Database software
With the volumes of digital data used by businesses growing at exponential rates, having the right information management and database software becomes key to corporate decision-making. While established products such as Oracle, DB2 and Informix remain widely used, open source alternatives such as MySQL and Ingres offer potential alternatives for IT managers. We examine the issues around choosing the right products and strategies for your organisation.
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News
15 Apr 2025
Alibaba Cloud bolsters AI offerings
The Chinese hyperscaler has launched new models, tools and infrastructure upgrades for international customers following plans to advance its cloud computing and AI infrastructure Continue Reading
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News
01 Apr 2025
How Singapore researchers are using AI to fight Parkinson’s disease
Singapore researchers are using Google DeepMind’s AlphaFold to understand the intricate protein interactions at play in Parkinson's disease, paving the way for potential diagnostics and treatments 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
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
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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News
23 May 2013
Interview: Government CTO Liam Maxwell
Government CTO Liam Maxwell has driven Whitehall’s IT agenda for years, previously as deputy government CIO and director of ICT futures Continue Reading
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News
30 Apr 2013
Progress made on Lloyds Bank's Project Verde segregation
Lloyds Banking Group has reported good progress in its project to enable the systems for the new standalone TSB bank which will be sold off when complete Continue Reading
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News
05 Apr 2013
British Library archives the web
The British Library is to archive 4.8 million UK websites and one billion web pages, following statutory changes to copyright legislation Continue Reading
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News
26 Mar 2013
Southern Water contracts TCS for transformation
Southern Water is transforming customer service and revenue management through IT services from Tata Consultancy Services Continue Reading
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News
07 Mar 2013
Hardware fault causes more RBS service outages
RBS and NatWest customers experienced disruptions to online and telephone banking services after hardware fault. Continue Reading
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News
07 Mar 2013
MP adamant Universal Credit IT suppliers told to down tools
Universal Credit IT contractors have been told to down tools, says Stephen Timms, Labour MP for East Ham Continue Reading
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News
06 Mar 2013
"Universal credit contractors told to down tools," claim MPs
"Universal credit contractors told to down tools," claim MPs Continue Reading
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News
18 Feb 2013
Pitchford to head-up Universal Credit programme
David Pitchford, executive director of Major Projects Authority heads up the Universal Credit at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Continue Reading
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News
23 Jan 2013
European bank IT investment lags US and Asia-Pacific equivalents
Banks in Asia-Pacific and North America will increase their IT spending significantly more than those in Europe Continue Reading
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News
22 Jan 2013
Defra plans £80m agile CAP system
The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is planning a single integrated £80m Common Agricultural Policy system Continue Reading
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News
21 Jan 2013
Jericho Forum: Data Protection
Data protection needs to provide stronger, more flexible protection mechanisms around the data itself, the Jericho Forum/Open Group argues in this report. Continue Reading
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News
18 Jan 2013
G-Cloud powers Huddle’s public sector sales growth
Cloud collaboration firm Huddle saw its public sector sales double to 30% of all revenues this year due to uptake generated through the CloudStore Continue Reading
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News
17 Jan 2013
Betting site YouWin speeds response times with MongoDB database
Bookmaker WinUnited has deployed a MongoDB open source non-relational database from 10gen to help it better update betting odds in real time Continue Reading
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News
14 Jan 2013
Post Office announces amnesty for Horizon evidence
The Post Office is calling for evidence from people who have used the Horizon IT system which some have blamed for accounting discrepancies Continue Reading
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News
08 Jan 2013
Are software audits good for your health?
