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Summary Care Records: the truth or nothing like it?

Richard Veryard has written a response to our report on inaccuracies and ommisions in the Summary Care Records database. He writes:"What's wrong with the single version of truth." Researchers at ... Continue Reading

By

• Tony Collins

Do new rules on use of Police National Database go far enough?

The National Policing Improvement Agency today publishes a code which governs the use of a new intelligence system that, in effect, implements some of the main recommendations of the Bichard ... Continue Reading

By

• Tony Collins

Catering staff given access to electronic health records

The Irish Independent says that catering staff were able to access confidential patient information held on a £54m health service record system which is being rolled out across Ireland.The ... Continue Reading

By

• Tony Collins

Too many destructive vested interests in Govt IT?

In response to the article on this blog by Rob Bowley, on whether Agile can help solve Government IT problems, Matt writes:"Not if what I've seen of 'agile' approaches in government IT is anything ... Continue Reading

By

• Tony Collins

Conservatives move towards a Freedom of Data Act?

Today the Conservatives are launching their 'Tech Manifesto'. It contains a bold new commitment: a 'Right to Government Data', says Stephen Shakespeare who is chairman of the Network for the ... Continue Reading

By

• Tony Collins

Could Agile help solve the government's IT problems?

Computer Weekly published today a call by the British Medical Association to halt what it calls a rushed roll-out of an imperfect Care Records Service. Responding to the article, Rob Bowley has ... Continue Reading

By

• Tony Collins

BMA and CfH argue it out over NPfIT Summary Care Records

Would Summary Care Records have saved the life of Penny Campbell?[Comments 5 and 6 after this article correct some of the impressions I have given. The SCR is equipped to take GP notes] It's rare ... Continue Reading

By

• Tony Collins

Government IT should be "part of the election debate"

David Chassels is a former Director of 3i Corporate Finance in Scotland, and a former partner at BDO. He's now CEO of software house Procession, based at Chesham, Buckinghamshire. He writes to me ... Continue Reading

By

• Tony Collins

Put a financial value on protecting data says ICO

The Information Commissioner's Office is asking businesses and organisations to put a financial value on protecting personal information.Yesterday the ICO, at the Data Protection Officer Conference ... Continue Reading

By

• Tony Collins

Priorities for Government CIOs in 2010 and beyond - Gartner

Andrea Di Maio, vice president at Gartner, says that by 2012 "one in five government processes will rely on "crowdsourced" data". He says CIOs will need to handle a shift from providing ... Continue Reading

By

• Tony Collins

What the next Government should do about the NPfIT

Tom Brooks, who spoke about NHS IT on last night's BBC R4 File on 4 broadcast, has let me have his suggestions on what the next government should do about the NPfIT. Brooks, a much-respected figure ... Continue Reading

By

• Tony Collins

Flawed Chinook Fadec updated only after fatal Mull crash

Faulty safety-critical "Fadec" software that was installed on the Chinook Mk2 helicopter had secret modifications after the notorious fatal crash on the Mull of Kintyre, Computer Weekly has ... Continue Reading

By

• Tony Collins

Tories repeat commitment to review Chinook crash findings

The House of Commons held a short debate yesterday on the notorious, fatal crash of Chinook ZD576 on the Mull of Kintyre in June 1994. During the debate, the Shadow Defence Minister, Gerald ... Continue Reading

By

• Tony Collins

Chinook Mk2: we publish new evidence of computer problems

The lead news item on BBC radio and TV news for much of yesterday referred to computer-related evidence about the Chinook Mk2, of the type that crashed on the Mull of Kintyre in June 1994. The ... Continue Reading

By

• Tony Collins

NHS IT scheme to be scaled back

The Chancellor Alistair Darling and the Treasury are to scale back spending on the NHS's National Programme for IT. Continue Reading

By

• Tony Collins

iSoft and Lorenzo - the good news keeps on coming?

Below are excerpts from the iSoft's annual report, which is published today [1 September 2009] in Australia. IBA Health in Australia acquired iSoft and has now adopted its name. The annual report ... Continue Reading

By

• Tony Collins

Whitehall dismisses Tory review report of NHS IT

The Tories are due today to publish the results of a review of the NPfIT, led by Dr Glyn Hayes, former chairman of the British Computer Society's Health Informatics Forum. Dr Hayes, chairman of the ... Continue Reading

By

• Tony Collins

Cerner's latest results: UK and US highlights

In a Cerner conference call after an announcement of the company's s second-quarter results, there was much discussion about "meaningful use" - a phrase which can unlock money from Congress for ... Continue Reading

