IT for retail and logistics

Software project will save Ford tens of millions a year in car repair bills

Car maker Ford is rolling out sophisticated warranty software to 12,000 dealers worldwide in a project that is expected to bring rapid financial returns Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

CIO interview: Mattias Forsberg, Systembolaget

Systembolaget CIO Mattias Forsberg says IT and business need to have a relationship of co-operation and expects every successful IT project to include some pain Continue Reading

By

• Jenny Stadigs

CIO interview: Lars Ruben Hansen, Rema 1000 Denmark and Reitan Distribution

The CIO of supermarket chain Rema 1000 Denmark and wholesale company Reitan Distribution wants his staff to love coming to work Continue Reading

By

• Jenny Stadigs

MtGox chief Mark Karpeles arrested for fraud

Former chief Mark Karpeles is under arrest on suspicion of $1m fraud and involvement in the disappearance of 650,000 bitcoins Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Dashlane bullish about the future despite LastPass hack

Password management firm Dashlane is confident its business model will evolve and continue to be relevant even if passwords eventually disappear Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Nordic retailers get physical to combat international digital giants

Nordic retails must evolve if they are to prosper in a sector where competition from international online giants is fierce Continue Reading

By

• Eeva Haaramo

Wi-Fi enhances guest experience and profitability for Belgian theme park

Bobbejaanland, one of the largest theme parks in Belgium, is using a Fortinet Wi-Fi network to offer visitors access on the go, and improve its management capabilities Continue Reading

By

• Xavier Mertens

TNT continues outsourcing push

TNT continues to outsource as it strives to free up resources to focus on its core competency, signing a five-year BPO deal with Accenture Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Using data analytics to deliver more personalised customer service

Personalisation has been the goal for many retailers, but can the emergence of big data analytics be the solution they are looking for? Continue Reading

By

• Lisa Kelly

Case study: Model railway company Hornby overhauls payments with Braintree

Hornby’s head of digital strategy explains how the firm chose Braintree as its online payments platform following its website migration last year Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Waitrose uses ServiceNow for business continuity planning

Luxury retail brand Waitrose deploys ServiceNow to cope with business continuity across its supply chain Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Legacy systems holding back 90% of businesses

Most businesses are being held back from making digital advances by their reliance on legacy applications Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

CIO interview: Alan Jensen, Dansk Supermarked

Danske Supermarked is moving to an omni-channel model, and the CIO must ensure IT and business departments are on the journey together Continue Reading

By

• Jenny Stadigs

Government preparing to let private sector companies use its Verify identity scheme

The Cabinet Office is talking to banks, insurers and retailers to establish Gov.uk Verify identity assurance as a national scheme Continue Reading

By

• Mark Ballard

Boots cuts 700 jobs in bid to restructure and improve tech

Cosmetics firm Boots has announced it will be cutting 700 non-store roles in an attempt to invest in technology and simplify back-office operations Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Case study: What the enterprise can learn from Etsy's DevOps strategy

Jon Cowie, operations engineer at online marketplace Etsy, advises enterprises on how to develop a DevOps-friendly business culture Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

John Lewis incubator sees first round of second-year pitches

More than 20 startups have presented their pitches to John Lewis executives in the first round of this year’s Jlab accelerator Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Sourcing must adapt to digital business goals, says Gartner

Businesses need to change their sourcing strategies if they are to keep pace with the digital revolution, says analyst organisation Gartner Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Top six enterprise IT priorities in the Nordics

The future of enterprise IT looks bright in the Nordic region, with growing focus on datacentre investments, national cloud and automatisation Continue Reading

By

• Eeva Haaramo

Researchers raise privacy concerns about Bluetooth Low Energy devices

Researchers have raised privacy concerns about a growing number of devices using Bluetooth Low Energy technology Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Retailers still not delivering omni-channel experience, says Accenture

Research by Accenture finds customers think retailers could provide a more unified approach across all platforms Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

CIO interview: Darrell Stein, vice-president of information systems at Reckitt Benckiser

Seven months after taking charge of IT at Reckitt Benckiser, Darrell Stein is pushing ahead with a strategy to increase digital revenues Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Home Retail Group grows profits 15% with mobile and online channels

Mobile and online initiatives at Home Retail Group – parent company of Argos and Homebase – drove a 15% growth in its yearly operating profit Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

IoT benefits and privacy not mutually exclusive, says industry expert

It is possible to mitigate the privacy and security risks of the internet of things (IoT) without losing its benefits, according to an industry expert Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Criminal Courts Review Commission set to review subpostmasters' claims of wrongful prosecution

The Criminal Courts Review Commission (CCRC) reviews subpostmasters' claims of wrongful prosecution by the Post Office due to IT problems Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

The future of Moore's Law at 50

In this week's Computer Weekly, Moore's Law – the seminal forecast by Intel founder Gordon Moore that oversees technology development – is 50 years old. We look at its modern relevance and future implications. IT chiefs discuss whether Windows is still core to their strategy. And we look back at five years of government IT. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Post Office failed to investigate account shortfalls before legal action, report claims

Post Office too quick to take legal action against subpostmasters, finds independent report Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Pure e-commerce approach does not work for every retailer

Retailers can no longer be successful with an e-commerce approach alone, according to NYU professor of marketing Scott Galloway Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Retailers should think of consumers as “omni-customers”, says OVS Spa

Retailers should refocus their strategy to treat consumers as “omni-customers”, according to the director of e-commerce for Italian brand OVS Spa Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Taking stock of e-commerce systems

In this week's Computer Weekly, the first of our three-part buyer's guide to next generation e-commerce looks at managing inventory in multi-channel retailers. We highlight the six technology companies that are threats to the dominance of high-street banks. And we examine the top five issues in virtual machine backup. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

DDoS losses potentially £100k an hour, survey shows

DDoS attacks could expose 40% of businesses to losses of £100,000 or more an hour at peak times, a survey shows Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Holland & Barrett outsources data handling to ITC Infotech

IT services firm ITC Infotech manages customer data for health food business to help it glean business value from the information Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Target agrees to $10m breach compensation

US retailer Target has agreed to a $10m compensation package for victims of its 2013 data breach Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Sharing Economy UK launched to champion digital businesses

New trade body brings together digital businesses that encourage consumer and business asset-sharing, such as Airbnb and ZipCar Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber crime: What every business needs to know

Computer Weekly gets the low-down on cyber crime from law enforcement officers and investigators Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK consumers lack confidence in data protection, study finds

UK consumers do not believe businesses or governments do enough to protect their data, according to to Symantec’s State of Privacy report Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

CIO interview: Paul Coby, IT director, John Lewis Partnership

Technology is an essential ingredient to the success of John Lewis, and the retailer is ploughing £100m into IT initiatives in 2015 Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

The more IT changes, the more technology issues remain the same

In the early 2000s Nigel Beighton was CTO at Lastminute.com. Yet, 15 years on, he says the technology issues he faced then have changed little Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

IoT could be key to farming, says Beecham Research

The internet of things could be key to the farming industry meeting the challenge of increasing food production by 70% by 2050, says report Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Tesco Bank suffers computer problems

Tesco Bank customers are the latest to suffer as a result of IT problems Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Post Office CIO would talk to any subpostmaster about IT problems, promises CEO

The CEO of the Post Office defended the organisation’s support for users of its accounting system in a select committee inquiry into alleged problems Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Harrods invests in digital to entice customers

Harrods is investing in digital screen and publishing technologies to engage with its customers Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Developing software for smartwatches - how Hailo approached the problem

One of the developers for black cab booking app Hailo talks about the challenges of developing for wearables such as smartwatches Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Cancer Research UK trials contactless donations

Cancer Research UK installs four smart charity shop windows to enable contactless donations Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

MPs force inquiry into Post Office subpostmaster mediation scheme

MPs force inquiry into Post Office scheme to redress grievances of subpostmasters claiming to have been wrongly punished for false accounting Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Supplier relationship management lessons from the car industry

IT can learn a lot from the car industry, which has transformed supplier relationship management Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

NRF 2015: how retailers are using technology to engage with customers

The National Retail Federation (NRF) conference 2015 took place in New York City between 11-14 January and Computer Weekly was on the ground reporting on all the trends from the show Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Tesco embarks on image recognition technology for product placement

