IT news in your industry sector

Technology helping to deliver aid for refugees

In this week's Computer Weekly, we find out how technology is helping to deliver vital aid to Syrian refugees in the Middle East. We look at the barriers to achieving the government's aim of a paperless NHS. And the CTO of special effects studio Framestore talks about the IT challenges behind hit movies such as Gravity. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Five key strategies for IoT success

Companies need to be agile because in some IoT systems, it will be a question of the winner taking it all, according to Kent Eriksson, IoT business consultant at PTC Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK and Estonia launch TechLink programme

The UK and Estonian governments are launching a TechLink programme to share best practice and innovations Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

CIO interview: Lone Bundgaard, Coloplast

IT development head at Danish medical products and services company plays core role in major change to how the company engages with its customers Continue Reading

By

• Jenny Stadigs

HMRC Capgemini staff transfer consultation not as flexible as hoped, says union

With less than two weeks left until HMRC’s deadline for transferring 250 Capgemini staff in-house, talks aren’t going as well as hoped, says the Public and Commercial Services Union Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Coalition of top tech firms opposes weakened encryption

Weakening security with the aim of advancing security simply does not make sense, a coalition of top tech firms tells US president Barack Obama Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Group litigation against Post Office being prepared in Horizon dispute

Subpostmasters who believe they have been wrongly punished for misaccounting or theft due to flawed computer system prepare group legal action against Post Office Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Fujitsu UK CEO calls for more Stem on TV

Fujitsu’s UK and Ireland CEO Regina Moran argues for promoting science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem) subjects and careers in the mainstream media Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber security mindset needs to change, says report

Government organisations are prime targets for cyber attacks, leading to increased importance on robust information security, according to a report by Intel Security and the Digital Government Security Forum Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Whitehall IT chiefs open up about challenges of going cloud-first in central government

Whitehall IT chiefs talk about the progress they have made with abiding by the central government cloud-first mandate Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Traditional datacentres ill-equipped to cope with IoT demands, warn technology experts

BBC data scientist and Coca Cola CTO question if the datacentre is the right place to store, process and analyse IoT data Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Post Office IT support email reveals known Horizon flaw

An email from Post Office IT support reveals a problem with the Horizon system and supporting processes that could lead to accounting errors Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

George Soros backs IT services in eastern Europe

George Soros is investing in an IT company that delivers services to global companies from Ukraine Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Deutsche Bank signs India’s HCL Technologies for digital services and systems integration

Deutsche Bank is expanding its long-established relationship with IT services supplier HCL Technologies as it forges on with its digital transformation Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Does Cambridge University Hospital’s Epic project indicate NHS lacks capacity?

Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s £200m eHospital project was seen as a model of how an NHS trust could revolutionise its IT, autonomously. A tale of over-ambition? Continue Reading

By

• SA Mathieson

Irish hospital to offer patient access to records by November 2016

Galway Clinic plans a big-bang launch of its Meditech electronic medical record system, which includes a patient portal and mobile app Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

How Taiwan is building the internet of things

In this week's Computer Weekly, we meet the Taiwanese companies that are developing the technology building blocks for the internet of things. Our latest buyer's guide looks at the skills needed for modern IT leadership. And we examine the technology options to take superfast broadband speeds even higher. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Asean higher education institutions increase software and services spend

Higher education organisations in developed Asean countries are investing heavily in software and services as their IT use matures Continue Reading

By

• Ai Lei Tao

The British Museum uses Google Street View to boost online access to exhibits

The Google Cultural Institute has partnered with The British Museum to help make its collections accessible to people around the world Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Three men charged over JP Morgan hacking and fraud

Exploiting the Heartbleed bug was one of the methods used by three men charged in connection with the theft of more than 100 million customer data records from financial institutions to carry out "pump and dump" fraud Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

NHS Education for Scotland chooses PA Consulting Group to develop digital learning resources

NHS Education for Scotland (NES) signs PA Consulting Group to develop its “one stop shop” digital platform of learning resources for NHS staff Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Ministry of Defence CIO explains defence as a platform

Mike Stone took to the stage at the Microsoft Future Decoded event to explain the Ministry of Defence’s plan for defence as a platform Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Germany is finalising legislation to shore up CNI cyber security

Germany is working to ensure digital sovereignty through IT security legislation and negotiations on IT security regulations and transatlantic trade at a European Union level Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Suppliers lay the groundwork for IoT in Czech Republic

ICT suppliers are putting in place the technology infrastructure that will enable towns and cities in the Czech Republic to harness the internet of things Continue Reading

