Business intelligence and analytics

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

Case study: Logistics firm GWC moves from paper to digital HR in three months

Qatar-based logistics firm Gulf Warehousing Company introduced smart appraisals for employees, cut the time it takes to recruit, and gave staff and managers access to accurate HR data by replacing paper systems with human resources software Continue Reading

Bolloré Group partners with Alibaba for cloud and co-development

French transportation conglomerate will use Alibaba cloud, and Alibaba will look at using Bolloré's battery technology in its datacentres Continue Reading

Singapore’s Fullerton Health gears up for the cloud

Private healthcare service provider Fullerton Health is moving business applications to Microsoft’s cloud services before rolling out data analytics and artificial intelligence to enhance operations and patient care Continue Reading

Formula One switches from on-premise to machine learning on AWS

Formula One plans to use advanced analytics to improve the data it can show to motor racing fans Continue Reading

The future of BI is bright, as experts note evolving trends

Fast-evolving tech trends like machine learning and cloud storage management will have big roles in BI in the coming years, especially with the dominance of cloud computing, experts say. Continue Reading

Malaysia makes good progress in building analytics talent

The country’s talent development and funding schemes have brought the benefits of big data to many organisations, but the quality and volume of its analytics talent can be improved Continue Reading

CDO interview: Andrei Belevtsev, Gazprom Neft

Russian oil giant will harness the latest technologies right across its business, says chief digital officer Continue Reading

HR projects are leading company moves to digital tech, say business leaders

Business leaders say their human resource IT programmes are leading the way to the wider deployment of digital and cloud technology across their organisations Continue Reading

Chief data officers go to summer school

Authors of the “Chief data officer’s playbook”, Caroline Carruthers and Peter Jackson, are running a summer school, supported by data governance software supplier Collibra Continue Reading

CIO interview: Michael Cole, European Tour and Ryder Cup

Michael Cole, chief technology officer at the European Tour and Ryder Cup, discusses how he is helping the sport of golf broaden its appeal through his “connected course” digital transformation vision Continue Reading

What goes into a customer analytics data integration framework

Customer data integration is a minefield for IT teams to navigate. But incorporating a set of core technical functions into an integration architecture can ease the process. Continue Reading

Bank uses AI to select job candidates

Singapore’s DBS Bank is using artificial intelligence to automate parts of its recruitment process Continue Reading

StorageCraft to unveil unified storage, backup and cloud appliances

StorageCraft arose as a backup software maker but now plans converged storage, backup and analytics play in a move to unify offering built on core and acquired products Continue Reading

CW Europe: Lufthansa’s HR IT project takes off

Lufthansa says it is confident of landing a company-wide HR IT project after having to go back to the drawing board. Also in this issue, read about the ComputerWeekly/TechTarget IT Priorities survey’s findings that many European technology leaders are expecting to increase IT spending through 2018, and how a major report has reassured Swedish society that artificial intelligence will be a positive force for change despite fears of job losses. Continue Reading

Tableau acquisition of MIT AI startup aims at smarter BI software

Tableau acquires AI startup Empirical Systems in a plan to provide users with automated data modeling capabilities and enable broader BI and analytics applications. Continue Reading

IT spending reaches 10-year high as CIOs struggle with digital technology strategy

IT leaders have seen their budgets and headcounts rise for the first time in 10 years, but face challenges implementing their digital strategies Continue Reading

Big data skills shortages – and how to work around them

Businesses are finding it hard to recruit enough people with big data and analytics skills, but for CIOs there are alternative strategies to consider Continue Reading

The bumpy ride to digital transformation

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we look at the lessons to be learned from General Electric’s bumpy ride to digital transformation. We assess the use of software-defined networking in corporate IT infrastructures. And we find out how Royal Bank of Scotland approaches digital and business innovation. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

BI vendors aim to ease visual data analysis by business users

Despite the self-service BI push, enabling end users to take the lead on analyzing and visualizing data is often still a challenge -- one that vendors continue to address. Continue Reading

WD-40 oils sales and finance processes in Europe with Epicor

WD-40 has automated its business processes with Epicor ERP, finding the system’s service-oriented architecture good for providing flexibility in the company’s business growth Continue Reading

