Computing articles from February 2005

Computing archives from February 2005

News - Fire radio plan raises concern. Fire service managers say government's communications strategy is a step backwards.
February 3, 2005... Byline: Sarah Arnott. The latest government plans for a national radio system for fire and rescue services will lead to a serious backward step for some brigades, warn senior members of the fire service. Larger brigades have voice and...

News - Broadband is still booming.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... There are now more than six million broadband subscribers in the UK, according to estimates by telecoms watchdog Ofcom. And the number of broadband links is well ahead of unmetered dial-up use, with 38 per cent of all internet connections...

News - Users lobby for firm security standards.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... Byline: Daniel Thomas. International user group the Jericho Forum is lobbying the government to back its proposed security standards aimed at building confidence in online collaboration and ecommerce. Representatives from the group,...

News - Supercomputers aid F1 car design. WilliamsF1 uses Linux clusters for development.
February 3, 2005... Byline: Miya Knights in Valencia. Formula One (F1) racing team BMW WilliamsF1 has used Linux-based supercomputers to treble its computational capacity for designing its new car, which was launched this week. The FW27, the team's car...

News - Last-minute returns tax Revenue's web site.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... Byline: James Watson. The Inland Revenue web site struggled to cope with a surge in last-minute tax returns this week, with more than 30,000 people a day trying to submit their completed forms before the 31 January deadline. Many were...

News - Land Registry goes live with online service.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... Byline: Sarah Arnott. The Land Registry has launched an online service offering cheap and easy public access to information held on 19 million properties across England and Wales. The service allows citizens to search the register to...

News - Financial World.
February 3, 2005... EMC reported fourth-quarter revenue of $2.36bn ([pounds sterling]1.25bn), 27 per cent higher than for the same period in 2003. Net income for the quarter grew 46 per cent to $321m ([pounds sterling]170m). Total revenue for EMC's 2004 financial...

News - Rail comms system nears completion. [pounds sterling]100m network from Marconi built for West Coast Mainline.
February 3, 2005... Byline: Daniel Thomas. Network Rail will soon complete construction of a [pounds sterling]100m emergency communications system on one of the busiest parts of the UK rail network. The system, built by Marconi, will provide vital...

News - Virgin Atlantic: IT is at heart of plans. Technology will help boost service, says the airline.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... Byline: James Watson. Virgin Atlantic Airways says IT will be at the centre of its growth plans over the coming years, helping it expand efficiently with minimal impact on its cost base. Last month, the airline launched its first...

News - Firms take control of IT security standards. User group the Jericho Forum publishes plans to develop standards for vendors.
February 3, 2005... Byline: Daniel Thomas. If business collaboration and ecommerce is to succeed, IT vendors must build more secure, trustworthy products. This is the view expressed by influential user group the Jericho Forum in its first IT security...

News - Financial sector budgets grow. Compliance needs expected to lead to higher spend.
February 3, 2005... Byline: James Watson. It budgets and staff numbers in the UK's financial services sector are set to rise in 2005. Half of the 92 finance firms polled by Finextra Research for its 2005 Financial Technology Strategies survey expect to...

News - IT directors liable for compliance.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... Byline: James Watson. IT directors will increasingly become liable for ensuring systems meet corporate governance rules, experts warn. This week, a US chief executive became the first to be charged under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Richard...

News - Inland Revenue has 'learned lessons'. New IT chief says the department has moved on from the original Tax Credits fiasco.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... Byline: Sarah Arnott. The Inland Revenue has learned the lessons from its Tax Credits IT 'debacle', says newly-appointed chief information officer Steve Lamey. The New Tax Credits (NTC) system, which was developed by EDS, went live in...

News - DVLA databases fail to keep up with car details.(Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency UK)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... Byline: Sarah Arnott. A third of the records held by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) are inaccurate, hampering police attempts to crack down on car crime, says the National Audit Office (NAO). There are 950,000 vehicles...

News - Barclays extends BPO contract.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... Byline: James Watson. High Street bank Barclays has signed a [pounds sterling]45m two-year extension to a business process outsourcing (BPO) contract with Siemens Business Services. Under the terms of the deal, Siemens will continue to...

News - Backbytes.
February 3, 2005... What's not going on 'ere then? 'Spurred on by the recent intensive advertising promoting the police service, I decided to visit its careers site to see what opportunities it offers,' says Damian Kuczera, at the Delectable Pub Company. You...

Enterprise - Win a colour laser printer worth [pounds sterling]1,295.
February 3, 2005... Ricoh UK is offering Computing readers a chance to win a CL2000 colour laser printer worth [pounds sterling]1,295. The Aficio CL2000 is a new-generation colour laser printer, designed for individual users and small offices. Small, easy to...

Enterprise - Hospital registers a boost from RFID. Patients tagged to allow staff access to medical records.(Birmingham Heartlands and Solihull NHS Trust )
February 3, 2005... Byline: Daniel Thomas. Birmingham Heartlands and Solihull NHS Trust plans to cut surgery errors and reduce waiting times by electronically tagging patients. The radio-tagging scheme will help to ensure that errors such as medics...

Enterprise - 'Uninspiring' IT failing to attract women. One in 10 female graduates won't consider career in 'boring' industry.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... Byline: Mark Samuels. Almost one in 10 UK women will not consider a career in IT because they regard the industry as boring and uninspiring. A survey of recent female graduates conducted by training provider The Training Camp has shown...

Enterprise - Co-op network to link 3,500 UK sites. BT to implement infrastructure in [pounds sterling]21m agreement.
February 3, 2005... Byline: James Mortleman. The Co-operative Group has signed a [pounds sterling]21m deal with BT to network 3,500 retail sites across the UK, including food stores, pharmacies and funeral parlours. BT is implementing a high-speed wide...

Enterprise - Police places staff data in safe custody.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... Byline: Miya Knights. West Yorkshire Police has deployed a secure user data access system as it prepares to join a national police directory. The UK's fourth largest police force, which has about 10,000 staff using its systems, wanted...

Enterprise - Prudential opens portal for its financial advisers. System aims to provide consolidated view of firm's products and services.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... Byline: Miya Knights. Financial services company Prudential has created a portal for its 20,000-strong UK financial adviser community. The organisation based the portal on a similar one it created for customers last year. The...

View from the Top - Inland Revenue CIO prepares to learn some new customs. Recent recruit Steve Lamey plans a transformation of the role of IT, as well as facing a departmental merger.
February 3, 2005... Byline: Sarah Arnott. Steve Lamey is one of government IT's most recent recruits from the private sector, joining the likes of Richard Granger at the NHS and head of egovernment Ian Watmore. Formerly chief information officer (CIO) at...

Questions & Answers - IBM moves beyond services into the $500bn consulting market. Managing partner at IBM Business Consulting Ginni Rometty discusses a new company strategy.(Interview)
February 3, 2005... Byline: Paul McDougall. Ginni Rometty, managing partner at IBM Business Consulting, is a key member of chief executive Sam Palmisano's business performance transformation services (BPTS) team. Palmisano says BPTS, a mix that includes...

Conference Call - Industry must prepare systems for the coming RFID revolution. But global summit is warned not to expect a quick return on investment.
February 3, 2005... Byline: Miya Knights. 2005 is the year that radio frequency identification (RFID) technology will really start to take hold, according to experts and early adopters from a variety of industries. But delegates at the third annual Global...

Strategy Paper - Everton picks system with a tight defence. Football club is putting an ambitious infrastructure in place to exploit commercial opportunities.
February 3, 2005... Byline: Daniel Thomas. Premiership football club Everton has installed new IT security systems allowing it to roll out future business initiatives much faster. The club, which aims to boost income by securing a [pounds sterling]12.8m...

Enterprise - Broadband boost for Red Nose Day. Rapid rise in connections should help charity's fundraising efforts.
February 3, 2005... Byline: Bryan Glick. Comic Relief is taking advantage of the rapid rise in broadband connections to help raise more funds for this year's Red Nose Day appeal. The charity's web site, www.rednoseday.com, has been redesigned to be more...

Enterprise - Creativity can aid the requirements process.
February 3, 2005... Byline: Neil Maiden, James Robertson and Suzanne Robertson. There has long been a strong emphasis - and rightly so - on stakeholder involvement in the requirements-gathering process. But many stakeholders provide requirements based on a...

Comment - IT industry faces a question of trust.(Column)
February 3, 2005... In this online age, the question: 'who do you trust?' has become dinner party conversation for the internet generation. But for businesses, the most important question is: 'how do you trust?' For the multinational members of the Jericho...

Comment - Make this the year of remote working. Encouraging more staff to work away from the office can help businesses achieve real benefits, writes John Eary.(Column)
February 3, 2005... Byline: John Eary, head of Staff Consultancy at NCC Group. The notion of travelling to an office day in, day out, generating greenhouse gases, will seem increasingly quaint as the century gets older. This year will start to see a major...

Networking - Convergence on the verge of a major breakthrough. Computing's networking special kicks off with a look at the growing popularity of converged communications in business. Lisa Kelly reports.
February 3, 2005... The convergence of communications is a hot topic. Analysts predict that most organisations will introduce the technology over the next five years. The products are in place and they work: Lloyds TSB recently signed a [pounds sterling]500m...

Networking - After the hype, WiMax can see its time approaching. WiMax is keeping telecoms interesting for both businesses and consumers. Cath Everett reports.
February 3, 2005... Over the past 18 months, WiMax, the latest in a long line of emerging wireless technologies, has begun to find a place in long-term communications strategies. The microwave-based broadband technology has been touted as everything from a...

Networking - How a little sensitivity could cut corporate network costs. Wireless sensors are attracting big-name investment, reports Aaron Ricadela.
February 3, 2005... Some big companies are trying to make the world - and almost everything in it - a little bit smarter. Government IT contractor Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) is developing technology for the US Defense and Homeland...

Networking - Who will win in the wars of the machines? Automated tools have changed the techniques used to commit and to combat online crime.
February 3, 2005... Byline: Thomas Claburn. Welcome to the machine wars, where zombie armies - computers that have been compromised and subverted by hackers - churn out spam and malicious code in relentless raids on the PCs of home users and the IT systems of...

Networking - Flexibility is the major selling point of VPNs. Public networks are being used by businesses for corporate connections. William Knight reports.
February 3, 2005... Companies are increasingly changing from traditional leased lines to internet-based communications, and the promise of uninterrupted connectivity is fuelling a drive to browser-based computing from all manner of remote devices. Many...

Services - Smaller firms are spending more.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... Byline: Computing staff. IT spending across Western Europe rose 3.4 per cent in 2004, according to researcher IDC. Companies spending the most are small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), defined as those employing fewer than 149...

Services - Diary.(Calendar)
February 3, 2005... Knowledge Management, Communities of Practice and Knowledge Networks 19 February, University of Westminster, London Chris Kimble, from York University, will speak on the potential benefits of communities of practice, together with...

BCS - Diary events.(Calendar)
February 3, 2005... BCS Glasgow Branch 7 February. 6.30pm. 'HCI - Haptic Device Demo.' Lord Todd Conference Room, Strathclyde University. Visit: www.bcs.org/branches/glasgow BCS East Anglia Branch 7 February. 11.30am. 'Student Prizes.' Essex...

Training - listings.
February 3, 2005... Information for the courses page should follow our usual format - course category, title of course, venue, date, price, organising company/body, telephone number. Unless the information is presented in this way, we regret that it cannot be...

Careers - Microsoft evening classes launched. London Met courses target small firms and contractors.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... Byline: James Mortleman. London Metropolitan University has introduced certified Microsoft training for freelance contractors who find it difficult to take time off work. The university's Microsoft IT Academy is running evening and...

Backbytes - Canoe believe it?
February 3, 2005... You learn things you never thought you needed to know by reading Backbytes. Last week we asked you for tales of what you have left on public transport. 'I recently worked on Transport for London's (TfL's) "Sherlock" project, which is the...

News Bulletin - Third reading for ID cards bill.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... The committee stage of the controversial ID cards bill was concluded last week. After only eight sessions for the Commons standing committee to go through the proposed legislation line by line, the amended bill will now go back to the House on...

News Bulletin - Police cash boost for Airwave.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... The Home Office has committed an extra [pounds sterling]12bn to police funding for 2005/06. The settlement includes the [pounds sterling]17m last tranche of money to help local authorities implement the Airwave secure communications network....

News Bulletin - BT upgrade speeds up uploads.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... BT is to upgrade another 500 telephone exchanges to provide symmetrical broadband services with upload speeds as fast as download speeds, following the 12-month SDSL rollout announced last year. www.computing.co.uk/news/1160279.

News Bulletin - Blaster-B worm: teenager jailed.(Jeffrey Lee Parson)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... A teenage virus-writer has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for creating the Blaster-B worm, which has caused an estimated $1.2m ([pounds sterling]0.63m) in damage to thousands of computer networks. Jeffrey Lee Parson, 19, from Minnesota,...

News Bulletin - Microsoft launches search portal.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... Microsoft has launched its internet search engine after two years of development. The MSN portal has provided a search service for years, but the underlying technology was previously leased from Yahoo! Microsoft is also tying in other online...

Enterprise Bulletin - Museum exhibits IBM software.(International Business Machines Corp. software in London's Science Museum)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... London's Science Museum has unveiled its latest exhibit, an inside view of IBM's WebSphere MQ software. The interactive display, in the guise of a giant CD, describes how the software helps banks handle billions of transactions every day,...

Enterprise Bulletin - Berners-Lee is 'Greatest Briton'.(Tim Berners-Lee awarded)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... Sir Tim Berners-Lee, developer of the original protocols for the web, has been named Greatest Briton of 2004. He received the award, along with [pounds sterling]25,000, after being nominated in an internet poll. Berners-Lee beat 21 other...

Enterprise Bulletin - Grid studies global warming.(climate monitoring)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... Analysis carried out by a distributed network of more than 90,000 PCs has warned that global warming may pose a more serious threat than was previously believed. Climateprediction.net, the biggest climate monitoring project ever, used a...

Enterprise Bulletin - ADSL improves home working.(advanced digital subscriber line)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... Scope, the disability charity, is providing 100 of its home-based and local staff with ADSL broadband connections from supplier Zen Internet to carry out back-office functions. The scheme is designed to make home workers more productive and to...

Enterprise Bulletin - O2 launches 3G handsets.(third generation wireless handsets)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... Mobile operator O2 launched its consumer 3G strategy this week, featuring new 3G-compatible handsets and an information and entertainment portal, similar to Vodafone's Live! O2 is offering video calls at the same price as voice calls, and...

Enterprise Bulletin - Wireless Lan message spreads.(sales forecast)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... Sales of wireless local area network (Lan) equipment in 2005 will grow by 13 per cent to $2.6bn ([pounds sterling]1.4bn), according to a report by analyst Dell'Oro Group.By 2009, the market is expected to have almost doubled to $4.3bn ([pounds...

Enterprise Bulletin - Mobile sales break world record.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... Global sales of mobile phones jumped during the fourth quarter of last year to their highest level so far, according to researcher IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker. Shipments totalled 194.3 million units in the quarter, growing by...

Enterprise Bulletin - Giants push grid computing.(Intel Corp., International Business Machines Corp., Sun Microsystems Inc. and Hewlett Packard forms consortium)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... Technology companies including HP, IBM, Sun Microsystems and Intel have formed a consortium to develop and promote grid computing software for businesses. The Globus Consortium will promote standards and grid software, to make the technology...

News - Skills crisis 'within a year'. Job market recovery conceals a need to rapidly train programme managers.
February 10, 2005... Byline: Sarah Arnott. The technology jobs market is making a strong recovery, but there is a serious threat of a major skills crisis striking within the year. IT recruitment has more than doubled in the past 12 months and programme...

News - Smaller firms boost IT spend.(Brief Article)
February 10, 2005... Smaller companies will help increase global IT spending by up to four per cent in 2005, according to Meta Group. The analyst's Worldwide Benchmark Database survey found that blue-chip companies expect to increase IT spending by just one per...

News - Europeans unite to track spammers. Support grows for UK initiative on sharing data.(Brief Article)
February 10, 2005... Byline: Daniel Thomas. Thirteen European countries have this week agreed to join the UK in its bid to track down and prosecute international email spammers. Countries including Ireland, Spain, France and the Netherlands have agreed to...

News - IT experts join EU security agency. Group will discuss ways of reducing internet threats.
February 10, 2005... Byline: Daniel Thomas. The European Union's (EU's) IT security agency is calling on the expertise of leading professionals and academics to help secure member states from future internet attacks. The European Network and Information...

News - MPs criticise hasty reading of ID Cards Bill.(Brief Article)
February 10, 2005... Byline: Sarah Arnott. The government's ID Cards Bill will receive its final reading in Parliament today (Thursday) amid claims it is being rushed through with far too little time for consideration by MPs. Liberal Democrat IT spokesman...

News - UK retailers tighten reins on IT spending.(Brief Article)
February 10, 2005... Byline: Miya Knights. The UK retail sector will dramatically reduce its IT spending this year, to counter the costly technology investments made in 2004. While overall IT spending in the UK is set to increase slightly this year,...

News - Financial world.(Brief Article)
February 10, 2005... Spam filtering company SurfControl announced second-quarter revenue up 17 per cent year-on-year to $24.7m ([pounds sterling]13.1m). Earnings were in line with expectations at $4.7m ([pounds sterling]2.5m), said the company. Business...

News - Nats orders report on shared airspace. Study to identify technology issues of harmonising air traffic control.(National Air Traffic Service)
February 10, 2005... Byline: James Watson. The UK's National Air Traffic Service (Nats) has commissioned a study into the technical and regulatory implications of sharing control of airspace with the Irish Aviation Authority. The study is the...

News - Companies warned over upgrade to Bacstel-IP. Two-thirds of firms using Bacs are unready for transition to new system.(Brief Article)
February 10, 2005... Byline: James Watson. Some 65,000 UK companies still need to change the way they handle their Bacs payments by the end of the year to avoid being unable to pay staff or collect customer payments. As of this week, about one-third of the...

News - Police pilot intelligence database.(Brief Article)
February 10, 2005... Byline: Sarah Arnott. The first stage of the Impact programme to create a national intelligence system for UK police is being piloted across three forces. The National Nominal Index (NNI) has been developed by the Police IT...

News - Causes and effects of an IT skills crisis. Skills experts analyse the findings of the IT Skills Trends 2005 report from Imis.(Institute for the Management of Information Systems)
February 10, 2005... Byline: Sarah Arnott. The IT jobs market is making a strong recovery, but is becoming increasingly polarised. Demand for high-value business-oriented staff is shooting up - more than double this time last year - but technical skills...

News - Technology drives EC plan for growth. Report calls for urgent action on Lisbon Strategy.
February 10, 2005... Byline: Sarah Arnott. European Commission plans to improve the delivery of the Lisbon Strategy to boost EU economic growth include measures to increase innovation and achieve greater benefit from technology. In a speech last week,...

News - Insiders warn on Firelink delays.(Brief Article)
February 10, 2005... Byline: Sarah Arnott. Ongoing negotiations over the Firelink contract for a secure national radio system for fire and rescue services could delay the implementation of the system. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, which is...

News - Argos tracks data to cut losses. Retail Fraud conference hears of a variety of new measures to tackle fraud and internal losses.
February 10, 2005... Byline: Miya Knights. Retailer Argos has installed data mining software to reduce losses from internal fraud and 'shrinkage'. The company is due to complete an initial rollout of the project at the end of March. Three of the 15-strong...

News - Chip-and-PIN may go online.(Brief Article)
February 10, 2005... UK banks are in discussions about extending chip-and-PIN use to tackle online fraud. Banking industry trade group The Association of Payment Clearing Services (Apacs) is already working with banks and credit card providers on a variety of...

News - Welsh systems fight food fraud.(Welsh Food Fraud Co-ordinating Unit upgrades information management system)(Brief Article)
February 10, 2005... Byline: Daniel Thomas. Law enforcement agencies, local government and regional authorities in Wales plan to tackle the illegal sale of food substances by sharing information through a combined intelligence system. The Welsh Food Fraud...

News - Backbytes.(using email properly)
February 10, 2005... It's far from odour We offer a special Backbytes round of applause to Islington Council this week after its computer systems were brought down by a smelly toilet. Thanks to reader Steve King, who sent us the clipping from the...

Enterprise - Public sector directory: a special offer.
February 10, 2005... You could save 20 per cent on The Public Sector Report & Directory from Computing. This book is essential for anyone who wants to know more about the technology used by public sector organisations, who they buy from, and the key trends in...

Enterprise - EMI opens portal to higher sales. Better sharing of data will streamline music launches.
February 10, 2005... Byline: Daniel Thomas. EMI Music Group hopes to increase record sales and react more quickly to changes in the music charts after installing a web-based sales and marketing portal. The world's largest music publisher, which boasts...

Enterprise - [pounds sterling]10m IT refit will improve council services. Birmingham City Council overhaul helps to consolidate housing data.(Brief Article)
February 10, 2005... Byline: Miya Knights. Birmingham City Council has invested [pounds sterling]10m to improve staff productivity and services for residents in one of the largest housing IT projects in the UK. Following a series of best-value service...

Enterprise - IT delays pose a threat to fire service's ability to function. Senior managers say government's interim solution is 'a dog's breakfast'.(Office of the Deputy Prime Minister contract delays)
February 10, 2005... Byline: Sarah Arnott. Two vital fire service technology programmes run by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) are in danger of joining the list of shambolic government IT projects. The procurement for the Firelink national...

Enterprise - Questions & Answers - Greater accountability will bring benefits to IT. Microsoft's Bob McDowell outlines how the company is planning to refocus on business values.(Interview)
February 10, 2005... Byline: Rod Newing. Overselling and an emphasis on features have given IT suppliers a bad name and cast doubt on the value of IT to business. That's not a claim some people would expect to hear from Microsoft. But Bob McDowell, the...

Enterprise - Data consolidation gives the RAC a lift. Revenue rise attributed to integrating client data from 14 different sources of sales information.(Royal Automobile Club (UK))
February 10, 2005... Byline: Miya Knights. The RAC has completed a two-year project to combine customer information from 14 different systems into a single database - and has already boosted sales by more than [pounds sterling]4m as a result. The motoring...

Enterprise - Doctors secure PCs from viruses.(Royal Society of Medicine has installed internet security)(Brief Article)
February 10, 2005... Byline: Daniel Thomas. The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) has installed internet security to reduce the number of viruses infecting its systems. The organisation has chosen security specialist ScanSafe to protect its 150 public-access...

Enterprise - Grand Prix team exploits advanced IT. Leading-edge infrastructure gives WilliamsF1 competitive advantage.(BMW Williams Formula 1)
February 10, 2005... Byline: Miya Knights in Valencia. The BMW Williams Formula One (F1) team expanded its use of IT systems for the development and maintenance of its latest car, unveiled last week. The team made use of supercomputing power, grids and...

Comment - Onus is on us all to avert a skills crisis.(Brief Article)(Column)
February 10, 2005... Experts are predicting a skills crisis. As the public sector pursues more and larger technology programmes, the question of how the IT industry can find the capacity to deliver is becoming increasingly pertinent. Evidence from the...

Comment - Don't let standards threaten innovation. Increasing standardisation is in danger of stifling the work of the software developer, says William Knight.(Column)
February 10, 2005... Civilisations in decline are consistently characterised by a tendency towards standardisation and uniformity, said the late historian Arnold Toynbee. By that measure, the software industry is already following the diversity of the UK High...

Special report - Predicted rise in IT spend reflects a new optimism. Computing's exclusive analysis of Meta Group's Worldwide Benchmark Database, a survey of more than 20,000 firms, reveals how IT directors plan to spend budgets in 2005. Mark Samuels reports.
February 10, 2005... Global IT spending is expected to rise by four per cent in 2005, analyst Meta Group reports in its Worldwide Benchmark Database. 'IT executives are still optimistic about the potential for IT in business, arguing for further investment in...

Special report - Meta identifies the sectors ready to spend the most. The education and financial services sectors will be among the big spenders, writes Mark Samuels.(Meta Group Inc)
February 10, 2005... Companies in certain sectors will be keener to invest in new technology during 2005, according to Meta Group. The analyst's Worldwide Benchmark Database shows spending in specific areas of the economy, such as education, insurance and...

Special report - Security to top 2005 priorities for investment. Mark Samuels hears Meta Group's theories on why security spending will continue to rise this year.
February 10, 2005... Security and web development will be the spending priorities for users in 2005. Companies sampled by Meta Group's Worldwide Benchmark Database, which looked at IT budgets across 32 technology areas, indicated that the only areas where...