By

• Krzysztof Polak

Boris Johnson lobbies for stronger UK technology ties with Israel

Mayor of London Boris Johnson wants Israel’s “top tech talent” to come to London and strengthen the UK’s technology partnership with the country Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Microsoft UK datacentre plans win backing of government CTO Liam Maxwell

Government CTO Liam Maxwell speaks out about the role Whitehall's played in convincing Microsoft and others to open UK datacentres Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

EU data protection official optimistic on successor to Safe Harbour

An EU data protection official says he is optimistic that an alternative to the Safe Harbour agreement will be found, but it will take work from both the US and the EU Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

GCHQ and NCA join forces to police dark web

GCHQ and the National Crime Agency are to track down paedophiles and serious online criminals by using the techniques and expertise used to find terrorists Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Amsterdam Arena aims to set digital example to others

The Amsterdam Arena is a digital powerhouse which, according to its CIO, wants to set an example for the city to follow Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

Avoiding security issues when recycling hardware

What are the options for the environmentally and ethically responsible recycling of end-of-life hardware, without compromising data security? Continue Reading

By

• Peter Ray Allison

Mayor of London launches tech fund for digital skills

A programme has been launched by the mayor of London to ensure young people in the capital are learning digital skills Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Communication Workers Union warns subpostmasters of flaw in Post Office Horizon accounting system

The union that represents Post Office subpostmasters has warned of a problem with the Horizon accounting system at the centre of a long-running dispute Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Free software gains ground in the Italian public administration

Italy's Ministry of Defence is pioneering the use of open-source office productivity tools with the migration of 150,000 PCs to LibreOffice Continue Reading

By

• Piero Macri

UAE recognises importance of cyber security, says official

Like the UK, the UAE federal government has identified the importance of creating an environment in which it is safe to do business online Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Business models still evolving as public Wi-Fi spend hits a high

A report from the Wireless Broadband Alliance reveals that most city CIOs have plans in place to significantly increase their investment in public Wi-Fi networking, but see challenges around their business models Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

000Webhost blames PHP exploit for breach of 13.5 million records

Unencrypted passwords for a free web hosting firm were on sale for five months before customers were notified their records had been leaked, according to a security researcher Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Australia's outsourced datacentre market rising on back of cloud computing

Datacentre investment in Australia is growing fast as corporates use data-intensive applications delivered via the cloud Continue Reading

By

• Alex Cruickshank

Secret report into rural payments IT problems points finger at RPA CEO

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is withholding a highly critical report into IT problems that led to the withdrawal of the £154m farmers' digital service Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Hewlett Packard Enterprise: think of us as a startup

As Hewlett Packard Enterprise and HP Inc finally part ways, UK managing director Andy Isherwood shares some insight on what the future holds for the newly minted enterprise business Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Theresa May promises strong oversight in surveillance bill

The proposed Investigatory Powers Bill contains “very strong” oversight and “world-beating” authorisation procedures, according to home secretary Theresa May Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

CIO interview: Torben Høeg Bonde, Vestas

The CIO at Danish wind turbine company Vestas is playing a key role in turning the company into a software supplier Continue Reading

By

• Jenny Stadigs

Law enforcement cracks down on DroidJack Android snooping malware users

A joint EU/US operation on the DroidJack malware is the latest example of international collaboration between law enforcement officers directed at cyber crime Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Met Office's new supercomputer to deliver £2bn of socio-economic benefits

The Met Office aims to realise a range of socio-economic benefits to UK industries thanks to improved forecasting with its new Cray supercomputer Continue Reading

By

• Fiona O'Cleirigh

M&S data breach forces retailer to temporarily suspend service

A glitch that allowed online customers to see each others' details forced retailer Mark & Spencer to take its website offline while it resolved the issue Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Retailers will never have pure play, says Watchfinder founder

Founder of luxury second-hand watch reseller Watchfinder explains that retailers will never have an entirely online or offline business Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Tech will turn HR into a ‘productivity department’

HR technologies are moving away from managing staff in favour of helping them become more productive Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Investigations Editor

Using open data to solve social challenges

The Open Data Institute has spent the past two years funding startups to build applications that could solve socio-economic problems Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

British American Tobacco saves £1.4m after automating candidate selection

British American Tobacco uses custom profiling software to cut the number of applications managers have to screen by half, as part of a major re-organisation of its recruitment processes Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Investigations Editor

Ministry of Defence hoarding £38.5m worth of unused IPv4 addresses

A Freedom of Information request by network control specialist Infoblox has revealed that the MoD is hoarding millions of pounds worth of unused IPv4 addresses, while the UK government remains woefully unprepared for IPv6 Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Volvo Group sells Swedish external IT to Indian supplier HCL Technologies

Vehicle manufacturer Volvo Group is selling some of its IT operation in Sweden to Indian supplier HCL Continue Reading

By

• David Nikel

More than 70% of teachers still think students are better at using tech

Teachers are still struggling to adapt to the new curriculum, and more than 70% believe their students are more technology-savvy than they are Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Transforming Singapore Post through modern technology

When Singapore Post realised it had to change its business model to survive, it appointed its first CIO to front the technology transformation Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Outsourcing renewals: Where do I source services?

With thousands of IT services contracts coming up for renewal, CIOs should take a careful look at where they source services from Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Yakult uses data analytics to boost growth in the Netherlands by 20%

Probiotics maker Yakult is using analytics and data visualisation tools to boost its sales in the Netherlands Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Investigations Editor

Blockchain sparks change in banking industry

In this week's Computer Weekly, we find out why blockchain, the technology that underpins bitcoin, is making waves in the banking sector. EasyJet tells us why digital is increasingly important for airlines. And we look at the forces driving digital disruption and why some sectors are changing faster than others. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Expo Milano 2015 – Powered by Accenture

This year, Accenture supported the universal exhibition in Milan showcasing technology with the theme ‘Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life’ Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

German rail and transport group turns to virtual reality in war for talent

Deutsche Bahn claims to be the first company in Germany to use virtual reality as a recruitment tool Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Investigations Editor

TalkTalk warns customers about personal data breach

TalkTalk has warned customers their personal data may have been compromised in the second cyber attack on the firm in 2015, with some data left unencrypted Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

How the Cabinet Office is using open data to tackle youth unemployment

The Cabinet Office invited IT professionals and young people to a Job Hack event with the aim of using open government datasets to help more young people into work Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Kent signs £23m digital services contract with Agilisys

Agilisys to manage Kent County Council's digital services and customer contact in a six-year contract Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Police and industry to tackle cyber crime together, says TechUK

A TechUK report calls for collaboration between police and industry to raise standards of reporting, recording and responding to cyber crime Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

CIO interview: Frans Westerlund, Fiskars

Fiskars CIO Frans Westerlund tells Computer Weekly about the challenges faced by IT when a business instigates a major strategic transformation Continue Reading

By

• Eeva Haaramo

Is digital disruption a threat or an opportunity for banks?

Banks have been relatively unaffected by the digital revolution that has transformed other industries – but that's about to change Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

James Arbuthnot takes Post Office IT fight to House of Lords

James Arbuthnot takes his seat in the House of Lords and continues campaign for subpostmasters who claim to have been wronged by faulty Horizon IT system Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Nationwide Building Society outsources IT infrastructure

Nationwide has outsourced its IT infrastructure to Capgemini for the next five years to bring it up to date for the digital age Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Infosec pros should start preparing for the future, say experts

Information security professionals need to grow their skills, engage with the business, increase security awareness, set business goals and tailor their messages, says a panel of experts Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Consumer take-up of Gigaclear fibre broadband exceeds BDUK rates

Ultrafast altnet Gigaclear marks a major milestone in its network roll-out and claims a higher take-up rate for its FTTP product than BT is seeing on the Openreach FTTC network Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CityFibre fills broadband connection voucher gap

CityFibre offers businesses free connections to replace government’s connection voucher scheme Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

The problem of smart cities and connectivity in the UK

Only once leaders develop a framework for local economic and societal development can the “smart city” buzz can evolve into “intelligent communities” Continue Reading

By

• David Brunnen, Groupe Intellex

Philips uses AWS and IoT to deliver healthcare in the home

Philips plans to make it easier for patients to self-monitor their health using Amazon web services (AWS) cloud and the internet of things (IoT) technologies Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

HMRC VAT rules cut cloud costs by 20% for NHS and government departments

An HMRC ruling on reclaiming tax on cloud services could drive up the use of off-premise technologies in the public sector Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

BT Openreach division expands services deal with Infosys to improve support for engineers

BT Openreach is using a software platform from Infosys that draws data from several sources to improve support for its engineers and customers Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

How CIOs can raise their 'IT clock speed' as pressure to innovate grows

CIOs are facing pressure from the board to roll out IT projects increasingly quickly. How can they do that without running unacceptable risks? This article, based on cutting-edge research among leading businesses, offers some answers Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Investigations Editor

IT giants Dell and EMC unite

In this week's Computer Weekly, Dell's proposed $67bn acquisition of EMC would be the biggest in the history of IT – we assess the implications. £175bn of IT outsourcing contracts come up for renewal in the next three years- what are your options? And we hear from IT leaders about security and the internet of things. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Dow Jones denies it was target of insider trading hack

Dow Jones says there is no information to support reports that it was the target of hackers seeking information for insider trading Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Amazon sues sellers using paid-for product reviews