New data science platforms aim to be workflow, collaboration hubs

Oracle's acquisition of DataScience.com is shining a spotlight on workbench-style platforms designed to centralize advanced analytics work by teams of data scientists. Continue Reading

Addressing the ethical issues of AI is key to effective use

Enterprises must confront the ethical implications of AI use as they increasingly roll out technology that has the potential to reshape how humans interact with machines. Continue Reading

AI elevates predictive maintenance for Kone and ThyssenKrupp

Kone and ThyssenKrupp are using artificial intelligence to improve predictive maintenance of their lifts and escalators Continue Reading

Policy Exchange report calls for GDS to be moved to DCMS

Think-tank wants Government Digital Service to create a “single digital government account” for citizens, and says bringing the organisation into the Department for Digital, Media, Culture and Sport will improve focus on “all aspects of digital transformation” Continue Reading

CW Nordics: Finland delays e-voting plan

Security concerns have re-emerged to further frustrate the Finnish government’s plans to launch a national e-voting system. Also read about a study by the Stockholm School of Economics that looks at the likely impact of AI, machine learning and robotics on people’s lives. And find out why Norway has accelerated plans to scale up its national cyber security infrastructure. Continue Reading

England and Wales Cricket Board to improve players’ medical data

Cricketers’ medical images will be stored securely in an independent clinical archive, enabling clinicians to access medical data and make treatment decisions more quickly Continue Reading

Combination of blockchain and AI makes models more transparent

Blockchain technology could play an important role in helping enterprises develop more explainable AI applications, something that is frequently lacking today. Continue Reading

Micron first to market with QLC flash drive 5210 QLC SSD

Micron’s 5210 QLC SSD is aimed at analytics and content delivery in cloud and web-scale operations that currently use 7,200rpm spinning disk in huge Raid sets to gain IOPS Continue Reading

Ten KPI templates for your dashboards

KPIs help companies gauge success, but how do you choose the right metrics to create useful reports? Here you'll find 10 KPI examples to inspire your executive dashboards. Continue Reading

GlaxoSmithKline R&D creates data platform using Hadoop for the internal sharing of scientific data

GlaxoSmithKline is making better use of the data it has about the development and trials of medicines through a Hadoop-based platform Continue Reading

Seven good data visualization practices for visual integrity

Data visualizations need visual integrity to ensure that the data they present can be interpreted correctly. Follow these design steps to help make visualizations trustworthy. Continue Reading

Will government IT be ready for Brexit?

In this week’s Computer Weekly, as the UK government struggles to get new IT systems up and running before Brexit, we examine the challenges ahead and the departments with the biggest problems. We look at serverless computing and ask why this emerging cloud technology is so important for IT leaders. And we discuss the latest best practice in mobile strategy for SMEs. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Police Scotland did not inform public of mobile phone searches

Members of the Scottish Parliament heard that Police Scotland did not conduct impact assessments or give explanations to the public when they were accessing private data on their mobile phones Continue Reading

Hacking the internet of things just got easier – it’s time to look at your security

Are you taking security for internet-connected devices seriously enough? Continue Reading

CW Benelux: Rotterdam charts course to become world’s smartest port

The Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands is using internet of things and artificial intelligence technology from IBM in a bid to become the world’s smartest port. Also read how companies in the Netherlands are only partly ready for the country’s version of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and why the European Central Bank thinks cash will remain in use in the Eurozone for a very long time. Continue Reading

Singapore organisations not paying heed to data veracity

Most Singapore respondents in a global Accenture survey said they have not invested in capabilities to verify data used in decision-making Continue Reading

Crypto gold rush days are numbered

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we find out how cryptocurrency miners are using colocation providers to help scale up their operations, drive profits and boost resiliency – for however long the boom may last. We also look at the changes SAP has made to its licensing model to clarify the issue of indirect access and consider what the cloud domination of Amazon, Google and Microsoft means for smaller cloud suppliers. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Qlik readies new Qlik Sense features for cloud, AI, big data

Self-service BI vendor Qlik is beginning to add a promised set of advanced functionality to its Qlik Sense software, but the features will be delivered in stages. Continue Reading

