IT services and outsourcing

IT service management: The only way is ethics

It is now very common for professional bodies and membership organisations to have codes of ethics and standards of conduct. Continue Reading

By

• Matthew Burrows

Retail and insurance lead two-speed IT spending

More IT-based businesses are starting with greater investment in IT after the slowdown, but with lopsided demand as businesses increase spending at different rates Continue Reading

Yahoo investors still unhappy despite board appointments

Yahoo has appointed three directors to its board in a bid to turn the struggling internet company around and increase shareholder value Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Department for Work and Pensions outsources IT for universal credit welfare to India

The government is outsourcing IT development for the universal credit welfare programme to India despite promises to keep data projects in the UK Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Information management: lessons from the public sector

Freeform Dynamics identifies the lessons organisations can learn from the public sector's approach to information management Continue Reading

By

• Martha Bennett, Forrester Research Inc.

Google Chrome more popular than Microsoft Internet Explorer

Google Chrome use overtook Microsoft Internet Explorer last weekend, according to figures from web analytics company StatCounter Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

O2 automation cuts offshore dependence and saves millions

O2 is automating business processes to reduce the cost of back office operations and cut its reliance on offshore recruitment Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

EDF signs £100m datacentre deal with Atos

Energy company EDF has signed a £100m 10-year deal with outsourcing provider Atos for datacentre services Continue Reading

By

• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

Highland council Fujitsu IT services deal still problematic

A £70m IT services contract, signed by the Highland Council in Scotland with Fujitsu, is causing friction as the sitting council and the opposition unite in protest at the contract's failure to ... Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Capgemini takes on Rolls Royce service integration role

Rolls Royce has awarded Capgemini a contract to manage its new multi-sourced strategy as it moves away from sourcing everything from HP. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

CW Buyer's Guide: Server Virtualisation

This Computer Weekly buyer’s guide to server virtualisation looks at the potential barriers to successful virtualisation and how they can be overcome. Continue Reading

Global Sourcing Trends in 2012

The latest IT outsourcing trends from global law firm Morrison & Foerster. Continue Reading

Gartner: Best practices in virtualisation

Philip Dawson, Gartner VP offers best practice advice for organisations looking to virtualise their IT infrastructure. Continue Reading

Cloud and big data to drive BPO benefits

Cloud computing and business analytics are set to inject new life into the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Systems integrators 'charge more in paperwork than SMEs do in delivery’

A systems integrator asked for more money from the government for an IT product proposal than an SME was able to deliver the actual service for. Continue Reading

By

• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

SAP boosts ByDesign ecosystem to support small business customisation

SAP is rolling out a partner programme for its ByDesign cloud-based product, to simplify implementation in SMEs Continue Reading

Yahoo plans another round of job cuts

Yahoo is planning another round of redundancies as it continues to struggle with competition from rivals Google and Facebook Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

NHS trusts to be freed from CSC contract commitments

The Department of Health has proposed a deal with CSC to release trusts in the National Programme for IT from their contractual obligations to use software from the troubled supplier. Continue Reading

By

• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

Somerset Council to bring Southwest One services back in house

Somerset County Council is seeking to bring key services back in house from Southwest One , the troubled joint-venture it created with IBM in 2007. Continue Reading

By

• Mark Ballard

The cloud: time for delivery

This report clears up the confusion around cloud, which stems directly from the muddling together of two vastly different perspectives on cloud services. Continue Reading

The mindset of the chief information officer

This study evaluates the leadership role that chief information officers perform in helping their organisations achieve their commercial goals. Continue Reading

Does the PSN need to happen before the cloud?

The deployment of public services networks (PSN) will need to happen before widespread uptake of CloudStore services occur, IT heads said at a roundtable meeting. Continue Reading

By

• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

IT service buyers cautious but no panic

Economic uncertainty has led to less demand for IT services but panic has not set in as Western IT services firms report modest growth. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

The Impact of E.U. Internet Copyright Regulations on Early-Stage Investment

This study from Booz&Co reveals industry concerns that anti-piracy measures will deter venture capital organisations from investing in internet start-ups. Continue Reading

Podcast interview: Stephen Glen, WorkIT on hosting and private clouds

Stephen Glen, software architecture engineer at retail intelligence firm WorkIT, discusses hosting and cloud computing. Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Trust and security in the cloud

Increasing interest from IT management in SaaS is focusing the spotlight once again on cloud security. This study investigates those concerns. Continue Reading

Government launches CloudStore and names G-Cloud suppliers

The government has launched its CloudStore, a catalogue of 1,700 cloud-based, pre-approved IT services now available for the public sector to buy. Continue Reading

By

• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

Capgemini sales jump 11% in 2011 as growth continues in 2012

IT services provider Capgemini increased its sales by over 11% in 2011 as high demand at the end of last year continued into 2012 Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

CIO interview: Rob Fraser, IT director, Sainsbury’s

Sainsbury’s IT chief talks about why in-house IT works better than outsourcing and how to double revenue without doubling IT spend. Continue Reading

By

• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

More than half of government projects behind schedule

More than half of major government projects are behind schedule, according to the head of Whitehall's Major Projects Authority. Continue Reading

By

• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

Buyer's Guide: Optimising networks for cloud computing and virtualisation

This six-page Computer Weekly Buyer's Guide to cloud networking highlights the factors CIOs need to consider for their networking strategies. Continue Reading

Buyer's Guide: CRM

This nine-page Buyer's Guide to customer relationship management (CRM) is essential reading for CIOs and senior IT professionals. Continue Reading

How to build an internal, private cloud

Once a company decides to take the plunge into cloud territory, it must decide if a private/internal cloud is the way to go and then build a business case to sell it to other decision makers in the organisation. In this e-zine, we report on the benefits of adopting a private cloud model and the trade-offs involved such as management issues. We will also cover self-service provisioning and capacity management in a private cloud; measuring the ROI of the private cloud; choosing a service provider and how to read an SLA (service-level agreement); private cloud best practices; and how to share resources. Continue Reading

Website launched to monitor cloud computing suppliers

A website has been launched that will monitor the performance of specialist cloud computing suppliers and compare them against traditional IT suppliers. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Service-Oriented Cloud Computing Infrastructure (SOCCI) Framework

Download the Service-Oriented Cloud Computing Infrastructure (SOCCI) Framework from the Open Group. Continue Reading

Microsoft puts Blackberry service on Office365

Businesses running Microsoft Office 365 can now access Exchange Online on their BlackBerry smartphones. Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Cloud Expo Europe 2012

As cloud computing moves higher up the IT professional's agenda, Cloud Expo Europe is becoming increasingly popular. Here are photos from 2012's Expo. Continue Reading

By

• Matt Scott, TechTarget

Honda deploys hybrid cloud for car launches

Honda UK is using hybrid cloud computing within its IT infrastructure to support the growth of the company's websites. Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

UK IT budgets under pressure in 2012

UK IT budgets will remain flat in 2012, a worldwide survey of more than 2,500 IT professionals has revealed. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Accenture Technology Vision

Download this report from Accenture to discover the 6 IT technology trends that will impact CIOs in 2012. Continue Reading

Construction firm extends IT outsourcing

Taylor Wimpey has extended an IT outsourcing agreement with Logica as it embarks on a major change programme. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Indian outsourcers TCS and HCL see profits boom

Indian outsourcing companies Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and HCL both saw profits grow by more than 20% in their quarterly results. Continue Reading

By

• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

Apple aims to improve working conditions for technology workforce

Apple has published a list of all suppliers for the first time and says it will allow independent observers into its facilities around the world to monitor working conditions. Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Rupert Murdoch attacks Barack Obama over online piracy legislation

News Corp chief Rupert Murdoch has accused Barack Obama's administration of siding with "Silicon Valley paymasters" as two anti-piracy bills go through US Congress. Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

NHS Trust to appeal £375k data loss penalty

An NHS Trust is to appeal against a proposed monetary penalty of £375,000 after after patient records were stolen from a hospital and sold on eBay. Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Cloud solves IT innovation and maintenance imbalance

CIOs can rebalance the scenario of spending 80% of their budget on maintenance and 20% on innovation if they harness cloud computing. Continue Reading

Healthcare IT is a beneficial force, say doctors

IT in the NHS has had a bad press in recent years as a result of the problems associated with the now defunct £12bn NHS National Programme for IT, but most doctors in England believe IT improves patient care. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Accenture bolsters public sector skills

Services giant Accenture has recruited two former civil servants to its ranks to boost its UK and global public sector services capabilities. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Ramnit worm steals 45,000 Facebook passwords

A computer worm has begun targeting Facebook accounts and has stolen at least 45,000 login credentials from users, say security researchers. Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

The impact of cloud on IT

This research report from Freeform Dynamics assesses the impact of the cloud on the IT department and its operations. Continue Reading

IT in the UK SMB sector

This report from Knowledge Peers and Pierre Audoin Consultants, reveals how leaders of small and medium-sized businesses are using IT strategically. Continue Reading

Shell moves SAP maintenance to Accenture

Oil giant Shell has transferred the management of its HR and payroll applications to Accenture as part of a multi-year SAP managed service. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

British Waterways Scotland signs £2.3m ICT deal

British Waterways Scotland has signed a £2.3m deal with business technology company Amor Group to develop its ICT systems. Continue Reading

