Web development

Facebook iOS SDK flaw linked to onset of Spotify app outage blighting Apple device users

Apple device users are reporting usability issues with the Spotify app, which coincides with the onset of a partial outage affecting the Facebook iOS SDK Continue Reading

Universal Credit still struggles with digital issues, says NAO

The cost of rolling out Universal Credit continues to rise, while only 20% of new claimants attempt to verify their identity online and digital skills remain an issue, according to the National Audit Office Continue Reading

Why a shared channel experience will meet user needs at DWP Digital

The Department for Work and Pensions outlines the approach it is taking to developing user-focused digital services Continue Reading

Peer-to-peer lender Zopa gets full banking licence

Peer-to-peer lending pioneer works towards creating the ‘Netflix of banking’ Continue Reading

How the Chelsea Flower Show blossomed as an online-only event

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we talk to the digital team at the Royal Horticultural Society about delivering the first online-only Chelsea Flower Show after the physical event was cancelled due to coronavirus. With all the talk about the consumer uses of 5G, we look at how next-generation mobile technology could benefit enterprise IT. And we examine the best practice in managing SAP systems during lockdown. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Berlin breaks the national mould to become a global hub

German capital is attracting tech startups from across the world as it cements its position as a leading European hub Continue Reading

Netherlands digital sector yearns for government recognition

The sector building and supporting the Netherlands’ digital infrastructure wants to be valued as highly as Schiphol airport and the port of Rotterdam are for the Dutch economy Continue Reading

Coronavirus: Digital bank Monzo cuts 120 staff

Digital challenger Monzo has announced 120 job cuts as it navigates the current economic slowdown Continue Reading

London Tech Week to go ahead through Zoom

London Tech week will go ahead next week, with the tech industry attending through Zoom Continue Reading

Coronavirus: Asos launches See My Fit to replace model photoshoots

Online fashion brand’s augmented reality technology enables customers to see how an outfit might look on them Continue Reading

MPs take part in first live test of remote voting during Covid-19 debate

MPs will use phones and computers to vote from their homes in a House of Commons debate today in the biggest change in parliamentary procedure for 150 years Continue Reading

Opportunity in times of crisis for Nordic tech startups

Nordic tech startups face some major challenges during the Covid-19 pandemic, but this could be the making of some of them Continue Reading

Finland’s postal service targets new revenue streams through digitisation

Posti plans to use the new SisuID digital authentication method to accelerate business growth and opportunities Continue Reading

Cash use to go below 5% of total spending in Middle East

Banks expect a rapid reduction of the use of cash in the region Continue Reading

Nordic real estate sector becoming increasingly digital

The Nordic real estate and construction industry is modernising through digital technology, with an injection of urgency amid global pandemic Continue Reading

Why you should think before you Zoom

Feel free to use Zoom during the coronavirus lockdown, but think before you discuss anything confidential Continue Reading

UK tech companies launch online safety body

Online Safety Tech Industry Association unites 14 technology companies to drive conversation and policy around online safeguarding Continue Reading

Coronavirus: UK schools will get tech support from Google and Microsoft

Government hires tech giants to provide remote working resources to children while schools are closed Continue Reading

Coronavirus: Swedish college implements digital plans early

Work done by a Swedish medical school over the past few years to prepare digital education options is paying off as lockdown forces it to close physical classrooms Continue Reading

Coronavirus: Nordic digital educators collaborate with authorities amid pandemic

Nordic education technology startups are supporting education establishments in offering continued education during the Covid-19 crisis Continue Reading

Coronavirus: Lloyds Bank to give thousands of tablet devices to over-70s

Banking group is giving away tablets and basic digital training to help vulnerable customers stay connected during the UK’s Covid-19 lockdown Continue Reading

Coronavirus: Bradford University graduates rework NHS portals

Media design & technology graduates from university’s Working Academy are helping the NHS in Bradford manage patients and clinicians Continue Reading

Coronavirus: What does the ‘new normal’ mean for how we work?

Examining the long-term impact of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic on the world of work, security, privacy and networks Continue Reading

Coronavirus: Use of fintech apps in Europe accelerates

Fintech apps are being increasingly used by consumers as restrictions on their movements are put in place Continue Reading

Nordic fintechs urge financial literacy to be taken seriously before it’s too late

Fintechs in the Nordic region hope to prevent more adults getting into financial difficulty through apps that educate people about managing their finances at an early age Continue Reading

Coronavirus: Chatbot to help Estonians cope during pandemic

Estonian government is using a chatbot developed by local startups to answer the many questions its citizens have about Covid-19 Continue Reading

Norwegian banking app gives access to other banks’ accounts

Banking customers can access and make payments from their other bank accounts using the DNB Mobile Bank app Continue Reading

Singapore government to open source contact-tracing protocol

Singapore’s Government Technology Agency is contributing the source codes of the BlueTrace protocol that powers its contact-tracing app Continue Reading

Estonia offers digital tools to countries struggling with coronavirus school closures

Government and tech companies in Baltic state unite to offer advanced digital learning tools to other countries Continue Reading

Dutch landscape attracts fintech exploration

In 2019, the Netherlands had more than 450 companies active in financial technology. The country’s “polder model”, in which new and traditional companies work closely together, offers many opportunities for fintechs Continue Reading

Brexit cited as reason for German digital bank’s UK exit

German challenger bank N26 leaves the UK, saying Brexit is the reason behind the decision due to the removal of passporting rights Continue Reading

Swedish rail firm’s digital journey running on time

Swedish rail company tells Computer Weekly about its successful mission to improve customer experience Continue Reading

ICO code sets out digital privacy standards for children

The Information Commissioner’s Office has published its Age Appropriate Design Code, a set of 15 standards that online platforms must meet to protect the privacy of younger users Continue Reading

Real digital modernisation – a once-in-a-generation opportunity for the new UK government

A new UK government with a decisive majority offers a unique opportunity to finally introduce public services for the digital age – if the Conservatives are willing to take it Continue Reading

Asos trials AR tool to give customers idea of fashion fit

Online fashion brand Asos has launched an augmented reality trial to help customers see how garments will fit their body type Continue Reading

Swedish venture capitalist giants anticipate increased global interest in local startup scene

Local venture capitalists in Sweden do not fear the arrival of international players Continue Reading

Why the banking industry needs an IT makeover

UK banks face huge challenges keeping their service availability levels at 99.99% Continue Reading

TikTok video-sharing app left user data exposed

Check Point uncovered serious vulnerabilities in the TikTok video-sharing app that left users exposed Continue Reading

Survey about Swedish people’s attitude to the internet reveals growing distrust of social media

Swedish citizens are becoming more concerned about the activities of social media companies and are reducing their online interaction with them as a result Continue Reading

How Halfords is using tech to rev up its customer service

Live chat, virtual contact centres and a new unifying web platform are set to enhance Halfords’ customer service proposition in the year ahead Continue Reading

Goldman Sachs reins in cloud-based retail challenger in UK

Bank does not want rapidly expanding Marcus to breach deposits threshold at which UK banks have to ring-fence their retail operations Continue Reading

AI may open dangerous new frontiers in geopolitics

Truly artificial intelligence has the potential to provoke an international geopolitical crisis, warns F-Secure’s Mikko Hypponen Continue Reading

Uber app exploit posed safety risk to passengers

A flaw in Uber’s system meant thousands of trips in London were taken with unauthorised drivers at the wheel Continue Reading

Tim Berners-Lee launches nine principles for the web

Inventor of the worldwide web sets out Contract for the Web to protect its freedom, data privacy and access for all Continue Reading

The importance of digital accessibility

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we examine what retailers need to do to make their digital channels accessible for disabled people. We look at the rise of alternative desktop productivity tools to Microsoft Office. And our new buyer’s guide covers next-generation programming tools such as no-code/low-code development. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Marks & Spencer profits drop as digital push ramps up

Clothing, home and luxury food retailer Marks & Spencer has been pushing to make its business more digital, but its half-year profits have seen a hit Continue Reading

Brits moving to digital banking channel faster than people in the US

Digital banking services rapidly gain popularity, but digital banks face major challenges to make deeper inroads into traditional banks’ customer bases Continue Reading

Verizon to give 5G, Fios customers a year’s worth of free Disney content

US comms giant will offer all new and existing 4G LTE and 5G unlimited wireless customers access to the forthcoming Disney+ direct-to-consumer service Continue Reading

French and German banks end talks on challenger bank sale

After months of negotiations, BPCE's proposed sale of Fidor Bank to OLB has fallen through Continue Reading

HETT 2019: Digital literacy gap will never be fully closed, says panel

The increasing use of digital technology in healthcare means it is important for people to be digitally literate to take part, but the digital literacy gap will always be there, says an expert panel Continue Reading

Government departments sign up to web data-sharing plan

All but four Whitehall departments have so far agreed to share web analytics data to allow the government to monitor user behaviour across the Gov.uk domain Continue Reading

Disabled consumers left logged out of retail’s digital revolution

Retailers are being urged to make their digital assets more accessible to disabled consumers, not just for moral and social reasons, but because of the commercial opportunity Continue Reading

Interview: James Smith, director of digital, Nationwide Building Society

James Smith says heading up the digital unit at Nationwide Building Society is the best job in the business Continue Reading

What next for GDS?

Digital government has lost momentum, according to MPs. As the Government Digital Service enters its “third era”, what will it do to regain its authority and deliver real change? Continue Reading

Why CIOs must digitise internal IT processes to keep pace with change

Nothing ever stands still, and IT is now expected to be more adaptable than ever before to help businesses keep in step with the pace of innovation Continue Reading

Fintech lender increases loan limit as customer demand accelerates

Small business lender Esme Loans has increased its loan limit to quarter of a million pounds as businesses are drawn to its simple and fast digital platform Continue Reading

The next stage in football’s digital revolution is ready for the new season

Technology is playing an increasing role in football, as the Premier League adopts video assistant referees for the first time and clubs turn to data to capture more of their fans’ attention Continue Reading

European Commission launches antitrust investigation into Amazon

Amazon is being officially investigated by the European Commission to assess whether its use of data from independent retailers is anti-competitive Continue Reading

The technology that runs the Wimbledon 2019 tennis championship

Wimbledon is more than just a showcase for the best tennis - it also makes use of the latest technologies to bring the event to life for fans Continue Reading

Podcast: The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload – Episode 23

In this week’s episode of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, Ryan Priest rejoins the show to help this week’s co-hosts, Caroline Donnelly and Clare McDonald, take a light-hearted look at the past week in tech Continue Reading

Challenger bank shuts up shop in UK amid uncertainty

Digital bank Fidor is ending its time in the UK, blaming uncertainties in the market Continue Reading

Cloudflare outage: Firm blames global website outage on routine software update gone rogue

Content delivery provider traces outage back to failings that occurred during a routine update to its web application firewall service Continue Reading

How privacy could breathe new life into personalisation

As much of the advertising technology used by marketers to deliver personalised content online is deemed unlawful, there are signs regulation could actually be a win-win for both consumers and business – as long as the industry embraces change Continue Reading

HCL delivers digital services to Cricket Australia

Cricket governing body chooses Indian IT supplier to expand the boundaries of its customer engagement platforms Continue Reading

Facebook London hiring spree focuses on tackling online harms

Facebook is hiring for 500 tech jobs in the capital in the next six months, with a particular focus on seeking out and clamping down on malicious content and fake accounts, and curbing other harmful behaviour on its platforms Continue Reading

Gant uses Cegid to streamline functions across all markets

As retailer Gant begins to mirror its core operations across all of the countries it operates in, global IT manager Ricky Dematagollage explains what part Cegid will play in the process Continue Reading

Retailers need to rethink KPIs in the face of digital shopping

Customer experience is becoming of increasing importance in an omni-channel world, but technology adoption has stores cornered, forcing them to rethink what value stores bring to an organisation and the customer journey Continue Reading

Public becoming more aware of privacy abuses and unethical tech

Widespread abuses of privacy, biometric information and artificial intelligence mean the internet is in poor health, but growing popular awareness of its problems gives some cause for hope, says the Mozilla Foundation Continue Reading

Online fashion brand Boohoo sees year-on-year revenue growth

Online fashion retailer Boohoo.com has seen a spike in revenue over the past year across all of its operating brands, and has announced the completion of several digital projects Continue Reading

What is the right goal for digital inclusion?

Most tech observers agree that digital inclusion is important, but the digitally excluded can have quite different views on what they want Continue Reading

Tech helps tackle trafficking and modern slavery, but industry needs a culture shift to eradicate it

Technology can help end the scourge of modern slavery, but the sector can do more and needs a change in thinking to take a lead Continue Reading

Facebook leaks: Zuckerberg turned data into dollars in ruthless battle with competitors

Facebook’s CEO ruthlessly exploited personal data shared by its users to turn Facebook into the biggest social network, but internal documents show that privacy appeared to be an afterthought for executives Continue Reading

Facebook takes extraordinary legal steps to contain document leak

Facebook targets journalists and news organisations for computer searches Continue Reading

Social inclusion unit aims to expand diversity in IT conversation

New unit at startup hub wants to explore how technology can be applied to address the barriers many people face in participating in society Continue Reading

SuiteWorld 2019: Using technology to close the financial gender gap

The CFO from non-profit organisation Kiva explains how the organisation is using distributed ledger technology to close the financial inclusion gender gap Continue Reading

Marie Claire develops platform to encourage in-magazine shopping

An in-house team at Marie Claire has developed a platform to encourage readers to shop while browsing the site Continue Reading

Fidor founder leaves as parent bank plots future

The founder of digital challenger bank Fidor leaves company as traditional banking parent company tries to sell business Continue Reading

What are the options for regulating internet companies?

The UK – and other countries – are likely to introduce new regulations for internet and tech companies like Facebook and Google. We consider what sort of rules they might introduce Continue Reading

Web inventor wants a web built on solid data principles

Tim Berners-Lee has urged app developers to be courteous to users’ data privacy, saying users should own their own data and apps need to interoperate Continue Reading

Nominet urges SMEs to register .uk domains to thwart squatters

The automatic right of .co.uk domain name holders to register the shorter .uk domains ends in June Continue Reading

Getting it right this time: Why the strategy is not about delivery for NHSX

Government needs to move on from the mantras and beliefs that exist around digital and technology – the new NHSX organisation could set an example by transforming healthcare Continue Reading

Why the web needs patching

Regulators want to curb the web giants, while World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee believes problems with the web's misuse can be fixed Continue Reading

Web @ 30

It has been 30 years since Sir Tim Berners-Lee's initial proposal for the World Wide Web Continue Reading

Futuristic logistics: retailers focused on rapid delivery

From Asos Instant to Ocado Zoom, and a host of new services in between, rapid delivery is gaining traction in UK retail in an attempt to meet customer demand Continue Reading

M&S and Ocado announce £750m food delivery joint venture

Deal will see M&S take a 50% share of Ocado’s UK retail business, with access to the Ocado Smart Platform Continue Reading

Royal Mail delivers safety training through virtual reality

At the Learning Technologies event in London, Royal Mail’s online learning manager talks about the organisation’s use of virtual reality to help postal workers avoid dog attacks Continue Reading

Six experiential retail businesses chosen for Jlab

The businesses and startups that will take part in John Lewis’ 2019 Jlab programme have seen selected following a pitch day Continue Reading

London and Helsinki digital partnership challenges big IT platforms

CDOs of London and Helsinki meet at London’s City Hall to sign a city-to-city digital declaration around AI, open data and digital innovation Continue Reading

Marks & Spencer introduces photo search for online shopping

British retail brand Marks and Spencer has introduced a photo searching capability to its mobile site to help people find products they like using other images Continue Reading

More than half of customers will shop for food online by 2021

Just over 40% of customers currently do their grocery shopping online, but with that number expected to rise to more than half by 2021, are retailers doing enough to meet customer expectations? Continue Reading

Interview: Andy Berks, digital product director, Asos

Asos’s digital product director Andy Berks talks about how the online retailer has used AI and machine learning technologies – and why the needs of the customer have to come first Continue Reading

Singapore Airlines’ software glitch exposed customer data

More than 280 members of the Krisflyer frequent flyer programme had their personal information compromised by a one-off software bug Continue Reading

Cancer Research works to improve users’ digital experience

UK charity has been working with Optimizely to develop a better user experience through its website, as well as improve the way the organisation works Continue Reading

Austerity versus the march of technology – an economist’s perspective

Technology, in the economic sense, is an indicator of growth in a successful developed economy. But is tech efficiency also enabling the negative effects of austerity? Continue Reading

Billions missing out on digital society as internet use soars

As global internet usage continues to soar, billions of people around the world are missing out on the potential benefits of getting online, according to Cisco Continue Reading

ASOS launches digital assistant to help customers find right size

Online fashion retailer ASOS has launched an artificially intelligent assistant to help consumers find the right size of clothing before they place an order Continue Reading

IKEA to focus on digitisation and convenience shopping

Swedish furniture brand IKEA will be cutting jobs and focusing on smaller stores and its digital pipeline in a bid to usher in a new era of business transformation Continue Reading

The journey to turning your organisation into a platform

Compete with digital rivals by becoming a platform organisation – how companies can start navigating the transformation journey Continue Reading

M&S admits online remit “well behind” competitors

Food and clothing retailer Marks and Spencer has admitted its website and online fulfillment capabilities are behind that of its competitors, but it is seeing progress since implementing changes Continue Reading

Smart Dubai platform is the backbone of the city's transformation

Aisha bin Bishr, director general at Smart Dubai Office, talks about the Smart Data platform and soon-to-be-unveiled UAE Pass, a digital ID and signature which is being touted as one of the foundations a city needs to transform Continue Reading