E-commerce technology

BT Business brings 4G to SMEs

BT Business has launched a range of plans for small businesses that include free access to 4G and unlimited BT Wi-Fi Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Contactless payments continue to rise

Contactless transactions have increased by 189% since May 2013, according to Visa Europe. Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Russian blogger law comes into action

A new information security law which places restrictions on Russian bloggers and social media users has come into force today Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

IT needs to improve network infrastructure for future of retail

IT departments need to up their game and improve networks for the retail sector which is on the brink of massive technology change Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Hacker and UFO hunter Gary McKinnon launches SEO business

Hacker Gary McKinnon has set up a search engine optimisation business after winning a 10-year battle against extradition to the US Continue Reading

Amazon’s share price falls 6% on quarterly results

Amazon’s share price fell 6% in after-hours trade after the firm reported a second-quarter net loss of $126m Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Six cyber criminals charged in $1m Stubhub fraud

The US has charged six members of an international cyber crime gang that defrauded Stubhub of $1m Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

BBC News commits to digital investment amid loss of 220 jobs

BBC News has announced a restructure where it will invest more into digital transformation and original journalism. Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Ed Vaizey gets digital industries role in Cabinet reshuffle

Culture minister Ed Vaizey has been promoted to the post of minister for digital industries in this week’s Cabinet reshuffle Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Google Ventures expands with $100m to fund ‘most disruptive’ startups in Europe

Google is launching an expanded venture fund for Europe, with £58m to support and invest in next-gen European startups Continue Reading

By

• Archana Venkatraman, Datacentre Editor

Wimbledon bunker tour: The IT behind the tennis championships

Computer Weekly goes behind the scenes at Wimbledon to investigate the technology supporting of one of the biggest tennis championships Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

BBC promotes R&D controller Matthew Postgate to CTO role

The BBC has appointed its research and development (R&D) controller Matthew Postgate as the corporation's chief technology officer (CTO) Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Go Ahead uses Huddle to improve mobility

Go-Ahead transport’s engineers are using Huddle for mobility and collaboration when maintaining its fleet of vehicles. Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Betting on World Cup success

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we talk to gambling site Betfair about the IT challenges of preparing for the football World Cup. We examine the strategy of cloud software pioneer Salesforce.com as it grows its role in the IT department. And we explain erasure coding – an emerging method for protecting storage hardware. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

YouTube to block indie labels unwilling to join paid service

YouTube plans to drop music videos from independent record labels unwilling to join its new subscription music service Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Department of Health sets out technology priorities for coming year

The Department of Health (DoH) has outlined changes in the way technology and information will be used over the coming year Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

House of Lords sets up Digital Skills Select Committee

The House of Lords has set up a select committee for digital skills Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Register to vote online goes live

The latest online transactional service from government has gone live as part of the ‘digital by default’ initiative Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

High availability strategy key to saving costs, says Sungard AS

The cost of IT downtime is extremely high for businesses – but must all systems and applications be highly available all the time? Continue Reading

By

• Archana Venkatraman, Datacentre Editor

UK shoe retailer Office hit by data breach

Data breach at UK shoe retailer Office prompts calls for online firms to beef up security around customer details Continue Reading

Targeting the digital customer

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we go behind the scenes of John Lewis’s £40m e-commerce transformation plan to find out how to target the digital customer. Starbucks’ European CIO talks about the coffee chain’s IT strategy. And we evaluate three big suppliers’ plans for virtualised networking. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Case study: Bank of America and Nationwide use in-branch telepresence

Bank of America and Nationwide implement video conferencing technology to enable customers to speak to banking specialists Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

eBay reveals major security breach and urges users to change passwords

eBay has revealed it was hit by a major cyber attack earlier this year, and is urging users to change their site passwords. Continue Reading

YouTube Twitch acquisition not imminent, say reports

YouTube’s acquisition of videogame-streaming company Twitch is not imminent, according to latest reports Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Net neutrality under threat from US plan

The US telecoms regulator has approved proposals that opponents believe will quash the principle of net neutrality Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

What is holding Berlin back from becoming a European centre for startups?