By

• Tony Collins

Crash One: Birgenair Flight 301

This is the extraordinary story of an aircraft which was in good flying order except for a blocked pitot tube which caused multiple problems. Continue Reading

By

• Tony Collins

NPfIT critics and the Damian McBride smear culture

The culture of smear goes much deeper than the Damian McBride affair. Critics of the National Programme for IT [NPfIT] in the NHS have been the subject of smears in debates in the House of Commons ... Continue Reading

By

• Tony Collins

Added critical data protection for SMBs

New technology aiming to solve small and medium size businesses’ perennial problems with protecting business critical data Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

The cloud computing revolution

Hewlett-Packard has become the latest supplier of many to sound the death knell on the IT department. Continue Reading

By

• Cath Jennings

Mobile broadband demand props up crunched WiMAX

Research predicts global recession to cause enterprises to postpone WiMAX adoption but mobile will lead recovery Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Chinook ZD576 - a rare, perhaps unique, photo

This photo of Chinook ZD576 is the copyright of Robin Crorie who has given kind permission for it to be used by Computer Weekly in connection with the Campaign for Justice to clear the names of the ... Continue Reading

By

• Tony Collins

Some of the good and bad at HC2008 - a summing up

Comment: My highly subjective overview of some of the good and bad at HC2008, the annual Healthcare Computing conference in Harrogate.. The bad: Some of the speeches were, as in previous years, ... Continue Reading

By

• Tony Collins

Police to be allowed searches of national database of NHS patient records

News analysis It went largely unnoticed but the minister for the NHS’s National Programme for IT, Ben Bradshaw, has confirmed that data on a central database of millions of confidential health ... Continue Reading

By

• Tony Collins

ID Cards and the NPfIT – nobody is “responsible”

Cabinet ministers come and go, as do prime ministers, and heads of departments. So who will actually be responsible for ID cards or the NHS's National Programme for IT? Nobody. Thank you to Brian ... Continue Reading

By

• Tony Collins

Fujitsu may quit NHS National Programme for IT

The board of an NHS trust has learned of a "significant" risk of ­Fujitsu ending its £900m contract to supply and implement hospital systems across southern England as part of the National Programme for IT. Continue Reading

By

• Tony Collins

Computer Weekly interviews heads of £5bn Defence Information Infrastructure project

In this blog entry the two leaders of the £5bn Defence Information Infrastructure contract [DII], who represent the Ministry of Defence and the Atlas consortium of suppliers, led by services ... Continue Reading

By

• Tony Collins

Non-unified communications can cost millions

Fragmented communications are costing companies millions of dollars by disrupting workflow and business processes, a new study has revealed. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew R. Hickey, News Editor

Adaptec reports losses

Adaptec's revenue was down year over year, as well as sequentially; DataDirect says the InfiniBand business is booming. Continue Reading

By

• SearchStorage.com Staff

ISCSI storage gets performance makeover

Suppliers, including Ibrix, Mellanox, Alacritech and EqualLogic, are offering juiced-up new iSCSI configurations, while 3PAR, CipherMax and NeoScale boost data security products. Continue Reading

By

• SearchStorage.com Staff

EMC's Tucci vows to keep up with new features

EMC CEO says storage giant is widening its technology net to match innovations of smaller competitors. Continue Reading

By

• Dave Raffo

Unified communications platform gets SMB twist

While unified communications has eluded the SMB market, Siemens has released an all-in-one UC appliance specifically for the SMB. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew R. Hickey, News Editor

Advanced data storage final exam

Are you up to date on advanced data storage technologies? Take our final exam and evaluate your knowledge of advanced data storage. This final exam isn't for the weak. Continue Reading

NetApp releases $3K iSCSI SAN

NetApp pushes further down-market with the release of the S300, the latest SMB iSCSI SAN in its StoreVault line. Continue Reading

By

• Beth Pariseau, Senior News Writer

Product Roundup: ISCSI

Here's a look at some of the vendors and products that make up the iSCSI market. Continue Reading

VoIP certification credentials

Many certifications touch on voice over IP topics tangentially, but numerous credentials now focus a fairly substantial portion of their coverage on this subject matter. In this certification survey, we take a look at available certifications, distinguishing between those credentials for which VoIP is a primary topic and those for which it is secondary. Continue Reading

By

• Ed Tittel

Intellectual property lawsuits dog storage industry

The proliferation of patent litigation among data storage companies could stifle technological innovation and drive up costs to the user. Continue Reading

