IT services and outsourcing

AWS debuts model evaluation tool in Bedrock

The Model Evaluation tool in Bedrock will help organisations evaluate and test large language models that are best suited to their needs based on criteria like accuracy, toxicity and cost Continue Reading

Slow government response to Post Office scandal compensation forces new legislation

Subpostmasters who exposed widest miscarriage of justice in UK history still waiting for compensation after decades of fighting Continue Reading

Paula Vennells’ email fuelled Post Office Horizon cult, inquiry told

Faced with serious questions about the robustness of its core computer system, the Post Office doubled down on reliability myth, public inquiry told Continue Reading

Aerodyne taps AWS to power drone platform

The Malaysia-based startup is running its Dronos platform on AWS to expand its footprint globally and support a variety of drone use cases, from agriculture seeding to cellular tower maintenance Continue Reading

Scope of Okta helpdesk breach widens to impact all users

Okta has widened the scope of the October breach of its systems to include every customer that has used its helpdesk service, after new information came to light Continue Reading

CCRC refers two posthumous subpostmaster appeals to Crown Court

CCRC refers posthumous appeals against convictions to Crown Court for first time Continue Reading

AWS sharpens focus in APAC

AWS is doubling down on industry offerings and investing in cloud infrastructure and skills training, among other efforts, to tap growth opportunities in the region Continue Reading

‘Excited’ finance firms pump money into digital technology

Over three-quarters of finance firms are currently restricted in what they can spend on technology due to the global economic climate, but expect spending to resume next year Continue Reading

India's Hexaware creates hundreds of jobs in UK

Hexaware opens IT services operation in Birmingham, with a plan to recruit 250 people in the region by 2025 Continue Reading

Chancellor offers spending boost for IT buyers alongside AI and quantum investments

In his Autumn Statement, chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced a range of measures intended to boost investment in innovation and technology Continue Reading

NHS England renews FutureNHS cloud-based collaboration hosting deal via G-Cloud for £1.67m

NHS England has renewed its long-standing hosting and support contract for the FutureNHS platform with SME cloud provider Kahootz Continue Reading

Controversial Fujitsu contract with Post Office extended again

IT from Fujitsu is at the heart of the widest miscarriage of justice in UK history, yet the government keeps handing millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money to the IT giant Continue Reading

Boomi doubles down on AI and automation

Boomi executives talk up the company’s artificial intelligence and automation capabilities and its growing traction in ANZ during a recent event in Sydney Continue Reading

World Wide Fund for Nature signs IT deal with Atos

Global conservation organisation will harness latest technologies to improve ability to predict risks to natural environment Continue Reading

Inside India’s datacentre boom

India’s datacentre market is expected to surpass $10bn by 2028, but realising its full potential will require innovations in sustainability and improvements in connectivity Continue Reading

Cubbit DS3 Composer brings DIY cloud to object storage pool

Cubbit customers can now build and configure S3-compatible clouds from unused capacity and offer MSP-grade services with high levels of resilience, security and data sovereignty Continue Reading

Elected officials' lack of digital skills affects public services

A lack of digital skills and tech expertise among elected officials encourages government to contract out IT work instead of building up internal capacity, making the public sector increasingly reliant on outside knowledge to get things done Continue Reading

IT not ready for AI, Pure Storage survey finds

Storage, compute and networking hardware won’t cope without upgrades, and that often means total IT infrastructure overhaul Continue Reading

Digital Edge secures green loan for South Korea datacentre

The Singapore-based datacentre provider has secured its first green loan for its latest colocation facility in Incheon Continue Reading

Post Office scandal inquiry postpones more key witness hearings

Yet more witness hearings are cancelled due to the Post Office's late disclosure of documents Continue Reading

How Gigamon is making its mark in deep observability

Gigamon CEO Shane Buckley talks up the company’s ability to inspect encrypted network traffic for malicious activity, how it stands out with its deep observability capabilities and the tailwinds that are fuelling its growth Continue Reading

Engineers slash RPO/RTO as they swap tape for Rubrik backup

Frankham Group ditches archaic tape backup and deploys Rubrik backup appliances and remote disaster recovery facility. Meanwhile, the engineering group assesses a move to the cloud Continue Reading

The UK AI Safety Summit – what did it achieve?

