IT for retail and logistics

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

Amazon’s share price falls 6% on quarterly results

Amazon’s share price fell 6% in after-hours trade after the firm reported a second-quarter net loss of $126m Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Crew Clothing fashions cloud-based marketing to engage buyers

British luxury casualwear brand Crew Clothing chose cloud marketing to move from batch email marketing to a more timely and personal approach Continue Reading

By

• Archana Venkatraman, Datacentre Editor

Italy gives Google 18-month privacy compliance deadline

The Italian data protection watchdog has given Google 18 months to comply with EU privacy laws Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Total internet failure: are you prepared?

A total internet failure could stop any business in its tracks, yet few are preparing for this possibility, KPMG has warned Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

The billion-customer challenge of ITC CIO VVR Babu

ITC CIO VVR Babu explains the challenges for a business that targets over one billion consumers with its goods Continue Reading

UK leads international partnership to fight financial malware

The UK National Crime Agency is leading international collaboration between law enforcement and the private sector to fight bank theft malware Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Why using voice biometrics is a good idea

Banks and other organisations are turning to voice biometrics, but why do they believe the technology is good idea? Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Smart light bulbs get security update

Smart light bulb maker LIFX has issued a firmware update after security researchers exposed a security weakness Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Security Think Tank: The dos and don’ts of a good incident response plan

What does a good information security incident response plan look like? Continue Reading

By

• Tim Holman, 2-sec

Facebook apologises over psychological experiments

Facebook has apologised over the controversial psychological experiments carried out on 689,000 users without their consent in 2012 Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Industrial control systems increasingly under attack, says Kaspersky

Targeted attacks on industrial control systems take place on a regular and increasing basis, says Kaspersky Lab Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Net-a-Porter integrates testing and development

Online fashion retailer Net-a-Porter has integrated software testing and development to support agile methodologies Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Facebook under fire over secret experiment on users

Facebook has come under fire for conducting a psychology experiment on 689,000 users without their consent Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Roadchef exits IBM Global Services for direct supplier relationships

Motorway services firm Roadchef ended an outsourcing deal with IBM Global Services when its IT was up for refresh and moved to SAP Continue Reading

Wearable tech must comply with privacy laws, warns ICO

Wearable technology must comply with UK data privacy laws, warns the ICO Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Google begins complying with European takedown requests

Google has begun removing search results in response to takedown requests from European citizens Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Oracle set to boost retail business with $5bn Micros acquisition

Oracle is expected to acquire internet-enabled point-of sale-specialist Micros Continue Reading

YouTube to block indie labels unwilling to join paid service

YouTube plans to drop music videos from independent record labels unwilling to join its new subscription music service Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Domino’s breach underlines value of personal data, say experts

The latest cyber breach to hit a high-profile brand underlines the high value of personal data, say security experts Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Travel group Expedia aims to predict your holiday plans

Travel group Expedia is developing technology that will predict the needs of its customers before they call about their travel plans Continue Reading

Microsoft admits running out of IP addresses for Azure

Microsoft has assured US Azure customers data remains in the US, despite running out of US-registered IP addresses at times Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

EE drives mobile phone deals with CRM software implementation

Mobile phone operator Everything Everywhere claims a 400% increase in phone deals after rolling out customer relationship management software Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

IT departments unprepared for internet of things

Only 41% of IT professionals are working on projects to prepare their business for the internet of things Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Turing Test 2014 marks historic milestone in artificial intelligence

A computer program has made history by passing the artificial intelligence test set by computer science pioneer Alan Turing Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Microsoft retaliates to China’s Windows 8 spying claims

Microsoft has launched a social media campaign against China’s claims that Windows 8 is being used for US spying Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Unilever appoints Jane Moran as global CIO

Former CIO of Thomson Reuters, Jane Moran, has joined Unilever as its new global CIO Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

CIOs should 'leave innovation to marketing'

CIOs should focus on managing the technical infrastructure and leave innovation to other parts of the business – conclusion of a major study. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Cyber threats hiding in plain sight, says Palo Alto Networks

Cyber attackers exploit commonly used business applications to bypass security controls, research shows Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK shoe retailer Office hit by data breach

Data breach at UK shoe retailer Office prompts calls for online firms to beef up security around customer details Continue Reading

IT supplier insolvencies fall for first time as economy recovers

Technology companies have reached a turning point as insolvencies fall for the first time in 2014 Continue Reading

By

• Tim Wood and Henry Kirby

Google launches right-to-be-forgotten application form

Google has introduced an online application form for Europeans who want personal data to be removed from online search results Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Targeting the digital customer

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we go behind the scenes of John Lewis’s £40m e-commerce transformation plan to find out how to target the digital customer. Starbucks’ European CIO talks about the coffee chain’s IT strategy. And we evaluate three big suppliers’ plans for virtualised networking. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Android Outlook app has privacy issues, warn researchers

Microsoft’s Outlook.com app for Android is exposing users' data, warn security researchers Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

eBay under fire over handling of data breach

eBay is coming under increasing criticism over its handling of the data breach that exposed millions of user records Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

eBay reveals major security breach and urges users to change passwords

eBay has revealed it was hit by a major cyber attack earlier this year, and is urging users to change their site passwords. Continue Reading

US cyber criminal jailed for 20 years

US authorities have jailed a cyber criminal for 20 years, for trading in stolen credit cards and identities Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Internet of things security is relevant to business, says researcher

Internet of things is relevant to enterprise information security professionals, says researcher Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Minnesota passes mobile kill switch law to stop theft

Minnesota has become the first US state to introduce legislation aimed at reducing the theft of smartphones Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Net neutrality under threat from US plan

The US telecoms regulator has approved proposals that opponents believe will quash the principle of net neutrality Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Orange data breach underlines need for encryption, say experts

The theft of 1.3 million customer records from Orange, France underlines the need for encryption, say experts Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Internet privacy could thwart data security, warns expert

Steps to improve online privacy could thwart data security, warns security expert Hugh Thompson Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

CIO interview: Robert Teagle, European IT director, Starbucks Coffee

Robert Teagle leads IT across the 30 markets that Starbucks owns and operates in Europe, the Middle East and Africa Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari