IT news in your industry sector

What to expect from AWS re:Invent 2014

Amazon is all set to unveil new services and features at its AWS re:Invent 2014 Continue Reading

By

• Janakiram MSV

Drinks maker Edrington outsources SAP enterprise resource planning operation to Atos

Glasgow-based distiller Edrington outsources its ERP development, support and hosting to IT services firm Atos Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Qantas puts Oracle ERP in the cloud with Tata Consultancy Services

Airline Qantas signs IT outsourcing services firm TCS to upgrade its Oracle ERP platform and move it into the cloud Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

US Postal Service latest government target for cyber attack

Hackers breach the networks of the US Postal Service in the latest of a series of attacks on US government agencies Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Future Decoded event raises questions on digital risk

Is technology good for society or bad? This was one of the issues covered at the Future Decoded event in London Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Ofcom to auction tranche of MoD-owned spectrum

190 MHz of spectrum in two bands currently controlled by the Ministry of Defence is to go under the hammer Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CW Europe - November 2014 Edition

In this issue of CW Europe find out the winners of our Best of VMworld Europe 2014 user awards, which were recently unveiled at an awards ceremony in Barcelona. Find out why all of our five winners were crowned champions at VMworld Europe 2014, along with two honorable mentions due to a high number of quality projects. Continue Reading

Home Depot traces credit card data hack to supplier compromise

US retailer Home Depot reveals its recent data breach was linked to a compromised supplier’s credentials Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Ofcom launches initiative to plug SMEs' lack of confidence in communications services

Regulator Ofcom launches online portal to help business owners exploit commercial communications services Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Police forces use private cloud to access Holmes database

Police forces across the UK will access the Holmes major investigation system via a private cloud service Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

ITN deploys wireless transmission technology for breaking news

ITN introduces camera-mounted wireless transmission technology from BT to track breaking news stories around London Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Southampton university fuels research with IBM Watson analytics

The University of Southampton has begun a far-reaching initiative to redefine the future of research powered by IBM Watson analytics Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Why national roaming may not be the answer to mobile not-spots

Industry suggests alternative strategies as government threatens to force mobile operators to allow national roaming Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Government open standards - the curious case of Microsoft and the minister

What role, if any, did science minister David Willetts take in helping Microsoft try to overturn government IT policy? Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

CIO interview: Glenn Murphy, London & Capital

Asset-management firm London & Capital shifts its focus to systems that add business value, says CIO Glenn Murphy Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Interview: The IT powering animated movie-making

Video special effects require similar processing to oil and gas, but lack the budget, says head of technology at Illumination Mac Guff, Bruno Mahe Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Government asks for more information on digital currencies

The government has released a Call for Information to invite views on the benefits and risks of digital currencies Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Airbus interview: research, innovation and the future of aviation

IT plays a substantial role in creating the aircraft of the future, with research and innovation at the core of the Airbus business strategy Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Enterprises push for open standards

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we find out about a new push led by Shell and BP to get IT vendors to agree interoperability standards for the digital age. We learn how one company is using agile development to introduce support for the bitcoin virtual currency into its IT systems. And we ask whether the cloud price wars will mean lower service levels from suppliers. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Inside Kashiwa-no-ha: Hitachi Smart City near Tokyo

Hitachi shares what its Kashiwa-no-ha Smart City looks like near Tokyo, Japan. Continue Reading

By

• Kayleigh Bateman, Computer Weekly

Ipswich hospital improves healthcare service with Esri data visualisation

Health pilots location-based technology that delivers data visualisation Continue Reading

By

• Archana Venkatraman, Datacentre Editor

Problems surface as first users attempt to use Gov.uk Verify

Problems have surfaced as users try to use Gov.uk Verify to prove their identities Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Business needs to take cyber crime seriously, says top EU cyber cop Troels Oerting

Troels Oerting, head of Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre, says businesses must heed the risk of cyber crime Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Half a million citizens to be using Gov.uk Verify by April 2015

Government now expects to have nearly half a million people using its Gov.uk Verify service for online identity assurance by April 2015 Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Many firms still unprepared for cyber attack, EY survey shows

More than a third of organisastions have no real-time insight on cyber risks necessary to combat rising threats, a survey has shown Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Firms at serious risk of data loss through file sharing, study shows

Businesses are at serious risk of data loss and compliance violations due to risky file-sharing practices, a study has shown Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Currency exchange business Travelex cuts HR costs by 25% with cloud IT systems

Travelex's cloud human resources (HR) project survived a budget overrun to cut costs and job recruitment times Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

How the BBC became digital in three-and-a-half years

The BBC has undergone a digital transformation that started 18 months prior to the London 2012 Olympic Games Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Home Office appeals against $300m Raytheon payment in e-Borders dispute

The Home Office has appealed against a decision to award $300m to Raytheon over the cancellation of its e-Borders contract Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Tackling bloatware in the age of cloud-based apps

Microsoft Office general manager Julia White on Office 365 security and making cloud apps easier for users Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Banks see technology firms as biggest threat, says Infosys

Google, Apple and Facebook the biggest threat to banks as technology firms offer consumers financial services Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

HMRC to save £200m per year by scrapping Aspire outsourcing deal

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) expects to save over £200m a year by moving away from its Aspire IT outsourcing contract in June 2017 Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Lloyds Banking Group confirms 9,000 job cuts and digital investment

Lloyds Banking Group has confirmed it will cut 9000 jobs and close around 150 branches to focus more on its digital strategy Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Most businesses do not understand risks of data breaches, study finds

More than 70% of businesses do not understand fully the risks associated with data breaches, a study shows Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Government replaces Becta education IT procurement framework

Government seeks up to 20 suppliers to form a £300m procurement framework for ICT services to public-sector education organisations Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Incident response: a common failing

Organisations hit by cyber attacks often lack an effective incident response plan. Why are so many unprepared? Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Met Police trials analytics to fight gang crime

The Metropolitan Police is experimenting with analytics software to help predict which criminals are likely to re-offend Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Hitachi Data Systems ploughs ahead with social innovation plans

Hitachi Innovation Forum expects 16,000 delegates to share user cases on how technology is making society safer Continue Reading

By

• Kayleigh Bateman, Computer Weekly

Universal Credit digital service set for first public test in Sutton

Digital service for Universal Credit to start testing with benefit claimants in Sutton, south London, in the next two months Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Amazon reports tough quarter despite sales increase

Amazon reported a 20% year-on-year increase in third-quarter sales to $20.58bn, but also posted a net loss of $437m Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Finance IT group wants to push forward banks' cloud discussion

The Banking Industry Architecture Network (Bian) calls on industry to decide on the core banking systems to move to cloud platforms and share Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Universal Credit digital system reaches key milestone as DWP delays roll-out

The digital system supporting the Department for Work and Pension's Universal Credit programme has passed a major development milestone Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

BBC takes iPlayer video production to AWS cloud to beat bottleneck and storage woes

Having run Video Factory on AWS for over a year, BBC's Robert Shield explains how he overcame iPlayer bottleneck and availability challenges Continue Reading

By

• Archana Venkatraman, Datacentre Editor

Interview: Ed Vaizey MP talks digital economy and digital skills

Minister for the digital economy Ed Vaizey discusses his new role and the future of digital policy Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Firms lack technology for workforce of the future

European businesses will rely increasingly on freelance, geographically dispersed employees as they vie to attract the top skills to their organisations over the next 5 years. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

De Beers transforms global IT infrastructure in outsourcing deal with HCL

South African diamond company De Beers transforms its global IT infrastructure in an outsourcing deal with HCL enabling industrialised services Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

EMC buys out Cisco’s stakes in VCE as year-on-year revenue jumps 9%

Storage giant EMC has reported a 9% increase year on year for the third quarter of 2014, thanks to revenue rises across its divisions Continue Reading

By

• Archana Venkatraman, Datacentre Editor

Social media for communication inside the enterprise

Companies have long used social media technology such as Facebook and Twitter to reach more customers – but how are businesses using it internally? Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Defra first department to implement Gov.uk Verify

Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs first to utilise government’s new identity assurance system Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Drones a threat to privacy, says former GCHQ chief David Omand

The use of drones in the UK raises significant safety, security and privacy concerns, according to a report from ex-head of GCHQ, David Omand Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Government releases social media guidance for civil servants

New social media guidelines for civil servants have been released by the Cabinet Office Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

GCHQ embodies British values, says Iain Lobban

Outgoing GCHQ director Iain Lobban has defended the intelligence agency in his final speech before retiring Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

US retailer Staples investigates possible data breach

US retailer Staples confirms it is investigating a possible credit and debit card breach Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

IBM operating income falls by 18% as it offloads semiconductor unit

IBM reported lower-than-expected earnings for the third quarter of 2014, with revenue down by 4% year-on-year Continue Reading

By

• Archana Venkatraman, Datacentre Editor

Disney spreads the magic through wearable technology

The Walt Disney Company is using wearable technology to improve customer experience and engage with visitors Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Forget devices, we still need signal, says WWF IT director

Organisations such as the WWF are still trying to focus on sufficient connectivity for remote workers says WWF director of ICT services, Linda Humphrey. Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

FBI director James Comey joins call for online surveillance tools

FBI director James Comey has reiterated the need for online surveillance and joined calls for more tools to do so Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Local government outsourcing shrinks workforce 35%

The number of staff directly employed by a fifth of local authorities will reduce 35% by 2020 as a result of outsourcing Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Google shares down on mixed third quarter results

Google's share price dipped around 3% in response to mixed financial results for the third quarter Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK is prime target for cyber attacks, says FireEye

The UK has been greatest target of advanced cyber attacks in Europe, the Middle East or Africa in the first half of 2014, report shows Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Comic Relief’s digital challenge: talent, data and the No Make-Up Selfie

Social media campaigns such as the No Make-Up Selfie and the Ice Bucket Challenge threaten charities such as Comic Relief with their digital reach Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Industrial control systems: What are the security challenges?

Targeted attacks on industrial control systems are the biggest threat to critical national infrastructure, says Kaspersky Lab Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Gov.uk Verify identity assurance service ready to go live

Government expected to launch first service using digital identity assurance in "next couple of weeks" Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

B&Q launches online kitchen planning and design tool

The DIY retailer debuts its B&Q Spaces planning and design tool which allows customers to plan their kitchen, bathroom and bedroom projects online Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Backup and disaster recovery in the age of virtualisation

One of the benefits of using virtual machines is the scope for improved backup. We look at the product offerings from traditional and new suppliers Continue Reading

By

• Bob Tarzey

Embedded SIMs key to unlocking internet of things

GSMA’s eUICC Embedded SIM Specification will help M2M communications and the IoT become mainstream, say analysts Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK ranks third in right to be forgotten requests to Google

The UK has made the third-highest number of requests for links to be removed from Google's search results Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Cybercrime fighters to target kingpins, says top EU cyber cop

International cybercrime fighters are to focus on the relatively small number of top malware producers, says Europe's top cyber cop Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Symantec splits storage and security

Symantec is splitting its storage and security business, following just days after HP announced its split Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Fear and loathing could hold back UK internet of things, says KPMG report

More than two-thirds of UK consumers fear growing number of interconnected devices make it too easy for things to go wrong Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Starbucks uses cloud to manage innovation and disruptive technologies

Starbucks coffee chain innovates IT strategies to hone its competitive edge using cloud services, says IT director Robert Teagle Continue Reading

By

• Archana Venkatraman, Datacentre Editor

Housing associations launch shared internet service from BT

BT promises housing association tenants lower internet costs through new scheme Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Tim Berners-Lee: Data sharing needs accountability

The question of how much data an individual should share was a key theme of Tim Berners-Lee's keynote at IP Expo Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Malware being used to steal cash from ATMs

Criminals are using malware to steal cash from ATMs without debit and credit cards Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

The challenges facing HP as it splits in two

HP is splitting its business in two - but it is a reaction to the changing way that businesses and consumers buy IT Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Timberland focuses on online customer experience

After internationalising its e-commerce offering across Europe, Timberland's next priority is refining its online experience Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

L’Oreal aligns technology with the business to work faster

L’Oreal’s digital technology is working with the business and marketing departments to become innovative and agile Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Engineering company rolls out talent management software across 17 countries

Meggitt is deploying cloud-based HR technology as it seeks to integrate 60 diverse business units into a multinational operation Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Mothercare uses mobile to engage with customers, not just to sell

Mothercare is continuing to use mobile to improve customer service and engage with users Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Barclays concludes first round of fintech accelerator

Barclays has finished the first round of its financial services technology (fintech) startup accelerator, following a demo day Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

The future of digital government in the UK

In this week’s Computer Weekly, as the last political party conferences before the election come to an end, we examine the future of digital government in the UK, featuring interviews with Whitehall’s digital chief Mike Bracken and Labour’s policy leader Chi Onwurah. Also, we look at the growth of the open-source cloud computing platform Openstack, and find out what it’s like to be on the receiving end of a data breach. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Google could face $100m lawsuit over nude celebrity pictures

Lawyers of celebrities whose private pictures were published by hackers are threatening to sue Google Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

CIO interview: Ben Hine, technology director, UKTV

UKTV director Ben Hine says every piece of the company's technology has been replaced over the last four years Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

DDN launches scale-out NAS GS7K GPFS product bundle

DataDirect Networks launches the GS7K, a pre-configured GPFS scale-out NAS/parallel file system storage product Continue Reading

Oracle OpenWorld 2014: Lloyd's Register goes mobile with Oracle

Lloyd’s Register Group tells delegates at the Oracle OpenWorld 2014 conference how it developed a mobile working application for clients and staff Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

European firms far from ready for new data rules, study shows

As European authorities aim to ratify revised data protection rules by 2015, many firms have a lot to do to comply Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Vtesse bought by Interoute in major fibre expansion

Acquisition adds 7,000km of fibre infrastructure to Interoute’s European network Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Microsoft readies Windows 10 Technical Preview

Microsoft is today releasing a preview of Windows 10, the next version of the Windows desktop operating system Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Oracle Openworld 2014

Every September, San Francisco plays host to Oracle’s user conference, where customers, users and developers descend on the city to learn the latest on the supplier’s products and services. Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Cyber Essentials for public sector IT suppliers: pros and cons

What are the pros and cons of the Cyber Essentials Scheme certification mandated for public sector IT suppliers? Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Oracle OpenWorld 2014: Toms expands global e-commerce

Footwear retailer Toms relaunches e-commerce websites with Oracle platform to grow and improve customer experience Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Nationwide roll-out of Universal Credit to start in early 2015

Controversial welfare reform programme to be accelerated nationwide for single people only, using much-criticised IT systems Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Case study: Deutsche Post DHL develops software contract templates to reduce costs

Deutsche Post DHL has created contract templates to manage software costs. Computer Weekly speaks to the people leading the initiative Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

BlackBerry Passport: A first look

BlackBerry has changed the rules for phablets, with a an almost square device, promising 25 hours of battery life are highly readable screen Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Visa loses mobility director to Apple

Mary Carol Harris, former director of mobile for Visa Europe, has left the firm to take up a position at Apple Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Q&A: MarkLogic CEO Gary Bloom talks strategy

Gary Bloom, CEO of NoSQL database supplier MarkLogic, talks to Computer Weekly about strategy Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor

Bash bug could be bigger threat than Heartbleed

A bug in the Bash command prompt software used by many Unix computers could be a greater threat than Heartbleed. Continue Reading

BlackBerry Passport delivers a real keyboard and high-res screen to business

BlackBerry has introduced its Passport smartphone featuring a 4.5in hi-res screen, a qwerty keyboard and 13MP camera Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

The digital CIO: Why embrace digital innovation?

Having the right digital strategy can make or break an organisation Continue Reading

By

• Peter Thornton

Lloyds creates online appointment booking in attempt to save branches

Lloyds Bank has introduced a system which allows customers to book in-branch appointments online Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor