IT services and outsourcing

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

Smart Organisations

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Atos employees to be investigated over Facebook remarks about disability benefit applicants

Two Atos Healthcare employees are being investigated over allegations they made inappropriate remarks on Facebook about the people they assess for sickness benefit. Continue Reading

By

• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

Parliamentary group of MPs to discuss outsourcing and shared services

A parliamentary group of MPs that will look at how the public sector can get more out of outsourcing and shared services will begin work when it has its first meeting this month. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Private cloud setup in six easy steps

Private cloud setup entails a systematic progression from assessment to optimization. This tip helps smooth your private cloud setup adoption journey. Continue Reading

By

• Siddharth Jaiswar

Royal Pharmaceutical Society outsources to cope with restructure

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain has outsourced the management of e-mail and storage to support a major restructure. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Energy giant outsources smart meter services to Logica

Scottish and Southern Energy has outsourced some of its smart metering processes to Logica to help support the UK national roll-out. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

NHS trust forced to adopt National Programme patient records system or face £8.8m fine

An NHS trust was forced to buy care records software through the National Programme for IT or face the threat of an £8.8m fine - even though it had a longstanding supplier in place. Continue Reading

By

• Mark Ballard

6 cloud SLA monitoring tips for better service delivery

Cloud SLA monitoring is essential for better service delivery. These tips on effective cloud SLA monitoring help ensure SLAs from cloud vendors are met. Continue Reading

By

• Mandar Kulkarni

What is big data and how can it be used to gain competitive advantage?

Cliff Saran discovers how big data can deliver big business benefits without excessive IT investment Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Highlights from 'A recipe for rip-offs' - the Select Committee report on government IT

The Public Administration Select Committee has published a scathingly critical report on government's use of IT. We've chosen a selection of the highlights from the report. Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Virgin Media sees small drop in business sales, and loses 18,000 broadband users

Cable telecoms supplier Virgin Media has reported a small drop in business revenue for its second quarter, while the firm also revealed it has lost 18,000 broadband users... Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

DWP asks system integrators to list SME contractors to open up public sector deals

The Department for Work and Pensions is asking its systems integrators to list the number of SMEs in their supply chains, in a move designed to open up more public sector contracts to small businesses. Continue Reading

By

• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

HMRC saves £21m with first centralised government procurement contract

The government has awarded its first centrally managed contract for print services at HMRC with outsourcing company Williams Lea. The deal is expected to save £21m, replacing 140 contracts with one. Continue Reading

By

• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

Infosys changes name and splits into four vertical sector divisions

Infosys has split itself vertically to enable it to do more work in specific business sectors, while a change of name reflects its broader remit. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Why more businesses are nearshoring in Eastern Europe

Low-cost, highly skilled IT labour and a relatively close proximity to the UK is making Eastern Europe an increasingly attractive destination to UK businesses Continue Reading

By

• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

Case study: How a small business can benefit from SaaS

Professional beauty products distributor SweetSquared considers using Microsoft Office 365 alongside browser-based SaaS. Continue Reading

By

• Jenny Williams

IT services supplier Capita buys contact centre business Ventura for £65m

Capita has bought contact centre business Ventura for £65m in a further sign of IT and BPO consolidation. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

DWP adds agile development into IT contracts for £2bn Universal Credit system

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has modified contracts governing the supply of its £2bn Universal Credit system by adding clauses encouraging agile development. Continue Reading

By

• Mark Ballard

Government cancels SME contracts and hands IT services deals to Capita

Government departments have been cancelling freelance IT contractors supplied through SMEs and giving their interim staff business to Capita under orders from the Cabinet Office's Efficiency and Reform Group (ERG), in apparent contradiction of government SME policy. Continue Reading

By

• Mark Ballard

Most enterprises plan cloud move but data location concerns the bottleneck, says Dell

Most large enterprises are still only considering the cloud and less than a third are currently using cloud services, according to Dell. Continue Reading

By

• Jenny Williams, University of Gloucestershire

NHS pays £200m advance to CSC as contract renegotiation nears conclusion

The NHS has paid £200m to troubled supplier CSC as an advance while awaiting the conclusion of discussions on amendments to the controversial deal. Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Plan International moves global systems to SAP

International child welfare charity Plan International is rolling out SAP globally and in doing so is embarking on its first ever major application outsourcing project. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Open Data Center Alliance publishes IT user requirements for cloud services

The Open Data Center Alliance has published its first set of IT user requirements for cloud computing in a bid to accelerate adoption. Continue Reading

By

• Jenny Williams, University of Gloucestershire

Outsourcing in the Ukraine: benefits and drawbacks

The Ukraine offers highly skilled IT specialists at a low cost for companies looking to develop projects within Europe. But while the honesty of its people appears to be a key selling point, problems of corruption and the possibility of social unrest remain. Continue Reading

By

• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

Service providers battle to reduce carbon footprint as datacentres expand

IT service providers are united in their attempt to reduce carbon footprints on paper, with corporate targets to support them, but despite putting a lot of energy into the cause, their power consumption is rising, according to a major benchmarking study. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

HP plans to offshore 200 DWP jobs as PCS union considers industrial action

Up to 200 IT jobs at the Department of Work and Pensions could be moved to India later this year by IT service provider HP. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Case study: Nissan Saves €10 million on LEAF Battery Production

In 2010 Nissan launched the world’s first mass produced electric car available from a major manufacturer, the LEAF (Leading, Environmentally friendly, Affordable, Family car). Continue Reading

Microsoft attempts to cement Azure values at TechEd Atlanta

"Cloud Power Delivered" is the subtitle of this year's Microsoft TechEd conference, held in Atlanta and attended by around 10,000 IT professionals and developers. Tim Anderson reports from the event. Continue Reading

By

• Tim Anderson

Cognizant steps up business consultancy push in Europe

Cognizant is searching for someone to run its business consultancy operation in Europe as it attempts to emulate the growth rates of its IT services business. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Dell posts 177% profit boost after increasing enterprise sales

Dell has boosted profits by 177% since last year after increasing sales to enterprise customers. Continue Reading

By

• Jenny Williams, University of Gloucestershire

Future of NHS National Programme for IT in critical condition following NAO report

The remaining NHS National Programme for IT could be scrapped entirely, as the project's aim to deliver electronic records for every patient has fallen far below expectations, according to a National Audit Office report. Continue Reading

By

• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

Multinationals show growing interest in cloud computing, survey reveals

Multinational corporations have significantly increased their take-up of cloud services over the past year, research by analyst firm Ovum reveals. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Cloud applications: Five migration tips from Gartner

Gartner offers tips on how IT organizations which desire to carry out cloud application migration can do so in an effective manner. Continue Reading

By

• Richard Watson

Banks create roadmap for IT outsourcing

Stability is returning after the recent economic meltdown and banks are leading the way with a new approach to IT outsourcing which could become a roadmap for other sectors to follow. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

MPs told of flawed Oracle iSupplier project at Department of Work and Pensions

A flawed implementation of Oracle iSupplier at the Department of Work and Pensions has been highlighted in written evidence to MPs. Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

BT to become a public sector network service provider

BT Wholesale is set to become a key supplier to Government Conveyance Network services which will interconnect the Cabinet Office's Public Sector Network services. Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Outsourcing contracts cost businesses more than expected, finds Lieberman survey

Most IT outsourcing contracts turn out more expensive for businesses than were initially anticipated. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Capita integrates hospital IT for Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust Pembury site

Capita has installed an integrated IT system to support an NHS Trust's move from two to one hospital. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Case study: Examples and Results from the Hotel, Online, Retail, and Consumer Products Industries

A popular lodging company, with several thousand locations around the world, needed to improve the conversion rate for booking rooms on its own Web site vs. on online travel agency sites. Web-savvy customers, searching for the best deals, were finding and booking lower rates on the online travel agency sites. That resulted in the lodging company needing to pay substantial fees to those sites. Over time, customers became educated to book on the third-party intermediary sites, not on the company’s site. Continue Reading

HSBC Insurance works with IBM to solve Solvency II

HSBC Insurance in the UK is using IBM Global Services to support its European Solvency... Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Global cloud market to reach $240bn by 2020

The global cloud market is set to explode in the next 10 years, growing from $40.7bn in 2011 to more than $241bn in 2020, according to Forrester Research. Continue Reading

By

• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

National Archives scoops Queen’s Award for Enterprise

The National Archives has been awarded the Queen's Award for Enterprise - the first public sector body to receive the gong in more than ten years. Continue Reading

In 1966 England won the World Cup and Computer Weekly launched the world's first weekly IT newspaper

After 45 years in print, Computer Weekly, the award-winning title for senior IT decision-makers, is to become a 100% online publication. Here is a celebration of 45 years in print. Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Dell set to unveil cloud plans

Dell is due to make a global announcement later today, where it is expected to unveil its plans for cloud computing. Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

CSC to acquire troubled NHS supplier iSoft

IT services giant CSC has agreed to acquire troubled healthcare software firm iSoft after the latter suspended shares and put itself up for sale last week. Continue Reading

By

• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

Exclusive interview: Deputy government CIO Bill McCluggage on the new government IT strategy

Bill McCluggage, deputy government CIO, talks exclusively to Computer Weekly about the changes in the government's new IT strategy. Continue Reading

By

• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

Government puts open source at the heart of its new IT strategy

The government has launched its much-anticipated new IT strategy, highlighting open source and a promise that the coalition will do things better. Continue Reading

By

• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

Marks & Spencer extends Cognizant outsourcing deal

UK retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) has expanded its outsourcing relationship with offshore IT service provider Cognizant, which extends a deal signed in 2009. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

MoJ signs £22m shared services deal with Accenture

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has signed a £22m contract with Accenture to implement shared services across its human resources, payroll, finance and procurement operations for the next five years. Continue Reading

By

• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

European Commission clears Atos bid for Siemens IT

The European Commission has cleared the proposed €850m acquisition of Siemens' IT Solutions and Service (SIS) by French IT service provider Atos Origin. Continue Reading

By

• Ian Grant

Offshore IT workers in the UK avoid paying taxes but are not breaking the law

I write a lot about how UK IT professionals are often replaced by workers from overseas using Intra Company Transfer (ICT) visas. These workers are attractive to UK businesses because they cost ... Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

DWP cancelled £300m Fujitsu deal over transition deadline failures

The decision by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to cancel a £300m desktop support deal with Fujitsu before it even began will lead many in the public sector to question some IT suppliers' ability to deliver on their sales pitch. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Department for Work and Pensions cancels £300m Fujitsu contract

The DWP cancelled its desktop support contract with Fujitsu before it passed to the supplier from incumbent HP. Continue Reading

By

• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

Exclusive: Free software guru Richard Stallman on government IT and why he hates the cloud

The founding father of the free software movement tells Computer Weekly why government just doesn't "get it" Continue Reading

By

• Mark Ballard

Rugby Football Union joins software driven buying group

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) has joined an online buying group and is using software to cut an estimated £300,000 of the procurement bill every year. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Government publishes first contract in transparency drive

The first contract to be published under the government's new transparency drive has been posted on BusinessLink's Contract Finder website. Continue Reading

By

• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

Government losing billions by not moving to the cloud

The public sector could be making unnecessary redundancies due to a reluctance to innovate in IT and shift to the cloud, says former CIO John Suffolk Continue Reading

By

• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget

Government spends £9.4bn on top 10 most expensive ICT contracts

The government's top 10 most expensive IT contracts are worth a combined value of £9.44bn, Computer Weekly has found. Continue Reading

By

• Kathleen Hall, TechTarget