GDPR is key to driving other transformational strategies in business

With GDPR compliance in place, there are several technologies organisations can use to transform their data analytics Continue Reading

Tableau Prep tool aims to ease Tableau data preparation work

Tableau users who previously had to rely on software from other vendors to prepare data now have a new option: Tableau Prep, the BI vendor's own data preparation tool. Continue Reading

Government given six months to rewrite snoopers’ charter

The government has until 1 November 2018 to rewrite a key section of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016, after the high court declared them unlawful in a judicial review brought by human rights group Liberty Continue Reading

How machine learning is used to detect fraud

One of machine learning’s most well-known use cases is fraud detection, an area that has drawn the attention of a growing number of technology suppliers looking to develop the best algorithms and ... Continue Reading

Data analytics is about culture, not technology

Enterprises need to figure out the business problems they are trying to solve and foster a data-driven culture to benefit from data analytics Continue Reading

Doing analytics the Disney way

The Walt Disney Company’s head of solution integration tells how analytics helps to personalise the customer’s Disney experience, and how tech plays a leading role in The Lion King’s Broadway success Continue Reading

Argos announces 150 new tech roles in the UK

Argos is recruiting an extra 150 IT professionals as part of its strategy to offer a better digital services to customers Continue Reading

CenturyLink takes aim at APAC market post-Level 3 merger

The US telecoms giant is expanding its footprint in Asia through its merger with Level 3, and hopes to bring its offerings on par with that of rivals in the region Continue Reading

SAP Q1 2018: Cloud revenue breaks €1bn, 400 more S/4 customers

SAP’s overall first-quarter revenue was flat, but cloud revenue and profitability were up, while its S/4 Hana customer base stands at 8,300 Continue Reading

CW ANZ: OpenStack gains a foothold in Australia

In this issue of CW ANZ, we look at how OpenStack has changed the way Australian enterprises operate their IT infrastructure. Also read how Australia’s Citic Pacific Mining is digging into IoT technology to track vehicles, and how Telstra is investing in two submarine cables to bolster Asia-US connectivity. Continue Reading

CW ASEAN: SD-WAN helps find best route to cloud

This year, more enterprises will adopt a “cloud-first” SD-WAN architecture to support their increasingly cloud-based application mix. In this issue of CW ASEAN, we take a closer look at how ASEAN enterprises are gearing up for this eventuality. Also, read how a new HPE facility in Singapore will help build collaborative partnerships across the internet of things, and how communications service providers should embrace microservices and DevOps to thrive in the digital economy. Continue Reading

Russian energy giant makes digital tech adoption a priority

Russian oil and gas giant Gazprom Neft is exploring the use of the latest digital technologies across its entire business Continue Reading

Siemens success sets the scene for growth in process mining

German industrial conglomerate Siemens has turned to process mining to reveal inefficiencies in the way it pays suppliers, organises logistics and runs order-to-cash processes Continue Reading

CW Middle East: UAE makes artificial intelligence leap

The United Arab Emirates wants to be at the heart of the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution and is already testing its mettle as a global tech advocate and innovator. Also in this issue, read how Abu Dhabi is open to developing its fintech ecosystem, with the next 12 months expected to see more focus on the sector, and how Dubai’s transport authority has enlisted Here Technologies to build a high-definition map of the city to support its goals around self-driving cars. Continue Reading

Finnish government backs national AI development strategy

Government is harnessing Finland’s tech base to help make the country a leading location for the artificial intelligence industry Continue Reading

More curiosity could help narrow AI tools handle broader uses

Today, engineers are developing AI tools primarily for individual applications, but programming a facsimile of curiosity into algorithms could help make them more general purpose. Continue Reading

Why Intuit aims chatbot design at a narrow set of tasks

A data scientist at Intuit details the finance software vendor's approach to building chatbots -- and explains why it's limiting them to some basic customer service activities. Continue Reading

UN adopts Tableau as global standard to augment decision support

The United Nations has struck a deal with data visualisation software supplier Tableau to extend its use as an organisation-wide standard Continue Reading

Humans and AI tools go hand in hand in analytics applications

Companies are keeping data analysts and other workers in the loop with AI applications to check the results generated by automated algorithms for accuracy, relevance and missing info. Continue Reading

