Computer Weekly articles from February 2005

Computer Weekly archives from February 2005

Understanding software is vital to stop maintenance costs soaring.
February 1, 2005... John Kavanagh computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk Software maintenance gobbles up 90% of the cost of software over its lifetime - and the reason typically goes back to its original development, according to three senior BCS members who have...

Back patent proposals, urges BCS.(British Computer Society)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... John Kavanagh computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk IT staff supporting proposed European legislation on software patents are being urged by the BCS to campaign via IT trade association Intellect. According to Department of Trade & Industry...

IN BRIEF.(Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency)
February 1, 2005... Anti-virus scanner first to be SAP certified H+BEDV Datentechnik has announced the world's first virus scanner to be certified by SAP. The Antivir Virus Scan Adapter integrates into SAP's Netweaver middleware platform and monitors the data...

RFID should not be a closed shop.(radio frequency identification)
February 1, 2005... Electronic tagging using RFID - radio frequency identification - will create a sea-change in the way items are tracked as they move both within a single business and across a supply chain. The latest Technology, Media and Telecommunications...

[pounds sterling]30bn Gillette takeover to bring major IT savings.(Procter & Gamble Co.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... l Both Procter & Gamble and Gillette are global users of SAP and RFIDl The takeover would enable large IT cost savings for the firm Arif Mohamed computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk Procter & Gamble is poised to takeover Gillette in a [pounds...

US provides compliance lesson for UK managers.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Nick Huber nick.huber@rbi.co.uk IT directors could be forgiven for dreading the words "corporate governance and compliance". The past few years have seen a slew of regulations - including Sarbanes-Oxley, International Accounting...

Business knowledge and process skills are key to increasing value.
February 1, 2005... Cost control has been the top IT issue for the past four years. Surveys done by analyst firm Gartner have shown that where IT budgets have increased, the increases have been for new functions. The costs of existing services have had to be...

Firms can be brought to book for illegal images on their systems.
February 1, 2005... Although organisations have been concentrating on developing strategies to prevent viruses, spam and unwanted images getting on to the network via the web or e-mail, many have lost sight of the increased risks from internal threats at the...

CONTRACTS.(briefs)
February 1, 2005... RAC contact centre deal awarded to Energis Breakdown service provider and motorists' organisation the RAC has awarded a [pounds sterling]10m-plus contract to Energis to deliver contact centre services. Energis has also won a voice and...

EMC recovery suites aid data compliance.(new backup software)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Arif Mohamed computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk EMC has released two software recovery management suites designed to help organisations comply with data retention and access requirements and accomplish what has been termed information lifecycle...

Virtualisation spec for multiple OS launched.(operating system, specifications)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Antony Savvas computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk Intel has introduced its preliminary Vanderpool virtualisation specifications to help users run multiple operating systems on the same server hardware. Users already have the ability to...

in brief.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... BMC offers tool to unify management products A new product from BMC aims to help unify service and infrastructure management products and improve operational management. BMC said Atrium Configuration Management Database provides a single,...

EU ageism law could put an end to 'milk round' campus recruitment.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Karen Gomm karen.gomm@rbi.co.uk New age discrimination laws could restrict IT departments' graduate recruitment activities, the Association of Technology Staffing Companies (Atsco) has warned. The EU Employment Directive, aimed at...

Integration of Notes and Domino boosts collaborative applications.(Workplace Technologies PLC, contract)
February 1, 2005... l IBM introduces latest versions of Lotus Notes and Domino 7 l Products integrated with Websphere tools to create single environment Arif Mohamed computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk IBM Lotus has unveiled the latest versions of its messaging...

Anti-hacker reform facing delay.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Bill Goodwin bill.goodwin@rbi.co.uk An update to the Computer Misuse Act will have to wait until after the next general election. No MPs have come forward to back a private members bill this month to reform the act before the...

Companies are taking an ad hoc approach to compliance budgets.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... l Organisations are failing to allocate separate budgets for compliancel Survey found more than half of firms are not awareof the Companies Bill Bill Goodwin bill.goodwin@rbi.co.uk Less than a quarter of organisations are...

Lack of standards and high cost hinders RFID.(radio frequency identifications)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Cliff Saran and Arif Mohamed cliff.saran@rbi.co.uk Cost and the lack of agreed standards are emerging as the main barriers in the short-term to wider adoption of RFID. In a study of more than 130 larger retailers across North...

supply chain ; Lack of information from early RFID pilots may hold back development and adoption.(radio frequency identification)
February 1, 2005... Cliff Saran and Arif Mohamed cliff.saran@rbi.co.uk Radio frequency identification (RFID) can transform supply chain management, reduce errors and cut fraud, but its widespread deployment is being held back by the secrecy surrounding...

ING Direct keeps track of clients with data integration software.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Nick Huber nick.huber@rbi.co.uk The UK division of ING Direct has installed data integration software to help it keep track of data from 700,000 customers and improve its marketing. The retail bank is using Powercenter software...

W3C rolls out new XML standards.(World Wide Web Consortium)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Antony Savvas computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has published three new web services XML standards to make it easier to deliver and manage data. W3C said the standards are needed as web services...

Co-op to make [pounds sterling]1m a year savings in networking contract with BT.(British Telecommunications PLC)
February 1, 2005... l The Co-op will use a wide area network to connect three divisionsl Single network allows for enterprise-wide roll-out of Oracle ERP Karen Gomm karen.gomm@rbi.co.uk The Co-op is set to save [pounds sterling]1m a year on network...

Bank has 15% of support staff on compliance.(Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Nick Huber nick.huber@rbi.co.uk Up to 15% of support staff at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein are working on compliance projects for financial regulations, Stephen Ashton, director of global IT business management at the investment...

Call for consolidation of datawarehouses.(following the rules financial services can reduce the information technology costs)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Nick Huber nick.huber@rbi.co.uk IT directors can help companies achieve compliance with financial regulations by reducing the number of datawarehouses, according to consultancy Accenture. Mark Connolley, senior manager in the...

Virtual patches could ease pain of updates.(businesses securing their information technology networks)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Bill Goodwin bill.goodwin@rbi.co.uk Developments in security technology could allow businesses to protect their IT networks from new vulnerabilities without going to the expense and risk of installing patches. The next two years...

Complexity slows STP.(straight-through processing)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Nick Huber nick.huber@rbi.co.uk Financial services companies' drive to introduce straight-through processing (STP) is being complicated by the number of messaging standards being used by the industry, delegates at the Finexpo...

Sun Solaris patents go open source.(Sun Microsystems Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Antony Savvas computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk Sun Microsystems is handing over more than 1,600 patents to software developers as part of its decision to make its Solaris operating system open source. Developers will have access to code...

Microsoft security chief backs users on need to 'deperimeterise' network security.(Detlef Eckert)
February 1, 2005... l Microsoft to focus on security that enables extension of networksl MS responding to new model in which network boundaries are blurred Bill Goodwin bill.goodwin@rbi.co.uk Microsoft is responding to demands from users to move...

Small firms bearing the brunt of spam attacks.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Antony Savvas computer.weekly@ebi.co.uk Small businesses are receiving 10 times more spam per user than larger companies, according to e-mail security firm Postini. Postini said the threat to smaller firms, which usually have less...

SCO code handover could mean OS rewrite.(Santa Cruz Operation Inc., operating software)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Computer Weekly reporters computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk The Linux community could be forced to rewrite parts of its open source operating system after IBM was ordered to hand over source code of its AIX and Dynix operating systems to SCO...

Parcelforce IT boosts productivity.(Parcelforce Worldwide)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Karen Gomm karen.gomm@rbi.co.uk Logistics firm Parcelforce Worldwide has improved driver productivity by 20% after rolling out route planning and scheduling software. Parcelforce also cut route planning time for its 2,000-vehicle...

Windows users will have to prove licence is genuine for downloads.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Cliff Saran cliff.saran@rbi.co.uk Users will have to validate their copy of Windows as genuine before downloading any software or drivers from the Microsoft download site. The WGA (Windows Genuine Article) programme will come into...

IT departments to face 'war of talent' as firms vie for scarce skills.
February 1, 2005... l Analysts predict industry will see biggest skills gap since the 1990sl Demand driven by firms working through three-year project backlog Bill Goodwin bill.goodwin@rbi.co.uk The UK and mainland Europe should brace itself for the...

FSA issues guidance on Basel 2 work.(Financial Services Authority)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Nick Huber nick.huber@rbi.co.uk The Financial Services Authority has published guidance for banks on one of the biggest compliance projects for IT departments, the forthcoming Basel 2 code on risk management. The consultation...

IN BRIEF.
February 1, 2005... Bagle spreading rapidly, virus experts warn A new version of the Bagle worm is spreading rapidly through IT systems, Kaspersky Lab said last week. The worm, Bagle.ay, spreads through a combination of harvested e-mail addresses, P2P and...

RFID held back by high cost and lack of standards.
February 1, 2005... Cliff Saran cliff.saran@rbi.co.uk The world's largest courier and logistics operators are delaying wide adoption of radio frequency identification tagging technology because of cost, duplication of standards and inaccurate scanning....

Red Hat and Novell update for Linux 2.6.(Red Hat Software Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Arif Mohamed computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk Red Hat and Novell are updating their enterprise Linux distributions to support the latest revision of the Linux kernel. Linux 2.6 kernel is seen by experts as a major update to the open...

ICT Charity Ball is one of the best parties of year.(Corporate Events Association 2004 Awards)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... IT professionals certainly know how to party. Last year's Intellect ICT Industry Charity Ball, supported by Computer Weekly, raised [pounds sterling]50,000 for autistic children and was a "Best party event of the year" finalist in the Corporate...

make friends with finance.(management of information technology directors )
February 1, 2005... To succeed as an IT director, you need to understand the numbers, and a close working relationship with the finance department can prove invaluable. Sally Flood looks at the challenges and benefits of forging alliances Jim McEwan began...

Crime is no private affair.(public private partnership can minimize the net crimes)
February 1, 2005... The Home Office report, The Future of Net Crime Now, should be top of your business reading list. It details the main information security threats facing UK businesses and advocates a practical approach to tackling these growing concerns. ...

Barclays to extend its BPO contract with Siemens.(business process outsourcing, Siemens Business Services)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Antony Savvas computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk Barclays has signed a [pounds sterling]45m extension to its business process outsourcing (BPO) contract with Siemens Business Services. The two-year contract extends a BPO arrangement the...

YOUR SHOUT; Have your say at ; computerweekly.com.(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2005... On the momentum of large IT projects In response to coverage of the National Audit Office's report on the NHS Choose and Book system (Computer Weekly, 25 January) Your leader stated, "One of the biggest causes of IT project failure is...

MPs say management style, not just technology, to blame for CSA woes.(member of parliaments, Child Support Agency)
February 1, 2005... Lindsay Clark computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk In one of the most damning reports ever seen on government IT, the House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee last week outlined how IT system failures have caused an increasing backlog of...

Proactivity breeds predictability and the chance for better business opportunities.
February 1, 2005... Service oriented architecture (SOA) is the latest in a long line of ideas that have sought to define a flexible and efficient way that technology-based services can be joined together to achieve business goals. A service based on an SOAis...

Letters.(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2005... Arguments against the software patents law Richard Blundell The article on the proposed EU software patents directive (Computer Weekly, 25 January), presented three arguments for and three against. Although the three arguments...

NEXT MOVE.(career opportunities guidance)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... The question Change direction or accept redundancy? At 52 years of age, my post as systems manager is being made redundant. I am being offered the opportunity to apply for a post as "business improvement officer" (basically a business...

Commitment to training is crucial.(Computer Weekly Best Places to Work 2005 Awards)
February 1, 2005... Effective professional development was one of the key criteria used by the judges in drawing up the shortlist (right) for Computer Weekly's Best Places to Work in IT 2005 Awards. The awards are designed to spotlight those organisations which...

Portability of Mono code helps to bridge Microsoft/open source gap.
February 1, 2005... Nick Langley computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk What is it? Mono is an open source development platform based on Microsoft's .net Framework. Primarily aimed at the Linux community, it can also be used to build cross-platform applications,...

BCS says high recognition levels give it mandate as champion of IT.(British Computer Society)
February 8, 2005... John Kavanagh computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk The BCS is claiming to have won the mandate to act as the champion of the IT profession after a study found it had far greater recognition among IT specialists than any other industry body. ...

capacity for change.(storage management)
February 8, 2005... Over the years storage has very much been the poor relation, something purchased as a server add-on. However, now it is important to consider storage technology and products as critical components of the IT infrastructure. It is no longer...

IN BRIEF.
February 8, 2005... Offender system gets late release date There has been a delay in the delivery of a common national IT system designed to make it easier for the prison and probation services to assess the risk that offenders pose to the public. The...

looking to the long term.(security of computer storage devices)
February 8, 2005... IT directors looking for an easy way to manage increasing volumes of data by buying more hardware could be storing up problems for the future. Jessica Twentyman reports When it comes to tackling burgeoning storage volumes, most IT...

Businesses warned of photocopier data risk.(Brief Article)
February 8, 2005... Bill Goodwin bill.goodwin@rbi.co.uk Businesses risk exposing confidential information through unsecured office photocopiers. Modern copiers contain hard disc drives, which can retain electronic copies of tens of thousands of...

IT leaders urged to drop victim mentality and embrace challenges of a changing role.(Interview)
February 8, 2005... Nick Huber nick.huber@rbi.co.uk IT directors should stop thinking of themselves as "victims" in the corporate hierarchy and prepare for the extinction of their traditional role at a board level. These are among the controversial...

Business psychology to boost performance.(personality type of staffs can help the directors to manage properly)
February 8, 2005... An understanding of personality types could help IT directors improve the productivity of their staff and help them overcome the communications barrier between IT and other business functions. As a psychologist advising major IT companies...

Tester claims 90% of VPNs open to hackers.(virtual private networks )(Brief Article)
February 8, 2005... Antony Savvas computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk Security testing company NTA Monitor has claimed that 90% of virtual private networks are open to hackers. Over a three-year period of testing VPNs at large companies, NTA Monitor said 90%...

In brief.(Brief Article)
February 8, 2005... Sun Java suite to target business problems Sun Microsystems will release the latest version of its Java Enterprise System in March, as well as five new subsets of the product aimed at solving specific business problems. JES 3 has new tools...

Borland project tools boost collaboration.(new software from Borland International Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 8, 2005... Cliff Saran cliff.saran@rbi.co.uk Borland has introduced a suite of integrated tools aimed at providing IT departments with a way to manage projects more effectively using role-based collaboration. The product, called Borland Core...

Free legal advice on open source issues.(Software Freedom Law Centre)(Brief Article)
February 8, 2005... Antony Savvas computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk The Software Freedom Law Centre has opened its doors to provide free legal help to open source software developers. The centre is backed by the Open Source Development Labs, which has raised...

BT develops formal career plan for security staff.(British Telecommunications PLC)(Brief Article)
February 8, 2005... Bill Goodwin bill.goodwin@rbi.co.uk BT is creating formal career development programmes for more than 400 full-time IT security professionals as it gears up to create an integrated cross-company security practice. The company...

Novell Open Enterprise Server to offer Netware users path to Linux.
February 8, 2005... l Users can run Netware 6.5 or SuSE Linux 9 l Novell tools will be integrated into the systeml Migration path could mean the end for Netware Arif Mohamed computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk This month Novell will offer users of its Netware...

IT security pushes for professional status.
February 8, 2005... l Growth of compliance and business needs drive push for standardsl Formal qualifications and training key to professional recognition Bill Goodwin bill.goodwin@rbi.co.uk (ISC)2, the global organisation dedicated to training and...

Financial companies' growing demand for IT skills may cause staff shortage in public sector.
February 8, 2005... Karen Gomm karen.gomm@rbi.co.uk The public sector could face an IT skills shortage as contractors return to the City, according to research by contractor services provider Giant Group. The research, which surveyed 2,000 IT...

Cisco switch is integrated in HP blades.(Cisco Systems Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co.)(Brief Article)
February 8, 2005... Antony Savvas computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk Hewlett-Packard and Cisco Systems are integrating Cisco's network switching technology into the HP Bladesystem architecture to improve performance. The suppliers are working to link HP's...

logistics; Logistics firms hold back but are key to widescale RFID roll-out.(radio frequency identification)
February 8, 2005... Cliff Saran cliff.saran@rbi.co.uk The supermarket giants leading the radio frequency identification tagging revolution could find their plans undermined by the reluctance of logistics companies to adopt the technology. US...

Oxfam looks to IT firms to aid disaster response.
February 8, 2005... l Charity wants to set up relationships so it can source IT skills in a crisisl Head of IS aims to set up a structure to get the most out of offers of help John Riley john.riley@rbi.co.uk Oxfam is looking to tap the IT skills of...

Business broadband adoption up to 77%.(Brief Article)
February 8, 2005... Antony Savvas computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk More than three-quarters of companies are now using broadband, and more than a third say radio frequency identification technology is important to their business strategy. These take-up...

Refine benchmarking to deliver useful results.
February 8, 2005... l Measurement of value of IT investment found ineffective by surveyl Benchmarking fails to give practical advice, say users Nick Huber nick.huber@rbi.co.uk Most companies are getting poor value from the tens of millions of pounds...

NPfIT says it is confident that it can win over GPs.(national programme for information technology, general practitioners )(Brief Article)
February 8, 2005... A spokesman for the national programme for IT in the NHS has denied that it is too late to win the support of GPs for new systems. "Many, many GPs support the national programme and it is not too late to build wider support," he said. "The...

Is it too late for NHS national programme to win support of doctors for new systems?(National Health Service)
February 8, 2005... Tony Collins tony.collins@rbi.co.uk Family doctor Paul Cundy wants the health service's national programme for IT (NPfIT) to succeed, which is why he views as "thoroughly depressing" the results of the latest Medix survey of doctors....

Need for better communication is vital as doctors voice deep concerns about NPfIT.(national programme for information technology)(Brief Article)
February 8, 2005... Medix's conclusions Summarising the findings of its survey, Medix said, "The many problems recorded in this survey seem to spring from continuing poor levels of consultation." It added that if levels of understanding of the advantages...

Development, not work permits, key to skills needs, says NCC boss.(growth of information technology professionals, National Computing Centre)(Brief Article)
February 8, 2005... Bill Goodwin bill.goodwin@rbi.co.uk The UK should focus on developing its own IT staff, rather than on relaxing visa requirements to let in more foreign IT workers, Michael Gough, chairman of the National Computing Centre, said this...

ERP win for 64-bit Linux.(Kelvin Hughes enterprise resource planning system)
February 8, 2005... l Global firm moves ERP system to 64-bit Itanium-based Linux systeml User sees business benefits and no risk from being an early adopter Cliff Saran cliff.saran@rbi.co.uk Kelvin Hughes, a global supplier of navigation products, is...

UK at risk in comms battle, warns CMA.(Communications Management Association, communications)(Brief Article)
February 8, 2005... Antony Savvas computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk The Communications Management Association's annual conference opens today (8 February), with a call for closer co-operation between users, service providers and government to ensure the UK...

Big changes ahead for IT director role.(Brief Article)
February 8, 2005... Nick Huber nick.huber@rbi.co.uk The role of the IT director on the company board will disappear in the next five years, according to management guru David Taylor. Taylor, who begins a regular column in Computer Weekly on 22...

CEOs and CIOs split on IT success.(chief executive officers, chief information officers)(Brief Article)
February 8, 2005... Nick Huber nick.huber@rbi.co.uk Business and IT directors are still at loggerheads on key technology issues, according to a new survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit. More than 60% of UK chief executives said their company's...

Siebel tailors CRM to suit SMEs.(Siebel Systems Inc., customer relationship management, small and medium sized enterprises)(Brief Article)
February 8, 2005... Arif Mohamed computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk Customer relationship management supplier Siebel is to target small and medium-sized enterprises with sector-specific products with analytics and contact centre software built-in. This marks...

MEPs reject software patent plans.(Members of the European Parliament)(Brief Article)
February 8, 2005... Antony Savvas computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk Members of the European Parliament have voted against draft software patent legislation. The vote follows months of debate on the impact of proposed laws on the cost and availability of...

Safeway CIO joins PO.(Ric Francis, chief information officer, United Kingdom Post Office)(Brief Article)
February 8, 2005... Nick Huber nick.huber@rbi.co.uk The Post Office has appointed the former chief information officer of Safeway as its first operations director. Ric Francis, who will be responsible for both IT and non-IT services such as customer...

Revenue faces bill of tens of millions to end PFI deal.(public finance initiative, Board of Inland Revenue)
February 8, 2005... Tony Collins tony.collins@rbi.co.uk Plans to bring together two of the government's largest IT contracts have been hit by the costs of compensating supplier Fujitsu, which could run into tens of millions of pounds. The failure so...

Minister wants [pounds sterling]1.2bn e-gov savings.(Brief Article)
February 8, 2005... Lindsay Clark computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk English local authorities will have to deliver [pounds sterling]1.2bn in efficiency savings as a result of e-government investment, local government minister Phil Hope said last week. Hope...

Business continuity plans eat 35% of clearing house's core IT spend.
February 8, 2005... l Voca calls on UK firms to share best practice on continuity planningl Clearing house runs from back-up sites for five weeks a year to test plans Nick Huber nick.huber@rbi.co.uk Business continuity and disaster recovery planning...

GPs' support for IT plan falls sharply, study reveals.(general practitioners)
February 8, 2005... Tony Collins tony.collins@rbi.co.uk Enthusiasm among GPs for the health service's national programme for IT (NPfIT) has declined sharply, raising questions about whether their full commitment to the multibillion-pound project can ever...

Regulators are putting XBRL at risk, says BASDA.(Business Application Software Developers' Association)
February 8, 2005... l FSA and the Inland Revenue have delayed roll-out of XBRLl Standard is unlikely to be in widespread use until October 2005 Cliff Saran cliff.saran@rbi.co.uk XBRL, the XML standard which promises to revolutionise business...

Sun plans IT power exchange.(Sun Microsystems Inc., Archipelago Holdings L.L.C., negotiation)(Brief Article)
February 8, 2005... Arif Mohamed computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk Sun is in talks with electronic stock exchange group Archipelago Holdings to create the world's first market for selling blocks of computing power to corporate users. Such an exchange would...