Information management

Using data analytics to deliver more personalised customer service

Personalisation has been the goal for many retailers, but can the emergence of big data analytics be the solution they are looking for? Continue Reading

By

• Lisa Kelly

App development companies fight back against digital piracy

How can digital companies protect their IP against a tidal wave of smartphone boosted piracy? Is digital rights management software effective enough, or is it better to adapt your business model? Continue Reading

By

• Peter Ray Allison

Waitrose uses ServiceNow for business continuity planning

Luxury retail brand Waitrose deploys ServiceNow to cope with business continuity across its supply chain Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Pharmaceutical companies use BPM to cut cost of clinical trial drugs

Pharmaceutical companies have developed an IT system to secure the supply of medicines they need for clinical studies, saving hundreds of thousands on their drugs bill in the process Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Veritas plans to revive backup fortunes with big data analytics

Symantec spin-out Veritas plans major backup product releases that leverage metadata to make backups more efficient and unlock valuable information via big data capabilities Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Google eyes Tesco’s customer analytics arm Dunnhumby

Google is reported to have joined the scramble to buy Dunnhumby, the customer analytics unit behind Tesco’s Clubcard Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor

Royal Bank of Scotland goes back to 1970s values with big data

RBS, once the world's largest bank, is using analytics technology to go back to the era of personal customer service Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Which in-memory DBMS best fits your company's needs?

Database expert Craig S. Mullins examines some top in-memory DBMS software offerings to help you determine which is the best fit for your organization. Continue Reading

By

• Craig S. Mullins, Mullins Consulting

Google’s big data vision

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we examine Google’s 11-year big data journey from MapReduce to Cloud Bigtable, the internet giant’s latest NoSQL database service. We look at the role of mobile technology in helping to join up health and social care in the UK. And John Lewis IT director Paul Coby talks about the IT challenges of creating an omni-channel retailer. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Digital customer experience: Beyond the website

Organisations are faced with the challenge of delivering their customers with an online experience that goes far beyond just a website Continue Reading

By

• Rob Bamforth, Timefort

Canonical's Mark Shuttleworth talks about space, drones and smartphones

Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Canonical, strives towards the vision of a converged handheld device Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

CIO interview: Myron Hrycyk, CIO, Severn Trent Water

Severn Trent water company is working on technology initiatives to lower bills and improve customer service Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Executive interview: Google's big data journey

A programming concept developed in 1958 inspired the seminal Google whitepaper that introduced the world to MapReduce Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Relational database design tips to boost performance

As relational database management systems handle more and more data, a strategic approach to data modeling has become vital. Continue Reading

By

• Rick Sherman, Athena Solutions

Augmented reality business applications start to get real

Augmented reality applications have tended to be gimmicky marketing wheezes, but firms are starting to explore their business potential Continue Reading

By

• Peter Ray Allison

Former nurse’s career blighted after blowing whistle on IT problems

Southwark's continuing care database included names of patients who had been dead for several years, a tribunal is told Continue Reading

By

• Julia Gregory and Bill Goodwin

PSNGB rebrands to drive information sharing across PSN

PSNGB, the trade association set up to promote the Public Services Network, rebrands itself as Innopsis and says its work is far from over Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Wearable technology to transform laggards in insurance industry

Wearable and other smart technologies set to transform the insurance industry in the next three to five years Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

CIO interview: Darrell Stein, vice-president of information systems at Reckitt Benckiser

Seven months after taking charge of IT at Reckitt Benckiser, Darrell Stein is pushing ahead with a strategy to increase digital revenues Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Sapphire 2015: McDermott declares SAP natively digital

SAP CEO Bill McDermott declares the company “digital” at Sapphire 2015 and made “empathy” the watchword of his keynote Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor

Which relational DBMS is best for your company?

Database expert Craig S. Mullins examines the top relational database management system software to determine which best fits your organization. Continue Reading

By

• Craig S. Mullins, Mullins Consulting

Bill Binney, the ‘original’ NSA whistleblower, on Snowden, 9/11 and illegal surveillance

Always a patriot: Computer Weekly talks to Bill Binney, the senior NSA official who blew the whistle before Edward Snowden Continue Reading

By

• Fiona O'Cleirigh

Apache Spark speeds up big data decision-making

Spark, the open-source cluster computing framework from Apache, promises to complement Hadoop batch processing Continue Reading

By

• Lindsay Clark

Why self-service and automation will power mass adoption of BI

Tibco’s analytics head, Brian Gentile, believes business intelligence needs to adapt for mass-market adoption Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Zurich Insurance turns to augmented reality to train 10,000 managers