The Business Software Alliance's claim that 90% of all audit letters sent in 2012 were the result of tips from whistle-blowers is a wake-up call to CIOs Continue Reading
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News
07 Jan 2013
Parliamentary commission calls for electrified banking ring fence
A parliamentary report on plans to separate retail and investment banking calls for legislation to prevent breaches of the ring fence Continue Reading
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News
06 Dec 2012
Conquering the sys-admin challenge
This report from Quocirca presents new data on how well organisations are able to automate their sys-admin procedures, manage the use of privilege and satisfy the requirements of auditors. Continue Reading
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News
05 Dec 2012
Unilever prepares for global HANA roll-out
Consumer goods giant Unilever is looking at how it can optimise its global operations using SAP’s HANA in-memory database Continue Reading
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News
03 Dec 2012
HMRC slammed for 'undue complacency' on RTI systems
Report labels HMRC “unduly complacent” about the roll-out of the Real Time Information (RTI) system crucial to the Universal Credit programme Continue Reading
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News
29 Nov 2012
British Film Institute to launch version of the iPlayer
The British Film Institute (BFI) is to launch its own version of the BBC's iPlayer in digitisation plans to give millions access to its film archive Continue Reading
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News
14 Nov 2012
NHS reiterates commitment to digitise patient records by 2015
The Department of Health has reiterated its commitment to get all patient records online by 2015 Continue Reading
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News
08 Nov 2012
Capgemini reduces consultancy charges
Capgemini has lowered pricing in its consulting and local professional services businesses, according to its latest quarter results. Continue Reading
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News
06 Nov 2012
EDF blames system upgrade for customer complaint failures
EDF blames a system upgrade for failing to handle customer complaints to standard, but says it will resolve the issue by the end of the year Continue Reading
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News
02 Nov 2012
RBS pays customers extra £50m for IT failure
The IT failure that struck Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in June will cost more than expected as customers are paid an extra £50m compensation Continue Reading
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News
31 Oct 2012
Government dips toe in water for single ERP
The government is to test the feasibility of moving to a single enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform across Whitehall Continue Reading
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Photo Story
31 Oct 2012
Review: System Mechanic from Iolo
Computer Weekly reviews System Mechanic software from Iolo Continue Reading
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News
30 Oct 2012
Teradata brings big data into the SQL family
Teradata addresses the issue of combining unstructured, semi-structured and traditional row-and-column data warehousing in a single architecture. Continue Reading
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News
22 Oct 2012
Analytics: The real-world use of big data
This study from IBM and the Said School of Business reveals how businesses are exploiting Big Data and the challenges they face. Continue Reading
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News
08 Oct 2012
How French Connection automated stock replenishment to cut costs
Fashion retailer French Connection cut costs by deploying a stock replenishment automation system Continue Reading
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News
05 Oct 2012
Payment errors could undermine Sepa advantages
European firms might lose billions of Euros through payment errors when the Single European Payments Area comes into force in 2014 Continue Reading
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News
01 Oct 2012
Practical Data Migration: PDMv2
Data Migration expert Johny Morris, explains how organisations can use the PDMv2 methodology to overcome common data migration problems. Continue Reading
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News
25 Sep 2012
Big Data Analytics
IDC explores the initial impact that Big Data is having on organisations, its impact on IT architectures, delivery models and future roadmaps. Continue Reading
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News
19 Sep 2012
Government spends £638m on universal credit IT, says minister Mark Hoban
Government has spent £638m on universal credit IT, with £441m going on design and development, employment minister Mark Hoban reveals Continue Reading
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News
18 Sep 2012
Big data: Lessons from the leaders
This research from the Economist Intelligence Unit assess how far companies have progressed in their use of big data and examines how they can turn it to business advantage. Continue Reading
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News
17 Sep 2012
E.ON outsources applications to Capgemini
Utility giant E.ON has outsourced application services to Capgemini as part of a five-year restructure of its IT services in a deal worth about €50m Continue Reading
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News
17 Sep 2012
DWP hits back at criticism over Universal Credit IT systems
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has hit back at calls to delay its flagship Universal Credit scheme because of IT concerns Continue Reading
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Feature
17 Sep 2012
Gathering retail intelligence
Learning their customers’ habits through business intelligence is vital for bricks-and-mortar retailers to stay competitive Continue Reading
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News
11 Sep 2012
Allianz signs deal for customer database technology
Insurance company Allianz has signed a deal for a database system it expects will create millions in sales by creating a single customer view (SCV) Continue Reading
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News
20 Aug 2012
More than 1,000 school application details leaked on the internet
Personal information about more than 1,000 children has been published on the UK Independent Schools Guide website after an alleged cyber attack Continue Reading
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News
09 Aug 2012
NHS sees £100m reduction in exposure to CSC contracts
The Department for Health’s financial exposure to its contracts with troubled supplier CSC have decreased by £100m in just three months. Continue Reading
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News
31 Jul 2012
Interview: Denise McDonagh, government G-cloud director
Denise McDonagh talks about the challenges of the G-cloud programme and how the government is reducing dependence on large outsourcers. Continue Reading
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Feature
30 Jul 2012
How to make sense of the big data universe
Analysing big data can be a daunting prospect, so find out what you need, where it is and how to deal with it Continue Reading
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News
13 Jul 2012
The future of software development: The FT's view.