Amazon’s brand is being damaged by "false, misleading and inauthentic" reviews – paid for by sellers – to lure buyers, the organisation says in a lawsuit Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Opera chooses Workday over Oracle as it moves HR to cloud

Browser company Opera opts for slick internal IT as it competes with Apple and Google for skilled technologists Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Investigations Editor

CIO interview: Olivier Smith, head of IT at Sweden's Hi3G Access

The IT department at Swedish telco Hi3G is on a mission to a utopian planet, with Olivier Smith at the controls Continue Reading

By

• Jenny Stadigs

CIO interview: Martin Thell, Scandic Hotels

The CIO of major Nordic hotel chain Scandic Hotels wants to learn more about customers through technology, without being overbearing Continue Reading

By

• Jenny Stadigs

Government cries for help over floundering ID scheme

The government is failing to get enough help from the private sector to make its next generation identity scheme work at full speed. Continue Reading

By

• Mark Ballard

Yahoo announces password-killing Account Key

Yahoo Account Key uses push notifications to provide a fast and secure way to access Yahoo accounts from a mobile device Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

GDS payments platform Gov.uk Pay to start taking real payments

GDS launches beta version of payment system that aims to provide standardised electronic payments for public services Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

How the Consumer Rights Act will affect the digital industry

Consumer legislation has been updated to take into account the unique nature of digital content – but what does it mean for technology suppliers? Continue Reading

By

• Jasnoop Cheema

Ofcom regulates Amazon Instant Video

Broadcast watchdog Ofcom will regulate video-on-demand (VOD) services – such as Amazon Instant Video – although rules for VOD content differ from broadcast Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

The true cost of a cyber security breach in Australia

The costs of cyber security breaches can quickly add up with fines, reputational damage and overhauls to network security all hitting the coffers. The case of one Australian firm shows why paying a ransom to a hacker might be tempting. Continue Reading

By

• Beverley Head

Why blockchain heralds a rethink of the entire banking industry

Blockchain, the distributed ledger technology behind bitcoin, is both a threat and an opportunity for financial services – and the banks are taking it very seriously Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

HS2 and Crossrail site to deliver high-tech innovations

The Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation partners with HyperCatCity to embrace smart technologies to create “an exciting and thriving place” Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

TfL appoints 12 companies for IT systems framework

Capita, CSC, Atos and CGI are among the firms on TfL’s IT systems framework contract, which is worth between £80m and £95m Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Cyber security innovation is crucial, says security evangelist

Visibility and automation are key areas of cyber security innovation, but firms should concentrate first on the basics and not overlook the human element of security Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

How easyJet uses digital to drive competitive advantage

The CIO and head of digital at easyJet tell Computer Weekly price is not the only way to gain competitive advantage in the airline industry Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

VMware reacts to the cloud and containerisation

At VMworld Europe, VMware restates products and roadmap visions that see it react to the perceived inevitability of the cloud, while also getting a grip on containers Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

South Manchester NHS signs up to take Allscripts EPR

University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust has become the latest trust in the region to choose an electronic patient record system from Allscripts Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

RBS to pilot product based on blockchain technology in 2016

Royal Bank of Scotland is among the early adopters of distributed ledger technology that could shake up the banking industry Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Encryption is a double-edged sword, says Blue Coat

Seven more security suppliers join Blue Coat encrypted traffic management programme amid fresh warnings of attackers using encryption to hide malicious activity Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

NHS Health Apps Library to close

The NHS Health Apps Library is shutting down after a two-year tenure, shortly after NHS-approved apps were found to leak data Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Europe's data privacy shake-up

In this week's Computer Weekly, after the European Court of Justice ruled the Safe Harbour agreement invalid, we assess the implications for transatlantic data protection. We find out why DVLA has brought its IT back in-house after a 13-year outsourcing deal. And we look at the role of IT in cutting costs in the NHS. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Lack of trust for banks causes NHS rethink over government online identity scheme

NHS trials of the Verify ID assurance system found patients concerned over using banks to allow access to medical data Continue Reading

By

• Mark Ballard

EU Data Protection Regulation: What the EC legislation means for cloud providers

With the European Commission's data protection rules set to drop before 2016, take a look at what the changes mean for the cloud and datacentre community Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

The security dangers of home networks

Most companies take reasonable steps to protect their networks from virus attacks, but one area of vulnerability that is often overlooked is infection from employees’ home networks Continue Reading

By

• Peter Ray Allison

How to ensure strong passwords and better authentication

Five steps to ensure stronger passwords and better authentication to reduce the threat of business data theft Continue Reading

By

• Peter Wood, First Base Technologies LLP