Capgemini turns to tech startup to identify ‘most engaged’ teams

Technology and consulting services firm Capgemini is using technology from a startup company to poll its employees’ views and provide feedback from managers every week. It is discovering what it takes to create “engaged teams” Continue Reading

Cambridge Analytica-Facebook case shows need for ethical data mining

Ethical data collection practices are becoming even more important, as cases like Cambridge Analytica's misuse of Facebook data challenge consumer trust in enterprise analytics. Continue Reading

Telefonica cuts HR running costs by 40% as it replaces hundreds of ageing IT systems

Multinational telecoms group Telefonica is on the verge of completing a project to replace 175 incompatible HR IT systems with a cloud service covering more than 40 countries Continue Reading

Employers face hiring crisis as AI replaces mid-skilled jobs

Artificial intelligence could replace two-thirds of existing jobs within 20 years, and employers will face growing difficulties recruiting skilled staff Continue Reading

IT contractors not a risk despite Snowden leaks, GCHQ tells court

The government argues in the Investigatory Powers Tribunal that contractors with systems administration rights to computers holding GCHQ’s most sensitive intelligence pose no more of a security risk than the agency’s employees Continue Reading

Silicon Valley startups home in on pressing value from data

A slew of California-based startup and early-stage data analytics companies are promising CIOs better ways to get value from their investments in databases and analytics Continue Reading

Capgemini arm bags European Commission data infrastructure project

The European Commission has extended the contract of prime contractor Capgemini on its open data project Continue Reading

IBM sets up no-fee Data Science Elite team to speed up AI adoption

IBM uses Think conference in Las Vegas to launch a no-fee data science consultancy and a platform for artificial intelligence app development Continue Reading

Data wants to be free

In a world where data is more readily available than ever, having analytical skills that will help you to make sense of data in day-to-day tasks is instrumental in career progression. But going by ... Continue Reading

Diversified data sets for analytics deliver top results

Analytics teams should focus on data diversity to ensure that their projects deliver the most meaningful insights -- but they must be wary of some stumbling blocks. Continue Reading

How to boost the value of BI in today's analytics landscape

Basic BI reporting still gives businesses valuable information. But its value can be increased by incorporating it into a broader analytics and data visualization platform. Continue Reading

Government ‘unlawfully delegated’ bulk data powers to GCHQ, court hears

Privacy International urges Britain’s most secret court, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, to rule that the government illegally collected surveillance data from internet and phone companies until at least September 2017 Continue Reading

CW Europe: Germany’s Lemoncat takes catering to the cloud

Business catering startup Lemoncat has taken advantage of the affordable cost of living in Berlin and is shaking up the catering sector by harnessing the Amazon and Salesforce clouds. Also in this issue, read how Moscow’s government is taking advantage of high penetration of broadband and mobile internet to expand innovative services under the Russian capital’s smart city programme, and how organisations in the Netherlands still have much to do to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation. Continue Reading

Mike Capone, Qlik CEO, says roadmap targets cloud, big data

Qlik software must continue to evolve to keep pace with changes coming from cloud computing, big data and cognitive computing, says Qlik's new CEO Mike Capone. Continue Reading

Wi-Fi provider uses big data analytics to drive customer experience

The self-styled “Uber of Wi-Fi”, iPass is using Databricks’ Unified Analytics Platform and machine learning to monitor its worldwide network and help its customers get the best experience Continue Reading

Getting up to speed with 5G

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we look at what needs to be done to make next-generation 5G mobile networks a reality. Fewer EU workers are moving to the UK due to Brexit fears – we examine what that means for the IT skills gap. And we analyse the state of the hyper-converged infrastructure market and the main suppliers. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

New Qlik CEO Mike Capone outlines his business strategy

Mike Capone, Qlik's new CEO, discusses recent layoffs and says the company needs to be more aggressive about touting its successes to avoid falling behind in the self-service BI market. Continue Reading

Customer analytics applications add artificial intelligence to reduce market ‘friction’

Customer analytics applications developers are seeking to add layers of intelligence to improve sellers’ interactions with buyers Continue Reading