By

• Beth Pariseau, Senior News Writer

SNW Preview: Data protection makes a stand

Led by EMC's integration of data deduplication and CDP into its backup software, data protection products are prominent at Storage Networking World. Continue Reading

By

• Dave Raffo, News Director; Beth Pariseau, News Writer

Switch upgrades and replacements

In this chapter of our guide to SAN expansion best practices, you'll learn about the physical limitations of switches, how to architect the switching infrastructure and how to find opportunities to deploy ISCSI. Continue Reading

CRM strategies for SMBs

Keeping your customers happy is job number one. With CRM software, luckily, that job becomes a lot easier. Here we present our top five CRM tips for SMBs. Continue Reading

Open source strategies for SMBs

One way to make the most of a tight budget is to invest in open source technologies. Not only are they generally more secure than most off-the-shelf proprietary products, they're usually free too. Here we present our top five open source tips for SMBs. Continue Reading

Liverpool NHS Trust adopts single sign-on

Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust is set to save £20,000 a year and about 30 minutes a day for each staff member by implementing a single sign-on system. Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Pillar announces support for 1 TB SATA drives

Pillar is one of the earliest to announce 1 TB SATA drives in an enterprise array. IBM's SVC becomes the first storage virtualization product certified with VMware. Continue Reading

By

• SearchStorage.com Staff

Web 2.0 strategies for SMBs

Web 2.0 technologies are catching on at companies of all sizes. Find out how to make them work for your SMB with SearchSMB.com's top five Web 2.0 tips. Continue Reading

UK will lead £13m study on electronic ID

The UK is to spearhead a £13m pilot project covering 13 European countries to test the interoperability of several electronic identity verification systems. This may eventually give citizens and businesses access to e-government services across the EU, if governments can agree to accept one another's vetting processes. Continue Reading

By

• Ian Grant

How to purchase a data encryption product

Data security is now a critical problem for every company, regardless of size. This buying guide explores the factors involved in purchasing data encryption hardware and software products. Continue Reading

NetScout acquires Network General

NetScout will acquire Network General, creating a one-stop shop for network management and monitoring tools. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew R. Hickey

Open communications vs. closed communications

Open communications are key to making the inevitable multimodal, multi-supplier communication environment work, so why aren't more suppliers providing open-source systems? Continue Reading

By

• Paul Holliday, global market analyst, Siemens Enterprise Communications

3PAR adds tiered storage management tool

The new version of the System Reporter management tool for 3PAR's high-end arrays now includes monitoring for tiered storage environments. Continue Reading

By

• SearchStorage.com Staff

Government warns of dangerous QuickBooks Online flaw

Attackers could exploit two flaws in the popular Intuit QuickBooks Online Edition to cause buffer overflows and download or upload files in arbitrary locations, US-CERT warned. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Brenner

NAC switches, appliances help track users, malware

Some vendors are offering switches and appliances to monitor traffic for malware and unauthorized access, as the NAC market including Cisco NAC and Microsoft NAP sorts itself out. Continue Reading

By

• Neil Roiter, TechTarget

What is considered best practices in terms of backup vaulting (offsite storage) frequency?

As a consultant, this is something that I run into frequently. There seems to be a belief that if you're a smaller shop or smaller business: You don't have a lot of data, and you don't need to send your data offsite very often. A lot of times, the decision to send tapes offsite is dictated, unfortunately, by the growing capacity of tape media. If you're backing up 100 gigabytes a week, it becomes embarrassing to a lot of folks to send that tape cartridge offsite because it's not full. Continue Reading

IBM back in iSCSI SAN fray

IBM is looking to take on HP's MSA and EMC's AX150, as well as EqualLogic and LeftHand, with a new iSCSI SAN product OEMed from LSI. Continue Reading

By

• Beth Pariseau, Senior News Writer

Backup reporting expands to add capacity planning

Aptare adds capacity planning for primary data storage to its product line, joining Symantec in recent attempts to broaden the appeal of reporting software. Continue Reading

By

• Beth Pariseau, Senior News Writer

VoIP models and services: Complete guide

With clear, concise explanations of existing VoIP business models and deployment methodologies, this guide will enable you to weigh the pros and cons of each based on your needs. Continue Reading

SMEs’ CRM needs catered for in Sage 200

Accounting software specialist Sage has expanded its business automation software portfolio with the launch of a customer relationship management system, Sage 200. Continue Reading

Sun adds virtual tape library to Thumper

Analysts say the combo of FalconStor's software, Solaris and Thumper is a good sign of integration from Sun after a disorganised year, but it's unclear if users will be convinced. Continue Reading

By

• Beth Pariseau, Senior News Writer

NAS appliance specifications

NAS appliances are noted for their convenience, offering dedicated internal storage that is relatively straightforward to identify and manage. The biggest issue for NAS appliances is avoiding network bottlenecks and supporting expansion without having to proliferate additional appliances across the network. The product snapshots in this chapter highlight key specifications for a cross section of major NAS appliance products. Continue Reading

NAS management software specifications

Network attached storage (NAS) appliances and gateways must be configured and managed using NAS management software that allows administrators to allocate space, manage RAID and storage behaviors, perform routine maintenance, and other tasks. Management software ideally provides interoperability with a variety of NAS devices from different vendors and can automate many of the routine management tasks that would otherwise demand manual attention. The product snapshots in this chapter highlight key specifications for a cross section of major NAS management software products. Continue Reading

Does compliance make encryption always necessary?

Many organisations look to encryption to protect sensitive data. Yet hundreds of millions of people who use the Internet also use encryption, yet most of them don't even know it. Continue Reading

Security exec Moritz leaving CA

Ron Moritz will depart after five years as CA's chief security strategist. It's the latest in a string of issues that have called the company's strategy into question. Continue Reading

By

• Dennis Fisher

Users make iSCSI Sans with USB keys

Users say that Open-E's iSCSI San software, which is delivered on a USB stick, is more affordable than prepackaged systems and has more support than free iSCSI target products. Continue Reading

By

• Beth Pariseau, Senior News Writer

EMC reports Clariion surge, data archiving slump

EMC's revenues are up this quarter, attributed in part to a big boost in Clariion sales, but CEO Joe Tucci is critical of the company's execution in data archiving. Continue Reading

By

• Beth Pariseau, Senior News Writer

Hifn buys Siafu for storage security, data reduction

Chipmaker Hifn is looking to get into storage systems. It says OEMs are already lined up for encrypted iSCSI SAN and primary storage data reduction products. Continue Reading

By

• Beth Pariseau, Senior News Writer

LeftHand refreshes iSCSI SAN software

Version 7.0 of LeftHand's iSCSI SAN software contains dozens of new features, including support for four-way replication and brushed-up thin provisioning. Continue Reading

By

• Beth Pariseau, Senior News Writer

Core Security CEO to step down

Paul Paget, the CEO of penetration testing software vendor Core Security Technologies said he is better-suited for start-ups Continue Reading

By

• Dennis Fisher

Zero-day auction site complicates security efforts, IT pros say

WabiSabiLabi, the eBay-like marketplace for zero-day flaws, will make it tougher for companies to ward off attackers, some IT security professionals say. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Brenner

Zero-day auction site highlights ethical debate

A new auction site plans to cash in on flaw research. Executive Editor Dennis Fisher explores if it's a viable business model and if research should be sold to the highest bidder. Continue Reading

Zero-day auction site opened by Swiss lab

Swiss start-up WabiSabiLabi is offering zero-day findings for qualified buyers. The site could fuel new debate over flaw disclosure. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Brenner

Data migration product specifications

Part of the Tiered Storage Buying guide focusing on product specifications for data migration tools. Continue Reading

Data storage startups emerge from stealth

Three new storage firms have come out of stealth mode this June. Analysts predict the next new crop of startups will focus on wireless storage, reporting and alternatives to RAID. Continue Reading

By

• Beth Pariseau, Senior News Writer

Richard Granger's departure may jeopardise NHS IT programme

Richard Granger's departure from Connecting for Health may jeopardise the stability and success of the politically driven NHS National Programme for IT. Continue Reading

By

• Tony Collins

IBM chief engineer talks green storage

IBM engineer Clod Barrera discusses the growing energy crisis in storage, the need for better power efficiency metrics and the future for "green" products. Continue Reading

By

• Beth Pariseau, Senior News Writer

Green storage gains ground

HP is just latest vendor to throw its hat into the green storage ring following Pillar Data, HDS and EqualLogic. Continue Reading

SMBs sample SaaS via telecoms

Telecom XO Communications has announced a new, SMB-focused partnership with Jamcracker, a wholesaler of SaaS technology. Analysts say more telecoms will try to offer SMBs IT services with such deals. Continue Reading

By

• Shamus McGillicuddy, Enterprise Management Associates

IBM: We're No. 1 in storage hardware

A new combined disk and tape tracker from IDC has IBM trumpeting from the rooftops that it's the market leader. But what's IBM's story when it comes to software? Continue Reading

By

• Beth Pariseau, Senior News Writer

HDS adds SAN muscle to archive

Hitachi Data Systems integrates its archive software across its product line and adds important new features, including replication, data deduplication and security. Continue Reading

By

• Jo Maitland, TechTarget

HDS CEO quits for HP storage biz

Dave Roberson, CEO of Hitachi Data Systems since 2006, has jumped ship to HP to run the server giant's storage business. Continue Reading

By

• Jo Maitland, TechTarget

Mobile instant messaging enhances company's business processes

A mobile IM service acquired by a hosted VoIP provider encourages more companies to enhance their business processes. Continue Reading

By

• Kate Dostart, Associate Editor

VoIP security fundamentals

VoIP security is a challenge for IT staff because IP telephony brings with it not only the security problems of data networks but also new threats specific to VoIP. In this fundamentals guide, learn about network security threats and emerging IP telephony threats, and how to secure your VoIP systems and endpoints from them. Continue Reading

When signature based antivirus isn't enough

Zero-day exploits, targeted attacks and increasing demands for endpoint application controls are driving the rapid metamorphosis from signature-based antivirus and antispyware to HIPS-based integrated products. Continue Reading

By

• Neil Roiter, TechTarget

VoIP, unified communications adoption continue to rise

VoIP and unified communications adoption continue to rise steadily in the enterprise, according to Infonetics Research's latest report. Continue Reading

By

• Kate Dostart, Associate Editor

ISCSI TCP/IP TOE card specifications

Key specifications for a cross-section of popular iSCSI TOE cards. Continue Reading

Microsoft users sticking with third-party security vendors

IT pros are pleased with Microsoft's security advances, including those found in Forefront. But don't expect them to drop their third-party security vendors. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Brenner

Websense to acquire SurfControl

Websense says its planned $400 million acquisition of SurfControl will allow it to better compete in the global security market. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Brenner

Apple fixes 25 Mac OS X flaws

Attackers could exploit about two dozen flaws in Mac OS X to cause a denial of service, bypass security restrictions, disclose sensitive data and run malicious code. Continue Reading

By

• SearchSecurity.com Staff

Weekly compilation of storage news:Dell LTO-4 drive, new Sun array

Dell is first out of the gate with the new LTO-4 drive, which offers native encryption; Sun unveils new array and deepens its relationship with FalconStor. Continue Reading

By

• SearchStorage.com Staff

SNW: Users wary of outsourcing backup

Symantec unveiled plans for outsourced, online data backup services this week, but users at Storage Networking World are more cautious than ever about letting go of their data. Continue Reading

By

• Jo Maitland, TechTarget

Inside MSRC: Windows Vista security update explained

Microsoft's Christopher Budd details the first Windows Vista security updates. Continue Reading

By

• Christopher Budd, security program manager for the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC)

EMC, Symantec to enter Software as a Service market

EMC has plans to release Software as a Service (SaaS) products for data backup and archiving; Symantec announces a new online backup service. Continue Reading

By

• Beth Pariseau, Senior News Writer

Letter from 79 doctors, nurses and secretaries over go-live of NHS IT system

This is a letter signed by 79 doctors, nurses and secretaries at Milton Keynes General Hospital regarding the implementation of a Care Records Service under the NHS's National Programme for IT ... Continue Reading

By

• Tony Collins

Capacity planning software specifications

Gauging storage needs over time is one of the biggest challenges faced by IT administrators, and a new generation of capacity planning tools is emerging to help forecast growth and utilisation of storage resources. Continue Reading

HP renews SMB storage campaign

With the launch of the new All-in-One 1200 and the shifting of executives to a new SMB business unit, HP is focused on its low-end products in an effort to boost growth. Continue Reading

By

• Beth Pariseau, Senior News Writer

Storage vendors propose FC over Ethernet standard

A group of nine storage vendors led by Emulex is proposing a Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) standard . Continue Reading

By

• Beth Pariseau, Senior News Writer

When disaster recovery and data classification collide

Attendees at a disaster recovery seminar discussed the complex application dependencies when disaster recovery and data classification combine. Continue Reading

By

• Beth Pariseau, Senior News Writer

Web 2.0: CIOs want it their way

A new study found CIOs want Web 2.0 technology, but they're a little insecure about getting it from emerging specialized vendors. Continue Reading

By

• Shamus McGillicuddy, Enterprise Management Associates

Midrange storage array purchase considerations

A Buying Guide focusing on specific considerations for midrange disk array systems. Also find a series of specifications to help make on-the-spot product comparisons between v Continue Reading

Midrange storage array specifications

Product snapshots highlighting key specifications for a cross section of midrange storage array products. Continue Reading