E-commerce technology

Nordic countries top digital nations ranking, but risk stalling

Nordic countries are leaders when it comes to digitisation – but they must continue to innovate to retain their position Continue Reading

By

• Eeva Haaramo

The fields of Athenry – how Apple’s datacentre plans are causing turmoil in a small Irish town

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we look into Apple’s controversial plans to build a huge datacentre in a small town in the west of Ireland, and hear the local arguments it has caused. We find out how the Met Office is managing the vast quantities of data it uses for weather forecasting. And we examine Google plans to bring artificial intelligence tools to the job recruitment market. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

North Korean web users enjoy Amazon, Facebook and YouTube, report claims

Threat intelligence specialist Recorded Future claims that the North Korean elite are as plugged in to the worldwide web as any western citizen Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Mastercard outlines future digital payment platforms after improvements to Qkr

Mastercard has developed its mobile app, Qkr, for spectators at The Open Championship. The improvements further demonstrate new digital payment platforms offered by the company Continue Reading

By

• Zach Emmanuel, Computer Weekly

Tesco expands reach for same-day grocery delivery

Supermarket retailer Tesco announces it will be extending its offering of same-day delivery for groceries to across the UK Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Wimbledon 2017: The tech behind the tennis

Each year IBM and Wimbledon work together to deliver an excellent sporting experience to both fans and players through the use of technology Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Visa encourages US businesses to go cashless with £500,000 in hard cash

Card giant offers small US businesses financial support to upgrade their payments technology if they agree to abandon cash Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

UK ranked as top 10 digital economy

The UK has been ranked among the top 10 nations in terms of digital capabilities Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

How IT can work alongside marketing to deliver on digital expectations

A recent digital customer experience summit hosted by Adobe has highlighted the link between IT, in-house talent development and change management Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Cryptocurrencies: a niche pursuit?

Cryptocurrencies are on the rise, but why have digital currencies yet to reach the mainstream market? Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Sainsbury’s Group sales grow as Argos boosts performance

Group reports 8% increase in online grocery business and 10% rise in online Argos sales as total like-for-like sales jump 2.3% in first quarter Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

App-based banking continues its ascent in the UK

The number of people banking from their mobile phones is increasing as more services are made available through the channel Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Court ruling on Apple’s Irish datacentre planning dispute delayed by ‘shortage of judges’

The outcome of a judicial review into Apple's plans to build a datacentre in County Galway was delayed on Friday 23 June because of a shortage of judges, it has emerged Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Swedish fintech Klarna gains full banking licence

Swedish online payments provider Klarna becomes one of “the largest banks in Europe” after being granted an EU-wide banking licence by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority Continue Reading

By

• Eeva Haaramo

Waitrose joins John Lewis for Jlab 2017

The 2017 JLab will see Waitrose, John Lewis and JLP Ventures band together to mentor and develop several retail technology startups Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Tesco customers miss out on deliveries due to tech fault

A glitch in the supermarket’s store-side systems has meant Tesco’s deliveries to customers have been delayed Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Microchips implanted in hands could be in use for payments in 20 years

UK consumers are becoming more accepting that biometric authentication will become the norm for payments Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Smart farming, IoT only way to feed growing population, says Beecham report

A report from IoT sector analyst Beecham says the agricultural industry will need to embrace smart farming methodologies to support the growing human population Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Ethical fears hinder growth of artificial intelligence in France

In this issue, read how France’s relatively slow adoption of artificial intelligence is partly the result of public confusion, and partly due to the way the French have approached the ethical debate around AI. Also, read now organisations in Europe are failing to address the most important risks because they do not have a structured approach to complying with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation. And find out why, after 17 years, Dutch university TU Delft is saying goodbye to its legacy learning management system. Continue Reading

HSBC launches global social network for businesses

HSBC Bank is helping its business customers connect with potential partners through a digital hub Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Taiwan’s OwlTing taps blockchain to improve food safety

The e-commerce company is using blockchain technology to provide consumers with greater transparency on food sources and production processes Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Dubai financial services regulator launches temporary licence aimed at fintechs

Dubai is making it easier for financial technology companies to test out their ideas through a temporary licence Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Interview: Nick Bleech, head of information security, Travis Perkins

Last year, Travis Perkins implemented Splunk to help it to respond more quickly to security threats. Now, the business is looking into machine learning and a single customer view Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Customer experience transformation at Macquarie bank brings legacy system retirement as a bonus

Australia’s Macquarie bank builds a data layer on top of legacy IT systems to transform customer experience Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Toys R Us introduces tablets for store staff

Toy and games retailer Toys R Us is trialling the use of tablets for store assistance to provide a better customer service experience Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Made.com trialling real-time chat for customer advice

Online retailer Made.com has partnered with Hero so showroom staff can chat live with online shoppers to help with queries and shopping decisions Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Blockchain economy on the horizon

Blockchain technologies will enable many new and disruptive business models than the internet itself, an expert predicts Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Mayor of London seeks chief digital officer

Capital’s first-ever chief digital officer will oversee the digital transformation of public services across London Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Case study: Specsavers furthers digital transformation with single customer view

UK retailer Specsavers has been in the process of digital transformation for several years, and has now partnered with Fujitsu to eliminate disparate systems and create a single customer view Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

CW Middle East: UAE faces IT recruitment challenge

In this issue, read how organisations in the UAE face a challenge to attract and retain top-quality CIOs and other key IT staff as the region seeks to tackle a technology skills gap. Also, Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority has revealed that plans to unveil passenger-flying cars are in the final stages, with the initiative expected to launch in July 2017. Meanwhile, the UAE is mirroring global trends by eagerly adopting virtual reality technology. Continue Reading

Virtual reality in healthcare

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we find out how virtual reality technology is starting to be used to improve health and patient care. We examine the new UK tax laws that are causing IT contractors to quit government digital projects. And we analyse the software licensing issues arising from SAP’s recent court case over indirect access to its applications. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

The Graze journey: from pureplay to multi-channel

Health food retailer Graze began as an online subscription platform, but has used customer data to successfully cross the boundary into the physical retail space, says CEO Anthony Fletcher Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Customer expectation is biggest problem for retail, says panel

As retailers increasingly try to serve consumers across online, in-store and mobile, the main challenge they face is consumer expectation, according to a panel of experts Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

How Game used data to transform store experience and drive personalisation

Group insight director at video games retailer explains how customer interaction data has been used to create a personalised experience in-store Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

UK tech braced for Brexit

In this week’s Computer Weekly, as the UK government invokes Article 50 to leave the EU, we find out the tech sector’s concerns over two years of Brexit uncertainty. Our latest buyer’s guide looks at how to deploy SAP Hana, the software giant’s in-memory database suite. And we ask CIOs what they think about blockchain, the distributed ledger technology that’s generating so much excitement (and hype) in the IT community. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Less than 8% of retailers respond to customer queries across all channels

The omni-channel environment of the retail industry is raising customer service expectations, but very few retailers are responding to consumers on all of the channels they offer Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Making the UK fit for 5G

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we look at the government’s new 5G strategy and assess whether it’s enough to stimulate development of next generation mobile networks. We meet some of the Silicon Valley startups hoping to revolutionise big data analytics. And we examine how to prevent the move to DevOps from harming work-life balance for IT professionals. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

CW Europe: Technology poses new risks to jobs, economies and society

Rapid advances in technology could have destabilising effects on employment and economic growth, and could exacerbate social unrest, the World Economic Forum (WEF) warned. Society’s failure to keep pace with technology change was a key risk under discussion at Davos in January. Continue Reading

Nordea brings social aspect to saving with fintech startup Spiff

Nordea launches a mobile savings app from Norwegian finanical technology company Spiff Continue Reading

By

• Eeva Haaramo

Retail industry steps up the fight against rising cyber threats

UK retail body BRC publishes the first of its kind step-by-step guide on how to manage cyber security threats Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Alibaba runs academy to find future e-commerce leaders

Online marketplace firm Alibaba launches a global academy designed to find and train young people to join the e-commerce landscape Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

CW Nordics: Top IT priorities for Nordic CIOs in 2017

In this first issue of CW Nordics in 2017 we take a look what CIOs in the region are expecting in the year ahead. We asked a select group of CIOs and analysts in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden what IT projects are at the top their priority lists. Also read about the Nordic region as a hotspot for IT startups, with Sweden punching above its weight in financial technology. And find out how board executives at healthcare company Elekta are analysing workforce data to make better strategic decisions. Continue Reading

The technology transforming the retail industry

The retail space is evolving rapidly as brick-and-mortar stores try and compete with pureplays such as Amazon. Omni-channel retailing has increased the pressure on retailers to deliver a fast, reliable service whilst also ensuring their brand offers a personalised customer experience. This picture gallery looks at some of the technology innovations that are driving and transforming the retail industry such as in-store technology, robotics and artificial intelligence. Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor
• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Santander introduces voice-controlled payments

Santander has taken its voice-controlled banking initiative to the next phase, with customers now able to make payments by voice Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Autodata turns to big data to predict vehicle failures

Vehicle data company sees 30% jump in revenue after moving to open source software and opening its data to garages, insurers and parts companies Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

CW Benelux: Is there a Dutch digital delusion?

On government and business levels, the Netherlands aspires to be a digital leader in Europe, but it may be losing ground because of a lack of research and development investment. Also in this issue, IT decision makers based in the Benelux region are less confident than their European neighbours that IT budgets will increase in 2017, and Dutch bank ING, which used digital technology to reinvent itself after the financial crash, is about to reinvent itself again. Continue Reading

Just Eat uses startup accelerator to stay ahead in foodtech

Online food ordering service’s head of corporate ventures explains how helping startups through its accelerator programme helps it to keep in the centre of the food technology ecosystem Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Finnish city takes €10bn leap into digitisation

Tampere is encouraging its people, businesses and government organisations to come together to make digital transformation work for everyone Continue Reading

By

• Eeva Haaramo

How AI is disrupting the role of call centres and call centre staff

Artificial intelligence could eliminate many white-collar jobs in coming decades. Its effects are already being felt in the call centre industry, but there is still no substitute for the human touch Continue Reading

By

• Lara Ponomareff, CEB

Retail tech training – an opportunity to drive employee retention?

A job in retail is often the first employment many people will have, so could technology training increase the retention of store staff? Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Lululemon turns to digital transformation to support consumer community

Athletic apparel retailer’s executive vice-president of digital explains how the brand has used digital transformation to support its core value of a community ecosystem Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Southampton FC signs up to cloud-based e-commerce

The cloud-based system by Advanced supports fan engagement and is able to handle peaks in traffic on Southampton FC’s website Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Quip acquisition of Unity&Variety beefs up subsidiary

Salesforce hopes to add visual and creative elements to its document tool, while Commerce Cloud's integration with Facebook Ads hopes to make buying easy. Continue Reading

By

• Jesse Scardina, News Writer

HSBC appoints technology advisers to keep pace with IT changes

Bank hopes to gain knowledge about technologies such as artificial intelligence and biometric security through its new technology advisory board Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Aldo uses Salesforce to drive ‘customer delight’

Luxury retailer is using Salesforce to drive engagement, a seamless experience and customer loyalty Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Lloyds Bank digital banking problems an industry warning

Lloyds Bank’s digital banking problems still unresolved after a second day Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Tech focus helps Singapore go second in globalisation index

Singapore is the second most globalised economy in the world and its IT infrastructure is critical to this achievement Continue Reading

By

• Ai Lei Tao

Half of the younger generation still prefer a traditional checkout

The use of technology in retailers is increasing, but despite growing omni-channel adoption, many young people still prefer a traditional checkout Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Just Eat showcases innovative “food tech” - the future of online delivery

Online food delivery service Just Eat has a number of ideas for how food tech will influence the future of online food delivery, including technologies such as augmented reality (AR) artificial ... Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Top 10 financial services stories of 2016

Here are 10 of the most popular fintech articles on Computer Weekly in 2016 Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Almost 90% of customers say social media availability affects brand loyalty

Customers expect to be able to contact brands via social media, with nine out of 10 claiming availability of a brand through their preferred social channel has an impact on their retailer loyalty Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

The United Arab Emirates enterprise IT trends for 2017

The UAE is already a leader in areas such as smart city developments, and 2017 looks set to see organisations in the country increase its adoption of other transformational IT Continue Reading

By

• Alicia Buller

Academics link payment card vulnerability to Tesco Bank cyber heist

UK academics uncover a vulnerability in online payment systems, which they say could have been used in the Tesco Bank cyber heist Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Mastercard uses artificial intelligence for transaction approval

Mastercard is using artificial intelligence to reduce the number of transactions that are wrongly declined, while maintaining security Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

How InterContinental Hotels connects with real-time marketing

InterContinental Hotel Group’s European marketing manager, Charlie Aspey, tells Computer Weekly how the firm has deployed dynamic email marketing across all its hotel brands Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Nationwide breaks norm and opens branch because of technology

Nationwide Building Society is bringing a bank branch back to Glastonbury to try out new technology on customers Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Lending platform pioneer Zopa aims to become a UK bank

Zopa, the company that pioneered the peer-to-peer lending sector with its tech platform, looks to add more disruption to the retail banking market Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

CW Benelux: Mobile payments boom

In this quarter’s CW Benelux, we look at how a combination of the right technology and consumer acceptance is driving mobile commerce in the Netherlands. We also hear from the CIO of Brussels Airlines, which is transforming its business digitally through a strategy that links traditional IT with its customers through a digital skin, and the CIO of HR services provider Randstand Group Netherlands, for which technology is becoming crucial in its communication with clients and candidates. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Counting the cost of financial cyber crime

In this week’s Computer Weekly, the cyber security of banks is under scrutiny after an attack on Tesco Bank leads to millions lost in fraudulent transactions. Our latest buyer’s guide, on server operating systems, looks at the new features in Windows Server 2016. And Coca-Cola explains how a move to the cloud is helping motivate staff. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

The march of the robot workers

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we look at how artificial intelligence is being used to automate existing jobs, including roles as varied as IT administrators and customer service agents. Capital One’s European CIO talks about how to create an agile business. And we offer tips on how to deal with an Oracle software audit. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Insurers face same legacy system battle as retail banks

The biggest barrier to insurance companies adopting digital technology is their heavy reliance on legacy IT systems Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

John Lewis chooses three retail tech startups to receive 2016 JLab funding

Department store retailer John Lewis selects three retail tech startups to receive their share of the £200,000 JLab funding pot Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Australian IT spending to be near A$85bn in 2017

Australian CIOs must plan digital platforms that can connect to customer and business networks – or risk losing customers Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

How collaboration will feature in the future of digital supermarkets

Morrisons’ new deal with Ocado has helped the supermarket chain expand its online capabilities, but will we see more collaboration between retailers and digital service providers in the future? Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

25 years of Linux

In this week’s Computer Weekly, 25 years after Linus Torvalds released the Linux kernel, we look at how the open-source operating system has influenced modern-day IT. Our new buyer’s guide covers the fast growing technology of object storage. And we examine the rise of corporate wireless networking. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Insurers are joining fintech party

Insurers are held back from digital transformation by legacy systems, but insurance-focused IT startups offer them hope Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Reinventing Bahrain’s Kanoo Group through digital technology

In this quarter’s CW Middle East ezine, we feature the IT journeys of three companies in the region with detailed analysis of recent IT projects that were designed to support business transformation in a changing world. We hear how Bahrain-based conglomerate Kanoo Group is dealing with a company-wide digital transformation, Zahid Group’s biggest-ever IT investment, and how Rotana Hotels is centralising security. Continue Reading

Retail websites riddled with security holes, researchers warn

Retailers urged to improve the security of their online stores amid a series of discoveries of cyber criminal campaigns to exploit vulnerabilities in retail websites Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

IT startups suffer from strict, out-of-date Dutch laws

The Netherlands government needs to ensure that legislation enables disruptive technology to flourish Continue Reading

By

• Rian van Heur

Dunkin’ data – how one firm is going donuts for data analytics

The director of consumer technology and mobile for Dunkin’ Donuts explains how the retailer uses Splunk to manage customer satisfaction through data Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Trust issues stifling digital economy growth, study shows

