IT news in your industry sector

Danish utility NRGi goes offshore for IT platform transformation

Danish utilty NRGi has outsourced its IT to Indian services supplier Wipro as it attempts to transform its operations amid increased competition Continue Reading

By

• Eeva Haaramo

GDS preps guidance for third-party suppliers to deliver 'government as a platform'

Government Digital Service (GDS) chief insists "pragmatic extensions" to outsourcing contracts implies nothing permanent in push for "government as a platform" (GaaP) Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Canadian Elizabeth Denham set for the UK's next information commissioner

Canadian privacy commissioner Elizabeth Denham is to become the UK's next information commissioner as government pushes ahead with the snoopers' charter Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

US hospital claims to have fought off a ransomware attack

A hospital in Kentucky claims to have regained control of its IT systems five days after cyber criminals hit it with a ransomware attack Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Gov.uk Verify not secure enough for NHS, says HSCIC

The government’s Verify identity verification platform isn’t secure enough for the NHS, so Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Group and HSCIC are working to add extra levels of security Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Android Pay UK launch announced by Google

Google is entering the UK mobile phone payments market, with Android Pay expected to be available in months Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

AWS and Microsoft UK datacentre plans could upset SME-rich Digital Marketplace, Kable warns

SME G-Cloud providers told to brace themselves for increasing competitive threats from AWS, Microsoft and Oracle once their UK datacentres open Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

CW@50: From Captain Kirk to 5G – 50 years of mobile

As Computer Weekly prepares to celebrate the 50th anniversary of our first edition in 1966, we look back at 50 years of British innovation and development in mobile networking Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Norway’s Storebrand chooses Cognizant for digital transformation

Norwegian financial services firm becomes the latest Nordic-based organisation to sign a major IT outsourcing deal with an India-based supplier Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Britain to pay billions for monster internet surveillance network

New questions raised about Britain’s snoopers’ charter after Denmark abandons its own UK-style surveillance programme for a second time Continue Reading

By

• Duncan Campbell , 2QQ Ltd, Sussex University

Southend Council to connect key sites with dark fibre network

Southend-on-Sea Borough Council selects CityFibre to supply a 50km dark fibre network across 120 public sector sites in the town Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

National Cyber Security Centre to be UK authority on information security

The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is to be the UK's one-stop authority on infosec, based in London and led by GCHQ's Ciaran Martin Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

What does the IT sector think of the UK potentially leaving the EU?

The referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union is fast approaching and the country’s IT sector is taking sides Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

PAC disappointed by Major Projects Authority’s lack of impact

The Public Accounts Committee is concerned that the newly formed Infrastructure and Projects Authority will weaken project scrutiny and become a “champion for government projects” Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Australian girls believe online harassment is endemic

There are clear signals that online threats against women and attempts to invade their privacy are becoming societal norms in Australia Continue Reading

By

• Beverley Head

CIO interview: Stuart Birrell, Heathrow Airport

Heathrow’s CIO is working to future-proof the airport, using technology to improve the passenger experience, reduce environmental impact and build a new operational model Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Everyone should be a chief customer officer, says PetsPyjamas CEO

CEO of pet-friendly product company PetsPyjamas says the idea of the chief customer officer is redundant Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

CIO interview: Charlotta Nyström, Kemira

Finnish chemical industry group CIO sees networking with other CIOs as an essential part of her job Continue Reading

By

• Jenny Stadigs

Private mobile network powers Ocado’s robotic warehouse

Online supermarket Ocado rethinks 4G mobile technology to power a network of 1,000 robot workers operating in the grocer's 'hive' warehouse Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Which IT services suppliers are European businesses most satisfied with?

TCS has won top spot for European customer satisfaction for the third year running, according to Whitelane Research Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Fintechs want to take one-third of traditional banks’ business

Banks know they could lose large chunks of business to fintech firms, but if the challengers have their way, it will be more than expected Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Atom Bank to offer artificial intelligence-based customer support

Digital bank is integrating AI into its mobile banking app for customers to access support Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Met Police cancels command and control system contract with Northrop Grumman

The Met Police command and control system contract with Northrop Grumman has been cancelled as there is “no prospect of a finished product being delivered” in time Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Nationwide unifies business and public Wi-Fi in 700 branches

Nationwide Building Society rolls out a unified Wi-Fi network across both its public and enterprise properties Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Dropbox invests in building out on-premise storage as user numbers soar

Cloud-based file share and sync service reveals details of its hybrid cloud strategy, which has seen it invest large sums in building its own on-premise infrastructure Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Retailers are in the “dial up” stage of omni-channel