Berlin is one of Europe’s most up-and-coming hotbeds for technology startup companies, but red tape and legislation is preventing it from fulfilling its potential Continue Reading

German companies look to Berlin startups for innovation

German companies are beginning to recognise Berlin as a hot spot for technology innovation thanks to the many startups there Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

GDS working to secure Google Apps for government

The Government Digital Service (GDS) is in talks with CESG, the IT security arm of GCHQ, to get approval for using Google Apps within government. Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Interview: Nick Roberts, president of Socitm and IT group manager

This month, Nick Roberts, IT group manager at Surrey County Council, took over as president of Socitm, the association of IT and digital professionals working in and for local public services Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Case study: How big data powers the eBay customer journey

With 50TB of machine-generated data produced daily and the need to process 100PB of data, eBay has an astronomic data challenge Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Berlin: A hotbed of European technology startups

Berlin is one of the hottest new places to be an entrepreneur with technology startups from all over the world heading to the German capital Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Government pledges to reduce digital divide by 25%

The government has launched a Digital Inclusion Strategy to reduce the number of offline people in the UK by 25% Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Are retailers using data analytics to their advantage?

Computer Weekly looks at the challenges the retail sector faces in taking advantage of data analysis Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Endless aisle solution helps Crocs cope with small retail space

Footwear retailer Crocs has implemented an endless aisle solution in its 200-plus stores in the US which helps overcome small store space Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Startups deliver £174m boost to Teesside's digital economy

The Tees Valley area of the UK now has an annual digital economy worth £174m, with £62m from Middlesbrough alone Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Cisco identifies five sectors to benefit from IoE

Healthcare, retail, transport, energy and manufacturing are likely to benefit first from the internet of everything Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Government failed at promoting competition over BDUK, say MPs

The government has consistently failed to promote competition during the roll-out of rural broadband across the UK, according to the PAC. Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Ministry of Justice to invest up to £375m in court and tribunal technology reform

The Ministry of Justice has announced a five-year programme to update and replace technology used in courts and tribunals across the UK Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

M&S uses social media to make customers happy and drive sales

Marks and Spencer has been using social media to engage with its customers and has seen a significant increase in sales from its marketing campaigns Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

The digital CIO: How digital technology will change the way organisations work

If you are an IT leader, digital technology is likely to be a pivotal factor in your career over the next five years Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Case study: How John Lewis conquered the web

An in-depth look at the inside story of John Lewis' £40m e-commerce strategy. Continue Reading

Case study: Footwear company Deckers takes e-commerce sites into the cloud

The company behind shoe brands including Ugg Australia and Teva is using a cloud-based digital commerce platform to support global expansion Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Cabinet Office completes first user trial of consumer technologies

The Cabinet Office has completed its first user trial of consumer technologies within the department Continue Reading

Tech-savvy Mothercare boss quits

Mothercare announces the resignation of chief executive Simon Calver Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Online sales up 18% on last year

Post-Christmas online sales have exceeded forecasts, growing by 18% year on year Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Poundland founder launches Poundshop online website

The co-founder of the bargain store Poundland is to launch a Poundshop online store Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Met Police releases ‘Total Technology’ IT strategy

The Metropolitan Police Service has released a three to four-year plan on how to transform the use of technology in the organisation Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Large internet companies could win insurance customers

Almost a quarter of consumers would consider large internet companies – such as Google and Amazon – as possible insurance providers. Continue Reading

Amazon shares fall despite strong Q4 results

Amazon reported record revenues of $25.6bn in the fourth quarter of 2013, up 20% on the previous year, but below analyst expectations Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

IT at the WWF Living Planet Centre

WWF’s Living Planet Centre is one of the greenest buildings in the UK and aims to demonstrate to the public using technology how it is possible for people to live in harmony with nature Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