Jagdeep Singh Bhambra, head of software development at the FT, gives his views on the future of software development, in this presentation for Computer Weekly's 500 Club for IT leaders. Continue Reading
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News
29 Jun 2012
KPMG 2012 Global Technology Innovation Survey
China and the US are most likely to come up with disruptive technology breakthroughs over the next four years, but Europe lags behind Continue Reading
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News
21 Jun 2012
Banks break with in-house software in move to commercial systems
Increased regulation, reduced profits and customer demands are driving banks to replace home-grown software with off-the-shelf alternatives Continue Reading
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News
19 Jun 2012
Oracle reports strong profit growth
Oracle reported an 8% increase in profits on a 1% increase in sales for the fourth quarter of its 2012 financial year Continue Reading
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News
18 Jun 2012
Asian scientists call for government action on supercomputers
Scientists in India, China, Japan, Korea and India have called on their governments to collaborate on supercomputer technology Continue Reading
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News
15 Jun 2012
Data Protection Masterclass: Global Privacy
This presentation from international law firm, Morrison and Foerster offers guidance to companies attempting to navigate privacy regulations in multiple jurisdictions. Continue Reading
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News
06 Jun 2012
HP eyes EMC’s storage market
HP has released a StoreOnce data deduplication back-up system, which it claims can ingest data at 100TB per hour – three times faster than EMC’s recently launched Data Domain 990 Continue Reading
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News
01 Jun 2012
Microsoft softens July licence blow
Microsoft has lowered the price hike planned for July, but businesses still face paying up to 25% more for their software. Continue Reading
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News
31 May 2012
William Grant & Sons opens datacentre for ERP consolidation
Distiller William Grant & Sons opens a UK datacentre to consolidate its global ERP operation Continue Reading
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News
23 May 2012
Overrun in big IT projects leads to one in three failures
One-third of big IT projects are likely to get derailed after they have been running for two years, according to research. Continue Reading
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News
18 May 2012
CW Buyer's Guide: IT Tools
This Computer Weekly buyer’s guide to IT tools shows how you can use software and systems to improve the running of your IT department. Continue Reading
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News
10 May 2012
Troubled RPA systems to be replaced by 2015
The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is to roll out a new payments system for the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) by 2015 Continue Reading
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News
03 May 2012
European copyright ruling good for IT innovation, say lawyers
The top European court's ruling on copyright is good news for innovation, say lawyers Continue Reading
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News
01 May 2012
Open Data Center Alliance focuses on big data collaboration
The Open Data Center Alliance, a group of 12 major IT users, is collaborating with industry on big data architectures Continue Reading
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News
27 Apr 2012
Amazon results demonstrate commitment to cloud
Amazon's AWS cloud business made $500m in sales in the first quarter of 2012, comprising 3.79% of Amazon's Q1 business Continue Reading
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News
25 Apr 2012
SAP reports double-digit growth
SAP has continued where it left off last year with an 11% increase in sales in the first three months of 2012. Continue Reading
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News
20 Apr 2012
BBC wants to build a cultural API
With over 80 years of cultural information in its archive, the BBC is looking at making programme metadata available Continue Reading
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News
19 Apr 2012
IT staff lack understanding to succeed with big data
IT professionals lack the skills to truly understand the big data opportunity for business and government Continue Reading
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Photo Story
16 Apr 2012
Test drive: SQL Server 2012
Tim Anderson looks at the enterprise features in Microsoft's latest relational database management server. Continue Reading
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News
13 Apr 2012
The big returns from big data
Organisations can earn an incremental ROI of 241 percent by using big data technology to examine large and complex data sets, according to this report from Nucleus Research. Continue Reading
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News
19 Mar 2012
Case Study: US Xpress deploys hybrid big data with Informatica
US Xpress is using a suite of data tools and integration products from Informatica to boost its fleet management Continue Reading
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Opinion
02 Mar 2012
Opinion: Is big data just big hype?
If the deluge of headlines and vendor marketing materials is anything to go by, big data is the next big thing. So how much is there really to all this big data talk? Continue Reading
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Feature
17 Feb 2012
2012 Storage Trends
This in-depth analyst report covers the key trends in data storage, big data, and storage technology. Continue Reading
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Opinion
14 Feb 2012
The problem with Open Data
Although clearly a good thing in theory, Open Data risks increasing the digital divide and social inequality unless approached right. Continue Reading
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News
10 Feb 2012
Government takes on proprietary software lobby in open standards battle
The government wants to push through open standards against vested interests keen to maintain the dominance of proprietary systems. Continue Reading
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News
07 Feb 2012
Global Disaster Recovery (DR) Index 2012
The Acronis Global Disaster Recovery (DR) index is an annual benchmark of businesses disaster recovery preparations worldwide. Continue Reading
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News
31 Jan 2012
Powering the data centre
A look at alternative approaches to managing energy for cost and/or sustainability reasons in data centres. Continue Reading
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News
30 Jan 2012
Oracle and SAP worst for government ERP cost differences
Oracle and SAP have been singled out as having the most inconsistent prices for ERP systems across government departments. Continue Reading
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News
23 Jan 2012
Accenture Technology Vision
Download this report from Accenture to discover the 6 IT technology trends that will impact CIOs in 2012. Continue Reading
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News
17 Jan 2012
Oracle integrates data management with Sun servers
Oracle is tackling the challenge of data management by providing pre-integrated systems based on Sun hardware. Continue Reading
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Photo Story
17 Jan 2012
Review of IntelliJ IDEA, a Java IDE
IntelliJ IDEA is a Java IDE from the Czech company JetBrains, that has survived thanks to a design philosophy centred on being smart but not annoying. Continue Reading
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News
11 Jan 2012
European river managers delve into new knowledge management system
The UK’s Environment Agency has procured a semantic wiki based knowledge management (KM) system to aid river restoration across Europe. Continue Reading
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News
06 Jan 2012
Why CIOs must get a handle on their data woes
Businesses are only making use of 5% of the data they collect, according to Forrester Research. Continue Reading
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News
14 Dec 2011
How open data creates new opportunities for the UK
The use of open data could be a critical factor in determining the success or failure of the UK’s growth agenda this report from the business advisory firm Deloitte reveals. Continue Reading
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News
08 Dec 2011
UKtech50: Meet Mike Lynch, the most influential person in UK IT
Mike Lynch, voted as the most influential person in UK IT, doesn’t like to think about challenges, but about opportunities. Continue Reading
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News
05 Dec 2011
'Big data' technologies emerge to battle large, complex data sets
‘Big data’ technologies that allow the storage, management and analysis of big data are on stream: NoSQL, Hadoop, MapReduce. Mark Whitehorn explains the reasons for their emergence and how they work. Continue Reading
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News
05 Dec 2011
SAP buys SaaS firm SuccessFactors in $3.4bn deal
Enterprise software company SAP announces a $3.4bn deal to acquire software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider SuccessFactors. Continue Reading
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Opinion
18 Nov 2011
Bridging the information gap
The pace at which modern business tends to move has resulted in a situation where centralised decision-making struggles to keep up. Continue Reading
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News
18 Nov 2011
Special report on EMC
This 8-page special report from Computer Weekly, packed with graphs and diagrams, is essential reading for anyone considering EMC as a supplier. Continue Reading
