Computer Weekly articles from January 2008

Computer Weekly archives from January 2008

Tech Data.
January 8, 2008... A few years ago, everyone was talking about the real-time enterprise and how it was destined to be the future. The idea was that companies would be instantaneously aware of any important business events taking place so that they could respond...

News.(Computer Misuse Act)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... Companies' employment contracts and business practices must spell out acceptable use of information systems and non-violation of the Computer Misuse Act (CMA) by staff, customers and others, according to new guidelines from the Crown...

News.(survey of datacentres)(Survey)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... The world's datacentres are aging and cannot support new technologies or operational demands, but only 36% of organisations are planning replacements, according to a survey by the Aperture Research Institute. The survey of 600 datacentres...

News.(forecast and sales data in retailing industry)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... Pan-European electrical goods retailer DSG International became the first large high-street shop to report a big profit drop following a Christmas season that saw more shoppers than ever before turn to the internet to hunt down and buy...

News.(Data Protection Act)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... The government has undertaken to give the information commissioner the power to spot check all public sector bodies for data security gaps. It will also publish data security breaches and steps taken to prevent them as part of its annual...

News.(recommendations for Single Payment Scheme )(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... The government has accepted criticism and recommendations from the Public Accounts Committee on the failed IT system for the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) and other public sector projects. Committee chairman, Edward Leigh, said he was pleased...

News.(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... Consumers who buy RFID-enabled goods should have an automatic veto against their personal details being collected and associated with the device, says the European Data Protection Supervisor. Responding to the European Commission's...

News.(survey of Internet users)(Survey)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... More than half (69%) of UK internet users would change broadband supplier if offered a cheaper package, according to a survey by ICM Research. The survey of more than a 1,000 internet users found that 51% of respondents would move to a...

News.(Glencroft Ltd. implemented web-based vehicle navigation and tracking service)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... Groundwork contractor Glencroft is set to save [pounds sterling]100,000 a year in fuel costs by implementing a web-based vehicle navigation and tracking service. The Masternaut service uses satellite global positioning technology (GPS) and...

News.(Honda Motor Europe Ltd. chose Sybase iAnywhere's Onebridge mobility system)
January 8, 2008... Vehicle manufacturer Honda is rolling out handheld mobile devices to its staff across Europe in a move that is expected to save [pounds sterling]63,000 for every 100 users in productivity gains in the first year. The Onebridge mobility...

Tech Data.(mergers and acquisitions)
January 8, 2008... Cath Jennings computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk It has been a busy time for the business intelligence market. Hyperion has been acquired by Oracle, SAP is buying Business Objects, and IBM announced plans to buy Cognos. The strategies of these...

Tech Data.(usage of business intelligence software)
January 8, 2008... Jessica Twentyman computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk Almost three-quarters of financial professionals say they struggle to collect data from multiple sources and perform the analyses required to answer questions about corporate financial...

Tech Data.(PensionDCisions uses SQL Server 2005 )
January 8, 2008... PensionDCisions (PDC) is a young pension-analysis firm for which business intelligence is crucial. The firm calculates and benchmarks performance for individuals and corporations that use defined-contribution pensions - a type of pension...

Tech Data.(Wolters Kluwer N.V. installed business intelligence system )
January 8, 2008... In November last year, business publisher and advisory service Wolters Kluwer piloted a business intelligence system from SAS to consolidate the view of its customers and improve the return on its marketing and sales campaigns. In just...

Teaching profession needs rethink on IT training methods, say experts.(Career Moves)
January 8, 2008... Most teachers need a lot more support when it comes to IT, according to participants in the latest BCS Thought Leadership debate. The event, organised by the BCS Education Forum and attended by IT leaders and career development experts from...

News.(survey of recruitment )(Survey)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... Demand for senior IT specialists is outstripping supply, pushing up salaries, according to research by recruitment firm Best People. The survey of more than 100 companies recruiting for IT roles highlighted a lack of director and senior...

News.(Unilever Group's career framework)
January 8, 2008... Rebecca Thomson rebecca.thomson@rbi.co.uk Unilever has adopted a career framework to help managers and employees understand the IT skills and capabilities within the company. The firm, which owns brands such as Hellman's, Knorr and...

Career Moves.(AIX celebrated its 21st birthday)
January 8, 2008... What is it? AIX (Advanced Interactive Executive) is a series of proprietary operating systems based on Unix sold by IBM. AIX celebrated its 21st birthday last year. However, it has been six years since the last major version of AIX,...

News.(quality of broadband services)
January 8, 2008... John-Paul Kamath john-paul.kamath@rbi.co.uk Telcoms regulator Ofcom is coming under pressure to take action following complaints from small businesses over the quality of their broadband services. Firms have complained that they...

NHS records system delays cost CSC [pounds sterling]5m.(News)(United Kingdom. National Health Service)(Computer Sciences Corp.)
January 8, 2008... Supplier penalties undermine claims IT programme is on track Services supplier CSC has paid penalties of about [pounds sterling]5m following delays in the deployment of patient administration software across several NHS trusts under the...

Israel takes a lead on information security.(Features)
January 8, 2008... Israel has a booming economy. Westernisation is sweeping the country, and its advances in research and development are taking the global market by storm. The information security market is no exception. Although comparing a location to...

Vista gains momentum as end of XP support looms.(News)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... One-third of enterprises will start company-wide roll-outs of Windows Vista in 2008 as Microsoft begins to phase out support for Windows XP, analyst firm Forrester has predicted. Many businesses have been reluctant to deploy the new...

Whitehall urged to reinstate e-government incentives.(News)
January 8, 2008... A member of an influential local government lobby group has called for incentives to encourage councils to adopt e-government. Paul Bettison, e-government champion for the Local Government Association, said government support worth [pounds...

Abbey trials automated customer service tools.(News)(Abbey National PLC)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... Abbey is running trials of automated customer service technology as part of its plan to open an additional 300 branches in the UK over the next five years. The bank, which is implementing the Partenon computing platform from its parent...

Find the right IT investment strategy.(Management)
January 8, 2008... project management IT is a growing business outlay, and by getting investment strategy right, the CIO and the IT department can offer real commercial advantage It has never been more important to make the right IT investment decisions, but...

Lessons from a technology start-up.(Technology)(fund management software technology used in financial industry)(Sutherlands Edinburgh Ltd.)
January 8, 2008... Fund management software start-up Sutherlands Edinburgh meets the challenges of finding backers, getting the right staff and being open to user feedback The importance of reliable software for investment fund managers to accurately...

Tech Data.
January 8, 2008... Mick James computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk "As we know, there are known knowns. There are things we know we know. We also know that there are known unknowns. That is to say, we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also...

News.(TimeSpring Software merged with Double-Take Software)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... Double-Take Software has acquired TimeSpring, a continuous data protection software company, for [pounds sterling]4.1m. The acquisition bolsters Double-Take Software's protection and back-up capabilities for virtualised and physical server...

News.(contracts between T-Mobile (UK) Ltd. and Three UK )(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... T-Mobile and 3 have announced a 3G infrastructure sharing agreement to cut costs and quicken the roll-out of new services to customers. The agreement follows a similar deal struck at the beginning of the year between Vodafone and Orange,...

News.(Ben Verwaayen received Knight of the British Empire award)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... The Queen has made BT chief executive Ben Verwaayen an honorary Knight of the British Empire (KBE). Verwaayen was appointed as chief executive of BT in 2002, and was awarded his KBE in recognition of his services to the communications...

News.(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... The utilties sector is the most likely to have a plan for using IT to improve sustainability and least likely to view it merely as a compliance issue, according to research by Datamonitor and YouGov. The research, commissioned by BT, showed...

News.(contracts between The Department for Culture, Media and Sport and Atos Origin S.A.)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has signed a [pounds sterling]14m contract with IT services company Atos Origin. The contract continues a 15-year outsourcing relationship between the two, meaning Atos Origin will continue to...

News.(Data Protection Act)(Medical Training Application Service)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... The Department of Health has breached the Data Protection Act, the Information Commissioner's Office has ruled following an investigation into a security breach on the Medical Training Application Service (MTAS) website. The security...

News.(flaws of Firefox web browser)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... A potential flaw in the way Firefox web browser handles log-ons could be used by identity thieves to dupe users into disclosing passwords, a leading security researcher has warned. According to Aviv Raff, an Israeli researcher, the flaw in...

News.(survey of green management)(Survey)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... Enterprise IT departments are getting more eco-friendly, but saving money remains the top reason for going green, according to a survey by Forrester Research. The survey of 130 European and North American firms showed that 38% were using...

News.(Gerber Juices chose Quantix Systems L.P.)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... UK fruit juice manufacturer Gerber Juices expects to save [pounds sterling]100,000 a year by outsourcing the management of its database. The company, which delivers to two million litres of juice-based drinks every day across the UK, chose...

News.(data breach of pensioners personal details)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... The personal details of 6,500 pensioners have been lost by HM Revenue and Customs in Cardiff. In the latest data breach to affect the government, a data cartridge went missing after it was sent to HM Revenue and Customs in Cardiff by...

News.(IBM United Kingdom Ltd. merged XIV)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... IBM is improving its next-generation storage technology portfolio with the acquisition of XIV of Israel. XIV's technologies and employees will become part of the IBM System Storage business unit of the IBM Systems and Technology Group....

News.(standards for Internet Protocol TV )(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... The International Telecommunication Union has announced the first set of global standards for Internet Protocol TV (IPTV). The standards were built with technical contributions from leading service providers and manufacturers from the ICT...

News.(Lloyds TSB Group PLC's regulations for Trojan horse)
January 8, 2008... Lloyds TSB has sent a letter to customers warning them that their computers may have been exposed to a Trojan horse, but a customer has complained of a lack of detail from the bank. The bank's Fraud Response Team sent letters to some...

News.(ConnectMK provides Wimax services)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... From today (18 December 2007), council-backed ConnectMK will be providing residents and businesses in the Milton Keynes area with access to Wimax services. ConnectMK joined forces with Freedom4, a joint venture between Pipex and Intel...

News.(Microsoft Ltd. introduced security patches)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... It is a quite Patch Tuesday next week, as Microsoft is only releasing one "critical" security patch on 8 January, its first of the year. As part of its monthly scheduled security patching cycle, Redmond will release one critical patch and...

News.(Royal National Institute for the Deaf finished the first phase of a half-million pound project)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... The Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) has completed the first phase of a half-million pound project to centralise its accounting and business intelligence systems. The RNID has more than 1,300 employees, 300 of whom either...

News.(usage of Office 2003 Service Pack 3)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... Microsoft has been forced to issue a complex workaround after users complained that its Office 2003 Service Pack 3 blocked access to older file formats. The problem could affect compliance requirements and operational needs at firms. ...

News.(Royal Dutch-Shell PLC's outsourcing plans)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... John-Paul Kamath john-paul.kamath@rbi.co.uk Royal Dutch Shell is to outsource 3,000 IT jobs worldwide as part of a plan to save [pounds sterling]250m. The oil company has 3,200 staff in IT functions globally, comprising both...

News.(data breach by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... Government is under increasing pressure from the opposition after yet another revelation of a data breach by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), which yesterday (18 December 2007) admitted to losing the personal details of more than 6,500 pensioners....

News.(Veolia Water North America Operating Services L.L.C. deployed geographic information system from ESRI UK)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... Clean water supplier Veolia Water has deployed a new geographic information system (GIS) from ESRI to improve business efficiencies in its operations. Veolia Water UK comprises Three Valleys Water, Folkestone & Dover Water Services and...

News.(web phishers of bank accounts)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... Dutch police have arrested 14 people who allegedly allowed their ABN Amro bank accounts to be used as vehicles by web phishers. According to reports, the fraudsters, based in Russia and Ukraine, set up bogus ABN Amro websites to lure the...

News.(Avaya Ireland Ltd. introduces one-X Mobile client software)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... Avaya is doing its bit to make Apple's iPhone a genuine business tool by enabling its business mobile IP software to work with the must-have consumer Christmas gadget. An Avaya downloadable interface will convert mobile devices from Apple,...

News.
January 8, 2008... Broadband customers should be allowed to switch internet service providers quicker and have a longer cooling off period after signing contracts if they do not get the speeds they pay for, an independent panel has told industry regulator Ofcom....

News.(University of Cambridge implemented e-procurement platform from Science Warehouse)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... The University of Cambridge has selected the Science Warehouse e-procurement platform to cut its purchasing costs. The web-based system is designed to streamline purchasing and enhance spend-management controls. Science Warehouse will...

News.(Carphone Warehouse Group PLC deployed optical fibre networks)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... Carphone Warehouse is building its own optical fibre network to serve its broadband customers, as opposed to relying wholly on BT's network. The firm is using Infinera to supply a national backbone network across the UK. Carphone...

News.(reports on content security threats )(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... Cisco has released its first annual report on the global state of security, which makes several recommendations to enable organisations to protect their networks. Cisco says that although many end-of-year industry reports focus on content...

News.(forecast of information technology services)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... Council ICT spending is forecast to increase by 9% to [pounds sterling]3bn in 2007/08, following a fall last year. Efficiency and security top council IT chiefs' agenda, says the Socitm IT Trends 2007 report. The report, based on...

News.(Dell Computer Corporation Ltd.'s enhanced Inspiron 1525 laptop)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... Dell has updated its Inspiron laptop range with a [pounds sterling]250 model that is 25% smaller than previous machines. The machine is also half a pound lighter than previous Inspiron laptops, said Dell. The launch comes as Dell...

News.(growth of digital television)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... The number of UK households with digital television on their main set has risen to 21.7 million homes, according to research published by comms regulator Ofcom. The growth has mainly been driven by Freeview digital terrestrial television,...

News.(personal data security)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... Faith in the government's ability to keep personal data secure has been rocked for a third time by revelations of yet another data loss, this time the personal details of more than three million learner drivers. Transport secretary, Ruth...

News.(Experian Ltd. and Microsoft Ltd. developed e-commerce security system )(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... Experian and Microsoft have developed an e-commerce security system that avoids users having to remember multiple passwords and tightens security between them and on-line merchants. The "proof of concept" identity management service, using...

News.(cost overruns in IT projects)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... Research published by the European Services Strategy Unit has reported major cost overruns in the majority of outsourced public sector IT projects. It showed 105 projects had a total cost overrun of [pounds sterling]9bn, with an average...

News.(sales growth of femtocells)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... Worldwide sales of GSM/GPRS and 3G femtocell access points will grow tenfold from 2007 to 2008, with sales reaching more than [pounds sterling]315m in 2010, says analyst Infonetics Research. Femtocells are small, low-power, indoor cellular...

News.(security vulnerabilities in Flash file code)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-Cert) has reported security vulnerabilities in Flash file code. The problem allows cross-site scripting attacks via websites. US-Cert said there are reported vulnerabilities in Flash...

News.(Fortis credit4me installed Speed-Trap web anti-bottleneck tool)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... Fortis credit4me has seen a 25% improvement in customers successfully completing web loan applications after deploying the Speed-Trap web anti-bottleneck tool. Fortis credit4me, the German retail business unit of Fortis, an international...

News.(Eurostar (U.K.) Ltd. contract with Fujitsu Services)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... Fujitsu Services has connected Eurostar's online ticket system with seven UK train operators' systems, allowing UK passengers to book through-fares to continental Europe on eurostar.com. Previously travellers had to book domestic and...

News.(Steve Furber received CBE award)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... One of the designers of the BBC Micro computer has been awarded a CBE in the New Year Honours list. Steve Furber, a professor at the University of Manchester, has been made a commander of the British Empire. Furber received a CBE for...

News.(Glasses Direct appointed Derek Colvin)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... Online prescription glasses retailer Glasses Direct has appointed its first head of IT. The firm has appointed Derek Colvin, formerly of Microsoft and the Newspaper Licensing Agency (NLA), as its IT head. Glasses Direct recently won...

News.(contracts between Highways Agency and Atos Origin S.A.)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... The Highways Agency has outsourced the management of IT to Atos Origin with a [pounds sterling]75m, five-year contract to save at least 15% of its IT budget. Atos Origin will provide a service desk and maintenance of IT facilities used by...

News.(Italian Ministry of Economics and Finance deployed Red Hat Inc.'s Enterprise Linux systems)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... The Italian Ministry of Economics and Finance has selected Red Hat Linux systems to run the organisation's mission-critical applications. The ministry says it selected Red Hat Enterprise Linux for reliability and heightened performance. It...

News.(data security at Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs)
January 8, 2008... The data breach at HMRC, which placed 25 million people at risk of identity theft, has brought information governance back to the fore. Early indications suggest that risk management procedural failures and human error were to blame. Those risk...

News.(criminal laws for data breaches)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... The Commons Justice Committee of MPs says new criminal laws should be put in place to punish reckless or repeated data breaches. At the moment, government departments cannot be held criminally responsible for data-protection breaches. ...

News.(Fratelli Carli installed Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... Italian olive oil manufacturer Fratelli Carli has standardised its IT infrastructure on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5. The move was aimed at streamlining the processing of orders through automatic address validation and keeping system response...

News.(LiquidityHub installed BEA WebLogic Real Time 2.0 system)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... LiquidityHub, a consortium of leading investment banks, is using BEA Systems technology to support its trading information platform. LiquidityHub has standardised on BEA technology to underpin its real-time fixed-income trade messaging...

News.(surveys on lottery scams )(Survey)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... Microsoft says lottery scams are the fastest growing area of cybercrime. Microsoft commissioned a survey of 3,600 internet users across Germany, Italy, Denmark, the UK and The Netherlands, and found that 50% of spam e-mails sent are...

News.(Facebook users affected by malicious widget)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... More than one million Facebook users could be affected by a malicious widget. Researchers from security firm Fortinet have uncovered a malicious widget running amok within the Facebook social networking community. The widget displays...

News.(Lumension Security received US patent for data-shadowing technology)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... Lumension Security has received a US patent for its data-shadowing technology, which enables organisations to monitor all the information transferred to or from removable media while capturing a full copy. The technology provides a...

News.(rankings of Iframe worms and malware)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... The Iframe worm was the top virus last month, making up 50.8% of malware attacks in December. Web security firm Sophos has published the top-ten list of viruses as part of its monthly monitoring report. Mal/Iframe works by injecting...

News.(implementation of e-mail and web security)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... Mills & Boon has bolstered e-mail and web security by migrating its managed service to Email Systems. The publisher, which specialises in romantic fiction, previously employed two service providers, one for e-mail protection and another...

News.(The Moat deployed Sapphire Systems Inc.'s Proactis Spend Control system )(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... The Moat housing association in southeast England is deploying the Proactis Spend Control system from Sapphire Systems to get a tighter rein on its finances. Located in Dartford, in the heart of the Thames Gateway, Moat provides affordable...

News.(growth of mobile messaging)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... The number of mobile messages will surpass two trillion in major markets next year, although operators will have to plan for tighter margins as services become commoditised, said analyst Gartner. Gartner says 2.3 trillion messages,...

News.(polls on IT skills)(Survey)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... IT skills are still undervalued in the boardroom, according to research commissioned by Microsoft. One year on from the Leitch Review, the survey found that business leaders still view IT as a key skill that is more relevant to future...

News.(Sophos PLC's malware attacks)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... The hackers are failing to take an early new year break with staff being warned of a new wave of malware attacks. Web security firm Sophos is warning of new versions of the damaging Dorf worm (W32/Dorf-AE, also known as "Storm") being...

News.(growth of wages)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... The north-south pay divide is narrowing for IT professionals after wages grew 29.7% faster in the north than in London in 2007. Salaries grew by 4.8% in the north of England last year, while growth in the capital was limited to 3.7%. IT...

News.(Novell UK Ltd.'s sales and revenue report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... Novell made a loss last year despite increasing sales for its Linux-based products. For the full year ending 31 October, Novell posted a [pounds sterling]13m loss from sales of [pounds sterling]466m. This compared with a small [pounds...

News.(regulations of Internet service providers)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... Communications industry regulator Ofcom is threatening broadband providers with penalties if they do not act on promised broadband speeds. The Ofcom consumer panel wrote to Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards about customer complaints about...

News.(Office of Communications deployed spectrum communication services)(Brief article)
January 8, 2008... Ofcom has announced the release of further spectrum to support deployments on long-range wireless broadband services, such as Wimax. The first UK commercial Wimax service was announced by a project promoted by Milton Keynes Council. ...