BBC publishes PwC report into its failed £98m Digital Media Initiative

The BBC has today published a report by PwC into the broadcaster’s failed Digital Media Initiative (DMI) Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

NAO slams Universal Credit for not achieving value for money

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has failed to achieve value for money during the development of the Universal Credit IT system. Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Case study: London Borough of Islington’s smart working journey

The London Borough of Islington is using technology to ensure its staff are as productive as possible travelling along a ‘smart working journey’ Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

700,000 benefit claimants miss out on Universal Credit deadline

The secretary for work and pensions has admitted the Universal Credit benefit scheme will miss its 2017 deadline Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

UK citizen sues Microsoft over Prism private data leak to NSA

A court action brought in the UK will test Microsoft's legal right to disclose private data on UK citizens to US intelligence services Continue Reading

By

• Fiona O’Cleirigh

Banks must engage effectively with customers via Twitter

Retail banks must take advantage of social media to engage with customers, said digital banking experts. Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Argos: a digital retailer

Argos has unveiled its first digital concept store, as part of the retailer’s aim to become a digital retailer over the next four and half years. Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

How web giants are making datacentres lean and green

Facebook and eBay infrastructure chiefs outline their efficiency strategies at DatacenterDynamics Converged conference in London Continue Reading

By

• Jim Mortleman

CIO interview: Paolo Cinelli, CIO, Ikea

Ikea's priority is to get closer to its customers using a multi-channel approach which combines digital and traditional methods Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Technology Industry Survey 2014

From CTOs to software developers, architects to entrepreneurs, this report captures the opinions of people at the forefront of shaping our industry. Continue Reading

IT spending up as companies invest in digital technology

Businesses are stepping up their spending on IT as they invest in strategic digital technologies, a CIO survey by Deloitte reveals Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

McDonald's to engage with tech-savvy customers in restaurants

McDonald’s is engaging with customers by implementing interactive technologies in its restaurants Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Technology and innovation in European banks

Innovations in online and mobile, in video banking, social integration and CRM, are taking precedence to connect with banking customers Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Google share price at record high on third quarter results

Google’s share price has hit a record high in response to better-than-expected third quarter results Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

High-growth companies selected for government Future Fifty programme

The first high-growth UK companies have been chosen for the government’s Future Fifty fast-track programme. Continue Reading

Spanish bank La Caixa looks to startups for innovation

La Caixa is looking for ways to innovate in an increasingly competitive environment, and is turning to startups for new and niche technologies Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Tesco.com uses agile development offshore to roll out internationally

Tesco used agile methodology, co-ordinating a team of 100 offshore developers, to roll out the Tesco.com website internationally Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

High street stores embrace digital to entice customers

Customers are using technology in favour of the high street, but some stores are fighting fire with fire. Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Tesco profits drop despite multichannel shopping

Tesco's pre-tax profits fell 24% to £1.39bn over the first half of its financial year despite adopting multichannel shopping technology Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Tesco to launch £119 7-inch tablet to expand multichannel presence

Tesco is expanding its multichannel retail strategy with the introduction of its own tablet, targeting non-internet-savvy users Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Interview: Martin Russell, head of IT services, Just Eat

Just Eat's head of IT services, Martin Russell speaks to Computer Weekly about his experiences of switching to Google Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Online retailing means the industrialisation of analytics

Figleaves founder and eCommera chief scientist Michael Ross argues that online retailing requires a new type of action-oriented business intelligence Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor

Smart Grid and the Internet of Things

Rob McNamara, executive director of SmartGrid GB, tells the story behind the UK's Smart Meter project in this presentation. Continue Reading

Smart technologies and the internet of things

Marc Overton, VP Wholesale & M2M at Everything Everywhere, discusses the impact of machine to machine communication in this presentation. Continue Reading

Technology, Innovation and Change

IT leaders identify the technologies most likely to impact on their organisations approach to change and innovation in this study by Theron LLP and Computer Weekly. Continue Reading

Are you ready for 2020?