The £74bn turnover company aims to harness the capabilities of augmented reality to train 10,000 employees in 170 countries Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

HSBC website mistake guides customers to porn

HSBC’s Hong Kong website accidentally featured an out-of-date link that directed people to a porn site Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

How to determine if an in-memory DBMS is right for your company

Database expert Craig S. Mullins examines the pros and cons of the in-memory database management system, and the criteria you should consider during the request-for-proposal and evaluation period. Continue Reading

By

• Craig S. Mullins, Mullins Consulting

Security risk potential linked to young, mobile users

A study conducted by wireless supplier Aruba Networks has identified a distinct cohort of high-risk, security-agnostic workers Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CIO interview: Fernando Birman, head of the digital office, Solvay

After years of IT work to support major M&A activity, global chemicals company Solvay is focusing on innovation to drive internal efficiency Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Exit checks system for UK borders finally goes live

The Home Office launches a system for making exit checks of travellers at UK borders, following the scrapped e-Borders programme Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Juniper Networks goes after finance market with switch-integrated compute

Juniper launches a compact compute-integrated network switch to boost performance of sensitive applications for financial institutions Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Foods manufacturer ConAgra expects to save $5m a year with data analytics

Food manufacturer ConAgra Foods is using data analytics technology to improve how it makes decisions about hiring and deploying its workforce Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

NHS announces £78m technology fund for health and social care providers

The NHS will give £78m integrated digital care funding to health and social care providers in 2015 to help them invest in technology Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

National Police ICT Company operational after four years of wrangling

The national Police ICT Company is operational and aims to save £465m a year – nearly four years after Theresa May proposed its creation Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Key considerations for determining if a NoSQL DBMS meets your IT needs

NoSQL represents the fastest-growing type of DBMS being adopted today. Is it right for you? Continue Reading

By

• Craig S. Mullins, Mullins Consulting

Swarovski opts for cloud HR to move function to strategic level

Swarovski’s move to cloud HR system demonstrates its desire to move HR from an operational function to a strategic level Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor

IT priorities 2015: How will IT decision makers spend this year's budget?

The 2015 Computer Weekly/TechTarget IT priorities survey has examined the investment plans of IT managers in the UK and Europe in 2015 Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor
• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK
• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

How building information modelling is changing the construction industry

The Cabinet Office says that by 2016, “collaborative 3D building information modelling will be required on all government projects” Continue Reading

By

• Peter Ray Allison

Prepare for two modes of business intelligence, says Gartner

IT needs to open up business intelligence to the broader business to support its consumerisation Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Tinder cuts app crashes with Rackspace cloud database

Tinder matchmaking app turns to managed cloud provider for IT and database support Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Case study: How National Grid uses analytics to keeps the lights on

National Grid has started a project to supplement its existing asset maintenance system with predictive analytics Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

ARM unleashes internet of things potential with starter kit

Chip-maker ARM has collaborated with IBM to launch the mbed IoT Starter Kit, pitched at SMEs and application developers Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

London’s Air Ambulance swaps A-Z maps for mobile apps

London’s Air Ambulance has halved emergency dispatch times through an incident information and routing app from Mubaloo Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CIO interview: Paul Coby, IT director, John Lewis Partnership

Technology is an essential ingredient to the success of John Lewis, and the retailer is ploughing £100m into IT initiatives in 2015 Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

The more IT changes, the more technology issues remain the same

In the early 2000s Nigel Beighton was CTO at Lastminute.com. Yet, 15 years on, he says the technology issues he faced then have changed little Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Tackling security with quantum physics

In this week's Computer Weekly, we examine research that promises to deliver new levels of encrypted communications using quantum teleportation. IBM has announced its latest mainframe – but will the company's problems hinder its future? And we find out how one company has used the low-cost Raspberry Pi in its enterprise IT. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

National Police ICT Company finally set to start operations

A national Police ICT Company is set to begin operations after finally being approved by the UK’s police and crime commissioners Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Newport to get resilient fibre ring for community safety projects

As part of a wide-reaching regeneration plan, Newport City Council deploys resilient fibre optic network to support community safety Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

National Grid uses IBM to add predictive maintenance capabilities

National Grid is using cloud-based analytics powered by IBM SoftLayer to provide preventative maintenance Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Windows 10 in the enterprise

In this week's Computer Weekly, Microsoft has released more details of the forthcoming Windows 10 release – we look at what it means for enterprise IT. The UK government has set out its vision for an EU digital economy – we examine the issues. And our latest buyer's guide covers data science. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Self-service BI, data integration top information management issues

Self-service business intelligence and data integration top information management challenges for IT and finance professionals Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor

Former Capital One data analysts charged with mining customer data

US financial services regulator SEC charges two former employees of financial services firm Capital One with insider trading Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

What are the options for electronic patient records in the NHS after NPfIT?

Many hospitals lack comprehensive electronic patient record (EPR) systems. What are the options now, in the wake of the NPfIT disaster? Continue Reading

By

• SA Mathieson

Wellcome Trust builds 1,728-core grid for DNA analysis

The Wellcome Trust Centre has deployed a high-performance computing cluster based on Fujitsu servers Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Case study: Antwerp port boosts profits with activity-based management software

How the Antwerp Port Authority has improved its business processes with SAS software Continue Reading

By

• Stef Gyssels

Case study: Hedge fund AHL Man Group uses MongoDB to feed quants with data

Hedge fund AHL Man Group replaces disparate relational databases with a single data platform built on NoSQL database MongoDB Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor

UK leads in global ranking of social open data sharing

The UK has been named the number one country to use open data for social and economic benefit Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

SAP’s Cohen on 2014 results: Europe strong north and south

SAP’s Emea president Franck Cohen optimistic about the supplier’s growth prospects in southern and northern Europe Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor

FT sold on cloud benefits

In this week's Computer Weekly, we talk to the Financial Times CTO about the publisher's successful move to the public cloud and plans for further expansion to meet its data warehousing needs. And we examine the emerging market for mobile application services in the cloud. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

UK's fastest supercomputer upgrades to 2Pflops and 5PB of tiered storage

The UK's fastest supercomputer upgrades to 4,920 nodes and 2 Petaflops performance with tiered storage including 5PB of direct-attached disk Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

User groups defend licensing, but should Oracle rethink remuneration?

Two Oracle user groups have defended Oracle's licensing policy following open letter by Campaign for Clear Licensing Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Oracle will lose out unless it changes its software licensing

In an open letter, Campaign for Clear Licensing highlights the risk to Oracle’s future earnings due to aggressive licensing Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Case study: UniCredit uses Fico to apply prescriptive analytics to risk management

Italian bank UniCredit is using Fico software to apply prescriptive analytics to risk management Continue Reading

By

• Piero Macri

CIO interview: Mark Maddocks, Cambridge University Press

Technology has prompted unprecedented innovation and transformation in the media sector – Cambridge University Press is no exception Continue Reading

By

• Angelica Mari

Cabinet Office begins procurement for next stage of Gov.uk Verify

The Cabinet Office has submitted a tender notice for a £150m three-year framework for the provision of identity assurance services Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Lloyd’s Register Foundation grants £10m to Alan Turing Institute

The Lloyd’s Register Foundation has announced £10m in funding over five years to support research by the Alan Turing Institute Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor

Customer analysis a winning play for 'Candy Crush Saga' maker

King Digital Entertainment was losing players of "Candy Crush Saga" at an early stage in the online game -- a problem it solved with help from a customer data analytics project. Continue Reading

By

• Ed Burns

Care.data faces more delays over concerns about patients

The NHS’s Care.data scheme may face more delays due to concerns over lack of publicity and clarity of the proposed programme Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Dutch organisations gradually take up cloud HCM software

While organisations in the Netherlands tend to use the traditional HR modules of the large software packages, some diversity is beginning to emerge Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

M&S turns to predictive analytics to keep shelves stocked over Christmas

Marks & Spencer is using predictive analytics to keep shelves stocked with mince pies and turkeys over Christmas. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

The most influential people in UK IT 2014

In this week's Computer Weekly, we unveil the 50 most influential people in UK IT for 2014, and interview the winner of our UKtech50 list, Unilever's global CIO, Jane Moran. We examine how Cisco is responding to software-defined networking. And we hear from IT chiefs successfully implementing identity and access management. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

CW Europe - December 2014 Edition

The Computer Weekly European User Awards crowned 19 winners and three honourable mentions for 2014. This issue of CW Europe showcases all of our awards winners, revealing why they won and what the judges' said when they made their selections. Continue Reading

CIO interview: Jon Rudoe, digital and technology director, Sainsbury’s

While supermarkets all over the UK are facing challenging times ahead of them, Sainsbury's is taking its technology and innovation into its own hands by developing digital products for its customers. Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Goldman Sachs invests in analytics startup

Investment bank Goldman Sachs has invested in a financial analytics startup as part of a $15m funding round Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