Tesco is looking to pilot image recognition software to improve product placement in its stores Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Technology should complement traditional merchandising, says Hershey’s

Retailers adopting innovative technology need to consider how it might affect traditional ways of merchandising at the point of sale Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Levi Strauss & Co thinks mobile first

Levi Strauss & Co, the company known for Levi’s denim jeans, is thinking mobile first as part of its omni-channel retailing strategy Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Obama calls for single US data breach notification law

The US president is calling for a single US data breach notification law as part of proposed legislation to improve data security Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

John Lewis to trial location technology for click and collect

John Lewis plans to trial a micro-location technology to improve its click and collect service Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Quiksilver expands e-commerce and sees 65% increase in revenue

Sports brand Quiksilver has seen a 65% increase in revenue after expanding its cloud-based e-commerce platform Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Why are retailers breaking online delivery promises?

The Christmas period has seen a wave of UK retailers’ technology failing to meet the basic needs of customers Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Top 10 CIO interviews of 2014

The top technology chiefs in the UK shared their opinions and experiences of modern IT leadership Continue Reading

By

• Computer Weekly Staff

M&S turns to predictive analytics to keep shelves stocked over Christmas

Marks & Spencer is using predictive analytics to keep shelves stocked with mince pies and turkeys over Christmas. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

UKtech50 2014 - The most influential people in UK IT

Computer Weekly has announced the fifth annual UKtech50, our definitive list of the movers and shakers in UK IT Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Computer Weekly UKtech50: Rising Stars 2014

Chosen by the Computer Weekly team from people we’ve met over the past 12 months, here are our five rising stars of 2014 Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

CIO Interview: Dustan Steer, IT director, Ted Baker

Dustan Steer, IT director for clothes brand Ted Baker, talks about upgrading the company's enterprise resource planning system Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Asda opens technology centre in Leeds

Asda opens a technology centre in its Leeds head office to provide a more streamlined service for online customers Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Retail technology – what’s hot?

The world of retail technology is looking hotter than ever from gimmicky augmented reality penguins to serious CCTV solutions. Here’s the Computer Weekly roundup of the potentially disruptive technologies which are hitting the retail market. Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Amazon not the biggest threat to high street retailers

Competition from online-only traders does not pose the biggest threat to high street retailers, with cautious attitudes a bigger risk Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

CW Europe - November 2014 Edition

In this issue of CW Europe find out the winners of our Best of VMworld Europe 2014 user awards, which were recently unveiled at an awards ceremony in Barcelona. Find out why all of our five winners were crowned champions at VMworld Europe 2014, along with two honorable mentions due to a high number of quality projects. Continue Reading

Home Depot traces credit card data hack to supplier compromise

US retailer Home Depot reveals its recent data breach was linked to a compromised supplier’s credentials Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Currency exchange business Travelex cuts HR costs by 25% with cloud IT systems

Travelex's cloud human resources (HR) project survived a budget overrun to cut costs and job recruitment times Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Amazon reports tough quarter despite sales increase

Amazon reported a 20% year-on-year increase in third-quarter sales to $20.58bn, but also posted a net loss of $437m Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Firms lack technology for workforce of the future

European businesses will rely increasingly on freelance, geographically dispersed employees as they vie to attract the top skills to their organisations over the next 5 years. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Social media for communication inside the enterprise

Companies have long used social media technology such as Facebook and Twitter to reach more customers – but how are businesses using it internally? Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

US retailer Staples investigates possible data breach

US retailer Staples confirms it is investigating a possible credit and debit card breach Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK is prime target for cyber attacks, says FireEye

The UK has been greatest target of advanced cyber attacks in Europe, the Middle East or Africa in the first half of 2014, report shows Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

B&Q launches online kitchen planning and design tool

The DIY retailer debuts its B&Q Spaces planning and design tool which allows customers to plan their kitchen, bathroom and bedroom projects online Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Cybercrime fighters to target kingpins, says top EU cyber cop

International cybercrime fighters are to focus on the relatively small number of top malware producers, says Europe's top cyber cop Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Starbucks uses cloud to manage innovation and disruptive technologies

Starbucks coffee chain innovates IT strategies to hone its competitive edge using cloud services, says IT director Robert Teagle Continue Reading

By

• Archana Venkatraman, Datacentre Editor

Timberland focuses on online customer experience

After internationalising its e-commerce offering across Europe, Timberland's next priority is refining its online experience Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

L’Oreal aligns technology with the business to work faster

L’Oreal’s digital technology is working with the business and marketing departments to become innovative and agile Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Mothercare uses mobile to engage with customers, not just to sell

Mothercare is continuing to use mobile to improve customer service and engage with users Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

European firms far from ready for new data rules, study shows

As European authorities aim to ratify revised data protection rules by 2015, many firms have a lot to do to comply Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Oracle OpenWorld 2014: Toms expands global e-commerce

Footwear retailer Toms relaunches e-commerce websites with Oracle platform to grow and improve customer experience Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Case study: Deutsche Post DHL develops software contract templates to reduce costs

Deutsche Post DHL has created contract templates to manage software costs. Computer Weekly speaks to the people leading the initiative Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Bash bug could be bigger threat than Heartbleed

A bug in the Bash command prompt software used by many Unix computers could be a greater threat than Heartbleed. Continue Reading

UKtech50 2014 - help us choose the 50 most influential people in UK IT

Computer Weekly is launching the fifth annual UKtech50, our definitive list of the movers and shakers in UK IT - tell us your nominations Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Conficker infections an indictment of IT security, says CWG

Conficker worm infections reflect the “sad state of affairs of IT security”, says the Conficker Working Group Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Home Depot under fire for data breach notification

US retailer Home Depot criticised for delays in telling customers their payment card details may have been compromised Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Muji takes on cloud platform to increase sales

Retailer Muji is using a cloud-based platform from IT services firm Infosys to help it understand customers and target sales Continue Reading

Clarks shoes steps into digital

Shoe manufacturer Clarks is replacing its legacy e-commerce sites with a global cloud-based system next month Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Retailers need to adopt ‘fail fast’ attitude to technology

Retailers experimenting with digital technologies must take a “fail fast” approach so they can deliver new innovations quickly Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Boots to roll out real-time stock visibility in coming weeks

Health and beauty retailer, Alliance Boots, is about to roll out real-time stock visibility to its stores and customers using SAP Hana Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

John Lewis sales reflect omni-channel growth

John Lewis and Waitrose have attributed an increase in sales and customers to their growing omni-channel offerings Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

UK retailers must invest more in digital technologies

The UK’s biggest retailers are ‘under-investing’ in in-store digital technologies Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

EasyJet sheds 'scrum' image with hybrid IT

EasyJet’s reservation system could not provision for allocated seating, so the airline added a feature on Azure Continue Reading

By

• Archana Venkatraman, Datacentre Editor

Online fashion retailer Asos seeks CIO

Asos.com is looking to appoint a CIO following the departure of Pete Marsdon after two years in the role Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Tesco to reduce IT spend in a bid to cut costs

Supermarket giant Tesco has announced that it will be cutting costs from its IT budget to save money Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Ocado’s technology under fire, causing share price to fall

Ocado’s IT has come under fire in a financial analyst's report that claims the market has over-valued the retailer's automation technology Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

CIO Interview: Hugh Fahy, CIO, Net-A-Porter

“I like to emphasis the ‘I’ bit in CIO,” says Hugh Fahy, chief information officer of the Net-A-Porter Group Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Nike builds datacentre cloud and network infrastructure

Nike is creating a scalable next-generation datacentre cloud and retail network infrastructure using Juniper's MetaFabric architecture Continue Reading

By

• Archana Venkatraman, Datacentre Editor

Click and collect drives e-commerce growth for Asda

Shoppers at Asda are continuing to choose to buy their groceries online and pick them up in-store Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

CIO interview: Dave Ubachs, CIO, Staples Europe

Staples is undertaking major IT projects in Europe that will see e-commerce improvements and back-end consolidation in 16 countries Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Amazon launches credit card reader for small businesses

Amazon has launched a card reader and mobile app for small businesses Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

IT needs to improve network infrastructure for future of retail

IT departments need to up their game and improve networks for the retail sector which is on the brink of massive technology change Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Hacker and UFO hunter Gary McKinnon launches SEO business

Hacker Gary McKinnon has set up a search engine optimisation business after winning a 10-year battle against extradition to the US Continue Reading