New privacy fears as IT challenges delay surveillance oversight body by a year

IT challenges have delayed government plans for an independent body to authorise requests to access the public’s internet and phone records by nearly a year, raising new legal and privacy concerns Continue Reading

ICO head tops DataIQ data leader list

The UK’s information commissioner has been named at the top data leader for 2018 in the DataIQ 100 list of most influential data leaders Continue Reading

Government must rewrite illegal sections of Snoopers’ Charter, court told

A court has been asked to give ministers until July 2018 to rewrite powers to require phone and internet companies to retain data on the population. The government acknowledges parts of surveillance regime are unlawful Continue Reading

ASEAN firms upbeat on Industry 4.0

Southeast Asian countries are generally optimistic about the use of emerging technologies, such as advanced analytics in manufacturing industries, but the positive sentiment has not led to action Continue Reading

MWC 2018: Data, not connectivity, now core to IoT, says Cisco Jasper

At Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Cisco Jasper has been exploring the growing criticality of data management to the internet of things, and unveiled new NB-IoT customers in Asia Continue Reading

Hana and S/4 users more sophisticated but beset by licensing doubts

Research sponsored by SAP consultancy Centiq finds SAP customers maturing their use of SAP Hana and S/4 Hana, but hindered by licensing concerns and dearth of skills Continue Reading

Farming gets £90m tech boost

The government is pushing high tech into agriculture and farming as it fleshes out its Industrial Strategy Continue Reading

CW Nordics: Nordics CIOs’ priorities in 2018

A select group of CIOs and analysts in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden give their views on the top IT priorities in 2018. As in 2017, digital transformation will continue to be a buzzword. Also read how Sweden is tightening up its cyber security defences as part of a wider national security strategy, and how Nordic banks cannot afford to slow their digital transformations as PSD2 comes into force. Continue Reading

Why digital customer experience requires business transformation

Research shows that customer experience will boost business, but IT and the people across the organisation need to embrace data analytics Continue Reading

Enterprise opportunities for smart speakers

In this week's Computer Weekly as voice-activated smart speakers grow in popularity, we examine how IT teams can use the technology in enterprise applications. Our latest buyer's guide looks at the latest developments in customer relationship management (CRM). And UK tech sector leaders tell Parliament why they are so worried about the industry's prospects after Brexit. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Put the customer first and reap the reward

How businesses can develop a granular understanding of their customers’ needs in a hyper-connected world Continue Reading

IT analysts look for clarity on IBM analytics tools

IBM's analytics software is strong technically but disjointed and hard to understand, say analysts who think simplifying things should be a priority at the company's Think 2018 conference. Continue Reading

Data analytics architecture must break down higher ed silos

Siloed data isn't only a problem for businesses. It's also a big issue for many large universities -- one that their data infrastructures need to resolve for effective analytics. Continue Reading

CW Benelux: Dutch IT expert on a mission to expose vulnerabilities

Dutch ethical hacker Victor Gevers took full-time leave from his IT job last year and used the time to hunt for vulnerabilities. Read about his mission to find vulnerabilities, report them responsibly and then, hopefully, get them fixed by the vulnerable parties involved. Also in this issue, read how Proximus, Belgium’s largest telecommunications operator, is leaning on Cloudify to support its adoption of network functions virtualisation, and how journalists showed that the email addresses of Dutch politicians are easy to spoof. Continue Reading

AstraZeneca inks deals with Alibaba and Tencent in AI push

Pharmaceutical bigwig AstraZeneca hopes to deliver smart healthcare services and combat online sales of counterfeit drugs through tie-ups with Chinese tech giants Continue Reading

Tech boosts sales at Abu Dhabi’s Healthpoint

United Arab Emirates healthcare provider Healthpoint has increased sales and efficiency through the use of the latest IT systems Continue Reading

Appeal Court to give landmark verdict on Lauri Love extradition

The Appeal Court will decide whether Lauri Love, who has serious health issues, should be extradited to the US to face hacking charges, or face trial in the UK. The landmark case is the first test of legal protections introduced by Theresa May to protect vulnerable people Continue Reading

Google Q4 results show businesses are buying into its public cloud

The Google Cloud Platform is earning the search engine giant $1bn per quarter. Expect more cloud investment this year Continue Reading