Business intelligence and analytics

Technologies to support deep learning

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we look at the key technologies needed to support deep learning and artificial intelligence applications in your organisation. We hear about Southern Water’s data management overhaul and the benefits achieved from centralising its data specialists. And we examine best practice in managing large-scale Docker implementations. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

BBC seeks to increase younger audience through data analytics

The BBC’s head of product, Rebecca Salsbury, talks about the broadcaster’s work to improve its use of data analytics to attract more young viewers Continue Reading

Innocent people arrested following surveillance blunders, IPCO reveals

Interception of communications commissioner Adrian Fulford warns of “grave” repercussions for people wrongly identified as suspects due to errors made when government bodies access email, phone and telephone data Continue Reading

Government launches data trust programme

Digital secretary Jeremy Wright sets out plans for scheme using data sharing to tackle global challenges such as illegal wildlife trade and food waste Continue Reading

IBM Project Debater crowdsources to boost its AI, NLP skills

Project Debater, an IBM AI system, creates viewpoints with the help of people who type in arguments on topics. That may also help drive future business uses. Continue Reading

NatWest opens academy to teach staff the power of data

Bank tools up its employees with the data skills required to offer customised products for customers Continue Reading

IT leaders grapple with workforce skills gap as they deploy AI and digital technology

Organisations will have to find new ways of reskilling their workforce as they get to grips with artificial intelligence and other digital technologies. CIOs also need to keep their skills updated if they are to succeed Continue Reading

Using business intelligence tools to prevent team burnout

This is a guest blogpost by Andrew Filev, founder and CEO, Wrike. Since no business wants to leave money on the table, it’s tempting to try to squeeze as much productivity as possible out of your ... Continue Reading

XL Axiata teams up with Tibco in data science initiative

The Indonesia telco’s data scientists will be provided with data science tools from Tibco to uncover customer insights and improve network planning, among other goals Continue Reading

Tableau CEO Adam Selipsky talks strategy

Tableau’s CEO, Adam Selipsky, talks strategy and business intelligence trends with Computer Weekly. He asserts enterprise relevance for Tableau, predicts BI tools consolidation and a ubiquitous user base for analytics Continue Reading

Facebook: US government does not engage in mass and indiscriminate surveillance

Social media giant challenges a ruling by Dublin’s High Court over a judgment that it says made ‘extraordinary and incorrect’ findings about the US legal system Continue Reading

Singapore to revise copyright law in data analytics boost

Proposed exception in Copyright Act will allow copying of copyrighted materials for the purpose of data analysis Continue Reading

Southern Water’s centralised data team geared for silo busting

Southern Water has centralised its data specialists and overhauled its data management and business intelligence technology to support business decision-making at scale Continue Reading

How ASEAN firms can tap storage analytics to improve operations

With storage systems becoming more heterogeneous and siloed, some organisations in ASEAN are turning to storage analytics to reduce costs and address storage issues before they occur Continue Reading

Storage 101: Structured data and its storage needs

Structured data is declining as a proportion of all data but its importance to business applications and its organised nature make its storage requirements very specific Continue Reading

CW Middle East: Bahrain aims to be fintech hub

Bahrain’s government wants to make the country the go-to place in the Middle East for financial technology companies. It hopes to capitalise on its banking know-how to establish an ambitious fintech “ecosystem”. Also read about Dubai’s plans for the Smart Data platform and the UAE Pass, a digital ID and signature, and how Shell is using AI to amplify the human impact of its workforce. Continue Reading

MicroStrategy 2019 platform touts 'zero-click' analytics

MicroStrategy's latest BI platform supports a 'zero-click' analytics future with help from new voice and vision capabilities. The aim: quicker decisions and the democratization of data. Continue Reading

4 ways natural language querying in BI tools can benefit users

Natural language queries help ease access to BI data and improve analytics insights. See how organizations are putting natural language querying techniques to work. Continue Reading

Top 10 HR technology stories of 2018

Companies are turning to artificial intelligence, robotic automation and chatbots to take the drudgery out of human resource management Continue Reading

CW ANZ: Rise to cloud and data management challenges

Use of cloud services is soaring in Australia, but a lack of cloud management skills is holding back enterprises from reaping the full benefits of the technology. In this edition of CW ANZ, we look at how enterprises in ANZ are approaching data management in the cloud, and some of the best practices that they can adopt to address cloud related challenges. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

CW Europe: Russia banks on electronic payments

A recent study by Sberbank, Russia’s largest state-run lender, shows the country has experienced a cashless payment boom over the past decade. Also read about the attempt by four Russians to break into the networks of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague, and why the Estonian government is directly targeting IT professionals in the UK. Continue Reading

Tibco’s Orchestra acquisition will mean ‘faster IT integration’

Tibco’s strategic acquisition of Paris-based Orchestra networks will ‘benefit customers of both companies’ Continue Reading

What the Tableau Hyper engine does and how it was developed

Tableau's Hyper data engine boosts processing speeds in its BI and data visualization software. The lead engineers offer insight on what went into making Hyper work. Continue Reading

7 popular AI use cases today

AI use cases are cropping up in vertical markets ranging from healthcare to banking. Check out examples of how chatbots and other AI tools are changing the way business is done. Continue Reading

Interview: Sam Lowe, chief technology officer, Streetbees

Streetbees’ first IT chief brings artificial intelligence expertise to help the tech startup deliver a hive of data for its customers Continue Reading

CW Nordics: Swedish IT sector advises on election security

The security measures assembled and implemented around the 2018 election in Sweden were devised in consultation with leading actors within the country’s private IT sector. Also read about how Denmark’s ambition to become a leading ocation for hyperscale datacentres is gaining momentum, and why Estonia wants to recruit IT professionals from the UK. Continue Reading

CDO interview: Aidan Millar, DNB

Norwegian bank hires chief data officer to lead its data-driven transformation Continue Reading

Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management turn to Workday to complete merger

Standard Life Aberdeen, created in August 2017 when two of Scotland’s largest financial services companies merged, is transferring 3,000 former Standard Life staff to Aberdeen Asset Management’s Workday HR system as it integrates the two businesses Continue Reading

The Power BI-PowerShell cmdlet cheat sheet

DBAs can manage Power BI data sets, workspaces and reports with PowerShell. Using the two tools together makes for a more efficient and effective workflow. Continue Reading

The Gym Group flexes its muscles with data analytics

No-frills fitness company The Gym Group is using analytics technology to find insights from its financial, HR and membership data, as it limbers up for rapid expansion in the UK Continue Reading

DataScience.com set to drive Oracle cloud analytics efforts

Oracle's cloud strategy includes machine learning jobs that differ from the usual SQL analytics. The company is turning to its DataScience.com purchase to fill the gap. Continue Reading

Agfa’s move to cloud HR paves the way for healthcare IT spin-off

Agfa-Gevaert is moving HR systems from 40 countries into the cloud as the company prepares to turn its health IT operations into a standalone business Continue Reading

UK winners and losers in digital tech

The UK's retail and telecoms companies are among the best in the world at digital technology, but a survey of digital leaders shows there is still room for improvement for many UK firms Continue Reading

SAP’s Atzberger vaunts front to back office capability

Alex Atzberger, president, SAP Customer Experience, recently went through the company’s customer-focused software strategy with Computer Weekly Continue Reading

Triumph Motorcycles kick-starts changes with high-tech HR

The Leicestershire-based motorcycle company is deploying IT systems to give customers and its own staff a ‘premium brand experience’ Continue Reading

Inside Schneider Electric’s Batam smart factory

The French energy management and automation firm has nearly halved material wastage by applying smart manufacturing technologies at its Indonesia plant Continue Reading

IBM refreshes StorWize with NVMe flash and NVMe-over-fabrics

Big Blue boosts midrange arrays with NVMe and NVMf capability and launches Spectrum Discover, a Data Lake metadata-focused data analysis tool, plus a new tape drive, the TS1160 Continue Reading

Philips looks to artificial intelligence to train its workforce

Healthcare company is looking to AI, chatbots and learning playlists to help staff learn new skills more quickly as it adapts changing business priorities Continue Reading

Firms will use AI to automate HR processes within two years

Companies are gearing up to automate HR processes with artificial intelligence and machine learning, while at the same time battling with outdated IT systems Continue Reading

