IT for retail and logistics

Alan Bates: The ‘details man’ the Post Office paid the price for ignoring

In 2003, subpostmaster Alan Bates had his contract terminated when he refused to comply with Post Office policy. A decade and a half later, against the odds, he took the Post Office to the High Court and won a multimillion-pound legal case. Continue Reading

Two-thirds of workers at risk of robot-driven redundancy are unaware of the threat to jobs

People who do jobs that are most likely to be automated through technology are unaware and unprepared of the impending threat to their livelihoods, with Nesta calling on the government to do more to up-skill those at risk Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

The big retail tech themes from Retail’s Big Show

The National Retail Federation’s Big Show signals the kick-off of the retail events calendar. We look over the themes promised for retail tech over the next year Continue Reading

By

• Glynn Davis

Scammers using fake PayPal emails stole over £1m in the UK in last quarter

Fraudsters tricked Brits into sending over £1m worth of goods to them that they hadn't paid for Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

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

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

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Estonian CIO gives UK IT professionals hope as Brexit removes rights

Tech chief says Estonia’s door is open to UK IT professionals if they want to continue enjoying an EU lifestyle Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Alan Bates: The ‘details man’ the Post Office paid the price for ignoring

In 2003, subpostmaster Alan Bates had his contract terminated when he refused to comply with Post Office policy. A decade and a half later, against the odds, he took the Post Office to the High Court and won a multimillion-pound legal case Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Subpostmaster prosecutions move closer to appeal

Prosecutions are a significant step closer to being sent to the Court of Appeal as Criminal Courts Review Commission forms a group of commissioners to review them Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Police sent information about potential Fujitsu staff perjury in subpostmaster prosecutions

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

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Government should not be allowed to dismiss subpostmasters’ claims over Horizon IT scandal

Subpostmasters are stepping up their fight for justice after their huge court victory, with Westminister replacing the High Court as the battleground Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

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

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

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Government distances itself from Post Office decisions in Horizon IT litigation

Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy says it did not make decisions in the Post Office’s recent court battle Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

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

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Podcast: The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload – Episode 42

In this week’s episode of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, Caroline Donnelly, Clare McDonald and Brian McKenna greet the new decade with reflections on the Travelex ransomware attack and Dominic Cummings’ call for data science to rejuvenate Whitehall. And they take stock of the retail sector’s grim 2019, while remembering to mention the big story of the moment: Harry and Meghan Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK
• Clare McDonald, Business Editor
• Brian McKenna, Senior Analyst, Business Applications

Why subpostmasters are calling on the government to pay Horizon trial costs

The damages that subpostmasters will receive after their court victory against the Post Office fall well short of their calculated losses Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Subpostmaster group calls for government to pay legal costs for Horizon trial

The group of subpostmasters that defeated the Post Office in court over a faulty IT system are calling for the government to pay the costs of the legal action Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Retail group Dixons Carphone fined £500,000 over data breach

Dixons Carphone receives maximum possible pre-GDPR fine from the ICO following a 2018 data breach Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Automation could help resolve store shortfalls, says Capgemini

As consumers become more receptive to in-store technology, introducing automation to improve the retail experience could increase footfall, says Capgemini Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Fujitsu must face scrutiny following Post Office Horizon trial judgment

While the Post Office has suffered financial and reputational damage after losing its court battle with subpostmasters, the supplier of the IT system at the centre of the dispute has major PR challenges ahead Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Scale’s HE150 the first of a big push to small edge HCI hardware

Scale Computing aims to scale to micro-sized hyper-converged with a lightweight operating system it claims its competitors can’t match for edge and remote location deployments Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Digital fashion for sustainable consumption

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we look at fashion for online personas, report on a programme to get more young women into cyber security, and examine edge computing as the new data frontier and how cloud-native platforms and AI might transform the datacentre. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

The Post Office computer problem that destroyed the lives of pillars of the community

The Post Office’s refusal to believe subpostmasters were suffering losses due to computer system errors was incompetent and cruel Continue Reading

By

• James Arbuthnot

Call for former Post Office CEO to step down from public roles after IT court battle lost

Conservative peer is calling for former Post Office CEO to step down from high-profile public roles for her part in Horizon IT scandal Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Former Post Office CEO apologises to subpostmasters over Horizon scandal

Subpostmasters criticise former CEO’s apology for their suffering as “too little, too late” Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

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

By

• Ben Sillitoe

Top 10 storage deployment stories of 2019

Here are ComputerWeekly’s top 10 storage deployment stories for 2019, which see quite a move away from traditional SAN and NAS to hyper-converged, software-defined storage and object storage Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

National Federation of Subpostmasters cries foul after court ruling on controversial computer system

The National Federation of Subpostmasters said it was misled by the Post Office about the robustness of the IT systems its members use Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Top 10 retail technology stories of 2019

Computer Weekly looks at what 2019 had in store for the retail industry – what technologies were retailers rushing to adopt and how is customer behaviour changing? Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Criminal Courts Review Commission to review Horizon judgment ‘swiftly’

The CCRC’s review of potentially unfair prosecutions of subpostmasters is just one of the unresolved issues in in relation to subpostmasters’ battle with the Post Office over its faulty IT system Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

How Saudi Arabia plans to become the Silicon Valley of the Middle East

With its young and educated population, Saudi Arabia has the potential to become a hub for tech innovation Continue Reading

By

• Alicia Buller

Subpostmasters proved right on IT system failures as calls for full public inquiry mount

Post Office has been “in denial” about the robustness of its core retail system, which a judge said was to blame for problems experienced by subpostmasters in a multimillion-pound group action Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Alarm bells ring, the IoT is listening

With Christmas bearing down on us, a series of vulnerability disclosures has drawn attention to the parlous state of IoT security, and serves as a timely warning to people planning to buy smart devices as gifts Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Future fashion: does that dress come in digital?

A visit to a technology-fuelled fashion pop-up paints a picture of a world where retailers and brands sell virtual clothes for usage solely in consumers’ digital lives Continue Reading

By

• Ben Sillitoe

Subpostmasters got the best deal possible in legal battle with the Post Office, says lawyer

Subpostmasters ended their legal battle with the Post Office at the optimal time, according to the lawyer that managed the High Court action Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Why Lendlease is embracing digital twin technology

Australia-based property developer Lendlease is using digital twins and other technologies to break the bulwark of rising costs and declining productivity in the construction sector Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Post Office settles legal dispute with subpostmasters, ending 20-year battle for lead claimant

The Post Office has settled its long-running legal dispute with subpostmasters, and will pay £57.75m in damages Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

How can CIOs in Europe turn innovation into a competitive advantage?

CIOs across Europe are under pressure to innovate to help businesses grow and must think differently as a result Continue Reading

By

• Mark Samuels

Cloud computing surges in the UAE in 2019

Cloud computing take-up saw a significant acceleration in the Middle East throughout this year Continue Reading

By

• Alicia Buller

Dutch government must facilitate and coordinate a broad eID system

The Dutch government should push for an electronic ID system for its citizens that works across the public and private sectors, according to a report Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

Cyber Girls First volunteers encourage girls to think high-tech

More than 80 schoolgirls spent a day learning about computer hackers and rocket science – Cyber Girls First hopes they will become the next generation of technologists Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Survey finds most firms don’t respond to GDPR requests in time

Most organisations do not respond to requests for GDPR data in the one month allowed, while many return incorrect data. The education sector does best, but the public sector lags behind Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Private sector warned off delaying IR35 reform prep as Conservative Party promises review

The Conservative Party has followed in the footsteps of the Liberal Democrats, The Labour Party and the Scottish National Party by committing to a review of the IR35 reforms Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

QD Stores deploys SAP Fiori as pathway to possible S/4 Hana adoption

East Anglia-based discount retailer uses design thinking to develop SAP Fiori Screen Personas to enhance ECC6 instance Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Senior Analyst, Business Applications

Hack Friday: This Christmas, fight back against cyber criminals

It’s nearly Christmas, and cyber attacks and fraud attempts in the retail sector are ramping up. Is it time to panic? And is there anything we can do beyond hammering home the message around basic cyber security hygiene? Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Finnish tech firm aims to create scalable general-purpose quantum computer

University spin-off is attempting to take quantum computing capabilities to multiple business sectors Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

The super-resilient IT function

IT functions don’t have to continue taking the blame for organisational failures, they can take the lead in transforming the business Continue Reading

By

• Ade McCormack, Auridian Consulting

Peer calls for clear-out of Post Office board after Court of Appeal confirms major court defeat

Conservative peer championing subpostmasters’ long-running battle with Post Office suggests management clear-out after Court of Appeal rejects appeal bid Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Why thousands of IT contractors face ‘life-changing’ tax bills

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we investigate HMRC’s loan charge policy, a retrospective tax grab that has left thousands of IT contractors facing financial ruin. We compare the cloud storage offerings from AWS, Microsoft and Google. And we find out how retailers are turning to tech to deal with a new generation of shoppers. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Court of Appeal dismisses Post Office application to appeal damning judgment

The Court of Appeal has rejected a Post Office application to appeal judgments made in the first trial of its multimillion-pound battle with subpostmasters over IT system failures. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Some 29,000 UK web domains suspended for criminal activity

Domain suspensions for criminal activity over the past year has dropped for the first time since 2014 Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Labour pledges review of NCSC in UK security overhaul

The UK's National Cyber Security Centre may get expanded powers under a Labour government Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Fashion retailer AllSaints on using Google Cloud to handle online shopping traffic peaks

AllSaints shifts website workloads into Google Cloud to protect against website downtime, as well as embarking on microservices-led push to modernise its infrastructure Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Mimecast blocked 99 billion suspicious emails in third quarter

Latest threat intelligence report reveals the scale of the threat posed by malicious emails, with the transport, legal and financial sectors hit hardest Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

John Lewis Partnership taps Google Cloud for AI expertise to bolster customer experience

The John Lewis Partnership is building on its earlier forays into the Google Cloud by tapping into its artificial intelligence and machine learning expertise to deliver on its omnichannel business ambitions Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Macy’s Magecart breach presages Christmas fraud spike

US retailer Macy’s admits some customer data was accessed by unknown actors during a week-long Magecart attack Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Foreign e-commerce giants threaten Nordic high streets

Surveys show up to 40% of high-street stores in Sweden and Finland could face closure by 2030 as retailers seek to combat e-commerce threat Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

Loan charge under review: The 20-year retroactive tax policy pushing IT contractors to the brink

Thousands of IT contractors are at risk of financial ruin as HMRC pursues them for tax it claims they owe on work they did up to two decades ago and were reimbursed for via loan remuneration schemes. Computer Weekly investigates Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Cyber criminals tool up for Christmas fraud season

Organised criminals are trying to cash in on the festive retail boom with both brand new and tried-and-tested techniques Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

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

Morrisons in new appeal over data breach fine

The Supreme Court has heard an appeal from retailer Morrisons as it attempts to overturn prior judgments holding it liable for a 2014 leak of employee data Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

What’s new in UK retail’s online-to-offline movement?

US menswear retailer Untuckit used to be an online pureplay, but by the end of 2019 it will have 80-plus stores, including its two new UK shops, as the online-to-offline trend continues Continue Reading

By

• Ben Sillitoe

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

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

IR35 reforms: Concerns raised over private sector’s lack of preparedness for April 2020 start date

As the countdown towards the IR35 reforms coming into force in the private sector continues, research by recruitment firm Hays draws concerns over an apparent lack of awareness and preparation amongst enterprises Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Reykjavik: An IT ecosystem beyond the ice

Iceland is a small island between Europe and the US, and that is one of several reasons why it is attracting tech startups to its capital Continue Reading

By

• Matthew Staff

Post Office IT trial judgement within days

The judgment in the second trial in a multimillion-pound legal battle over an allegedly faulty IT system at the Post Office is imminent Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

IR35 reforms – the difficult decisions facing IT contractors

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we examine the difficult choices facing UK IT contractors from the controversial IR35 tax reforms. Social engineering is a major source of cyber security attacks – we look at mitigation strategies. And the IT chief at Mercedes F1 explains what it takes to support a world championship team. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

How retailers are using social to reach Gen Z and beyond

The younger generation of shoppers are all using social media, so how are retailers using influencers to reach these potential customers and their spending power? Continue Reading

By

• Matthew Chapman

Huge rise in rogue banking apps driving fraud attacks

Fraud perpetrated through fake mobile apps purporting to be from legitimate banks has seen a statistically significant spike, says RSA Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Pitney Bowes ‘considering options’ after malware attack

Mailing and shipping services firm in recovery mode after key systems were encrypted by a malware attack Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

PCI DSS: Credit card data and what to expect from version 4.0

We preview October’s PCI Europe Community Meeting where attendees will discuss credit card payment data, with topics covered likely to include the cloud and point-to-point encryption Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Kroger drives data-driven customer experience

Scott Crawford, data science lead at 84.51°, the data business at US grocery retailer Kroger, discusses data projects and iterative programmes Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

DBS Bank touts digital logistics offering for SMEs

Singapore’s DBS Bank has launched a digital logistics solutions package for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the logistics sector that are looking to expand their regional footprint. ... Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

UKtech50 2019 – help us find the most influential people in UK technology

Computer Weekly’s annual search for the 50 most influential people in UK technology reaches its 10th anniversary – let us know who you would like to nominate for this year’s list Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

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

By

• Ben Sillitoe

John Lewis Partnership sells its automation to business

The John Lewis Partnership will expand its use of automation technology as its early projects bear fruit Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Five million DoorDash customers’ details lost in data breach

Takeaway delivery service was breached in May 2019, resulting in the data of millions of users and delivery drivers being stolen Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Podcast: The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload – Episode 31

In this week’s episode of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, Caroline Donnelly and Clare McDonald are joined by Ryan Priest for an accidentally transport-heavy chat about the week in tech Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor
• Ryan Priest
• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Enterprises can hire software robots at the push of a button

IPsoft is beta testing a marketplace where businesses can look at what software robots are available and interview them about their suitability to take roles Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

The five software testing techniques every software developer should know about

Five simple testing techniques that will help developers test their software systematically, thoroughly and quickly Continue Reading

By

• Brian Hambling

Ecuador citizens’ data breach holds lessons for enterprises

What caused the mass breach of Ecuadorian citizens’ data, and what can businesses learn from it? Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

US lawmakers demand internal Facebook, Google, Apple and Amazon documents in antitrust probe

US lawmakers have given big tech companies a deadline to disclose a wide range of documents as the House Judiciary Committee’s bipartisan investigation into competition gathers pace Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Gartner Catalyst: Prepare for web giants crushing your industry

Companies like Amazon and Alibaba are taking a bigger chunk of the customer journey, but they are also spreading across industry sectors Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Ditch hoodies and hackers to encourage diverse security recruitment

The cyber security industry needs to address a systemic image problem if it is to succeed in recruiting more diverse teams Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

When AIs go to war: Autonomous cyber weapons ‘inevitable’

CISOs must start thinking about how to engage with intelligent, adaptive, non-human attackers, says Trend Micro’s Rik Ferguson Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Industry opposition to no-deal Brexit hardens, says TechUK

A survey of TechUK members has found that 71% believe a no-deal Brexit at the end of October will negatively affect them in spite of their preparations Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Mirai descendants dominate IoT threat environment

Attacks leveraging compromised IoT devices are growing in size, scale and frequency, report security experts at F-Secure and Trend Micro, with Mirai-related botnets a major source of trouble Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

The emergence of the shopping centre-as-a-service model

Shopping centres have been morphing into wider entertainment, leisure and hospitality venues for some time, but their role is set to evolve yet further Continue Reading

By

• Ben Sillitoe

GDPR non-compliance worse than feared

Over half of UK businesses do not yet appear to be fully GDPR-compliant, and many have de-prioritised their compliance efforts Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

BT gears up to take on rogue drones

BT’s Enterprise unit is offering customers an anti-drone security solution to protect their physical sites from intrusion Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Social engineering a factor in virtually all cyber attacks, report claims

Almost every single cyber attack will, at some stage, require a human to be tricked into doing something, according to research by Proofpoint Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

IT leaders need to speak up about the voice channel

Voice assistants represent the next frontier, and a range of new skills will be needed to move beyond pilot projects to a true voice channel Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Loyal Dutch IT professionals not being rewarded enough, survey shows

Companies warned they could lose loyal IT staff because salary rises do not match those on offer from rival employers Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

Executive interview: How Figleaves uncovers a data Eden

Online lingerie business that started out at the height of the dot com boom is now focused on using advanced analytics to reveal new data insights Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Businesses need to keep investing in tech and hope to avoid a no-deal Brexit

A no-deal Brexit could have serious consequences for the UK tech sector and skills base, making it more difficult to recruit technology specialists and hire freelancers Continue Reading

By

• Albert Ellis, Harvey Nash Group

TrickBot Trojan switches to stealthy Ostap downloader

Operators of the TrickBot banking Trojan have switched to a new downloader to evade detection and analysis for a high-volume malicious spam campaign targeting business, researchers warn Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

CISOs think cloud safer, but security fears remain

The majority of information security leaders think cloud is now safer than on-premise, but security fears remain, with recently breached and highly regulated organisations most concerned, poll reveals Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Samsung KX gives consumers and retailers a glimpse of the future

Samsung puts its Galaxy range, the internet of things and community events at the heart of its new central London consumer space – but don’t call it a store... Continue Reading

By

• Ben Sillitoe

Post Office changes IT leadership reshuffle decision

The Post Office has changed its IT leadership reshuffle weeks after announcing its original plan Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Security Think Tank: Risk mitigation is key to blockchain becoming mainstream

What are the best and most effective ways information security professionals can use blockchain technology? Continue Reading

By

• Mike Yeomans, Information Security Forum

Security Think Tank: Blockchain – balance risk and opportunity for smart security

What are the best and most effective ways information security professionals can use blockchain technology? Continue Reading

By

• RV Raghu, ISACA