In Depth

In Depth

• Southern Water’s centralised data team geared for silo busting

  Southern Water has centralised its data specialists and overhauled its data management and business intelligence technology to support business decision-making at scale  Continue Reading

• The rise of DevSecOps

  The increasing complexity of security threats facing enterprises is leading to DevSecOps approaches, which combine operations and development with security, so that all business units are involved in security operations  Continue Reading

• How ASEAN firms can tap storage analytics to improve operations

  With storage systems becoming more heterogeneous and siloed, some organisations in ASEAN are turning to storage analytics to reduce costs and address storage issues before they occur  Continue Reading

• Security without borders

  Perimeterless security offers a way to secure each point of connectivity and every device, rather than relying on perimeter protection  Continue Reading

• Storage 101: Structured data and its storage needs

  Structured data is declining as a proportion of all data but its importance to business applications and its organised nature make its storage requirements very specific  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

• Expanding the boundaries of the digital workplace

  We look at the steps enterprises can take to implement a secure perimeterless digital workplace  Continue Reading

• Time for a truce in IT’s battle with RPA

  Lack of governance and limited resources have put IT departments at loggerheads with business-led robotic process automation. But RPA and IT teams can help each other out – if they play nice  Continue Reading

• When is it best to stick with paper?

  Going digital has been seen as the thing to do, but there can be limits to digital and there's an enduring value to paper. Digital isn’t always best  Continue Reading

• Top 10 cloud storage stories of 2018

  Top trends in cloud storage in 2018 included key enablers of hybrid- and multi-cloud such as native cloud storage, array makers’ cloud appliances and distributed file systems  Continue Reading

• Ready, headset, go: Retailers racing ahead with VR for staff training

  Has virtual reality found its prime retail user case as a staff training tool? Recent moves from Costa Coffee and Walmart suggest it has  Continue Reading

• Managing digital change: The CIO challenge for 2019

  As technology changes have an increasing impact on organisations, 2019 is the year when CIOs must adapt their teams to better manage digital disruption and business innovation  Continue Reading

• Docker management at scale: What enterprises need to know

  Docker adoption within enterprises often starts at grass roots level, with developers leading the way, but as deployments scale and become larger in size, problems can occur  Continue Reading

• Why VMware is betting big on containers, edge computing and IoT

  With the server virtualisation game won, VMware is having to diversify into new areas, with cloud-native computing emerging as a top area of interest for the firm  Continue Reading

• CIO trends for 2019

  Harvey Nash’s CIO practice director shares her prediction on CIO trends for 2019, which include a growing demand for new technology skills, innovation and customer-focused initiatives  Continue Reading

• Casting the net for a software-defined future

  The practical and cultural challenges of enterprises transforming to software-defined networking  Continue Reading

• Amazon AI debacle won’t stop adoption for recruitment

  The sexist artificial intelligence recruitment debacle at Amazon should prove a blip as the technology gains ground in and for human resources departments  Continue Reading

• SDN: Where is it now and what is the future?

  Software-defined networking is one of the great IT hype stories of this century – we look at where it stands now  Continue Reading

• What does the 802.11ax wireless standard mean for your network?

  The publication of the 802.11ax standard will pave the way for the next generation of wireless technology, but what does it mean for enterprise networks?  Continue Reading

• NVMe is fast flash storage, but big five suppliers take it slowly

  NVMe flash offers blistering performance gains but so far the big five storage array makers have tended to opt for gradual implementations rather than radical new architectures  Continue Reading

• Fashion retail’s sustainability challenge and how technology can help

  UK fashion retailers were grilled in Parliament last month on sustainability, so how might technology like blockchain or online recommendation tools help as they look to improve their green credentials?  Continue Reading

• Brexit implications for data protection

  Leaving the European Union will have serious implications for data protection in the UK unless adequate steps are taken, so businesses are advised to have contingency plans in place  Continue Reading

• Nike and Zara drive fashion retail’s self-service future

  New store openings from Nike and Zara show it is not just in grocery stores where self-service technology is impacting retail.  Continue Reading

• Automation key to unravelling mysteries of the universe at CERN

  How CERN is using enterprise asset management from Infor and ramping up the automation of its IT services to plumb the depths of the universe  Continue Reading

• The future of network-connected device security

  The proliferation of poorly secured network-connected devices has prompted the UK government to publish new best practice guidelines. Do these go far enough?  Continue Reading

• What is storage-class memory and what is it used for?

  HPE has announced the availability of storage-class memory in its products and other array makers are expect to follow. So what does SCM do for analytics-centred workloads?  Continue Reading

• Data protection, backup and replication in the age of the cloud

  A data protection and backup strategy has to take account of the expansion of the sphere of IT, from the datacentre to the public cloud to devices and locations at the edge  Continue Reading

• How Australia is keeping pace with microservices

  Adoption of microservices remains patchy in Australia, although some sectors pursuing digital transformation are catching up rapidly  Continue Reading

• Antisocial media and AI in play at Oxford Science and Ideas Festival

  Facebook and other forms of social media were discussed at two linked events at the Oxford Science and Ideas Festival, alongside artificial intelligence and how it might augment humanity  Continue Reading

• Intel Cascade Lake vs AMD Rome: Who will rule the datacentre roost in 2019?

  Intel and AMD are both making a renewed push into the enterprise datacentre market in 2019, with both set to release new processors. We take a look at what they have to offer  Continue Reading

• How to build SME storage using public cloud storage

  Small companies can often take advantage of public cloud storage offerings to supplement or replace on-premise infrastructure. We look at key options in file, block and object storage  Continue Reading

• Cloud clearance: Working out the best way forward

  Making sense of who does what in the cloud, and which providers are the best fit for your business, can be a difficult process for enterprises to work through  Continue Reading

• Options for deferring or upgrading to S/4 Hana

  Businesses on SAP ERP Core Component software will need to consider what they plan to do after 2025. We investigate the options open to them  Continue Reading

• Storage 101: Unstructured data and its storage needs

  Unstructured data exists in huge volumes, but often it is semi-structured with metadata. We lift the lid on unstructured data and key approaches to its storage  Continue Reading

• IBM pushes boundaries of AI, but insists companies take an ethical approach

  Researchers at IBM are pushing the boundaries of what artificial intelligence and machine learning can do, but remain wary of the ethical implications that accompany the proliferation of this technology  Continue Reading

• Securing the SD-WAN: The next network challenge

  Every time an enterprise weighs up whether or not to try SD-WAN, security is an essential part of the picture  Continue Reading

• It’s complicated: How enterprises are approaching IAM challenges

  Identity and access management challenges are evolving with digital transformation. Computer Weekly explores some of the ways organisations are ensuring the right people gain the right access to the right resources  Continue Reading

• IT administrator 2.0: Adapting to life in the automation age

  As the use of automation becomes increasingly pervasive in enterprise IT environments, systems administrators need to adapt and update their skills to remain relevant  Continue Reading

• Where in Britain works best for IT?

  Where is the best place to be an IT professional in the UK? Computer Weekly looks at which location comes out on top for tech companies, and it’s not Silicon Roundabout  Continue Reading

• Fortunes of storage vary in big five led by Dell EMC and NetApp

  The big five take 50% of the enterprise storage market, with Dell EMC and HPE dominating. But some struggle with successive quarters of shrinkage while others see storage shine  Continue Reading

• Is Azure ready to go cloud-native?