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News
14 Nov 2011
CIO Interview: IT should drive company innovation, says SAP's Oliver Bussmann
Driving innovation has become one of the key roles of the chief information officer, says Oliver Bussmann, CIO at business software maker SAP. Continue Reading
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Feature
08 Nov 2011
CIO interview: Tony Prestedge, COO, Nationwide
Tony Prestedge took over as COO at Nationwide in 2010, mid-way through a five-year transformation project. He tells Karl Flinders how the company is transforming its business through a £1bn investment in technology, how the IT department changed from a development shop into an integrator Continue Reading
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Feature
08 Nov 2011
CIO interview: Martin Davies, head of technology at Bet365
The success story of £5.4bn-per-year online gambling company Bet365 is nothing to do with luck and everything to do with technology. Continue Reading
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Feature
03 Nov 2011
RightNow: Oracle and next-generation CRM
In his opening keynote presentation at the RightNow Summit 2011 in Newport, Greg Gianforte, RightNow founder and chief executive officer, presented his view of device-aware CRM. Continue Reading
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News
27 Oct 2011
Analysis: What is the secret sauce in SAP's success?
The last major upgrade to SAP's core enterprise resource planning (ERP) product was released in 2005, so how is the company achieving record growth? Warwick Ashford reports Continue Reading
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News
26 Oct 2011
John McCarthy, father of Artificial Intelligence and creator of LISP language, dies aged 84
The artificial intelligence (AI) community is mourning the death of John McCarthy, the US scientist who invented the LISP computer language at the heart of this field of study. Continue Reading
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News
15 Aug 2011
Government must change the way it stores citizens' personal data, calls the EHRC
The government must bring in changes to better protect personal information, calls the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Continue Reading
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Photo Story
02 Aug 2011
Review of Visual Studio Lightswitch
A review of Visual Studio Lightswitch, Microsoft's simplified self-service development tool. Continue Reading
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News
02 Aug 2011
Tesco signs eight-year deal to use Microsoft products and services
Tesco has signed a software licensing and services deal with Microsoft aimed at helping improve the retail giant's global productivity and international growth. Continue Reading
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News
18 Jul 2011
Government shelves Co-ordinated Online Record of Electors database to save £11m
The government has shelved plans to create a database of electoral information, in a move estimated to save £11m. Continue Reading
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News
22 Jun 2011
European Commission gives green light to CSC acquisition of beleaguered iSoft
The European Commission (EC) has approved CSC's acquisition of healthcare software maker iSoft. Continue Reading
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News
22 Jun 2011
Police National Database launched containing details of 15 million UK citizens
A national database to allow police forces to share locally held information across the country has been launched by the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA). Continue Reading
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Photo Story
05 May 2011
Oracle JDeveloper review
Tim Anderson finds that Oracle's home-grown tool for Java development, JDeveloper, may have a traditional feel, but its smart editor and productivity tools make it particularly useful if you are working with the powerful Oracle ADF. Continue Reading
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News
21 Apr 2011
National Archives scoops Queen’s Award for Enterprise
The National Archives has been awarded the Queen's Award for Enterprise - the first public sector body to receive the gong in more than ten years. Continue Reading
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News
13 Apr 2011
Microsoft launches UK mapping service to rival Google Streetview
Starting in London, Microsoft has begun taking photographs of the UK for its street-level mapping service, Streetside. Continue Reading