Dan Wood, senior manager for software market development at HP, discusses the results of HP's Enterprise 2020 study in this presentation. Continue Reading

Building a Smarter London

Nick Bromley iCity Programme Manager for GLA, reveals how London could be turned into a smart City in this presentation. Continue Reading

Google competition proposals not good enough, says EC

Competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia wants Google to readdress fears that it is abusing its market domination for its own gain Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Tech firms target piracy profiting websites

Tech firms including Google, Yahoo and Microsoft join an initiative targeting websites that profit from piracy by cutting off advert revenue Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Business Reimagined

Reimagining business is about waking up to a new environment based on technology that liberates rather than constrains, writes Dave Coplin. Continue Reading

Snapshot: Online presence of UK retailers

This concise report assesses the online presence of 36 of the UK's leading high street retailers. Continue Reading

More than one-fifth of UK firms hit by DDoS attacks in 2012

More than a fifth of UK firms experienced a disruptive distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack in 2012 Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

From chess to ping pong: How Pegasystems is capturing the Fortune 500

Pegasystems is winning business from the world's leading companies as business process management technology enters the mainstream Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

CIO interview: Pete Marsden, CIO, Asos.com

As online fashion retailer Asos.com continues to expand, its IT strategy is focused on new international locations and keeping up with web retail Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

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

Bet365's move to HTML5 is more than a gamble

Online gaming site Bet365 has starting using HTML5 to build a rich user experience on its website Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

CIO interview: Steve Monaghan, IT & e-commerce director, Waterstones

After a year of turmoil caused by migration away from HMV, the IT team at Waterstones is finally finding room to think about strategy Continue Reading

Contactless payments exceed five million in March

Some 5.3 million contactless transactions totalling over £39m were made in March 2013 using Visa contactless cards Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

BMW outsources web platform roll-out to Accenture

German car manufacturer BMW has contracted Accenture to manage the implementation of its new web platform Continue Reading

Schuh takes first steps to in-store Wi-Fi

Shoe retailer Schuh signs a contract with The Cloud to offer free Wi-Fi to customers Continue Reading

Herding Geese: The Retail Supply Chain

Steven Keifer draws on the pioneering work of US retailer, Walmart, to explain the essentials of EDI in the retail supply chain. Continue Reading

UK online businesses neglect mobile strategy

Online businesses are failing to implement mobile strategies, according to a report from Barclays bank Continue Reading

By

• Jennifer Scott, TechTarget

Google reaches deal with EU competition authorities

Google has reportedly reached a deal with European Union (EU) competition authorities over concerns about its business practices Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Why CIOs need to become tax literate

Digital technologies can have significant ramifications for corporate taxation. IT teams need to be aware of the issues, says PwC Continue Reading

By

• John Steveni

Case Study: 192business switches to tokenisation to speed up business processes

Online payment card verification firm 192business uses tokenisation to speed up its processes and protect credit card details from fraud Continue Reading

CIO interview: Darrell Stein, IT director, Marks & Spencer

As M&S develops its multi-channel capability, Darrell Stein and his team are delivering projects focused on innovation and profitability Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

John Lewis drops virtual mirror project as part of ‘fail fast at innovation' strategy

John Lewis has canned its virtual mirror project as part of the company’s approach to ‘failing fast at innovation’ Continue Reading

By

• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

Majestic Wine swaps Microsoft for Intershop in ecommerce refresh

Majestic Wine is revamping its website with an InterShop 7 ecommerce engine, which replaces a legacy Microsoft Commerce Server system. Continue Reading

ISPs in the US join forces to serve “six strikes” to illegal downloaders

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the US are leading a campaign to target piracy using a “six strike” warning system Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Music companies critical of Google’s anti-piracy efforts

Music companies have accused Google of failing to fulfil a pledge not to give prominent rankings in search results to websites offering illegal music downloads. Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst