IT services and outsourcing

IR35 private sector reforms: Firms risk legal action by pushing employers’ NI onto contractors

Largest-ever study into the impact the IR35 private sector reforms are having on contractors suggests firms are leaving themselves open to litigation by misinterpreting the new rules Continue Reading

IR35 tribunal sees Nationwide project manager lose £70,000 tax bill appeal to HMRC

IR35 tribunal judge concludes working relationship between two parties is one of employment, with project manager Robert Lee described as ‘part and parcel’ of Nationwide’s organisation Continue Reading

Australian government pulls plug on cloud certification programme

The Australian Signals Directorate is closing its cloud services certification programme to allow for more home-grown suppliers Continue Reading

MPs call on PM to commit to full public inquiry into Post Office Horizon IT scandal

Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee to investigate the Horizon IT system and will question Post Office executives over subpostmasters wrongly accused of fraud Continue Reading

Horangi and Tokio Marine team up on cyber security services

Singapore-based Horangi will provide penetration testing, among other cyber security services, to Tokio Marine Insurance Singapore’s cyber risk insurance clients Continue Reading

MPs double down on criticism of HMRC's loan charge enforcement action report

The war of words between the Loan Charge All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) and HMRC has deepened, as the cross-party group of MPs pens three-page letter outlining its issues with how tax agency is reporting on its enforcement activities Continue Reading

What will points-based immigration mean for IT recruitment?

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we look at the government’s new points-based immigration rules and assess the implications for the tech sector. IR35 tax rules change in April – we find out how IT contractors need to prepare. And we examine whether the rise of cloud is really displacing the datacentre. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

IR35 private sector reforms: IT contractors weigh up their post-April 2020 work options

There are eight weeks to go until the IR35 reforms come into play for the private sector, but the IT contractor community is already feeling the effects of HMRC’s latest disguised employment clampdown. Continue Reading

HMRC CEO denies it is ‘deliberately misleading’ public over loan scheme promoter arrests

HMRC CEO Jim Harra has “strongly rejected” claims made on social media by the Loan Charge All Party Parliamentary Group of cross-party MPs that it is “deliberately misleading” the public about its recent loan scheme-related enforcement activities Continue Reading

Nordic lessons on digital transformation

Swedish financial services firm reports a successful IT outsourcing project with India-based IT services company Continue Reading

How Asia’s tech firms are helping to stem the Covid-19 outbreak

Data analytics and robots are being deployed in China and other Asian countries that have been hardest hit by the ongoing coronavirus outbreak Continue Reading

Government claims it was misled by Post Office over IT scandal

Minister says Post Office IT experts misled the government when it asked questions about subpostmasters’ concerns over Horizon IT system Continue Reading

IBM seeks developers to tackle climate change with open source technology innovations

IBM and its ecosystem partners are calling on developers worldwide to help develop innovative technologies to help combat climate change Continue Reading

Oxbotica on board with Cisco to drive autonomous vehicle data challenge

Connected car technology firm hits pedal with Cisco to solve data challenges of future autonomous vehicles Continue Reading

IR35 private sector reforms: Treasury review concludes no delay needed to April 2020 start date

Contracting groups describe HM Treasury’s highly anticipated review into the implementation of the IR35 reforms as “recklessly inadequate” as it concludes roll-out should proceed as planned Continue Reading

IR35 reforms: IT contractors warned off joining non-compliant umbrellas to avoid loan charge risk

Contracting stakeholders are calling on the government to do more to regulate umbrella companies ahead of the IR35 private sector reforms coming into play, to prevent more contractors falling into the scope of the loan charge Continue Reading

IT Priorities 2020: ASEAN firms on the frontline of digital transformation

Southeast Asian companies plan to spend more on infrastructure and cyber security, but the growth in IT budgets appears to be slowing down Continue Reading

Cloud Snooper firewall bypass may be work of nation state

Cloud Snooper deploys a combination of specialised techniques to sneak past enterprise firewalls, warns Sophos Continue Reading

How tech suppliers are easing barriers to hybrid cloud adoption

The tech industry has risen to the challenge of helping enterprises ease their transition to hybrid cloud, but issues remain Continue Reading

Is the EU better equipped than the US to supervise the use of facial recognition?

Clearview AI can be an indispensable tool to reinforce national security, but there are many risks associated with the use of facial recognition technology that the EU might be better equipped to deal with than the US Continue Reading

Sports retailer Decathlon left employee data exposed

More than 123 million records were accidentally exposed on an unsecured ElasticSearch server Continue Reading

The Security Interviews: Gil Shwed’s 10-year vision for security

Check Point founder Gil Shwed discusses his new Infinity Next concept and how he plans to remodel the world of cyber security in the next 10 years Continue Reading

Cloud data leaks compounded by lack of automation tools

Data leaks caused by misconfigured clouds are being compounded because security teams lack appropriate automation and integration tools, according to a report Continue Reading

Using meteorological data to prepare for the worst

In this week’s Computer Weekly, after the storms that swept across the UK, we look at the technology behind Weather Source’s meteorological data service. Oracle and SAP are battling over customers to upgrade their ERP systems to the cloud. And we report from the world’s biggest retail tech show. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

McAfee buys Light Point to enhance web browser protection

Acquisition of Light Point Security will extend the capabilities of multiple McAfee products Continue Reading

IR35 private sector reforms: First year of enforcement won't be ‘heavy-handed’, claims chancellor

New chancellor Rishi Sunak has moved to assure business leaders that HMRC will not be heavy-handed in enforcing the new IR35 rules Continue Reading

Executive interview: Innovation requires radical choices

Is IT innovative? Would a tech executive scrap an idea that took months to develop, and start afresh? True innovation requires a culture change Continue Reading

Australian government inks sourcing deal with Rimini Street

The whole-of-government agreement will provide Australian government agencies with easier and cheaper access to third-party software support Continue Reading

Greenpeace takes open-source approach to finish web transformation

Non-profit environmental group Greenpeace is collaborating with Red Hat to finish the delivery of its global web redesign Continue Reading

Labour condemns Google data plans

Shadow digital minister Chi Onwurah challenges the government to stop Google’s plans to move UK user data out of the EU Continue Reading

Kubernetes storage 101: Container storage basics

We look at the basics of creating storage and specifying it for applications in container storage using Kubernetes Persistent Volumes and Persistent Volume Claims Continue Reading

Exploring the Nordics’ healthy advantage in leisure tech

The Nordic region is home to an increasing number of global leisure tech startups Continue Reading

Facilities firm ISS World crippled by ransomware attack

An apparent ransomware attack has compromised some IT and email systems at Danish facilities firm ISS World Continue Reading

Macquarie Cloud Services sets up Azure practice

Macquarie Telecom’s cloud division will deliver Azure managed services to new and existing customers, complementing its existing cloud, hosting, datacentre and telco businesses Continue Reading

Cost of cloud misconfigurations set at $5tn

Cloud security outfit DivvyCloud says more than 33 billion records have been exposed in cloud misconfiguration incidents in the past 24 months Continue Reading

Refinitiv uses Google Cloud to revolutionise delivery of huge datasets

Financial data giant is expanding delivery of its services in the cloud, removing the need for customers to use hard disks and trucks to transport large datasets onsite Continue Reading

IR35 private sector reforms: National Grid contractors up in arms over tax status assessments

Assessments are claimed to have resulted in “99%” of utility firm’s off-payroll workers having their roles reclassified as inside IR35 Continue Reading

Veeam Availability Suite v10 adds NAS backup and cloud tiering

Availability Suite is mostly about consolidating the company’s data management platform idea, but it has added incremental forever NAS backup, cloud tiering and recovery to vSphere Continue Reading

Nearly three-quarters of C-suite see visibility into network as business driver

C-suite decision-makers say businesses must rethink what is possible to survive and that technology, particularly the network, must be an enabler in the process Continue Reading

PM Johnson shuffles technology and digital ministers again

Boris Johnson has changed all the key Cabinet appointments responsible for tech and digital policy for the second time since becoming prime minister last year Continue Reading

Tech Nation announces Rising Star winners

The UK’s entrepreneurial network, Tech Nation, has announced the winners of its scaleup competition Continue Reading

London tech startups shortlisted for mayor’s Civic Innovation Challenge

Eight London startups will receive funding from the mayor to help democratise urban planning and combat violent extremism online Continue Reading

IR35 private sector reforms: IT contractors weigh up their post-April 2020 work options

There are eight weeks to go until the IR35 reforms come into play for the private sector, but the IT contractor community is already feeling the effects of HMRC’s latest disguised employment clampdown Continue Reading

IR35 private sector reforms: Protesters demand government halts April 2020 roll-out date

With contractors due to stage an anti-IR35 reform protest march at the Houses of Parliament today, stakeholders pen open letter to the Chancellor outlining their concerns about how the changes are affecting the self-employed sector Continue Reading

Inside the SOC: the nerve centre of security operations

Security operations centres are the bedrock of any cyber defence strategy, but operating one is increasingly challenging, with mounting workloads and a shortage of skilled personnel Continue Reading

IBM unifies storage arrays under FlashSystem brand

IBM to bring together all non-mainframe storage arrays as FlashSystem product, with options from entry-level to petabyte-scale with NVMe flash and storage class memory Continue Reading

IR35 private sector reforms: Research suggests 75% of contractors will leave posts by April 2020

Just eight weeks before the IR35 reforms are due to be extended to the private sector, new research suggests contractors are planning to vote with their feet and leave their positions as blanket bans take hold Continue Reading

Tencent Cloud gains multi-tier cloud security certification

China's Tencent Cloud joins major cloud suppliers in securing tier three of Singapore’s Multi-Tier Cloud Security standard in a bid to grow its presence in Asia Continue Reading

US hotel group ditches datacentre for Nasuni cloud NAS

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts got rid of its datacentre and put everything in the cloud, with Nasuni cloud NAS providing storage from which any user can restore files Continue Reading

Australian government to roll out SAP S/4 Hana

Australia’s finance department earmarks S/4 Hana as its ERP system to provide common financial and HR services across government Continue Reading

IR35 private sector reforms: HMRC confirms last-minute tweak to incoming off-payroll rules

The government is rolling out a tweak to the IR35 private sector reforms that it claims will give businesses more time to prepare, but stakeholders are unconvinced Continue Reading

Goldman Sachs considers building cloud service to sell to other finance firms

Internal memo reveals that bank could provide an Amazon Web Services-like cloud service to financial services companies Continue Reading

Startup success is ‘The Finnish Dream’

Finland has a startup mentality running through its veins and its water, with an “all for one” attitude driving fledgling tech companies Continue Reading

Nordic industries increase IT outsourcing for IoT and big data skills

Nordic industries are outsourcing more to support their internet of things and big data capabilities Continue Reading

IR35 reforms subject to pre-Budget inquiry as self-employed hit by crisis of confidence

The House of Lords’ Economic Affairs Committee is calling for an immediate inquiry into the real-world impacts of the IR35 reforms on private sector businesses and contractors Continue Reading

ASEAN’s tech talent crunch pushing up IT wages

Higher IT salaries were seen across the board in the region, with more than half taking home a bigger pay check last year Continue Reading

Research network for ethical AI launched in the UK

The network claims it will put social justice at the core of a multidisciplinary approach to artificial intelligence research Continue Reading

Veeam pushes subscription licensing in cloud-centric ‘Act II’

Backup specialist wants to “win the cloud” as it pushes towards a cloud-focused vision that includes pay-for-what-you-use and multicloud after its acquisition last month Continue Reading

Finnish digital initiative to drive EU digital-based passenger services

Finnish-driven transport-as-a-service concept gets EU-wide appeal as a way of increasing customer satisfaction and reducing fuel consumption Continue Reading

Check Point pledges end to security updates

Check Point’s Gil Shwed expands on a vision for the next 10 years of cyber security, which he calls Infinity Next Continue Reading

OVHcloud eyes Indian market in APAC expansion

French cloud infrastructure supplier OVHcloud is investing more in India over the next few quarters as part of its regional expansion plan Continue Reading

Australia’s NAB taps AI to create brand voice

Using Amazon’s artificial intelligence smarts, National Australia Bank has developed a unique brand voice that will greet customers who dial up its contact centre Continue Reading

Azimo gets loan from European Investment Bank to build cross-border payments infrastructure in EU

UK fintech gets validation from EIB through €20m loan which will contribute to building its smartphone app-based payments infrastructure Continue Reading

Record-breaking rise in global cloud infrastructure spend between Q3 and Q4

Synergy Research Group’s fourth-quarter look at the cloud infrastructure market reveals a huge jump in sequential spend since the third quarter Continue Reading

New jobs in Ireland as Brexit forces Revolut to migrate work from London

Brexit has pushed the financial technology firm into moving London jobs to Ireland Continue Reading

What to include in a network services agreement

Network teams that create MSP contracts for their managed network services should cover delivery lead times, network performance, adds and changes, network uptime and escalation. Continue Reading

Cost-cutting and digital transformation spur increased European IT outsourcing in 2019

The need to rein in costs while digitally transforming has led to growth in traditional and as-a-service base outsourcing Continue Reading

Government refuses request to pay legal costs for subpostmasters in Post Office case

The government has refused to pay the huge legal costs subpostmasters incurred in their battle with the government-owned Post Office, which they won Continue Reading

IR35 private sector reforms: BP contractors notified of incoming ban on PSCs

BP is understood to have begun notifying its self-employed workforce about its plans to terminate PSC engagements from 31 March 2020, in anticipation of the IR35 reforms coming into play the following month Continue Reading

Australia’s Iconic Hotels taps cloud for speed and cost savings

The independent hotel operator in the Australian Capital Territory has saved IT manpower and costs by moving from an on-premise hospitality management system to a cloud-based application Continue Reading

AWS downplays risk of competitors threatening its public cloud dominance during Q4 results

Amazon Web Services posts fourth-quarter revenue of $9.95bn for the three months to 31 December 2019 as speculation persists about the rising threat from Microsoft Continue Reading

Tech Nation selects fifth Upscale programme cohort

Entrepreneurial network Tech Nation has announced its Upscale 5.0 cohort as the UK scaleup ecosystem continues to grow Continue Reading

Inside DXC Technology’s APAC playbook

DXC Technology’s CTO for Asia-Pacific talks up efforts to support the region’s enterprises that are in varying stages of digital transformation Continue Reading

UK cyber security sector worth more than £8bn

The UK’s cyber security industry employs 43,000 full-time workers, and contributed nearly £4bn to the UK economy in 2019, according to DCMS Continue Reading

IR35 reforms are 'demonising' contractors and locking them out of work, chancellor warned

The CEO of online accountancy consultancy InniAccounts has written to the chancellor of the exchequer, Sajid Javid, to call for legislation to be passed that will ensure enterprises take time to individually assess tax status of contractors Continue Reading

AI is transforming the Nordic workplace – and it won’t stop there

Nordic startups are applying artificial intelligence to address workplace challenges, with HR and operations managers across the world watching Continue Reading

Organisations losing control of cloud data

Data is more widely dispersed in enterprise clouds than most organisations think, and as a result they are at risk of losing control of it, according to a report Continue Reading

Loan charge under review: IT contractors slam government's planned policy revamp

The IT contractor community shares its verdict on the UK government's plans to revamp its controversial loan charge policy, which has left thousands of people facing life-changing tax bills and financial ruin. Continue Reading

NHS Digital completes first two major service migrations to the AWS cloud

The digital arm of the National Health Service confirms the system moves are the first of many service migrations it is planning to undertake Continue Reading

Police sent information about potential Fujitsu staff perjury in subpostmaster prosecutions

The police have been asked to consider information from a High Court judge questioning evidence given by Fujitsu staff in criminal trials of Post Office subpostmasters Continue Reading

Met Police to launch facial recognition operationally

Despite the continuing controversy around its use, the Metropolitan Police will be deploying live facial recognition across the capital Continue Reading

Disaster recovery failover choices: Synchronous mirrors, P2V and the cloud

We survey the key options in disaster recovery: whether to failover to an on-site location or off-site facility. We also look at the cloud as an option in disaster recovery Continue Reading

Gender funding gap reveals complacency in the Nordics

Tech investors are biased towards men when it comes to investing – even if they are not aware of it Continue Reading

Milan hosts Cisco’s first European security innovation unit

Cisco has cut the ribbon on its first Cyber Security Co-Innovation Centre in Europe, at Milan’s Leonardo da Vinci Science and Technology Museum Continue Reading

Digital transformation shaking confidence in SD-WAN

Cato Networks survey highlights importance of considering not only SD-WAN as an MPLS replacement but also its applicability to the broader needs of the digital business, such as cloud migration, network agility and global reach Continue Reading

Travelex hackers shut down German car parts company Gedia in massive ‘cyber attack’

Car parts manufacturer says cyber attack will have far-reaching consequences for its business, and it has put emergency plans in place to continue deliveries Continue Reading

Startup uses machine learning to support GDPR’s right to be forgotten

Non-intrusive algorithms enable users to track which companies hold their data, so they can take it back Continue Reading

Driving adoption: Are high costs putting public cloud out of reach to non-profits?

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s insights into the sky-high cloud bills faced by some non-profit organisations prompts questions about whether the public cloud giants should do more to make their services more accessible to the third sector Continue Reading

IR35 private sector reforms: Recruitment industry urges chancellor to halt April 2020 roll-out

Major players from the UK recruitment industry want the government to delay plans to roll out the IR35 reforms to the private sector so enterprises have more time to prepare Continue Reading

High-street banks face disruption three weeks after Travelex hack

Foreign exchange services still disrupted, three weeks after Travelex received a $6m ransom demand from cyber gangsters Continue Reading

Don’t become the next Travelex: Get ready for ransomware

With Travelex’s IT still in disarray and banks and travellers left without access to funds more than a week after it was hit by a ransomware attack, we ask what others can learn from the foreign exchange services company’s response to the incident. Continue Reading

IR35 private sector reforms: IBM joins list of enterprises applying blanket ban to PSCs

Tech giant IBM has notified its personal service company IT contractors that they must switch to PAYE terms or use umbrella companies from the end of March, as the private sector races to achieve IR35 compliance Continue Reading

Exposed AWS buckets again implicated in multiple data leaks

A series of data leaks in the past week have once again implicated poorly secured Amazon S3 buckets, which are supposed to be private by default Continue Reading

Modern telecoms has opened up Sweden’s far north

Modern telecom infrastructures mean datacentres can be further away from users, and environmental and cost advantages are to be had in locations such as Sweden’s far north Continue Reading

App developers sue Facebook over ‘anti-competitive conduct’

Lawsuit is based on leaked internal Facebook documents obtained and published by Computer Weekly and NBC last year Continue Reading

Huawei unveils mobile development programme for UK and Irish business

Leading comms tech and service provider Huawei reveals strategy to support UK and Irish businesses with mobile services development offering Continue Reading

IR35 private sector reforms: Blanket bans ‘devalue’ IT contractor contributions to digital projects

James Poyser, CEO of contractor-focused online accountancy firm InniAccounts, claims large firms that are failing to assess contractors fairly will lose out in productivity, reputation and talent retention Continue Reading

Do you use cloud storage for these use cases yet?

We look at the use cases most suited to a quick transition to the cloud: backup, archiving, disaster recovery, file storage and cloud bursting – cloud storage’s low-hanging fruit Continue Reading

UK’s phone and internet bulk data surveillance unlawful, says EU court opinion

The Advocate General of the European Court of Justice issues legal opinions finding that the UK, French and Belgian bulk surveillance regimes are unlawful Continue Reading

Big storage meets cloud in the datacentre 'as-a-service' revolution

Cloud is mainstream but the datacentre’s here to stay. This has resulted in a trend towards as-a-service in the datacentre where big storage array makers and the cloud giants meet Continue Reading