Businesses that have products and services based on trust have a significant opportunity to future-proof their business, but those who do not risk being side-lined, a study shows Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Emirates Islamic bank and the Muslim finance revolution

The CIO at Dubai-based bank Emirates Islamic tells Computer Weekly how IT is supporting the company through industry change Continue Reading

By

• Alicia Buller

Bangkok Airways takes customer service to the cloud

Airline is the latest Southeast Asian organisation to harness cloud-based software to improve customer services, deploying the Oracle Service Cloud Continue Reading

By

• Ai Lei Tao

Pizza Hut Hong Kong rips up traditional CRM rule book

IT director of parent company Jardine Restaurant Group has transformed the way Pizza Hut interacts with customers in Hong Kong and plans the same in Myanmar and Vietnam Continue Reading

By

• Ai Lei Tao

Banks and fintech firms respect each other, says HSBC boss

The relationship between banks and fintech companies has sweetened over the past five years with mutual respect evident, says HSBC boss Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

German digital bank Fidor acquired by French banking giant

Fidor CEO says merger with BPCE will allow challenger to continue its international expansion Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Panera transforms digital infrastructure with Cisco

At Cisco Live in Las Vegas, Blaine Hurst from café chain Panera explained how he transformed the company’s infrastructure based on Cisco and Apple devices Continue Reading

By

• Steve Evans

Was that it? Business as usual for fintechs after Brexit vote

Following the Brexit vote, Fintech Times editor Bird Lovegod describes how financial services IT startups are getting on with business as usual Continue Reading

By

• Bird Lovegod

Case study: Odeon goes to hybrid cloud for digital transformation

Odeon cinema chain reveals how it is using hybrid cloud to power its digital transformation and tackle competitive threats Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Outdated IT limits retail gains from customer data

Legacy IT systems are making it more difficult for retailers to collect and use customer data to improve services Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Virtual reality finds fans at Reading University

Professors at Reading University see virtual reality as an increasingly important research and teaching tool in science and arts subjects Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Five retail-based startups head for 2016 Jlab incubator

Five of the 23 startups that pitched for a place on John Lewis’s 2016 startup programme will be spending the summer in the retailer’s Jlab accelerator Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Salesforce gears up for e-commerce with Demandware deal

CRM and cloud platform software company Salesforce is set to acquire Demandware -- taking its cloud-commerce software offering with it Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Tesco Bank partners with MasterCard to develop digital payments

Tesco’s retail bank has partnered with payment provider MasterCard to give customers more innovative digital payment methods Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Singapore banks adopt voice biometrics for user authentication

Banks in Singapore are rolling out biometric technology to improve customer services by speeding up the authentication process Continue Reading

By

• Ai Lei Tao

Nordic CIO interview: Johnny Bröms, Swedish fast-food chain Max Burger

The CIO of Swedish fast-food chain tells Computer Weekly how digital technology is increasing sales and supporting expansion Continue Reading

By

• Eeva Haaramo

Nordic CIO interview: Petteri Naulapää, Stockmann

CIO of Finnish-listed international retailer tells Computer Weekly about the department store’s journey towards omnichannel Continue Reading

By

• Jenny Stadigs

SuiteWorld 2016: The way retailers use ERP is shifting, taking on an external focus

NetSuite manager for commerce products looks at how consumers are forcing the retail world towards an experience-led business models Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Future Retail Contest: Using tech to tackle retail’s biggest problems

IC Tomorrow’s Future Retail Contest aims to help the retail industry tackle some of its business issues by leveraging retail-focused startups Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

CW Nordics: May 2016

The Nordics is seen as a pioneer of the latest IT. The populations of the region are keen to try out new IT services and it has a large population of IT startups creating them. In banking, for example, the region is pushing the tech boundaries. One of the most overt changes digital technology has brought to people’s lives is how they do their day-to-day banking. Most developed economies are seeing the same trends: bank branches closing; people using cashless payments; and mobile phones becoming the most popular banking tools. But the Nordics could be a pioneer. In this quarter’s issue of CW Nordics, we feature a debate about whether Sweden, the region’s biggest economy, could become the first country in the world to go cashless. Continue Reading