A Retail Business Technology Expo panel likened the current omni-channel movement to the dial-up stage of internet connectivity Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Robots at your service

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we find out how financial services firms are investing in artificial intelligence to create robo-advisors to help customers with financial advice online. We ask if virtual reality is ready for mainstream business adoption or is still just an over-hyped technology. And we examine the key steps needed to successfully build smart cities using internet of things and networking technologies. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

CW@50: 1966 - Computer Weekly goes to bat for the British computer industry

Launched in 1966 as part of a modernising wave to change British society, Computer Weekly battled for the nation’s industry against the US, and saw IT as an entry ticket to the Common Market Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Senior Analyst, Business Applications

Automated financial advice service causes RBS job losses

RBS announces job cuts as it invests in automated services designed to give online financial advice Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

NHS England injects £55m to boost e-Referrals uptake

NHS England will use £55m to reward GPs and hospitals using digital referrals by 2018 to increase uptake of its e-Referrals programme Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Predictive maintenance brings efficiency to Trenitalia

New management system will help railway company reduce costs by applying predictive maintenance and data analytics to essential parts Continue Reading

By

• Piero Macri

Royal Mail becomes eighth accredited Gov.uk Verify provider

The Royal Mail is the latest provider to be accredited to support the government’s Gov.uk Verify identity assurance service Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

$1bn cyber bank heist thwarted by spelling error

Cyber thieves made 30 requests for the New York Federal Reserve to transfer nearly $1bn from the Bangladesh central bank’s account, but a typo and the volume of requests alerted banking officials Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Indian suppliers are mopping up Nordic business

Indian IT suppliers are blazing a trail in the Nordic region with large deals and major local investments Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Startup trials autonomous delivery robots in Greenwich

Estonian robotics startup Starship Technologies secures permission to trial self-driving delivery robots in Greenwich, south-east London Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Hilton hotel chain powers robot concierge with IBM Watson

The Hilton Worldwide hospitality chain is trialling a robot concierge named Connie, backed by IBM's cognitive computing programme Watson Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Lack of security knowledge limiting business initiatives, survey shows

Security concerns are limiting the adoption of cloud and mobility throughout organisations, according to the first Dell Data Security Survey Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

RWE chief executive points to SAP billing system as cause of npower losses

Npower has announced a radical restructuring plan, shedding 2,400 jobs on the back of losses of €137m. Its parent company’s CEO identified an SAP billing system as the source of the UK unit’s woes Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Senior Analyst, Business Applications

Virgin supplies Ethernet connectivity to Met Office supercomputer

The Met Office has awarded the contract to provide Ethernet connectivity for its next-generation supercomputer to Virgin Media Business Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Broadband will reach 40% of Vietnam households by 2020, claims government

The Vietnamese government announces plans to increase access to broadband networks for its citizens, proposing a figure of 40% in four years Continue Reading

By

• Ai Lei Tao

Security Think Tank: Many breaches down to poor access controls

In the modern business environment, what are the most common access control mistakes – and how best are these corrected? Continue Reading

By

• Paul Yung

DHL Asia-Pacific Innovation Centre incubates future logistics technology

DHL's innovation centre in Singapore is trying out the future logistics technologies it plans to introduce across its Asian business Continue Reading

By

• Zafar Anjum

'Complacent' Home Office failed to take responsibility for e-Borders problems

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) criticises the Home Office for allowing the e-Borders programme to run eight years late and £500m over budget Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Why are big government IT projects still going wrong?

The rural payments programme has again been in the spotlight over its failures, continuing the trend of government IT programmes being noted not for their success, but rather the opposite Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Security Think Tank: Top five access control mistakes

In the modern business environment, what are the most common access control mistakes and what is the best way to correct them? Continue Reading

By

• Tim Holman, 2-sec

RSAC16: RSA’s Amit Yoran comes out in support of strong encryption

A policy of weakened encryption would harm US economic interests and undermine those trying to defend digital environments, according to RSA president Amit Yoran Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

GDS hindered delivery of rural payments programme, says PAC

The rural payments programme was a “Whitehall fiasco” with too much focus on the digital front end, says the public accounts committee (PAC) Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

AWS cuts cloud data transfer fees for academic and research user groups

Cloud services giant Amazon Web Services (AWS) rolls out discounts in bid to lower the cost barrier to making scientific discoveries Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

RSAC16: US works on data access agreement with UK

The US is negotiating with the UK to establish a new framework that will permit UK authorities to access electronic communications directly from US companies Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Datacentre heat reuse: Why aren’t more operators doing it?