Tableau extensions get more dev tools for integrations

With the Tableau Developer Program, developers will be able to use a Tableau Online development sandbox and sample codes, among other free resources. Continue Reading

Tableau new features include NLP, AI, machine learning

Tableau unveiled AI and NLP tools intended to improve users' experience with its BI platform by adding smart capabilities to Tableau 2019, now out in a public beta. Continue Reading

Igneous enhances unstructured data management product

Specialist Igneous allows customers to backup and archive, search, manage, move and handle large sets of unstructured files that mainstream NAS can find difficult to handle Continue Reading

A new era of collaboration for the NHS

Great Ormond Street Hospital's new research and innovation unit, Drive, marks a significant shift towards greater collaboration between NHS organisations and third-party industry partners Continue Reading

Zeppelin uses Splunk for pre-emptive maintenance

German construction equipment rental firm Zeppelin has been using Splunk to predict when its machinery will need maintenance before it breaks down Continue Reading

3 ways to make machine learning in business more effective

Dun & Bradstreet analytics exec Nipa Basu offers three tips on how to integrate machine learning tools into business processes to help drive better decision-making. Continue Reading

Internet of things challenges in storage and data

The internet of things (IoT) brings challenges, with a host of new edge devices and data. We look at edge and core processing, compliance and information lifecycle management in IoT Continue Reading

CW ANZ: Taming the data beast

Software-defined storage (SDS), which promises greater transparency and control over data, is an increasingly important tool in the enterprise technology armoury. In this issue of CW ANZ, we look at how Australian enterprises are turning to SDS to improve data management and direct data to different tiers of storage or to applications. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

How Heathrow transformed using analytics for the people

A Microsoft Azure platform and PowerBI have provided the people who work at Heathrow Airport with a way to use analytics directly to help them improve their performance Continue Reading

Software requirements for international aid go beyond cloud and apps

Aid workers in extreme situations don’t always have stable access to the software they need over the cloud. Find out how they work around this Continue Reading

Public Health England builds Ceph and Lustre cloud for analytics

Healthcare analytics and modelling organisation Public Health England built an open source cloud from Red Hat Ceph object storage and Lustre scale-out file access storage to petabyte scale Continue Reading

Tech companies should not be under legal duty to remove terrorist material, says watchdog

The internet should not be a safe place for terrorists, but making it compulsory for technology companies to trawl for radical content risks interfering with the rights of innocent people, says Max Hill QC, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation Continue Reading

Looker 6 update adds analytics applications to BI tool

With Looker 6, users of the BI platform can now access packaged applications that are designed for uses such as web analytics and digital marketing analytics. Continue Reading

CW Middle East: Middle East warms to humanoid robots

Countries in the Middle East are warming to humanoid robotics, robotic process automation and artificial intelligence as these technologies become widely accepted globally. Also in this issue, read why Saudi Arabia has called on London’s fintechs to set up in the country with the promise of government support, and find out how the Gulf Warehousing Company has introduced cloud-based technology to replace paper processes used by its HR department. Continue Reading

Geospatial Commission pumps £5m into unlocking value of location data

Commission wants to unlock the value of location data held by its partners through the use of emerging technologies Continue Reading

Telenor retrains 20,000 staff as it prepares for impact of digital tech

Norway-based mobile phone company Telenor, which provides phone services in Scandinavia and Asia, is challenging its workforce to spend 40 hours a year learning digital skills as it prepares for the impact of digital technology Continue Reading

Digital Catapult launches Ethics Framework for AI and machine learning

Innovation centre hopes to foster responsible and ethical development of artificial intelligence and machine learning systems Continue Reading

Diversity key for innovation, says Carnival Corporation CEO

The CEO of travel brand Carnival told Splunk.conf 2018 that having diverse teams is the best way to drive innovation throughout a business Continue Reading

Data science teams use business ties to boost data knowledge

To ensure that advanced analytics applications are relevant to business operations, data scientists are collaborating with workers who are experts on business data. Continue Reading

Augmented analytics, automated tools facilitate data analysis

From Tableau to Google, vendors increasingly incorporate augmented and automated analytics tools into their software to speed analytics work and open it up to more users. Continue Reading

Q&A: Oracle adaptive intelligence strategy pervades apps

From IT to HCM to sales, AI and machine learning capabilities have been added to a variety of Oracle's offerings through Oracle AI Apps. And the vendor says there's more to come. Continue Reading

Data analytics cuts queues and flight delays at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport

Aeroporti di Roma’s CIO, Emiliano Sorrenti, describes how the city’s main airport is using data analytics technology to reduce delays and queue times, securing it an industry award for customer service Continue Reading

Best supply chain firms are masters of data and automation

Europe’s best supply chains are making the most out of e-commerce, customer insights and robotic process automation, according to Gartner Continue Reading

Australia’s ANZ banks on Google Cloud

The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group has signed up for the Google Cloud Platform to help its bankers deliver data insights to institutional customers Continue Reading

MI5 admits to ‘unlawful’ spying on Privacy International

The UK's intelligence agencies acted unlawfully by intercepting communications data on NGO, Privacy International, the UK's most secret court ruled. Continue Reading

Businesses expect shortfall due to GDPR and Brexit

Companies are concerned that the UK’s departure from the EU and new data legislation will impact revenue – but IT can help Continue Reading

Doorstep challenge: How retailers are innovating on delivery and fulfilment

Every retailer selling online in 2018 needs great shipping options for customers who have got used to an expanding list of choices. How are some retailers developing the proposition, and where does technology fit into the equation? Continue Reading

Police chiefs put plans in place as UK may lose access to EU data sharing tools post Brexit

Police chiefs have put plans in place to help forces find alternatives to share and access information, should the UK lose access to EU data sharing systems post Brexit, but say processes would be “slower and ultimately less effective” Continue Reading

Employers turn to wearable technology to help staff manage work-life balance

Companies are realising that there are sound business reasons for ensuring their employees get enough sleep and exercise, so they are turning to wearable technology to help their staff stay healthy, despite the pressures of work Continue Reading

GCHQ mass surveillance regime was in breach of human rights law, European court rules

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has ruled that the UK’s collection of bulk interception of communications data lacked adequate oversight and safeguards and was in breach of human rights law Continue Reading

Fashion retailer Desigual boosts sales opportunities with data-sharing technology

Spanish fashion group Desigual reports 2% fewer lost sales after investing in technology to share stock, sales and pricing data between stores, websites and franchise partners Continue Reading

Pladis aims to get closer to consumers with S/4 Hana

Pladis, a UK-based Turkish-owned multinational biscuit and chocolate maker, has turned to cloud-delivered SAP software to move from a product-focused to a customer-centric way of doing business Continue Reading

Tibco plugs streaming data gap in Spotfire

New streaming data analytics capability in Tibco Spotfire X is expected to be well-received by enterprises in competitive markets across Asia-Pacific Continue Reading

If we don't digitise NHS, we are condemning people to die, says NHS England’s operational director

NHS England’s national director for operations, Matthew Swindells, calls for a complete overhaul of the way the NHS delivers care, claiming the current model “is not viable” Continue Reading

Tibco to tackle blockchain challenges

Integration and analytics software supplier Tibco has formed a new lab to tackle the challenges of implementing blockchain and other emerging technologies Continue Reading

Dutch bank ING sees financial boost from employee performance management rethink

ING claims business has improved after replacing ‘scattered and fragmented’ IT systems to change the way it manages employee performance Continue Reading

Alteryx 2018.3 gives users new data visualization options

The latest version of Alteryx's data preparation and analytics software adds new visualization capabilities -- something that beta user Voxx Analytics says was needed. Continue Reading

IT leaders at a crossroads as they grapple with digital technology

CIOs have the opportunity to influence their company strategy as digital technology reshapes business. A survey of CIOs across 70 countries charts a path for IT leaders through emerging technologies Continue Reading

Amnesty International creates human rights digital archive

Digital preservation platform from Preservica will protect digital records of significant historical importance to Amnesty and its supporters Continue Reading

How design thinking will affect today’s analysts

A user research manager at Tableau Software explains the import of an eye-tracking survey, focused on understanding how humans consume dashboards Continue Reading

KT shows off 5G’s potential at Asian Games

The South Korean telecoms bigwig is showcasing a host of 5G applications at the Asian Games in the run up to the commercial launch of its 5G network next year Continue Reading