  We look at the suitability of Microsoft’s Azure platform for deploying cloud-native applications  Continue Reading

• A guide to choosing cloud infrastructure services

  We take a look at the considerations when choosing infrastructure as a service, and what needs to be in place for enterprises to get the most out of the cloud computing technology  Continue Reading

• Hyper-converged backup appliances bring flexibility benefits

  Backup appliances in scale-out format allow data protection to be scaled easily by simply adding extra nodes. But is it an idea that’s ready for the enterprise?  Continue Reading

• Manchester’s evolution from rag trade to e-commerce riches

  As Amazon and Moonpig plan to open Manchester hubs, the focus once again turns to the city’s in-demand digital and e-commerce scene  Continue Reading

• Trusted nodes: The next generation in quantum key distribution

  QKD is a form of protection against interception by quantum computers, but cost and technical limitations have made the technology impractical. Could trusted nodes make all the difference?  Continue Reading

• Transform business with microservices and containers

  We look at how DevOps and microservice-based technology have advanced IT architectures  Continue Reading

• The importance of adopting an evergreen IT strategy

  Today's modern IT systems are potentially tomorrow's legacy technology problems, without an "evergreening strategy" in place  Continue Reading

• A new era of collaboration for the NHS

  Great Ormond Street Hospital's new research and innovation unit, Drive, marks a significant shift towards greater collaboration between NHS organisations and third-party industry partners  Continue Reading

• CIO interview: Tamara Lohan, founder and CTO of Mr & Mrs Smith

  Head of technology and co-founder of luxury travel firm Mr & Mrs Smith explains how the firm is revamping its technology to provide customers with a seamless experience  Continue Reading

• Google Cloud CTO Brian Stevens on using open source for competitive advantage in the public cloud

  Google Cloud CTO Brian Stevens on how the enterprise cloud conversation is changing, and why not all supplier declarations about supporting open source technologies are quite what they seem  Continue Reading

• Digital transformation makes team players of suppliers – caveat emptor

  C-level executives organising digital transformation programmes prefer their suppliers to work as a single team. But it is not all plain sailing  Continue Reading

• Software requirements for international aid go beyond cloud and apps

  Aid workers in extreme situations don’t always have stable access to the software they need over the cloud. Find out how they work around this  Continue Reading

• GlaxoSmithKline R&D CDO on combining Hadoop and Docker to boost drug discovery efforts

  Mark Ramsey, chief digital officer of research and development at GSK, describes how banking on big data, containers and on-premise technologies is speeding up the company’s efforts to uncover new drugs and improve the hit rate of its clinical trials  Continue Reading

• Chromebooks and G Suite: a good working alternative

  We look at Chromebooks as collaboration clients, both in Google-oriented and mixed-platform environments  Continue Reading

• University vs Apprenticeship: The education debate

  Traditionally, a degree is the preferred route into the technology industry, but many now believe an apprenticeship may be a more valuable path into the sector  Continue Reading

• Windows Virtual Desktops: Microsoft takes virtual Windows mainstream on Azure

  Microsoft is fleshing out its virtual desktop proposition by allowing enterprises to access Windows via its Azure platform, but what does this mean for its competitors?  Continue Reading

• Focus on content collaboration strategies

  Content collaboration platforms can enable businesses to create an agile and modern digital workplace  Continue Reading

• Executive interview: Sebastian Krause, general manager, IBM Cloud Europe

  IBM Cloud Europe general manager Sebastian Krause opens up about Big Blue's big bets on hybrid cloud, enterprise IT and why the public cloud market is not one it is interested in playing in  Continue Reading

• Infrastructure patching at scale: What you need to know

  Embarking on an enterprise-wide patching exercise can be a daunting process for IT departments, but there are few things that can be done to make it less fraught and ensure effectiveness  Continue Reading

• How to implement a multicloud storage strategy

  We look at how to build a multicloud storage strategy and benefits such as performance, availability and features, as well as potential limitations such as data mobility  Continue Reading

• Why are so few electric vehicles used for online shopping deliveries?

  UK retailers appear to be in the electric vehicle slow lane when it comes to online shopping deliveries, but changes are imminent  Continue Reading

• Trust and openness vital to get benefits from supply chain automation

  Supply chain automation is benefiting from new technological developments, such as blockchain, 5G and machine learning – as companies such as Maersk, Opel and Nestlé are proving  Continue Reading

• Shell CTO Yuri Sebregts talks about using AI to amplify the human impact of its workforce

  Digital transformation is a multi-decade process for Shell, with artificial intelligence presenting the oil and gas giant with new opportunities to ramp up the productivity of its workforce, its CTO explains  Continue Reading

• Prepare now for quantum computers, QKD and post-quantum encryption

  The predicted processing power of quantum computers is likely to make existing encryption algorithms obsolete. Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a possible solution - we investigate whether QKD is viable  Continue Reading

• OpenStack storage update 2018: After Rocky

  Snapshots and container storage support are among recently added functionality in the open source private cloud platform, but vendor driver support for OpenStack is not universal  Continue Reading

• Intelligent automation and the WAN: Is SD-WAN moving mainstream?

  Take-up of software-defined networking in corporates is slower than expected. Where have we reached on the journey to software-controlled networks – and SD-WAN in particular – becoming the norm?  Continue Reading

• Colocation and the hyperscalers: What the cloud giants want in a datacentre partner

  The colocation market is booming on the back of the growing demand from the hyperscale cloud giants for readily available datacentre capacity, but why are some operators more successful than others when it comes to landing their business?  Continue Reading

• Mobile-first strategy rings true for jeweller

  Mobile has played a key role in how London jeweller Taylor & Hart has changed the rules for buying a ring  Continue Reading

• Dividing lines: EU bid to curb server energy use has the European datacentre community split

  An EU-backed push to curb European datacentre energy use has proven to be a divisive issue, as debate rages over the usefulness of using idle energy to determine the overall efficiency of servers  Continue Reading

• Gig for victory: Addressing the stigma of the gig economy

  As companies continue apace with digital transformation, the need for ad hoc tech workers is growing. But traditional contracting is giving way to the looser idea of ‘gigging’ – and not just for low-level roles  Continue Reading

• Doorstep challenge: How retailers are innovating on delivery and fulfilment

  Every retailer selling online in 2018 needs great shipping options for customers who have got used to an expanding list of choices. How are some retailers developing the proposition, and where does technology fit into the equation?  Continue Reading

• How is Google taking on Microsoft Office in retail?

  Carrefour represents a big-name contract win for Google’s G Suite, but will Microsoft Office still be dominant across retail?  Continue Reading

• Leading companies embrace DevOps to improve agility and flexibility

  DevOps is an approach to improving the efficiency of software development roll-outs, but while the benefits are clear, companies face a number of challenges along the way  Continue Reading

• Flash storage in the cloud from the big cloud providers

  We survey the big three cloud providers – AWS, Azure and Google – and find a range of mostly block storage flash storage options with performance choices available  Continue Reading

• What are the current SD-WAN options for enterprises?

  Software-defined wide area networking is well on its way to being a multi-billion dollar market. We assess the current state of the market and look at some of the options for enterprise CIOs and network managers  Continue Reading

• Employers turn to wearable technology to help staff manage work-life balance

  Companies are realising that there are sound business reasons for ensuring their employees get enough sleep and exercise, so they are turning to wearable technology to help their staff stay healthy, despite the pressures of work  Continue Reading

• Blockchain delivers value with food sourcing system

  Blockchain systems for food and drink are proving their value with tuna fishing, fresh food supply, and ecologically sound food sourcing  Continue Reading

• How the big five storage array makers tier data to the cloud

  We look at the big five storage array makers' efforts to connect on-premise hardware with cloud storage and find automated tiering, on-ramps, and backup and archive capability  Continue Reading

• Outcomes-based security is the way forward

  Every security technology is effective for a limited time, but understanding data assets and their value to attackers is key to effective cyber defence, according to an industry veteran of 20 years’ experience  Continue Reading

• The use cases, challenges and benefits behind retail AI

  Retailers have been collecting customer data for years, and with AI technology now available to help them use it effectively, they’re jumping at the chance – but what challenges lie ahead?  Continue Reading

• Storage 101: Self-encrypting drives' benefits and limitations

  Self-encrypting drives are a cost-effective way to ensure compliance in certain situations. We look at self-encrypting drives, what they’re good for and their limitations  Continue Reading

• A guide to choosing and using all-flash array storage

  We take a look at the considerations when devising an all-flash array storage strategy, and what enterprises can do to get the most out of the technology  Continue Reading

• Match cache and storage tiers to app needs with new storage media

  How to match cache and storage tier needs to the dizzying array of solid state media now available, including flash, QLC/TLC, NVMe, storage-class memory, NVMDimm and MRAM  Continue Reading

• DevOps and containers: How to get connected

  We look at how to apply a DevOps approach to a container-based microservices architecture  Continue Reading

• When networks collide: how M&A brings infrastructure together

  Enterprise IT runs on networking, so fixing up the network should be a priority issue during mergers and acquisitions – but that’s not always the case. Find out how the pros manage it  Continue Reading

• Fighting fit: The ODI on courting startups to use open data to get the UK moving

  The Open Data Institute is aiming to change the fact that millions of people in the UK are inactive, and is using open data and startups to help engage citizens to exercise.  Continue Reading

• Virtual storage appliances in the cloud from the big five

  We survey the big five storage hardware makers’ cloud offerings. Virtual storage appliances available range from storage and backup/data protection to nothing at all  Continue Reading

• Nigel Shadbolt on why the UK is well placed to lead on the ethics of AI

  Nigel Shadbolt, principal of Jesus College, Oxford and co-founder of the Open Data Institute, underscores the ethics of artificial intelligence, and says it will shape the naked ape as tools always have  Continue Reading

• National Archives races to create electronic archive of EU law before Brexit

  The National Archives faces challenges converting the EU's enormous library of laws into a publicly accessible UK archive ahead of Brexit. The Archives’ digital director, John Sheridan, explains how  Continue Reading

• Tips on reducing unnecessary cloud service costs

  As IT departments prepare their 2019 budgets, we assess how to avoid paying too much for cloud services  Continue Reading

• Inside DevOps, containers and enterprise security

  Global corporates are waking up to containers and orchestrated containerisation for software development that is fast and safe. Computer Weekly looks at the best approach to ensure security is not compromised along the way  Continue Reading

• Hybrid cloud a key milestone on the road to cloud storage

  The cloud seems to lend itself to use as a storage location. There are lots of bumps in the road, however, and hybrid cloud should be a key medium-term aim for organisations  Continue Reading

• Sustainability and the smartphone: How to give your old device a second life

  Find out what happens to your smartphone after you’re finished with it and why you should commit to the circular economy  Continue Reading

• Servitisation: What it is and how it can transform companies

  The idea that every product-based company needs to put service first is a radical shift in how businesses organise themselves. Is it more than rhetoric?  Continue Reading

• The value of unified endpoint management

  Given the diversity of devices people can use for work, IT needs to look at how it can unify device security  Continue Reading

• How to make sense of desktop as a service

  Does it make sense to move the desktop to the cloud? We look at DaaS and VDI  Continue Reading

• Interview: Dame Stephanie ‘Steve’ Shirley: 'Scared silly' by Brexit

  Renowned entrepreneur and philanthropist Steve Shirley talks robots teaching children, and why Brexit has her “scared silly”  Continue Reading

• An IT operating model for the digital age

  Enterprises need to form cross-functional teams and give them the mandate to work together towards a single goal  Continue Reading

• Future tech cannot be ‘defined by a particular population’, says CA executive

  As new technologies are developed, companies could take the opportunity to hire more diversely to ensure offerings cater to a wider demographic  Continue Reading

• Has collaboration software wrought perilous communication overload?

  A new generation of collaborative software, such as Slack and Microsoft Teams, could prove a knowledge management boon. But does it have a dark side of communication overload?  Continue Reading