed a similar picture of niche use cases at Big Data London 2022 Continue Reading

Making digital a key ingredient at Mondelez

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we talk to snack giant Mondelez, the owner of Cadbury, about how AI and data are transforming its business. SAP is increasing support costs for the first time in years – we assess the impact on customers. And a Ukrainian tech CEO tells us how his company kept going despite the Russian invasion. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

CCS £2bn big data and analytics framework goes live

The Crown Commercial Service has launched a big data and analytics framework worth up to £2bn over the course of the agreement Continue Reading

Dreamforce 2022: Benioff and Taylor uncork real-time Genie to toast ‘new day’

Salesforce co-CEOs Marc Benioff and Bret Taylor vaunt their Genie customer data platform as real-time harbinger of eventual post-pandemic new normal at Dreamforce 2022 Continue Reading

How Mondelez is driving change with tech

From empowering citizen developers to deploying drones to monitor the health of cocoa trees, Mondelez has been firing on all cylinders to disrupt the old ways of doing things Continue Reading

How graph technology is making a dent in the database market

Graph databases are making a splash in the database market, with specialist, multimodal and cloud database suppliers jostling for a slice of the pie Continue Reading

SAP users ramp up ESG efforts

The UK & Ireland SAP User Group is developing a special interest group to help their members hit their ESG goals more effectively Continue Reading

Lloyd’s of London is digitally transforming through the front door

Centuries-old financial services organisation is transforming its complex IT infrastructure through digital data Continue Reading

Panasas’s double NAS offer aims at multiple analytics workloads

ActiveStor Flash and ActiveStor Ultra XL target I/O profiles from rapid AI/ML to processing-heavy modelling but remain firmly on-prem, with object and cloud declared ‘interesting’ Continue Reading

Data-driven government needs practical steps

We should build data platforms for government with the same techniques used in creating anything digital, argues Jim Stamp, head of data at Made Tech Continue Reading

Google workers oppose cloud contract with Israeli government

Google workers and Palestinian rights activists call on company to divest from involvement in cloud and artificial intelligence contract with Israeli government and military, following allegations the tech giant has retaliated against an employee for being publicly critical of the deal Continue Reading

Growing importance of the data strategist in South Holland

Much has been written about the work of data scientists, but the lesser-known role of data strategist is just as essential – as is being demonstrated in the Netherlands Continue Reading

Thinxtra teams up with Hong Kong’s LBS on smart hygiene

Australia’s Thinxtra will supply its battery-powered IoT devices to monitor hygiene and environmental conditions in residential and commercial venues in Hong Kong Continue Reading

Bfloat16: What it is and how it impacts storage

Bfloat16 is an emerging way to handle very large numbers, developed by Google for its machine and neural learning and prediction. We look at what it means for IT and storage Continue Reading

ODI: Smart data promise could founder against paywalls

The Open Data Institute’s Mahlet Zimeta examines the government’s smart data plan, which could boost competition and empower the public, but needs to be set up to allow rapid creation of new markets without barriers Continue Reading

How digital technology rescued Merlin

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we talk to the CTO of Merlin Entertainments – operator of Legoland, Sea Life and Alton Towers – to find out how digital saved the company when Covid shut all its theme parks. We look at how software and data analytics can help to track – and reduce – greenhouse gas emissions. And Southern Water explains how data helps to support its most vulnerable customers. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Crown Commercial Service opens door to Salesforce

The Crown Commercial Service has agreed a Memorandum of Understanding with Salesforce to facilitate public sector access to the supplier’s products and services, including Tableau, Slack and Mulesoft Continue Reading

Waterstones’ supply chain disrupted in Blue Yonder implementation

Bookseller Waterstones is recovering from the effects of a Blue Yonder implementation that has seen authors and readers up in arms Continue Reading

Eurotunnel’s digital journey for the realities of post-Covid travel

In this week’s Computer Weekly, the travel industry was devastated by the pandemic, but we find out how Eurotunnel is turning to digital to better engage customers in the post-Covid world. We examine the impact of the economic slowdown on the tech giants. And we explain all you need to know about data gravity. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

NAO guide for senior government leaders flags barriers to better data use

A National Audit Office guide for government chiefs on improving data use points to difficulties in achieving data sharing benefits and laments variability in cross-government data quality Continue Reading

Bayern Munich sides with Adobe to enhance global fan experience

Bayern Munich is using Adobe’s Experience Cloud and allied software to better connect with its fans in Germany and worldwide Continue Reading

Reimagining ethical digital technology

With ever-increasing digitisation leading to greater dependence on a range of digital technologies, enterprises need to urgently look at how they can incorporate ethical and social considerations into the tech they develop Continue Reading

UK safety tech sector sees strong revenue and employment growth

Safety tech is now one of the fastest-growing sectors in the UK tech industry, with jumps in revenue, investment and employment Continue Reading

Unstructured data storage – on-prem vs cloud vs hybrid

We look at storage for unstructured data on-premise, in the cloud and across multiple locations. There are advantages to a hybrid approach, but there can be hidden costs, too Continue Reading

Green IT, nominate top tech women – Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast

Caroline Donnelly, Clare McDonald and Brian McKenna discuss the CW IT sustainability think-tank, the launch of the Most Influential Women in UK Technology 2022 list, and Lambeth Council in the cloud Continue Reading

Secret court asked to quash a decade of MI5 surveillance warrants following ‘systemic breaches’

The culture at MI5 was to ‘prioritise’ missions ‘over everything else’, including compliance with safeguards designed to protect the public, the UK’s most secret court heard yesterday Continue Reading

Meta publishes first-ever human rights report

Meta details its approach to protecting and promoting human rights, but civil society groups say the company has failed to grapple with the human rights risks associated with its own business model Continue Reading

Lambeth maps future with cloud applications

With its funding dramatically cut, Lambeth Council has turned to cloud delivery of its business applications to have a simpler technology stack and be nimbler in delivering services to its 330,000 population Continue Reading

CDO interview: Brandon Hootman, director of digital data, Caterpillar

Manufacturing giant is modernising its data management and turning to digital to steal a march on its competitors Continue Reading

SAP Q2 2022: Revenue up 13%, Ukraine war impact steady at €300m

SAP has announced first-quarter revenue of more than €7.5bn, and restated its expectation that Ukraine war is projected to have a €300m impact in 2022 Continue Reading

GCHQ experts back scanning of encrypted phone messages to fight child abuse

Ian Levy, technical director of the NCSC, and Crispin Robinson, technical director of GCHQ, back client-side scanning software on mobile phones to detect child abuse Continue Reading

Data and Tech Aid pledges 10,000 first aid kits to Ukrainian civilians

Data and Tech Aid, a recently founded fundraising body, is pledging 10,000 medical kits to treat civilian Ukrainian casualties of the war Continue Reading

Employee experience joins CX for total enterprise view

Total experience is emerging to join up employee and customer experience for organisations intent on being holistic and progressive Continue Reading

Oracle payroll system causes underpayment of Next staff

Oracle’s payroll HR software module seems to be at the root of a systematic underpayment of staff at retailer Next Continue Reading

Data and tech platforms helping finance regulator spot problems earlier

The UK financial services regulator is increasingly using data platforms to proactively regulate the finance sector Continue Reading

Inside Sompo Asia’s agile approach to data analytics

Regional insurer takes agile approach to democratise access to data analytics by creating virtual databases and visualising the insights through Tableau Continue Reading