With the datacentre industry’s sustainability habits coming under increasingly close scrutiny, we find out why operators are not rushing to reuse their waste heat Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

CIO interview: Anders Candell, Stora Enso

CIO at Finnish pulp and paper manufacturer shares advice for shouldering a new CIO position and guiding the business towards innovative technology Continue Reading

By

• Jenny Stadigs

Norfolk County Council on the hunt for ICT boss

The council is looking for a head of ICT and information management to drive its transformation programme, with a potential salary of up to £115,000 Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Majority of Britons support government surveillance for national security

A survey reveals that a majority of UK citizens support government surveillance for national security as Apple attempts to rally public support in its row with the FBI over encryption Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Nissan acts on Leaf car app security flaw after researcher goes public

Nissan suspends its electric car app after a researcher went public about a security flaw that could enable attackers to take control of heating systems Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Tech Nordic Advocates partners with Nordic Startup Conference

Tech Nordic Advocates, sister organisation of startup group Tech London Advocates, is partnering with the Nordic Startup Conference show in Copenhagen in March Continue Reading

By

• Eeva Haaramo

Payments regulator wants banks to sell stakes in Vocalink

The UK payments regulator wants banks to loosen their grip on the payments infrastructure by selling off some of their stake in it Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Cyber crime is fastest growing economic crime, says PwC report

More than half of UK organisations say they expect to be the victim of cyber crime in the next two years, suggesting it will become the UK’s largest economic crime, says a PwC report Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Openreach reformed, but remains part of BT as Ofcom aims to open up fibre broadband market

Telecoms regulator Ofcom wants to stimulate building of fibre broadband direct to homes and premises, but will not split up BT - yet Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Great Ormond Street NHS hunts for EPR and research platform worth up to £50m

Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children is looking for an electronic patient record system and a clinical research platform worth £50m Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Mapping technology turning Depok in Indonesia into smart city

Depok in Indonesia is using mapping technology to support its smart city ambitions Continue Reading

By

• Ai Lei Tao

Surviving broadband failure

In this week’s Computer Weekly, after the recent BT broadband outage, we examine the options to keep your communications in place in the event of a failure, to ensure business continuity. We look at the prospects for the OpenStack open source cloud platform in the enterprise. And we see how Ireland is making progress on delivering a digital health service. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Social engineering confirmed as top information security threat

Cyber attackers shifted away from automated exploits in 2015 and instead tricked people into doing the dirty work, Proofpoint researchers found Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Dutch water wants to move beyond dipping its toes into big data pool

Dutch water company Brabant Water wants to use data to improve the service it provides to customers, as well as identify problems on its distribution network Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

Internet of things helps track endangered dugongs in the Philippines

Fishermen in the Philippines are using smartphones and apps to help conservationists protect an endangered species Continue Reading

By

• Ai Lei Tao

HR technology heads to cloud in Finland

Computer Weekly talked to Finnish experts about Finnish enterprises moving to cloud-based HR IT systems Continue Reading

By

• Eeva Haaramo

CIO interview: Catherine Doran, Royal Mail

Royal Mail CIO talks about replacing legacy systems, new contracts and moving to a platform-based model Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

HSBC launches biometric security for mobile banking in the UK

Bank claims UK’s largest planned roll-out of voice biometric security technology, with more than 15 million customers in line for voice and fingerprint authentication services Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Media and marketing industries on the lookout for digital skills

Creative industries such as media, marketing, advertising and sales place more value on digital skills than IT and telecoms sector does Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

CW Europe: February 2016

In Europe cloud is restricted and hybrid setups make use of local compute and storage. Continue Reading

CIO interview: Nick Hopkinson, Devon Partnership NHS Trust

NHS trust’s CIO aims to deliver digital technology that helps clinicians spend more time with patients Continue Reading

By

• Mark Samuels

Middle East telecoms operators face up to IoT smart city challenges

As smart city initiatives spring up in the Middle East, telecoms operators contend with the strain of the internet of things (IoT) on networks Continue Reading

By

• Tom Paye

Case study: SEO startup uses Elastichosts’ containers to solve cloud app scalability issues

Search engine optimisation startup talks about the challenges of running unpredictable, resource-hungry applications in the cloud Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

BBC Three moves online-only as broadcaster embraces digital audience

The BBC channel aimed at younger viewers, BBC Three, broadcast its last night as a TV channel before moving to online-only viewing Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Electronics supplier RS Components outsources business process systems in online push

Electronics manufacturer RS Components outsources its corporate software development to Atos in a bid to modernise its customer services Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Judge orders Apple to unlock San Bernardino gunman’s iPhone

A US judge has ordered Apple to help the FBI bypass the auto-erase function on the San Bernardino gunman's iPhone to find the passcode and access data, but the company says it will contest the order Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

HMRC shares details of IT transformation plans

HM Revenue & Customs has published its IT strategy outlining how it plans to transform its IT estate by taking a platform approach, moving to virtual infrastructure and cloud-based services Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

Mobile apps could put an end to ‘hated’ staff appraisals

Josh Bersin, founder of Bersin by Deloitte, reveals the top HR technology trends for 2016 Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

EU managers need to up cyber security collaboration, study finds

There is still much work to be done in the area of collaboration and sharing responsibility when it comes to preventing data breaches, a study has found Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Vodafone and Liberty Global to merge in Netherlands

Vodafone and Liberty Global confirm that they are to merge their Dutch businesses Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

'We stumbled on e-commerce,' says Ecco marketing head

Head of e-commerce at retailer Ecco Dana Schwartz explains how the firm’s transformational journey happened as a result of e-commerce adoption Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Telstra is transforming Australian IT infrastructure

Telco is transforming its IT operation to make better use of the cloud, data and application programming interfaces Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Three home broadband service targets students and renters

Mobile network operator Three offers customers in Northern Ireland the chance to trial a mobile home broadband service as an alternative to fixed operators Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Sweden’s NFT Ventures looks to Finland for fintech startups

Swedish startup fund that targets financial technology developers has expanded its reach into Finland Continue Reading

By

• Eeva Haaramo

Interview: Cabinet Office minister Matt Hancock on digital government

The government’s minister for digital reform talks about creating a Digital Leadership Academy, learning valuable lessons, and his love for open data Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

US IT professionals overconfident in cyber attack detection, study finds

Most US IT professionals are confident in key security controls to detect cyber attacks – but unsure how long it would take automated tools to discover a breach Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

CIO interview: Ismo Platan, SSAB

Retiring CIO of Swedish steel company tells Computer Weekly about the progress made in merging two Nordic steel firms and looks at the biggest hurdles that lie ahead Continue Reading

By

• Jenny Stadigs

Social engineering is top hacking method, survey shows

Social engineering tops the list of popular hacking methods, underlining the need for continuous monitoring, according to security firm Balabit Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Digital internships in India with TCS now open to UK graduates

India’s biggest IT supplier, Tata Consultancy Services, plans to recruit 1,000 UK graduates for paid internships over the next four years Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

TechUK calls on government to take reports on spy laws seriously

Government must address the fundamental concerns raised by expert witnesses, MPs and Lords about the draft Investigatory Powers Bill, says TechUK Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

MK:Smart enlists IoT supplier ThingWorx for speedy development

Milton Keynes smart city project selects ThingWorx to provide a rapid application deployment environment Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Future technology at the World Government Summit 2016

Delegates at the World Government Summit 2016 in Dubai discussed themes including the future role of governments, robotics and AI, smart cities, sustainable development, renewable energy and longevity. Continue Reading

By

• Adrian Bridgwater

The OpenStack Foundation: Building enterprise trust in open-source clouds

With HMRC and the European Commission emerging as OpenStack adopters, the OpenStack Foundation's CEO explains how it has set about winning over the enterprise with its open-source cloud platform Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Gov.uk Verify identity system targets 50 government services for April go-live

Government identity assurance system is set to move from beta to live in April, three years after its original target date Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Paym usage doubles every six months

Mobile payments provider says use of its mobile payments service is increasing by about four times each year Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Insurance giant RSA announces another outsourcing deal

Insurance company RSA has penned its second major outsourcing contract in a week as it extends a BPO contract with Accenture Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Beverley Bryant gives details on £1.8bn paperless NHS funding

Both capital and revenue funding will be made available to NHS organisations, but not through a “traditional” tech fund Continue Reading

By

• Lis Evenstad

AstraZeneca IT insourcing exceeds expectation

The man heading up AstraZeneca’s project to insource its IT updates Computer Weekly on progress and explains the early benefits being reaped Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

How software protects people

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we find out how software is helping to maintain safety in high-risk sectors like oil & gas, aerospace and healthcare – and what lessons they hold for other organisations. We offer six tips from CIOs for innovation with data. And after the HSBC cyber attack, we examine the continuing threat to businesses from distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Microsoft’s underwater datacentre: The pros and cons of running subsea facilities

Underwater datacentres can help providers save on land costs and cooling, but at what cost to the environment? Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Assa Abloy outsources IT transformation to Wipro

Swedish lock maker has outsourced its IT infrastructure to Indian IT services firm Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA