IT services and outsourcing

Realising the benefits of a totally connected world

The internet of things will transform everyday life, from managing airports’ passenger flow to heating buildings and caring for the elderly. Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Chancellor George Osborne announces datacentre carbon tax break in Autumn Statement

George Osborne exempts datacentre operators from blanket carbon taxes in exchange for climate change agreements Continue Reading

By

• Jim Mortleman

Government Digital Service no longer involved with Universal Credit IT development

The Government Digital Service ends direct involvement in the development of the “enhanced IT” for the Universal Credit sheme Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Can Europe give the world cloud coverage?

This month’s issue of CW Europe investigates how Europe could become the “trusted cloud region” according to the European Commission (EC) after the Prism revelation. Read how the EC believes cloud providers in the region can turn this to their advantage by, developing cloud services that global customers would view as more secure and transparent. Continue Reading

UK citizen sues Microsoft over Prism private data leak to NSA

A court action brought in the UK will test Microsoft's legal right to disclose private data on UK citizens to US intelligence services Continue Reading

By

• Fiona O’Cleirigh

Scabal moves to the cloud for storage flexibility

Clothing manufacturer Scabal is moving its entire IT infrastructure to Interoute’s cloud for flexibie storage Continue Reading

Where is Satyam now? Well, it’s not Satyam for a start

Satyam, which was rescued from collapse in 2009, has plans for restoring its position as a top-tier Indian IT services provider Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

IT budgets to rise by 3% in 2014 as companies step up spending on mobile

IT spending will increase by 3% in 2014, up from 1.8% last year. But shadow IT spending will add another 40% to technology budgets Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

IT suppliers relaxed about contract visibility

IT and BPO suppliers Atos and Capita say they are relaxed about being more open about the often obscured details of large government contracts, as outsourcing giants are put under pressure by MPs to open up to public scrutiny Continue Reading

The state of agile software development in the UK

Lately it is more surprising to hear that businesses are developing using a methodology other than agile, such is its widespread use Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Gartner: What CIOs should know about cloud‑based customer service

IT leaders and managers of customer support need to understand the limits of cloud-based CRM customer service and support software solutions, writes Michael Maoz, vice-president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. Continue Reading

Future Gazing: The Future of IT in 2020

The next six years will see the influence of technology accelerate, and that will mean radical changes for the role of the IT department and the CIO Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Shell delivers global SAP upgrade

Shell has simplified and standardised business processes in its business focused on refining and marketing activities for oil products and chemicals, through a global SAP upgrade Continue Reading

Fear of cloud servers fading fast among UK firms

Research shows traditionally risk-averse UK firms are being persuaded by the benefits of co-location, with more than 20% of servers now outsourced Continue Reading

By

• Jim Mortleman

'Extraordinarily poor' Universal Credit project needs clear IT stategy, say MPs

MPs say the Department for Work and Pensions must set out a clear IT strategy for Universal Credit and state how much money will be written off Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Intellect relaunches as TechUK and targets 500,000 new UK IT jobs

The UK’s technology trade association, formerly known as Intellect, has relaunched as TechUK, unveiling plans to create over 500,000 jobs by 2020 Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Crown Hosting Service to save £530m from government IT bill by 2018

Government Digital Service to establish new Crown Hosting Service to consolidate hosting across Whitehall, saving £530m per year by 2018 Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

DWP ministers to decide whether to scrap all of the £300m Universal Credit IT

Ministers at the DWP are to decide this month whether to scrap all of the £300m Universal Credit IT systems and start again from scratch Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

DWP refused to release Universal Credit IT review to MPs

DWP has refused to provide MPs with a copy of a review of the IT for the troubled Universal Credit project by programme chief Howard Shiplee Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Companies are not taking advantage of data analytics, research says

Research by Bersin by Deloitte shows that 86% of businesses have yet to progress beyond using their HR data to generate basic reports Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Former Lord Justice of Appeal Hooper joins Post Office Horizon investigation

The Post Office's Horizon accounting IT inquiry appoints former Lord Justice of Appeal Anthony Hooper to chair mediation stage Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Study finds cloud computing the most valued enterprise IT skill

Cloud computing overtakes virtualisation, security, BI, database and project management as the most valued enterprise IT skill Continue Reading

By

• Archana Venkatraman, Datacentre Editor

Six tips to help you negotiate the best deal with your datacentre provider

Your willingness to negotiate can make a big difference to the deal you get, says Anthony Day, associate at law firm DLA Piper Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Fulham football club address skills shortfall with cloud database

Fulham football club’s IT team moves its database infrastructure to the cloud with a database as a service implementation Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

HP and Diageo take different paths to cloud-based HR

HP and Diageo took very different approaches when they deployed cloud-based human resources (HR) software from Workday Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

NTT Europe saves time with Sepaton data deduplication VTL deployment

NTT Europe was sick of tape libraries “shoeshining” so went for a $2.5m deployment of Sepaton data deduplication virtual tape libraries to slash backup and restore times Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

BT signs multimillion HR technology contract with Oracle

The project, one of the largest contracts signed so far for Oracle’s Fusion technology, is strategically important both to Oracle and BT Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

High-growth companies selected for government Future Fifty programme

The first high-growth UK companies have been chosen for the government’s Future Fifty fast-track programme. Continue Reading

Spanish bank La Caixa looks to startups for innovation

La Caixa is looking for ways to innovate in an increasingly competitive environment, and is turning to startups for new and niche technologies Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Case study: Richard Branson's Virgin Management moves to IaaS platform

Virgin Management, a subsidiary of Virgin Group, has migrated its IT to a cloud-based IaaS platform for BYOD capabilities and savings Continue Reading

By

• Archana Venkatraman, Datacentre Editor

The UK is an attractive location for IT service providers

The UK is an attractive location for IT services and BPO suppliers as these services mature beyond being used merely as a cost-cutting tool Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

OFT launches investigation into public sector IT supply

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has launched a formal study into the supply of IT products and services to the public sector Continue Reading

BT seeks startups for superfast broadband services

BT joins East London's TechHub encouraging startups to develop applications and services using superfast connectivity Continue Reading

By

• Jennifer Scott, TechTarget

Home Office e-borders programme still using pilot IT system from 2004

Home Office yet to replace sacked Raytheon with new supplier for flagship programme to help protect UK borders Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

IBM interns join ShopDirect to combine gamification and Twitter analysis

Undergraduate ShopDirect interns spent the summer with IBM on a project using gamification and Twitter to engage with customers Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Make a high-performance computing and high-availability datacentre

High performance computing and high availability systems are no longer limited to engineers and scientists. But is your datacentre ready? Continue Reading

By

• Clive Longbottom

IT outsourcing no longer main recession-busting tool

Process optimisation and shared services have become a higher priority than IT outsourcing Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Charity uses cloud HR system to keep track of staff working in danger zones

It took a disaster in Haiti to demonstrate to charity World Vision why it needed better HR systems Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Cloud computing drives infrastructure upgrade at service provider

IT services company Ardenta has implemented F5 network security to upgrade its infrastructure and offer cloud services Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Google to rethink resilient networking following dual failure

In spite of running a dual redundant network, Google's Gmail system has had a major failure. Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

How Capgemini keeps its Merlin datacentre green and energy-efficient

Capgemini's Swindon-based Merlin datacentre is one of the most energy-efficient in the world. But what makes it green? Continue Reading

By

• Archana Venkatraman, Datacentre Editor

How Amadeus keeps travellers moving

Computer Weekly visits the Amadeus datacentre just outside Munich, which provides mission critical IT for the travel industry. Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Steve Ballmer uses final investor call to target Google

In his last investor call as CEO of Microsoft, Steve Ballmer took the opportunity to attack Google’s business practices Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

A guide to WebRTC

Real-time communications standards aim to help more users speak with ease over the internet. Computer Weekly looks at how the systems work Continue Reading

By

• Simon Bisson

BMW gears up IT resilience with private cloud infrastructure

After testing and validating its own private cloud services, BMW's IT team is ready to use it in production Continue Reading

By

• Archana Venkatraman, Datacentre Editor

MPs brand NHS National Programme for IT a 'fiasco' as posthumous costs rise

The now-axed NHS National Programme for IT (NPfIT) is still incurring significant costs following the failure of the government IT project Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

After virtualising IT estate, Jaguar Land Rover now eyes cloud computing

Jaguar Land Rover's IT team takes its newly virtualised infrastructure to the next stage of IT evolution by adopting cloud-based services Continue Reading

By

• Archana Venkatraman, Datacentre Editor

TSB’s reliance on Lloyds IT could impair new bank's competitiveness

New high street bank TSB might struggle to compete as a result of its reliance on the IT systems of Lloyds Banking Group, says OFT Continue Reading

£200m of Universal Credit IT could be scrapped, MPs told

£200m of IT work on the troubled Universal Credit programme could be written off, says government project management chief Norma Wood Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

£480bn of government revenue depends on "risky" legacy IT

Almost £480bn of the UK government’s revenues are dependent on legacy IT systems that “could present a very significant risk” Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Boris Johnson calls for ‘London Visa’ to attract tech experts from around the world

The mayor of London submits a plan to the Home Office proposing a “London Visa” to attract businesses to the capital. Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

How networks and data win Formula One races for Mercedes AMG Petronas

Tata Communications joins the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One team to bring speedy connectivity worthy of its cars Continue Reading

By

• Jennifer Scott, TechTarget

Sap and SuccessFactors Break Adoption Silos

SAP has articulated a compelling vision of the all-in-one, cloud-based HCM (Human Capital Management) solution – what it needs is a path to help traditionalists get there, says analyst group Nucleus Research. Continue Reading

Box.com forges new cloud security model

Service providers and consumers need to move to a security model better suited to the cloud computing, says Box.com Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Introducing the BIG Awards semi-finalists

Here’s a handful of the semi-finalists, who have a range of innovative tech in both the B2B and B2C space. Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Charlie McMurdie joins PwC’s cyber practice

Charlie McMurdie, former head of the Metro Police central e-crime unit, is joining business consultancy firm PwC as its senior crime adviser Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

How DWP and Universal Credit failed to work with SME suppliers

Less than 1% of DWP IT spending on the Universal Credit programme has gone to SMEs – how are big suppliers continuing their dominance? Continue Reading

By

• Mark Ballard

Cloud and ICT adoption by MSBs in the UK, France and Netherlands

This report from the Centre for Economics and Business Research and Cordys, assesses the business potential of cloud services for medium sized companies. Continue Reading

Interview: Martin Russell, head of IT services, Just Eat

Just Eat's head of IT services, Martin Russell speaks to Computer Weekly about his experiences of switching to Google Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

UCAS adopts public cloud to process university admissions

Ten days before the A-level results, UCAS adopted a public cloud infrastructure to scale up its IT and to make admission process efficient Continue Reading

By

• Archana Venkatraman, Datacentre Editor

Less than 1% of Universal Credit IT spend goes to SMEs

Despite a 25% target, less than 1% of IT spending for government’s flagship Universal Credit programme has gone to small businesses Continue Reading

By

• Mark Ballard

How to appoint a new outsourcing supplier

Outsourcing can come with its own security risks if not managed appropriately, making due diligence and clear contractual arrangements key Continue Reading

By

• Sheila Pancholi

Government to put 50% of all new IT spend through SMEs

The government wants to put half of all new IT spending through small IT suppliers – doubling the previous target Continue Reading

Enterprises spend more on third-party datacentres than in-house ones: Uptime survey

Uptime Institute’s annual datacentre industry survey reveals shift in IT spend away from enterprise-owned datacentres to outsourced options Continue Reading

By

• Archana Venkatraman, Datacentre Editor

Government opens fourth iteration of cloud framework G-Cloud 4 for business

Cabinet Office has opened the fourth iteration of UK government cloud – G-Cloud 4 to accept tenders from new cloud suppliers and existing ones Continue Reading

By

• Archana Venkatraman, Datacentre Editor

Foreign direct investment to underpin Indian cloud computing

Will the 100% FDI allowance in the telecoms sector help cloud computing reach Indian companies reliant on mobile connectivity? Continue Reading

By

• Satarupa Bhattacharya

Capita and Barnet deal to be completed after campaigner’s court appeal fails

Outsourcing contracts worth over £470m will be signed off by Barnet Council after a Court of Appeal ruled that the deal was lawful Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Microsoft concedes to BSkyB over SkyDrive trademark

The tech giant admits defeat and will be forced to rename its cloud storage service after losing a court battle in the UK Continue Reading

By

• Jennifer Scott, TechTarget

Dutch banking regulator approves use of AWS public cloud in the financial sector

Dutch banking watchdog approves use of AWS cloud in websites, mobile apps, retail banking platforms, HPC and credit risk analysis Continue Reading

By

• Archana Venkatraman, Datacentre Editor

Hailo taxi app maker drops Sage for NetSuite OneWorld

Taxi cab app maker Hailocab has switched from Sage Line:50 to NetSuite OneWorld, in a bid to speed up accounts reconciliation Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Outdated classifications hide true extent of UK digital economy

The UK’s digital economy is much larger than the Government estimates. Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

European banking firm UniCredit to introduce cloud in its datacentres

European banking firm UniCredit has signed a multi-billion dollar deal with IBM to bring cloud into its datacentres Continue Reading

By

• Archana Venkatraman, Datacentre Editor

John Lewis seeks out innovation from technology startups

John Lewis has been investing in technology innovation to keep ahead of the game in the changing landscape of the UK high street Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Michelin creates fuel efficiency service with Accenture

Tyre maker Michelin has begun a major project to create a business division focused on providing IT solutions for logistics Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Facebook to acquire UK startup Monoidics

Facebook is to acquire UK startup Monoidics, which makes code verification and analysis tools and specialises in detecting coding errors Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Managed Print Services Landscape, 2013

A vendor analysis of the global enterprise MPS market Continue Reading

Hidden cost of cloud computing is CIOs’ biggest concern

A study into attitudes and concerns relating to cloud computing has revealed that 80% of CIOs are concerned about its hidden costs Continue Reading

By

• Archana Venkatraman, Datacentre Editor

GDS tracks 'digital by default' progress of top 25 government services

Government Digital Service (GDS) launches website to track progress of the 25 services targeted as the first to go online under the digital strategy Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Taking the pulse of the cloud computing market

Archana Venkatraman looks at the figures behind the take-up of cloud technology in this Computer Weekly research report. Continue Reading

Six reasons why manufacturers should consider cloud ERP

There are a number of benefits beyond total cost of ownership when manufacturing companies deploy cloud ERP, this research from Analyst Group Nucleus reveals. Continue Reading

CW500: Back to the Future: Big Data at Channel 4

Bob Harris, Chief Technology Officer of Channel 4 Television, explains the broadcaster's approach to big data in this presentation for Computer Weekly's 500 Club. Continue Reading

Cloud takes to the stage at the Royal Opera House

In this week's Computer Weekly, we talk to the Royal Opera House about how using public cloud boosted ticket sales and improved performance of its IT infrastructure. We examine why agile development failed in the government's flagship Universal Credit welfare programme. And we analyse the real risks of sweating your IT assets. Continue Reading

IT energy consumption lower than previously claimed

Research has debunked the myth that consuming IT and media services on mobile devices is hurting the environment Continue Reading

By

• Archana Venkatraman, Datacentre Editor

Lower uptake of cloud, ICT limiting medium-sized enterprises' productivity: CEBR

Medium-sized enterprises in the UK lagging behind large businesses in terms of productivity, because of lower adoption of ICT and cloud Continue Reading

By

• Archana Venkatraman, Datacentre Editor

CIO interview: Anne Boden, COO, Allied Irish Bank - on moving to private cloud

AIB’s private cloud has meant a tenfold reduction in the number of Oracle databases and gives the bank internal technological ability and development flexibility to respond to a changing and demanding market Continue Reading

By

• Lisa Kelly

Interview: Joanna Shields, CEO, Tech City

Joanna Shields has been at the helm of reshaping the UK’s tech startup scene since taking the role of CEO at Tech City seven months ago Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

How to monitor and improve the health of your datacentre

Any datacentre manager looking to support the business should take an end-to-end systems management approach to keep the datacentre in shape Continue Reading

By

• Clive Longbottom

Azure powers Eurozone network to combat counterfeit drugs

Microsoft Azure will be used to power a cloud platform designment to combat counterfeit pharmaceutical product in the EU Continue Reading

Why agile development failed for Universal Credit

The DWP has ceased all agile development on the Universal Credit programme. Was agile not up to the job? Or was DWP not up to agile? Continue Reading

By

• Mark Ballard

CIO interview: Pete Marsden, CIO, Asos.com

As online fashion retailer Asos.com continues to expand, its IT strategy is focused on new international locations and keeping up with web retail Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Renegotiating services contracts

As European businesses push to get more from existing IT services providers, renegotiations are common for improving contracts. But business and delivery models emerge and evolve quickly, meaning organisations that focus solely on cost could be missing out on other benefits which could prove of greater use – such as more transparent contracts to give the CIO a better view across the IT operation. CW Europe’s IT services editor explores whether businesses could be missing out by focusing on cost alone. Continue Reading

Scottish police outsource system to Accenture

Scottish Police Authority and Police Scotland have chosen Accenture to maintain its i6 administration system after two-year tendering process Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

How BP made its IT future-ready with a hybrid cloud infrastructure

BP bridged its cloud gap with a cautious and calculated approach using a mix of private cloud, public cloud and in-house IT infrastructure Continue Reading

By

• Archana Venkatraman, Datacentre Editor

Encrypting enterprises miss out on cloud benefits

Enterprises sending encrypted data to the cloud are missing out on some of the greatest benefits of cloud computing, says Thales e-Security Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Oracle offers enterprise software on Azure and Hyper-V

Microsoft and Oracle form an alliance to enable Oracle software to run on Hyper-V and Windows Azure infrastructure Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

HR technology booming as businesses turn to the cloud

Over the next 18 months, 60% of companies plan to roll out HR technology solutions, says analyst group Bersin by Deloitte. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Startup profile: Growth Intelligence

Growth Intelligence is a technology startup offering a software-as-a-service (SaaS) product to B2B corporations wanting to search for sales leads. Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

IT departments to shrink dramatically within five years as cloud takes over

IT professionals will need to rethink their careers as corporate IT departments undergo a radical restructuring over the next five years Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Senior judge hears Barnet Council outsourcing challenge

The second most senior judge in England and Wales will hear a legal challenge against Barnet Council’s outsourcing programme Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Can Dell survive in the cloud era despite killing its public cloud offering?

Dell has ditched its public cloud IaaS in favour of partner cloud programme. But will the strategy help secure its future in the cloud era? Continue Reading

By

• Archana Venkatraman, Datacentre Editor