By

• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

Virtualisation technologies: hits and misses of 2011

Amid a slew of virtualisation products and management suites that emerged in 2011, some products such as Spring platform impressed users, while others such as VMware MVP didn’t. Continue Reading

By

• Archana Venkatraman, Datacentre Editor

How HP played a key role in RAF air crew support in Libya

The Ministry of Defence has praised HP over its Advanced Mission Planning Aid system, most recently used to support air crew in Libya. Continue Reading

Royal Mail posts IT services tender

The Royal Mail Group has put out a tender for IT consulting services, which will be worth up to £50m over four years. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

How open data creates new opportunities for the UK

The use of open data could be a critical factor in determining the success or failure of the UK’s growth agenda this report from the business advisory firm Deloitte reveals. Continue Reading

Collaboration in the Cloud: everything to everyone, or too good to be true?

IT decision-makers are already looking to the cloud to support new IT delivery models - such as software-as-a-service (SaaS), platform-as-a-service (PaaS) and infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS). Continue Reading

CIOs believe cloud, SaaS, consumerisation and mobility increase risk

Business models such as cloud computing and trends such as the consumerisation of IT, social media and mobility are exposing performance blind spots in IT management, a CIO survey has revealed. Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

The reality behind the hype: Government cloud computing

This article from Gartner offers advice to public sector organisations thinking of deploying cloud computing and assess the progress made by governments in their use of the cloud. Continue Reading

Do CIOs have more clarity about cloud computing?

This research shows that while there is still a lack of clarity and a reluctance to fully commit to the cloud, CIOs accept it offers benefits. Continue Reading

Cloud leaves many firewalls wanting – but could automation prove the silver bullet?

Most companies rely on firewalls, but the IT landscape is changing and so must approaches to security. Is there a silver bullet? Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

Quocirca: The market landscape for print security

This report by Quocirca analyst Louella Fernandes provides an overview of the inherent risks when operating an insecure print environment, best practice and the current market. Continue Reading

Do CIOs have more clarity about cloud computing?

This research shows that while there is still a lack of clarity and a reluctance to fully commit to the cloud, CIOs accept it offers benefits. Continue Reading

Collaboration in the cloud: too good to be true?

IT decision-makers are looking to the cloud to support new IT delivery models such as software, platform and infrastructure as a service Continue Reading

Do CIOs have more clarity about cloud computing?

This research shows that while there is still a lack of clarity and a reluctance to fully commit to the cloud, CIOs accept it offers benefits. Continue Reading

Unilever outsources business intelligence platforms to Capgemini

Unilever has signed a deal with Capgemini to provide its global business intelligence platforms. The outsourcing company will work alongside Unilever IT to deliver a three-year programme to create an Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW). Continue Reading

By

• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

What are the outsourcing options for the SME?

The pace of change of technology can cause the small and medium enterprise (SME) critical issues which outsourcing can only address with carefully researched decisions. Continue Reading

By

• Clive Longbottom

IT matters again

This report from Deloitte argues that businesses are again investing in IT to help them compete with rivals despite the downturn. Continue Reading

Case study: Nokia rethinks HR with web portal

Mobile phone manufacturer Nokia has reduced its HR costs by between 20% to 30% after rolling out a web-based HR portal for its 60,000 employees. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Standard Life overhauls IT department and cuts jobs

Insurer Standard Life is to axe a number of IT staff following a review of its IT and operations division. Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Government mutual will be a beacon for IT procurement

The pension administration mutual being set up by the government will be the first of a wave of new business models that could shake-up central government outsourcing contracts. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

The reality behind the hype: Government cloud computing

This article from Gartner offers advice to public sector organisations thinking of deploying cloud computing and assess the progress made by governments in their use of the cloud. Continue Reading

Government opens its procurement heart to IT suppliers

The government has promised more openness with suppliers and published its first forward-looking pipeline of business, with £25.9bn of IT projects. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Special report on EMC

This 8-page special report from Computer Weekly, packed with graphs and diagrams, is essential reading for anyone considering EMC as a supplier. Continue Reading

Rentokil moving HR system into cloud with Workday SaaS

Rentokil Initial is moving the management of its 66,000 human resources to cloud based software from Workday. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Biffa ups virtualisation in infrastructure refresh

Biffa Waste Services is reducing the number of physical servers it uses from over 150 to about 25 as it accelerates its existing virtualisation strategy. Continue Reading

Rethinking Managed Print Services (MPS)

This paper looks at the reasons why organisations operating a heterogeneous print environment should consider an independent MPS provider. Continue Reading

Smart Organisations

How can businesses enhance their competitive position without excessive expenditure or taking on excessive risk? Continue Reading

Computer Weekly Technology Industry Survey

This in-depth research from Computer Weekly and Mortimer Spinks, provides a must-read analysis and insight into UK IT salaries. Continue Reading

The market landscape for print security

This report is gives an overview of the security risks of the print environment , the market landscape, best practices for a print security strategy. Continue Reading

TCS bags rare megadeal and 1,900 more UK workers

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) business process outsourcing (BPO) subsidiary, Diligenta, has won a deal with life insurer Friends Life worth £1.37bn. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Advantages and disadvantages of cloud computing

Among the advantages and disadvantages of cloud computing are that it offers a high degree of scalability, but incidents such as cloud outages make it less reliable. Continue Reading

By

• Archana Venkatraman, Datacentre Editor

The Best of vForum 2011 awards: A roundup

Instituted by SearchDataCenter.in and supported by VMware, The Best of vForum 2011 awards saw the best of India Inc battling it out for the honors. Continue Reading

By

• SearchDataCenter.in Staff

How Capex vs. Opex affects data centre outsourcing decisions

Capex vs.Opex comparison reveals that although cloud services help avoid capital expenses on building own data centres, its Opex model can turn costly if IT pros aren’t cautious. Continue Reading

By

• Archana Venkatraman, Datacentre Editor

Moving from in-house IT to third-party hosting services: Case study

A supplier of civil engineering and building materials moved its IT infrastructure to a third-party data centre to resolve its in-house IT problems, including cooling and flooding issues. Continue Reading

By

• Archana Venkatraman, Datacentre Editor

CW500: Andy Beale, technology director, Guardian News & Media

In this CW500 Club video, Andy Beale talks to Computer Weekly editor in chief Bryan Glick to share his practical advice on how to move to the cloud. Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

IT supplier CSC repays £170m as NHS complains of Lorenzo record progress

IT supplier CSC has repaid £170m after the NHS said it was unhappy with the progress of CSC's Lorenzo patient care records contract. The NHS paid a £200m advanced payment to CSC for the 2011 project costs when a memorandum of understanding was signed. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Cloud computing: Data security outlook

Cloud computing is spreading over the UK as enterprises move aggressively to cloud platforms, turning many IT staff into heroes in their companies. The autumn edition of IT in Europe: Information Security e-zine forecast a cloudy future for security in the UK. Continue Reading

Security firm selects Fujitsu IT services

Security company G4S has outsourced its IT infrastructure and services to Fujitsu and has agreed a £32.9m seven-year contract. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

IBM signs £525m DWP contract to provide Universal Credit systems

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has signed a seven-year contract with IBM worth £75m per year to provide systems, which will include the delivery of its flagship Universal Credit programme. Continue Reading

By

• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

How BP got its IT suppliers to collaborate and perform after massive vendor consolidation

Oil and Gas giant BP spent 65% of its $3bn annual IT budget with 3000 suppliers in 2008 but now it outsources to only seven and has reduced its annual IT budget by $800m as a result. Vital to the ... Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Mitchells & Butlers continues to drive down IT costs

Pub group Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) is continuing an IT cost-cutting plan to respond to pressure on its operating margins. Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Cognizant acquires Zaffera

Outsourcing company Cognizant has acquired Zaffera, an SAP retail consulting and software development firm, for an undisclosed sum. Continue Reading

By

• Kathleen Hall

How BP made its supplier ecosystem work

Oil and gas giant BP spent 65% of its $3bn annual IT budget with 3,000 suppliers in 2008, but now it outsources to only seven and has reduced its annual IT budget by $800m as a result. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

BASF extends BT network contract

Chemical group BASF has signed a €200m deal with BT for networking 900 BASF sites in more than 80 countries. The contract includes the provision of IP telephony and local network services (managed LAN services) at 300 sites in North and South America as well as in Asia. Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Global BPO sales to reach £60bn in 2015

The world market for business process outsourcing (BPO) will be worth $93.4bn (£59.7bn) in 2015 compared with $72bn last year, according to Ovum. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Cambridge exam board outsources applications support to Cognizant

Cambridge University's examination group has outsourced applications management and support to Cognizant that will see the company replace 20-year-old bespoke applications with off-the-shelf alternatives. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Cloud computing and the public sector: What IT managers need from suppliers

IT departments and suppliers have a long way to go before they understand each other on cloud computing – that was the conclusion when IT practitioners and suppliers met at London law firm DLA Piper to discuss the barriers to cloud. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

NHS trusts already planning a way out of National Programme contracts

NHS trusts in the National Programme for IT's beleaguered southern region have already begun drafting specifications for systems that may replace those supplied under the controversial project. Continue Reading

By

• Mark Ballard