Tapping into the internet of things

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we hear from IT leaders who are early adopters of internet of things technologies about how to deliver on the potential of IoT. We examine strategies for combining hyper-converged infrastructure and cloud storage to best effect. And we find out how the UK government intends to use data to improve Britain’s railways. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

AI: Black boxes and the boardroom

Computers can and do make mistakes and AI is only as good its training so relying purely on machine intelligence to make critical decisions is risky Continue Reading

UK above average on strategic use of analytics

The UK has slightly more chief data officers than the global average, which helps drive strategic initiatives – but security is still seen as a major hurdle Continue Reading

CW Benelux: Netherlands to experiment with self-driving trains

In this issue, read how Dutch railway operator ProRail will test self-driving trains on a small set of railroad tracks to learn if they can be part of the country’s notoriously busy network. Also, find out how a network of smart towns and cities is growing in the Netherlands, and why Dutch organisations are being urged to unite to fight DDoS attacks. Continue Reading

Data has potential to enhance UK economy and productivity, says government

Government paper sets out potential for data to drive economic value, and highlights series of challenges that need to be addressed to fully gain benefits Continue Reading

What machine learning practitioners can learn from data warehousing

Cloudera’s head of emerging business shares lessons that machine learning practitioners can learn from their cousins in data warehousing Continue Reading

Cynozure lets you hire a chief digital officer on demand

Why pay for a full-time chief digital officer? Cynozure has a new service to enable smaller businesses to swap them out, as and when they need a change Continue Reading

Briton ran pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign that helped Trump deny Russian links

A British IT manager and former hacker from Darlington ran a disinformation campaign that duped former US intelligence agents and provided Donald Trump with manufactured “evidence” to deny that Russia interfered with the US election Continue Reading

M&S aims to give 1,000 employees data skills

Luxury supermarket Marks and Spencer has partnered with Decoded to create a programme aimed at teaching its employees data skills Continue Reading

How F1 and others are moving beyond descriptive analytics

Formula 1 and Merck Sharp & Dohme are using data analytics to better understand user behaviour and predict the future Continue Reading

Qlik-Podium acquisition aims to boost BI data management

With its acquisition of Podium Data, Qlik seeks to amplify its enterprise BI data management capabilities and raise the level of competition with Tableau and Power BI. Continue Reading

Capital markets firms to ramp up public cloud spending

Companies in the investment sector are increasingly using the public cloud to improve access to business-critical data Continue Reading

Reskilling the analytics team: Math, science and creativity

Technical skills are a must for data scientists. But to make analytics teams successful, they also need to think creatively, work in harmony and be good communicators. Continue Reading

Good data quality for machine learning is an analytics must

As companies add machine learning applications, they need to really understand -- and be able to improve -- their data. That's where data quality initiatives come in. Continue Reading

At Intuit, machine learning enhances products, CTO says

Intuit's machine learning and AI technology are transforming its many financial software products. CTO Tayloe Stansbury discusses what that means for Intuit. Continue Reading

How Splunk is ‘splunking’ data for APAC enterprises

Splunk’s regional vice-president talks up the company’s business strategy and how its customers are using big data analytics in security and IT operations Continue Reading

The threats of AI must be taken seriously to prevent harm

The risks of AI use are growing as the technology becomes more pervasive. Rather than laugh off the threats, businesses should move to mitigate them before they become headaches. Continue Reading

CW Middle East: Can Saudi Arabia build the Silicon Valley of the Middle East?

In April this year, Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman visited Silicon Valley in the US to meet tech giants such as Apple and Amazon in its efforts to fast-forward the kingdom’s technology capabilities. Read about its lofty ambitions. Also in this issue, read how demand for skilled IT professionals is increasing rapidly in the Middle East, which is facing a talent crunch. Meanwhile, Gulf Cooperation Council smart city initiatives are gathering momentum. Continue Reading

Indonesia leads ASEAN region in AI adoption

The sprawling archipelago of more than 260 million people is becoming a hotbed for adoption of artificial intelligence, led by digital native companies such as Go-Jek and Kaskus Continue Reading

AI for recruiting helps companies land top job candidates

More enterprises are using AI in hiring today, a practice that can help surface strong applicants. But there are several pitfalls businesses need to watch for. Continue Reading