CIO success is all about winning friends and influencing people

If Gartner’s predictions are true, CIO working practices have to change to keep IT relevant Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Johnson & Johnson turns to AWS for hybrid cloud and borderless datacentre

Johnson & Johnson adopted Amazon Web Services to develop its hybrid IT strategy, its CTO told the AWS re:Invent 2014 conference Continue Reading

By

• Archana Venkatraman, Datacentre Editor

AWS launches Aurora cloud-based relational database engine

AWS launches an open-source relational database engine called Aurora at its re:Invent 2014 cloud conference Continue Reading

By

• Archana Venkatraman, Datacentre Editor

NHS more trusted with personal data than private sector

Private sector could learn from the NHS when it comes to inspiring trust over personal data, Deloitte survey finds Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor

Police forces use private cloud to access Holmes database

Police forces across the UK will access the Holmes major investigation system via a private cloud service Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

ITN deploys wireless transmission technology for breaking news

ITN introduces camera-mounted wireless transmission technology from BT to track breaking news stories around London Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Southampton university fuels research with IBM Watson analytics

The University of Southampton has begun a far-reaching initiative to redefine the future of research powered by IBM Watson analytics Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Government open standards - the curious case of Microsoft and the minister

What role, if any, did science minister David Willetts take in helping Microsoft try to overturn government IT policy? Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

CIO interview: Glenn Murphy, London & Capital

Asset-management firm London & Capital shifts its focus to systems that add business value, says CIO Glenn Murphy Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Airbus interview: research, innovation and the future of aviation

IT plays a substantial role in creating the aircraft of the future, with research and innovation at the core of the Airbus business strategy Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Ipswich hospital improves healthcare service with Esri data visualisation

Health pilots location-based technology that delivers data visualisation Continue Reading

By

• Archana Venkatraman, Datacentre Editor

Problems surface as first users attempt to use Gov.uk Verify

Problems have surfaced as users try to use Gov.uk Verify to prove their identities Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Firms at serious risk of data loss through file sharing, study shows

Businesses are at serious risk of data loss and compliance violations due to risky file-sharing practices, a study has shown Continue Reading

By

• Warwick Ashford, Senior analyst

UK lags behind US and Australia in DevOps adoption

The UK is significantly behind other markets in terms of DevOps adoption Continue Reading

By

• Archana Venkatraman, Datacentre Editor

Currency exchange business Travelex cuts HR costs by 25% with cloud IT systems

Travelex's cloud human resources (HR) project survived a budget overrun to cut costs and job recruitment times Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

How the BBC became digital in three-and-a-half years

The BBC has undergone a digital transformation that started 18 months prior to the London 2012 Olympic Games Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Met Office supercomputer to increase weather forecast accuracy

Met Office buys £97m Cray supercomputer to help predict disruptive weather events with a far greater degree of accuracy Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Met Police trials analytics to fight gang crime

The Metropolitan Police is experimenting with analytics software to help predict which criminals are likely to re-offend Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Disney spreads the magic through wearable technology

The Walt Disney Company is using wearable technology to improve customer experience and engage with visitors Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Managing digital projects

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we examine the project management challenges for IT teams that are building digital, agile systems. We look at the growing importance of user experience testing driven by mobile app development. We assess the main products in the scale-out NAS market for storage. And Intel’s CIO talks about managing IT at the world’s largest chip manufacturer. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Comic Relief’s digital challenge: talent, data and the No Make-Up Selfie

Social media campaigns such as the No Make-Up Selfie and the Ice Bucket Challenge threaten charities such as Comic Relief with their digital reach Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

Fear and loathing could hold back UK internet of things, says KPMG report

More than two-thirds of UK consumers fear growing number of interconnected devices make it too easy for things to go wrong Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

SAP teams up with Birst to offer cloud analytics on Hana

SAP is working with cloud BI supplier Birst to provide “instant analytics in the cloud” on the Hana in-memory database platform Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor

Oracle OpenWorld 2014: Are retailers lost in a sea of technology, data and insight?

Delegates at Oracle’s OpenWorld 2014 user conference went away with their heads spinning from the blast of product announcements, the supplier’s re-iterated commitment to the cloud and a few entertaining memories of CTO Larry Ellison and his presentation skills. Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist

DDN launches scale-out NAS GS7K GPFS product bundle

DataDirect Networks launches the GS7K, a pre-configured GPFS scale-out NAS/parallel file system storage product Continue Reading

Oracle Openworld 2014

Every September, San Francisco plays host to Oracle’s user conference, where customers, users and developers descend on the city to learn the latest on the supplier’s products and services. Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Baldwin, Freelance editor and journalist