IT news in your industry sector

IR35: MPs denied vote to amend Finance Bill to ‘curb or kill’ umbrella companies

MPs were denied the opportunity to vote in favour of amending the incoming Finance Bill to ‘curb or kill’ umbrella companies, prompting industry watchers to double down on calls for regulation Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Oil and gas firm halves backup licence cost with Hycu move

Summit E&P made a strategic move to Nutanix hyper-converged and away from NetApp and VMware and wanted backup that could handle virtual machines and physical servers Continue Reading

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• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Trust is key to keeping the digital customer happy

Consumers were forced into using digital channels during the coronavirus lockdowns, but some digital users now plan to return to the physical world Continue Reading

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• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Where to run containers? Bare metal vs virtual machines

We look at the key differences between running containers in virtualised environments and on bare metal servers and focus in on the main trade-offs and decision points Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Stockholm’s startup scene seeks more diversity

Swedish capital has created a world-leading tech startup environment, but it still lacks the diversity of people needed to move it to the next level Continue Reading

By

• Matthew Staff

Online Safety Bill: an opportunity for tech to get it right

Long-awaited proposals for regulating internet companies still leave much to be defined – and the tech sector must take the lead in finalising a plan that works for society and government Continue Reading

By

• Julian David, TechUK

UK startups lack gender diversity in senior technical roles

Women account for about 2-3% of engineering and technology directors in startups and scaleups, says report Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Air India is latest victim of Sita hack

Data on millions of people who flew with Air India between 2011 and 2021 appears to have been compromised in the recent Sita supply chain attack Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How Virgin Atlantic used Workplace from Facebook to great advantage during the pandemic

Virgin Atlantic was an early adopter of Workplace from Facebook. We find out how the collaboration tool has supported the airline throughout the pandemic Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

UK to have digital border by end of 2025

Home secretary’s plans for immigration reform include border crossing technology, online immigration status service and electronic travel authorisation system Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Government pumps £166.5m into green technology

The government funding will be awarded to innovators, businesses and academics across the UK to develop technologies in carbon capture, greenhouse gas removal and hydrogen Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

How Bureau Veritas migrated 85% of its applications to the AWS cloud

In six years, France-based services giant BV has migrated 115 applications to the AWS cloud, mostly using in-house expertise. We talk to the company’s IT director Continue Reading

By

• Gaétan Raoul, LeMagIT
• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

IR35: MPs urged to back ‘curb or kill’ umbrella company-focused Finance Bill amendments

Two amendments to the incoming Finance Bill that have the potential to ban the use of umbrella companies are being voted on by MPs in the House of Commons today Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Innovation and skills at the heart of CBI report

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) wants an inclusive and innovative economy, with increased research and development (R&D) investment and better digital intensity and adoption, particularly among SMEs Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

CyberUK, bees and datacentres, Red Cross digital mapping – Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast

In this episode of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, Caroline Donnelly and Brian McKenna are joined by Alex Scroxton, security editor, to discuss CyberUK, bees and datacentres, and the British Red Cross’ use of digital mapping to combat Covid-19 Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor
• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK
• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor

NHS Education for Scotland defends 'decade-long' public cloud deal with AWS

The training arm of NHS Scotland has come under fire from members of the public sector IT supplier community over its decision to award a 10-year cloud contract to AWS Continue Reading

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• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Government Digital Service sets out three-year strategy

The new GDS strategy up to 2024 includes a focus on making Gov.uk a single, trusted source of information, joining up services, and creating a pan-government digital identity solution Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

UK regulators commit to closer cooperation on digital economy

Two UK regulators have issued a joint statement and signed a memorandum of understanding on the need for closer collaboration on digital markets Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

What digital transformation means for data storage

We survey the key planks of digital transformation and look at the storage technologies emerging to support it, such as NVMe and QLC flash, hyper-converged infrastructure and cloud storage Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Pandemic tech use heightens consumer privacy fears

Report on consumer attitudes to privacy finds evidence of a “heightened sense of fear” as digital footprints expand inexorably Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Government sets out implementation plan for genomics strategy

The 2021-22 implementation plan for government’s 10-year Genome UK strategy includes improving diversity of genomics data, rolling out whole genome sequencing to rare diseases patients, and delivering a proof of concept for a next-generation approach to cancer treatment Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

GDPR-readiness of EU Cloud Code of Conduct wins backing of European data protection authorities

The EU Cloud Code of Conduct, which aims to help IT buyers source GDPR-compliant cloud services, has found favour with the European Data Protection Board Continue Reading

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• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Subpostmaster campaign group to meet Post Office scandal inquiry chair

The subpostmaster campaign group JFSA refused to cooperate with initial inquiry because it ‘lacked teeth’, but is now willing to talk after it was put on a statutory footing Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Credit Suisse to recruit more than 1,000 tech staff in India

Credit Suisse is hiring more IT professionals in India to supports its plan to develop a global tech hub Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

UK government publishes framework on automated decision-making

The framework focuses on making the use of algorithms and automated decision-making systems within the public sector more ethical, transparent and accountable Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

‘Nothing off the table’ in statutory Post Office scandal inquiry

The government confirmed that the inquiry into the Post Office Horizon IT scandal will be given statutory status and wider scope Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

India’s HCL to hire 1,000 tech professionals in the UK

Indian IT suppliers set to create thousands of IT jobs in the UK, which supports their intention to have more staff based closer to customers Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

UK tech sector grows tenfold in 10 years

Massive expansion of the UK tech sector since 2010 has seen venture capital investment and the number of unicorn businesses increase by factor of 10 Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Reports of stolen Irish health service data being leaked online

Leaking of deeply confidential and personal information on patient healthcare marks a new low for the criminal Conti gang Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Barclays first bank to publish online scam refund details

All banks must be transparent about the proportion of victims of authorised push payment fraud they refund, says consumer rights organisation Which? Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Legacy data and IT issues ‘laid bare’ during Covid-19, says NAO

The pandemic has exposed challenges with legacy data and IT systems in government, and has made the government response more challenging, says the National Audit Office Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Post Office Horizon inquiry set to be given statutory status with wider powers

The government inquiry into the Post Office Horizon scandal is set to be made statutory with the power to call witnesses under oath and compel provision of evidence Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Microsoft EU Data Boundary dubbed ‘smoke and mirrors’

Data protection experts claim Microsoft’s decision to create an EU Data Boundary is a tacit admission that it routinely transfers and processes the personal data of European citizens outside the bloc Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Shift to digital remittances helps sector retain transaction value

Global remittance volumes and value was more resilient than expected over the past year, partly as a result of the take-up of fintech services Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Santander says sorry for weekend tech outage

Bank’s customers were unable to access multiple banking channels because of technical problems Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Government response to National Data Strategy consultation depicts data as ‘asset, not threat’

Government responds to consultation with a promise of delivery, putting an emphasis on data as an asset, not a threat, and finding respondents keen on levelling up Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor

Irish High Court dismisses legal bid by Facebook over EU-US data transfers

Latest twist in long-running legal battle sees Facebook lose legal bid to prevent the Irish Data Protection Commissioner suspending its transfer of data about European citizens to the US Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

NHS to issue 30,000 iPads to ambulance crews

Mobile devices will allow crews to send photographs to hospital specialists and access health records while at the scene of incidents, aiming to speed up and improve care Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Australian budget lends support to digital economy

Australia’s A$1.2bn Digital Economy Strategy ticks most of the right boxes, but some industry experts say areas such as broadband infrastructure and artificial intelligence are still underfunded Continue Reading

By

• Stephen Withers

The real-life consequences of ransomware attacks

In this week’s Computer Weekly, after a ransomware attack shut a major US oil pipeline, we examine the real-life consequences for organisations facing similar threats. We ask the experts for their top tips in reducing datacentre running costs. And we hear how data science skills are helping government make better decisions. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Post Office scandal: The rise of computers and the decline of English justice

The Post Office prosecuted its subpostmasters up and down the country with a zeal that would not have embarrassed the Inquisition Continue Reading

By

• Paul Marshall

Half of UK workforce lacks essential digital skills for work

A ‘hidden middle’ of more than 17 million people do not have the abilities needed to participate and contribute to the digital world in life and at work, study says Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Conti ransomware syndicate behind attack on Irish health service

More details continue to emerge of the significant ransomware attack on Ireland’s HSE Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Andy Burnham launches Manchester digital inclusion drive

Greater Manchester mayor announces plan to support under-25s, over-75s and disabled people to get online Continue Reading

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• Lis Evenstad

Why new EU rules around artificial intelligence are vital to the development of the sector

Shawn Tan, CEO of global AI ecosystem builder Skymind, explains why the European Union’s new rules on artificial intelligence are a good thing Continue Reading

By

• Shawn Tan

How M1 is striving to be a digital telco

Singapore’s M1 is dialling up its digital chops by monetising its data, building more personalised services for subscribers, and going beyond connectivity as it evolves into a digital telco Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

Container-native storage: A definition, and what to ask suppliers

We look at container-native storage – aka cloud-native storage – what defines it, and its benefits as a way of bringing persistent Kubernetes storage to containerised applications Continue Reading

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• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Transparency is essential as we enter the era of ‘government by algorithm’

The public sector is increasingly allowing algorithms to make vital decisions that affect people’s lives – but how do we know those algorithms work or what they do? Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Rees, Reform

Colonial Pipeline paid $5m ransom, reports say

Colonial Pipeline may have paid a significant ransom within hours of being attacked, it has emerged, but it’s unlikely the story ends here Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Irish health service hit by major ransomware attack

IT systems in hospitals across Ireland have been switched off following a significant ransomware attack Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

More former subpostmasters have criminal convictions quashed

Two former subpostmasters pushed to the brink of suicide after being convicted for financial crimes finally have their names cleared Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Dutch police used deep learning model to predict threats to life

Dutch police developed a deep learning model in their EncroChat investigation to predict which messages contain serious threats to life Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor
• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Cabinet Office launches climate challenges for startups

The Cabinet Office has partnered with government technology accelerator Public to run a programme for startups developing innovative digital and data technologies that can help with some of the most pressing climate issues Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

The shape of fraud and cyber crime: 10 things we learned from 2020

While a pandemic-driven increase in cyber crime and an exacerbation of existing fraud trends were, to a large extent, to be expected, the LexisNexis Risk solutions UK cybercrime report 2020 still contained a few surprises Continue Reading

By

• Neira Jones

Financial and technical obstacles hit Danish datacentre heat recycling plan

A datacentre project in Denmark is grappling with the challenges of reusing waste heat in local central heating systems Continue Reading

By

• Mark Ballard

NHSX data strategy due in ‘a few weeks’

NHSX director of policy and strategy Simon Madden says the long-awaited strategy is expected to “trigger huge debates” on issues such as access, choice and transparency, and will be published in draft form shortly to allow for consultation Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Portworx gets container-native array management for Pure hardware

Container storage player Portworx builds in container-native functionality to allow discovery, provisioning and management from inside Kubernetes cluster, but only on Pure arrays so far Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Too many disconnected systems in government, says minister

Cabinet Office minister Julia Lopez wants to address issues with legacy systems, improve digital skills across government and improve department collaboration, including in procurement Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Biden beefs up public-private security cooperation

Joe Biden has signed a new Executive Order to harden US cyber security and government networks, with an emphasis on information sharing Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CW Benelux: Netherlands university launches centre of expertise in applied AI

Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences has launched a centre of expertise in applied artificial intelligence, and students from all faculties of the university will learn how to apply AI in their field of study. Also in this issue, read why a training ‘roadmap’ is needed to get Netherlands police officers up to speed with tackling cyber crime. Continue Reading

Refuge launches tech safety site for domestic abuse victims

Created with the help of survivors, Refuge’s resource site offers guidance on protecting yourself from tech-enabled domestic abuse Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NHS Digital replaces system for collection of GP data

New system designed ‘with interests of patients at its heart’ will provide near-real-time primary care data to support improvements in healthcare and help research Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Digital knowledge must be integral part of Dutch police training

 Continue Reading

UK government publishes Online Safety Bill draft

Bill builds on previous commitments by the government, which has added new measures to uphold democracy and freedom of speech while making tech giants more accountable Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Fujitsu bags £3bn in public sector contracts while software errors wreck the lives of subpostmasters

The supplier at the centre of the Post Office Horizon scandal has so far escaped the ramifications of its role in the biggest miscarriage of justice in UK history Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Engineering firm Briggs of Burton maps global expansion with SAP’s Rise service

Briggs of Burton, an engineering firm that makes hygienic equipment for drinks, food and pharmaceutical companies, has chosen SAP’s Rise service to guide its global expansion, initially in China Continue Reading

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• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor

UK to fund national cyber teams in Global South

Government will commit millions of pounds to supporting vulnerable countries in establishing cyber capacity Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

The Security Interviews: Why helpful bots could hurt vaccine roll-outs

Earlier this year, spikes in traffic to websites containing information about Covid-19 vaccines were attributed by Imperva to automated bots scraping data. Why is that a problem? Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Running a bees and spirits business on low-code

We look at how a small honey and gin producer has adapted and grown its business without requiring external software development expertise Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Queen’s Speech approaches key themes for UK tech

From online safety to skills for the future, the speech contained several points that are relevant to the industry for the year Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Why the Post Office Horizon scandal kept me awake at night

Reverend Richard Coles tells Computer Weekly why there needs to be a statutory public inquiry into the Post Office Horizon scandal Continue Reading

By

• Rev Richard Coles

How OAG has adapted data services for return to airline travel

Covid-19 led to radical changes across the travel sector. Despite lower passenger flows, global travel data provider OAG reworked its data offerings to prepare for a return to normal Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

SolarWinds CEO calls for collective action against state attacks

SolarWinds CEO tells NCSC’s CyberUK conference he is exploring the possibility of collaborating with other companies on collective cyber action against attacks backed by nation states Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Business Finland rolls out 5G industrial initiative

Finland is incentivising technology businesses to invest in 5G research and development to create export opportunities Continue Reading

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• Gerard O'Dwyer

Computational storage: What is it? Why now, what for, who from?

Computational storage is an emerging architecture category, in which compute is put near storage to address I/O bottlenecks resulting from large volumes of data Continue Reading

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• Stephen Pritchard

AWS, Microsoft and Google secure spots on £750m UK government Cloud Compute framework

Tech giants Amazon, Microsoft, Google, IBM and Oracle are among the suppliers to secure a place on the four-year CCS Cloud Compute framework Continue Reading

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• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Swedish court finds ambiguities in hacked EncroChat cryptophone evidence

Defence lawyer claims evidence obtained by hacking the EncroChat encrypted phone network has ‘no legal’ value following Swedish appeal court ruling Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly
• Sara Nkwe Assarsson

Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack has grave consequences

The ramifications of a major ransomware attack against a US fuel pipeline operator could spread far and wide Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Chip supply shortages are hitting hard

In this week’s Computer Weekly, a shortage of semiconductors is affecting industries beyond just IT – we examine the implications. We talk to the CIO of pharmacy chain Boots about how tech helped in being an essential retailer during lockdown. And we look at the prospects for young people entering the IT sector post-pandemic. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Miscarriages of justice are the potent tip of Post Office scandal

The miscarriages of justice involving subpostmasters are the most disturbing element of the Post Office Horizon scandal – but it goes much deeper Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Telemedicine to save healthcare industry tens of billions globally by 2025

Research predicts good times ahead for key network-based industry, especially as teleconsultations improve patient care, but warns that deregulation of telemedicine is needed to maximise growth Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

NCSC Active Cyber Defence blocks surge of pandemic scams

The NCSC responded to a surge in online scams last year as it moved to protect both the general public and critical national services during the pandemic Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NCSC publishes smart city security guidelines

Guidance for local authorities, IT and cyber professionals aims to ensure the security of connected, smart city projects Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Post Office contacts over 500 subpostmasters potentially wrongly prosecuted for financial crimes

The Post Office has contacted hundreds of people it might have wrongly prosecuted for financial crimes Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Monmouthshire County Council digitises HR with Zellis cloud

Monmouthshire County Council is using a cloud HR system from Zellis as part of its digital transformation programme, aimed at being lean and agile Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor

Securing the UK's emerging smart cities

UK councils have a huge opportunity to improve services through the use of smart city technologies - but they must avoid the cyber security risks, says the government's digital minister Continue Reading

By

• Matt Warman, Digital minister

Nordic real estate industry moves digital

The Nordic real estate is investing in technologies like IoT to prepare the sector for the changing demands from customers post-Covid Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

Minister promises ‘fair and speedy’ compensation for 555 subpostmasters who defeated Post Office

Government says it wants to ensure a fair pay-out for the 555 subpostmasters who defeated the Post Office in a legal battle but were then excluded from the resulting compensation scheme Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Government urged to add scam protections to Online Safety Bill

Group of organisations calls for the government to use the Online Safety Bill to protect people from cyber scams Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Tech startups turn to digital PR platform for media exposure

Digital PR platform Newspage helps early-stage tech startups with limited resources increase their visibility to journalists and news organisations Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Scammers accidentally reveal fake Amazon review data

More than 13 million records relating to an organised fake review scam have been found on an unsecured ElasticSearch database, implicating hundreds of thousands of people in unethical behaviour Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Google to introduce mandatory MFA for users

In future, holders of Google accounts will have no option but to use multifactor authentication if they want to use the firm’s services Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Premier League promotes football analytics with Oracle Cloud

From season 2021-22, the Premier League will provide in-match statistics and analysis for fans, made possible by Oracle Cloud Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor

Netherlands to build new national supercomputer

The Netherlands has laid out plans for its next national supercomputer, to be known as Snellius Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

HSBC blocks £249m in UK fraud with voice biometrics

HSBC voice recognition technology has reduced telephone banking fraud as demand for the channel increases Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Wipro’s AI platform to improve vaccine safety

Wipro is partnering a stem cell technology firm on the use of its Holmes artificial intelligence platform to help researchers ascertain the safety and potency of vaccines Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

The non-fungible kind

Not long ago, somewhere in Mebane, North Carolina, Zoë Roth – better known as the Disaster Girl meme – picked up her phone and consulted Kyle Craven – better known as the Bad Luck Brian meme – ... Continue Reading

By

• Ryan Priest

Interview: ONS data science chief Tom Smith on government data capability

The managing director of the Office of National Statistics’ Data Science Campus, Tom Smith, describes the organisation’s data capability building activities for and across government Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor

Opening the On-line World to Competition: The Penrose Report

But implementation will not be easy. This is particularly so with regard to introducing more competition to the digital industries where John calls for the new digital market unit’s up-front powers ... Continue Reading

By

• Philip Virgo, Winsafe Ltd

Cambridge scale-up company Eagle Genomics expands in India

UK data analytics life sciences-focused scale-up company Eagle Genomics announces Indian expansion to coincide with government declaration of UK-India trade partnership Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor