IT services and outsourcing

Spy tech gets high tech – why MI6 invests in startups

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we’re used to James Bond and his gadgets, but now MI6 is investing in tech startups to develop new intelligence capabilities. Our exclusive IT Priorities survey suggests IT leaders are optimistic about 2022. And our new buyer’s guide examines the latest emerging technologies. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

APAC banks gear up on cloud, but challenges remain

Public cloud spending by financial institutions in the region is rising even as they grapple with legacy IT challenges and cost concerns Continue Reading

Surge in Nobelium-linked supply chain attacks

Mandiant’s researchers share new intel on two distinct clusters of Russian APT activity, linked to the Nobelium SolarWinds attackers Continue Reading

India’s IT spending to cross $100bn mark in 2022

Led by software investments, the growth in IT spending comes as organisations in the subcontinent look to modernise their IT infrastructure and support a hybrid workforce Continue Reading

Cloud-based Redwood becomes latest challenger bank to make a profit

Cloud-based business bank becomes the latest of the new wave of challengers to achieve profit Continue Reading

UK MSP set to use Nebulon cloud-defined storage IaaS

UK service provider Inca to use “cloud-defined storage” to support managed service provider offer in move which shunned hyper-converged infrastructure because of cited costly overheads Continue Reading

Financial Ombudsman Service takes step towards digital transformation with Workday

Ombudsman uses human resource and financial management software in the cloud Continue Reading

Accenture to create 3,000 UK tech jobs

Accenture’s recruitment plan in the UK is a response to businesses to the release of pent-up demand for digital transformations Continue Reading

Digital beats – how Warner Music turned to the cloud

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we talk to the CIO of Warner Music about how cloud computing helps it meet the needs of music lovers. AstraZeneca discusses how its enterprise social media system helped through the pandemic. And we assess the tech sector’s response to the government’s plans to tackle digital skills shortages. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

How Maxim’s Group is using Oracle Cloud

The Hong Kong-based F&B operator is using Oracle Cloud Infrastructure to run its VMware workloads and datawarehouse to improve resilience and productivity Continue Reading

UK ‘impact startups’ raise £2bn in 2021

Impact startups in the UK have raised record levels of investment this year, with most of the capital raised going to climate tech firms Continue Reading

DWP extends Capita contract for Scottish jobs programme

Scotland’s JETS job-matching scheme, which uses digital tools to support people looking for work, extends contract with Capita Continue Reading

CW Nordics: Could Iceland be the best place in the world for HPC?

Most of Iceland’s cheap, sustainable energy is used by aluminium smelters, but the country's Landsvirkjun power company is now promoting other uses for it, including high-performance computing. Also read in this issue how IoT collaboration in Norway is reaching beyond industries such as mining and shipping to include fish farming. Continue Reading

One in three Norwegian unicorns created in 2021 alone

Norway’s tech sector has undergone rapid growth in the past year, consolidating the Nordic country’s position as an emerging European tech hub Continue Reading

Kazakhstan’s IT industry growing rapidly thanks to heavy government support

Kazakhstan’s IT sector is being prepared for international expansion through government investment Continue Reading

Men’s Mental Health Month: How fintech can reduce anxiety around debt

Umer Suleman of ethical investment firm Wahed explains how financial technology can reduce anxieties associated with debt Continue Reading

Lessons from Lisbon: Reflections on a week at Web Summit

Russ Shaw, founder and CEO of Tech London Advocates and Global Tech Advocates, assesses the key takeaways of Web Summit 2021 Continue Reading

More wrongful convictions overturned in Post Office scandal

Seven more subpostmasters have been cleared after the Post Office charged them for crimes caused by its faulty Horizon software, taking the total of people wrongfully convicted to 72, with more to come Continue Reading

UK government announces safety tech challenge fund winners

The Safety Tech Challenge Fund winners will now develop technologies to limit the spread of child abuse material in encrypted environments, which the government has claimed will not be repurposed for other uses Continue Reading

Cloud storage compliance pitfalls: Post-pandemic and post-Brexit

We look at the key areas of cloud storage compliance that can trip you up, with shared responsibility with cloud providers and data residency among the most important Continue Reading

Six more former subpostmasters have convictions overturned

A total number of 65 subpostmasters have now had criminal convictions overturned in Post Office Horizon scandal Continue Reading

Security startups line up on Cyber Runway

Some 108 cyber security startups representing the UK’s most cutting-edge innovators are to join Plexal’s Cyber Runway accelerator Continue Reading

Cloud repatriation: Five reasons to repatriate data from cloud

We look at key drivers of cloud repatriation, including cost, compliance, issues around latency and data gravity, reversing poorly planned moves to the cloud, and supplier failure Continue Reading

Post Office agrees to share privileged legal information with Horizon scandal inquiry

The Post Office will waive professional legal privilege for documents relating to legal advice it received regarding subpostmaster prosecutions Continue Reading

GovTech to enhance Government on Commercial Cloud

GCC 2.0 will include improvements in user onboarding and provide single credential access to public cloud services and engineering tools, among other areas Continue Reading

Can UAE become a world leader in AI?

The UAE has launched multiple programmes as it bids to be a world-leading location for artificial intelligence innovation Continue Reading

UK government proposes new rules for digital supply chain security

Proposals could see IT service providers legally required to adhere to the NCSC’s Cyber Assessment Framework, among other things Continue Reading

Social value not yet fully embedded in procurement practices

Social value procurement rules are designed to diversify the public sector’s supplier base while providing society with wider collective benefits, but are yet to be fully introduced Continue Reading

Cost reduction is still the biggest driver of banks’ cloud adoption

More than 80% of banks now have a clear cloud strategy following a injection of urgency during the Covid-19 pandemic Continue Reading

IT Priorities 2022: APAC enterprises invest in digital future

Nearly two-thirds of enterprises in Asia-Pacific plan to increase their IT budgets next year in areas such as cloud computing and cyber security to secure their digital future Continue Reading

Post-Covid tech world to see 89% of UK tech operations hosted off-premise

Leading UK ISP releases research showing that emergence of the hybrid era means that dependence on on-premise infrastructure to support a full capacity office is no longer required Continue Reading

CW Benelux: Dutch IT company rips up the HR rule book for better work-life balance

One Dutch tech firm has used learnings from the pandemic to rip up its HR rule book and implement an official work-from-home policy. In fact, Infolearn has gone further than hybrid working, with a personal mobility budget for staff and a four-day working week, all with retention of full-time salary. Also in this issue, read how Dutch education administrators appear to be underestimating the threat of cyber crime. Continue Reading

Stockholm and Copenhagen: Different IT innovation journeys, similar success

Swedish and Danish capitals have build compelling tech startup success stories, and now rub shoulders with the likes of San Francisco Continue Reading

APAC expert guide to cloud migration

In this expert guide on cloud migration in Asia-Pacific, we highlight the key considerations and strategies that enterprises can take when moving their workloads to public cloud Continue Reading

Standard Chartered picks Starling Bank tech for product launch

Standard Chartered able to quickly launch new product through fintech platform Continue Reading

Vienna’s tech startup ecosystem gathers momentum

After a sustained period of inactivity, Vienna’s startup environment is finally on the rise again Continue Reading

Blockchain technology will help banks will cut cross-border payment costs by $10bn in 2030

The use of blockchain technology in cross-border payments will save global banks $10bn in 2030, according to research Continue Reading

How a cloud-first strategy helped save animals in the pandemic

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we talk to the RSPCA about how its cloud-first strategy helped to save animals throughout the pandemic. Data warehouses have been part of the IT landscape for 30 years – but are they now old technology, and what’s next? And we assess how Brexit has affected risk and resilience in the datacentre. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Oracle eyes startups with Singapore cloud region

Oracle is targeting startups and going beyond its enterprise stronghold with its first cloud region in Southeast Asia Continue Reading

CME Group signs 10-year cloud and product innovation deal with Google

CME Group, one of the world’s largest financial derivatives exchange operators, has signed a multi-year infrastructure migration deal with Google Cloud Continue Reading

Belfast City Airport: Most apps in the cloud by 2031

George Best Belfast City Airport has already achieved 50/50 cloud and on-premise working, with 80% of workloads expected to be cloud-based in the next decade. We look at what hybrid cloud means in practice Continue Reading

Mining deaths lawsuit against major tech companies dismissed

A legal case against five major US technology companies accused of knowingly benefiting from human rights abuses in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been dismissed, but victims plan to appeal Continue Reading

Fujitsu escaped huge lawsuit because Post Office behaved so badly in Horizon scandal

How Fujitsu has so far avoided a huge lawsuit in relation to its role in the Horizon scandal Continue Reading

What is Kyndryl?

As IBM spins out its Global Technology Services business, we speak to the UK chief of the new independent company about its plans Continue Reading

Facebook self-imposes facial recognition moratorium

Facebook and Meta have committed to halting their use of facial recognition technology and deleting the biometric data of more than a billion people by the end of 2021, but will retain the underlying algorithms and software for potential use in future products Continue Reading

UK’s Labour Party hit by third-party data breach

Data on Labour Party members was recently compromised in an apparent cyber attack on a third-party data processor Continue Reading

Cloud-fuelled European IT outsourcing spend hits record high

European IT services spend up on the back of strong demand for cloud-based services Continue Reading

Dell rolls out financing arm in Singapore

Dell Financial Services will offer flexible and consumption-based payment options in local and regional markets as more enterprises consume and operate IT infrastructure via an as-a-service model Continue Reading

No cloud storage for Belfast City Airport in Nutanix hyper-converged switch

George Best Belfast City Airport ditches ageing Dell iSCSI SAN for Nutanix HCI for half the price of nearest contender, and gets DR site into the bargain. Cloud storage was a no-go for cost reasons Continue Reading

TechUK slams government gift to big banks that will disadvantage fintechs

The government will put challenger banks at a disadvantage through its reduction in the bank profit surcharge, says TechUK Continue Reading

Russian IT market growing steadily after pandemic

Russia’s enterprise IT sector is recovering steadily after a slowdown caused by Covid-19 Continue Reading

AWS to open cloud region in New Zealand

Cloud giant will invest NZ$7.5bn in New Zealand over the next 15 years through the new Auckland cloud region Continue Reading

Cyber experts on how to nobble a Nobelium attack

A recent spate of attempted Nobelium cyber attacks were mostly unsuccessful, but serve as a reminder to pay attention to some more fundamental aspects of security Continue Reading

Thought Machine: Google-inspired banking fintech to unicorn and beyond

UK fintech unicorn Thought Machine is transforming the IT of large traditional banks, while working with fledgling digital-only challengers Continue Reading

Capita migrates systems to the cloud for TfL low emission zone expansion

Capita has expanded its team and moved systems to the cloud to support Transport for London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone expansion Continue Reading

Lacework expands into ANZ, eyes APAC market

DevSecOps supplier Lacework’s expansion into Australia and New Zealand will pave the way for a broader move into the Asia-Pacific region Continue Reading

Airport operator MAG boosts threat visibility with hybrid SOC

With budget concerns weighing heavy during the pandemic, Manchester Airports Group ditched an impending capex-heavy cyber investment in favour of a hybrid managed/in-house approach. Learn more about its experience Continue Reading

German regulator imposes limit on number of new customers digital bank can sign each month

BaFin limits the number of new customers that digital bank N26 can enrol until it is reassured on issues it has raised about the company Continue Reading

NetApp Insight frames moves to public cloud and cloud native

Storage player highlights partnerships with cloud hyperscalers and development of Spot portfolio aimed at cloud-native applications, DevOps, FinOps and SecOps Continue Reading

Spectra Logic unveils Vail hybrid cloud storage virtualisation

Vail provides single pool of storage overlay to on-premise flash, disk and tape, plus cloud via object storage interface with Posix-compliance promised in future releases Continue Reading

Police IT buyers should compel suppliers to prove AI claims

House of Lords told that UK law enforcement bodies should use their position as buyers to compel private sector suppliers to divulge more information about how their AI-powered technologies work Continue Reading

Barbershop is part of digital revolution in small business sector

Barbershop continues to add digital functionality to its business after the pandemic proved its value Continue Reading

Alibaba Cloud to open datacentres in Thailand and South Korea

Chinese cloud supplier is expanding its regional datacentre footprint to Thailand and South Korea in 2022 alongside technology investments that include a custom Arm-based server chip Continue Reading

VMware refines cross-cloud strategy

VMware’s CTO Kit Colbert talks up the evolution of the company’s cross-cloud strategy and how it stands out from other suppliers eyeing the multicloud pie Continue Reading

Making the case for and against police use of facial recognition technology

In this week’s Computer Weekly, as the Met Police enhances its facial recognition capabilities, we examine the pros and cons of law enforcement use of the technology. Three in five IT professionals want a new job – is there a tech exodus in the industry? And we take an in-depth look at the growth of the Nordic datacentre sector. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

DCMS appoints Plexal to drive telecoms diversity strategy

Government chooses UK innovation company to understand and develop the role of SMEs in the telecoms market with particular reference to how to create a diverse market that supports the creation of home-grown, sovereign technology Continue Reading

Graphcore opens Southeast Asia hub in Singapore

The AI chipmaker is looking to expand its sales teams and hire more engineers to support customer deployments in Singapore and the rest of Southeast Asia Continue Reading

Global IT outsourcing sees record spending and no sign of slowing

Cloud services are being taken up by enterprises rapidly as they accelerate digital transformations Continue Reading

Darlington Building Society invests in platform for digital transformation

Building society is looking to satisfy existing customers and attract new ones by meeting their digital service-level expectations Continue Reading

HPE’s GreenLake strategy pays off in APAC

HPE’s transition to an as-a-service company is paying off in Asia-Pacific where it witnessed one of the strongest quarters, thanks in part to rising demand for services Continue Reading

Hybrid cloud: Five key questions in 2021

We look at key need-to-knows about hybrid cloud in 2021, including how it is defined, key use cases, the main pitfalls and where it’s heading Continue Reading

Nearly half of finance firms will acquire or partner fintechs in next year

UK financial services firms are preparing to acquire or partner fintechs as they target business growth Continue Reading

Malaysia’s highway authority improves DR capabilities

The Malaysian Highway Authority is now more resilient against cyber attacks through a local disaster-recovery-as-a-service offering powered by Veeam software Continue Reading

How Zoom is growing its APAC business

Zoom is driving its growth in Asia-Pacific by embedding business processes into video communications, supporting the hybrid workplace and expanding its headcount in the region Continue Reading

HCL Benelux telco partnership targets SME and government

Indian IT service provider signs partnership that will see it modernise the core technology of Proximus to offer its services through Continue Reading

CW Middle East: Middle East hospitals accelerate take-up of healthcare technologies

The Middle East is accelerating its take-up of digital healthcare technologies following lessons learned during the Covid-19 pandemic, with regional government turning to technology to track disease trends and monitor treatment. Also read in this issue how the UAE’s National Program for Coders will offer ‘golden visas’ to 100,000 entrepreneurs, enterprise owners and startups. Continue Reading

How VMware is tackling the Indian market

VMware is eyeing growing opportunities in India around cloud-native application development, remote work as well as 5G and edge computing, says VMware president Sumit Dhawan Continue Reading

Tech Nation adds 30 fintech scaleups to growth programme as funding continues to rise

UK government-backed startup network adds 30 fintechs to its growth programme amid record investments in finance tech sector Continue Reading

Ocado gets closer to autonomous delivery with Wayve trial

Startup Wayve takes what it believes is a different approach to autonomous driving by modelling the behaviour of a driver Continue Reading

5PRING issues call for 5G innovation in UK events sector

West Midlands telecoms industry testbed challenges innovators to help lead the next-generation networks revolution as live events industry gets back to life Continue Reading

Israeli Orca to invest in UK cyber scene

Tel Aviv-headquartered Orca Security wants to set up a new R&D centre in the UK Continue Reading

Five tips to bridge application management service gaps

The watermelon effect is defined in the ITIL 4 Foundation guide as a breakage between the SLA client wants and what the service provider delivers Continue Reading

Microsoft’s financial services cloud available next month

Financial finance sector-focused cloud service will be available at the beginning of November Continue Reading

Britain needs its amazing migrants

Fintech entrepreneur Michael Kent explains why Britain needs migrants and why government policy and media horror stories will damage the UK’s economy and reputation Continue Reading

Mastercard acquisition of Aiia is a further sign of open banking’s big future

Mastercard’s acquisition of Denmark-based open banking fintech Aiia follows rival’s takeover of Sweden’s Tink Continue Reading

How GYG Singapore moved to paperless contracts

The Singapore franchisee of Mexican cuisine specialist Guzman y Gomez has turned to electronic agreements and digital signatures to ease the administrative burden on its HR team Continue Reading

Norway and IoT: A match made in heaven

Norway is becoming a centre of internet of things innovation as tech developers look for answers to some of the country's unique challenges Continue Reading

IR35: Giant Group cyber attack prompts renewed calls for statutory regulation of umbrella companies

As details about the fallout from the cyber attack on the Giant Group umbrella company emerge, stakeholders say the incident should prompt the government to expedite regulating contractor payroll processing firms Continue Reading

Starling Bank takes its banking-as-a-service into European Union

API-based banking-as-a-service offering means customers can access services such as current accounts or debit cards without the need for heavy tech development or regulatory approval Continue Reading

Women in fintech welcome Barclays initiative and demand more from the sector

Women in UK financial technology have welcomed bank’s new female-focused lab and funding initiative and call for more like it from the sector Continue Reading

Could Iceland be the best place in the world for high-performance computing?

Most of Iceland’s cheap, sustainable energy is currently used by aluminium smelters, but recognising the need to diversify, the Landsvirkjun power company now promotes other uses Continue Reading

The Security Interviews: How SolarWinds came through its darkest hour

In his first major UK press interview, SolarWinds CEO Sudhakar Ramakrishna tells Computer Weekly how a relentless focus on transparency saw the company safely through a nightmare cyber breach scenario Continue Reading

AWS launches programme to advance health equity

The $40m global health equity programme will fund projects that improve health outcomes for underserved communities Continue Reading

How one red team exercise averted a new SolarWinds-style attack

Palo Alto Networks shares details of how its red teamers found and sealed a customer vulnerability that could have led to another SolarWinds-style supply chain attack Continue Reading

Pure launches Fusion cloud control layer for storage

Pure Fusion is a storage control plane across cloud and datacentre. Portworx Data Services also launches to provide database management for container storage platform Continue Reading

Chancellor Rishi Sunak talks tech

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we talk to the Chancellor of the Exchequer about his plans to support innovation and growth in the UK tech sector. Composable IT is the latest trend in building software to support business change. And Halfords built its own service management software – and now is selling it to other retailers. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

APAC IT spending to grow by 9.3% in 2021

Organisations across the region will spend more on technologies such as AI and IoT this year, as part of their long-term investment plans to improve operational efficiency and customer service Continue Reading

GCP gets triple-redundant NAS and built-in Kubernetes backup

Google Filestore Enterprise will provide synchronous replication across three zones, while Backup for Google Kubernetes Engine brings built-in container cluster data protection Continue Reading

Giant Umbrella contractors suffer salary payment delays following suspected ‘data breach’

Following the discovery of “suspicious network activity” in its systems, payroll processing firm Giant Umbrella has taken itself offline, leaving contractors to fume over missing salary payments Continue Reading

London publishes guidelines for ethical use of smart city tech

Latest draft of the ‘Emerging Technology Charter for London’ encourages local authorities, public services and technology companies to improve how they implement technology in the capital Continue Reading