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we look back at the UK government’s AI Safety Summit and assess what it achieved – and what it didn’t. Our latest buyer’s guide examines the future of business software and modernising legacy applications. And we find out how the UK Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act aims to protect your smart devices. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Australia’s public cloud spending to hit A$23bn in 2024

Spending on public cloud services in Australia will reach 50% of the total addressable market for the first time in 2024, according to Gartner Continue Reading

Encrypted mail service Tuta says it was wrongly accused of being a front for intelligence services

German encrypted email service Tuta, formerly known as Tutanota, has denied claims by a former Canadian police intelligence officer accused of passing secrets to criminals that it was compromised by intelligence services Continue Reading

AI Safety Summit review

Computer Weekly takes stock of the UK government’s AI Safety Summit and the differing perspectives around its success Continue Reading

UK government does not see need for specific AI legislation

The UK government does not currently see the need for new artificial intelligence legislation, as many regulators are already dealing effectively with AI-related harms Continue Reading

How Village Roadshow modernised ITSM with cloud

Australian theme park and cinema operator reduced ITSM costs by 60% to improve problem resolution and other outcomes from use of Freshworks' cloud-based ITSM service Continue Reading

Conflict of interest concerns raised over CMA's use of AWS UK public sector discount scheme

Less than a month after the CMA confirmed it would be investigating the competitive impact of AWS preferential pricing deals on the UK cloud market, data reveals the CMA is benefiting from cut-price Amazon cloud services Continue Reading

Data-sharing management gap highlights cyber risk, says report

Organisations are struggling to secure their use of communications tools to share data with third-party partners and suppliers, and in the process are exposing themselves to heightened levels of risk, according to a report Continue Reading

AI Summit not the place for human rights, says French finance minister

Despite commitments at the UK’s AI Safety Summit to respect and protect human rights, the French finance minister said it was not the right forum to discuss signatories' human rights records Continue Reading

SAP touts Business Technology Platform as foundation for S/4Hana migrations

SAP claims its Business Technology Platform can help customers ease their transition to S/4Hana and lay the foundation for artificial intelligence initiatives Continue Reading

AI Safety Summit review

Computer Weekly takes stock of the UK government’s AI Safety Summit and the differing perspectives around its success Continue Reading

AWS to open Malaysia cloud region in 2024

Amazon Web Services’ new cloud region in Malaysia will open next year to meet the increased demand for cloud services and support digitisation efforts in the country Continue Reading

AI Safety Summit: Day one review

Computer Weekly breaks down what happened during the first day of the UK government’s AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park Continue Reading

Pension changes set to boost UK tech

UK technology and science startups could benefit from changes to UK pension funds Continue Reading

SAP lays out generative AI strategy

SAP is incorporating generative AI capabilities into software development and the Hana database, prioritising data privacy and use cases that drive efficiency and cost savings for customers Continue Reading

AI Summit: 28 governments and EU agree to safe AI development

In a joint communique at the UK government’s AI Safety Summit, all participating governments agreed to deepen their cooperation around the risks associated with artificial intelligence Continue Reading

Cloud banking fintech unicorn cuts 50 staff

UK fintech unicorn reduces its total staff by about 7% with sales and marketing roles taking the biggest hit. Continue Reading

Lloyds bank kicks off Hyderabad operation

Lloyds Banking Group has opened its latest tech operation in Hyderabad, with plans to recruit around 600 IT experts Continue Reading

Over a quarter of UK adults use buy now, pay later fintechs

Latest research from UK financial services regulator shows BNPL more likely to be used by people experiencing financial difficulty Continue Reading

‘Egregious’ to link passport data with facial recognition systems

The Scottish biometrics watchdog has spoken out against the UK policing minister’s plans to integrate passport data with police facial recognition systems Continue Reading

Sunak sets scene for upcoming AI Safety Summit

Prime minister Rishi Sunak has outlined how the UK will approach making AI safe, but experts say there is still too big a focus on catastrophic but speculative risks over real harms the technology is already causing Continue Reading

Customers speak out over Okta’s response to latest breach

Customers of identity specialist Okta have been attacked via a compromise of its systems, and are claiming Okta’s response leaves something to be desired Continue Reading

NetApp ‘unified storage’ adds new ASA block storage at Insight

Las Vegas event sees NetApp continue its evolution to hybrid cloud and data management player announce ASA C-series and Keystone and Kubernetes storage enhancements Continue Reading

OCBC to roll out GenAI chatbot

Singapore’s OCBC Bank is rolling out a GenAI chatbot powered by Azure OpenAI to assist employees with writing, research and idea generation Continue Reading

Brewing data insights at Heineken

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we find out how brewing giant Heineken is building a data ecosystem to share insights and tap into AI capabilities. The UK is conducting a formal investigation into AWS and Microsoft’s cloud dominance – what will it mean for users? And we examine how generative AI could be used to improve customer experience. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Microsoft to invest A$5bn in Australia

Microsoft is making its largest investment in Australia to expand its infrastructure footprint, alongside plans to bolster skills training and cyber security in the country Continue Reading

How Ensign is leading the charge in cyber security

Lee Fook Sun, chairman of Ensign InfoSecurity, traces the company’s journey and how it is leading the charge in cyber security by doing things differently, investing in R&D and engaging with the wider ecosystem Continue Reading

Jaguar TCS Formula E racing team making breakthroughs that will fine-tune electric road vehicles

The Jaguar TCS Formula E racing team is using software and digital simulations to continually improve its electric racing cars, leading to better performing electric vehicles on our roads Continue Reading

How AWS is building a tech stack for generative AI

Olivier Klein, chief technologist for Asia-Pacific and Japan at Amazon Web Services, dives deeper into the technology stack the company has built to ease GenAI adoption Continue Reading

Scality gets a jump with VMware Cloud Director integration

S3-compliant object storage specialist will use new OSIS integration with VMware’s cloud management tool to target service providers that want to deliver regional cloud offers Continue Reading

DORA: Moving into a new era of digital resilience

The EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act will come into force in just over a year, the majority of risk management professionals are only at the beginning of their planning journey. Kate Needham-Bennett of Fusion Risk Management explains how to get things moving Continue Reading

Post Office auditors presumed subpostmasters were ‘on the fiddle’ or ‘in a muddle’

Public inquiry into Post Office scandal hears how head office staff routinely made negative assumptions about subpostmasters in small branches Continue Reading

Former Post Office executive admits he wouldn’t sign unfair contract he pushed on subpostmasters

Former contract manager said contract that subpostmasters had to sign with Post Office “put them on the hook” for everything Continue Reading

Five Eyes issues five tips on thwarting nation state threats

Intelligence chiefs from the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the US have published guidance on building resilience against nation state cyber threats Continue Reading

Countrywide Healthcare manages Meraki with Highlight

The supplier of medical and janitorial equipment selected managed service that connects to its Cisco Meraki system via a single API Continue Reading

How APAC organisations are tapping generative AI

Organisations in the region are deploying and experimenting with generative AI in healthcare, citizen services and other use cases amid cost-related concerns and other challenges Continue Reading

UK startups pilot semiconductor funding

ChipStart is a new initiative from the UK government to help build out the National Semiconductor Strategy by supporting startups Continue Reading

CW EMEA: Prepare for AI explosion

In this month’s CW EMEA, we look at generative artificial intelligence, which Accenture claims is the next big thing in enterprise IT. The IT services giant says GenAI will transform 40% of all working hours – and it is putting its money where its mouth is with plans to invest $3bn in AI and create 40,000 AI-focused roles. Part of the huge investment has already been assigned to the creation of an AI and generative AI lab in Brussels focused on the public sector in Europe. We also look at a Deutsche Telekom-led consortium’s demo of multi-supplier non-real-time RAN optimisation, how last month’s Ryder Cup tested out technology to improve how fans digitally consume the event, and find out how Zurich Insurance has cut the time it takes to complete development of ServiceNow applications. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

How generative AI and cloud complement each other

McKinsey partner explains the symbiotic relationship between generative AI and cloud, enabling organisations to speed up cloud migration and harness the benefits of AI Continue Reading

Pure offers Evergreen energy and rackspace cost guarantees

Pure Storage will take upfront payments for power and rackspace and guarantee those for product lifecycles in its Evergreen One, Flex and Forever consumption purchasing models Continue Reading

Telstra to acquire Versent for A$267.5m

The move is expected to bolster Telstra’s enterprise IT services business and support international expansion Continue Reading

Singtel NaaS offering to ease hybrid network management

Singtel CUBΣ is touted to make it easier for enterprises to manage, scale and automate deployment of networking resources in a hybrid network environment Continue Reading

VMware reaffirms commitment to Tanzu

VMware CEO Raghu Raghuram emphasises the importance of having an infrastructure stack capable of supporting applications, with VMware Tanzu playing a pivotal role Continue Reading

IR35: HMRC completes first phase of CEST upgrades with Ocelot platform migration

HMRC has confirmed that its online IR35 status checker tool has completed its migration to a new platform, as the government tax collection agency’s revamp of the service continues apace Continue Reading

HPE hones GreenLake strategy with AI moves, hybrid cloud management

HPE has evolved its GreenLake strategy over the past five years, expanding beyond its as-a-service offerings to include a capital purchase model and a strong focus on hybrid cloud management and AI Continue Reading

Visa to invest $100m in generative AI startups

Payments giant investing in startups that focus on applying generative AI to commerce and payments Continue Reading

AI vs software outsourcing: An opportunity or a threat?

While artificial intelligence offers unprecedented opportunities for growth, efficiency and automation, it also raises pertinent questions about the future of software outsourcing Continue Reading

Public sector needs systemic reform of capacity to innovate

Improving the public sector’s capacity to innovate requires a culture of innovation underpinned by people, skills and new ways of working with the private sector Continue Reading

Where next for quantum computing?

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we talk to the head of Amazon’s Braket quantum computing services about how the technology is progressing. We go behind the scenes at an ethical hacker event to find out how bug bounty programmes work. And we analyse the offerings of the major players in software-defined storage. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

First subpostmaster Horizon conviction overturned in Scotland

Scotland has seen its first Post Office Horizon conviction overturned, taking the UK total to 92 Continue Reading

US lawmakers write to AI firms about ‘gruelling’ work conditions

Lawmakers have written to nine tech companies – including Amazon, Google and Microsoft – about the working conditions of those they employ to train and maintain their artificial intelligence systems, giving them until 11 October 2023 to respond Continue Reading

How Akamai is driving growth in APAC

Akamai's managing director for the region outlines the company’s growth journey, how it sets itself apart from competitors, and its strategies to drive the next phase of growth Continue Reading

Cloud NAS, what is it good for?

We look at NAS file access storage, how it works, what it’s good for and the possibilities to access storage for files and unstructured data in the public cloud Continue Reading

Five more subpostmasters have IT system-related convictions overturned

Over 90 former subpostmasters have so far seen wrongful convictions overturned since it was proved that software errors were to blame for accounting shortfalls Continue Reading

Post Office had no interest in subpostmaster welfare when taking legal action, says Fujitsu memo

Fujitsu memo reveals Post Office didn’t care how legal action would affect its subpostmasters as it placed the reputation of its computer system before their welfare Continue Reading

IBM reorients to offset historic storage hardware decline

Storage profile: We look at IBM and the strategic shifts it has made towards the cloud, cloud-native and as-a-service offerings that aim to reverse a long-term decline in revenues Continue Reading

Kubernetes storage: It’s object or nothing for MinIO

SAN and NAS are finished in the age of the cloud when it comes to cloud-native Kubernetes storage, according to container-focused object storage maker MinIO Continue Reading

Insights from launching a developer-led bank

A software developer's approach to building a bank in the digital age. Continue Reading

How Liverpool FC is tapping cloud and data analytics

Liverpool Football Club is leveraging data analytics and cloud technology to improve fan engagement and enable its media production team to work more efficiently Continue Reading

How Confluent is tapping the groundswell in data streaming

Confluent CEO Jay Kreps talks up the misconceptions of Kafka and what the company is doing to help customers better leverage the capabilities of the technology Continue Reading

Lords begin inquiry into large language models

Lords will examine the risks and opportunities of large language models and look at how government can effectively manage them in the coming years Continue Reading

How Google is priming its infrastructure for the AI wave

The technology giant is integrating purpose-built hardware with an optimised software stack to meet the heightened computational demands of next-generation AI workloads Continue Reading

Post Office employee changed story for witness statement used to destroy subpostmaster

Post Office inquiry hears how an auditor changed her story about a subpostmaster to help win court battle Continue Reading

Government offers £600,000 to subpostmasters with overturned convictions

Subpostmasters wrongfully convicted of financial crimes based on evidence from faulty Horizon software will be offered £600,000 compensation by government Continue Reading

Interview: Ashish Gupta, head of EMEA, HCLTech

It’s not just enterprises that changed their operating models during and after Covid, but also the suppliers that took them on the journey, as HCLTech’s Ashish Gupta explains. Continue Reading

Simplifying cloud integrations with legacy IT

Subscription-based software is easier to integrate than traditional enterprise software, but the challenge for IT leaders is governance for SaaS connectivity Continue Reading

Number of UK contactless payments rose by 30% last year

UK consumers are increasingly making contactless payments, with the number of payments using the technology up 30% last year Continue Reading

Manchester police data breach a classic supply chain incident

The developing data breach at Greater Manchester Police follows a cyber attack on the systems of a key supplier of ID services to the force Continue Reading

How DocuSign is extending its capabilities beyond e-signatures

DocuSign is harnessing large language models to help individuals make sense of agreements and employing AI-based biometrics to verify the identity of signers, as part of its broader efforts to expand its capabilities beyond electronic signatures Continue Reading

European enterprises to spend more on generative IT to close gap on US

European organisations are upping their spending on generative AI innovation, but face challenges recruiting the right people to support this Continue Reading

European fintech investment plummets, but more sustainable future lies ahead

Investment in European fintechs has seen a dramatic drop, but a more sustainable sector will result from investment discipline Continue Reading

The dangers of breaking encryption

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we detail the concerns of the BCS and other IT experts about the UK’s Online Safety Bill’s proposals to weaken end-to-end message encryption. Our buyer’s guide continues to look at the issues around integrating software-as-a-service applications, with a particular eye to the proliferation of SaaS during the Covid pandemic. Red Hat’s CEO Matt Hicks retails the company’s efforts to support generative AI. And we discover how immersive technologies can shape a brave new world of training and design. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

IT spending in Australia to grow 7.8% in 2024

The growth will be led by investments in cyber security, cloud, analytics and application modernisation as Australian CIOs look to improve cost and operational efficiencies Continue Reading

How Culture Amp is tapping generative AI

Australia’s Culture Amp is building a generative AI capability that summarises employee survey responses, automating a process that typically takes HR admins up to hundreds of hours to complete Continue Reading

How Netskope is driving growth in APAC

Netskope is growing at over 50% year on year in the Asia-Pacific region, but the single-vendor SASE supplier is not limiting its customers to its own offerings Continue Reading

SME disaster recovery: Five key points to consider

We look at key DR considerations for SMEs, including RPOs, RTOs, infrastructure needed for effective continuity and the right combination of cloud and in-house provision Continue Reading

Government AI taskforce appoints new advisory board members

An initial progress report published by the Taskforce provides detail on new appointments to its external advisory board as well as rebrand to focus on “frontier” artificial intelligence Continue Reading

Interview: Ashish Gupta, head of EMEA, HCLTech

It’s not just enterprises that changed their operating models during and after Covid, but also the suppliers that took them on the journey, HCLTech Europe’s head explains Continue Reading