Computer Weekly articles from November 2004

Computer Weekly archives from November 2004

Debate suggests sanctions may be needed to deter unethical IT use.(British Computer Society)
November 2, 2004... John Kavanagh computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk Ethical considerations are lagging behind IT advances and raise the issue of whether IT specialists should face sanctions similar to those of doctors if they act unprofessionally, according to a...

Job market recovery blossoms.
November 2, 2004... Figures for the third quarter prove that the recession in ITis definitely over and IT professionals looking for their next job can expect a pay rise above inflation. Nicholas Enticknap reports on the latest SSL/ Computer Weekly salary survey...

Performance targets can root out slackers and ensure efficiency.(Column)
November 2, 2004... Barry Muir Opinion staff productivity Review reporting systems to track project progress After several years of tight budgets and mothballed projects, chief executives are turning again to IT to attain cost efficiencies and...

Use a carrot, not a stick on suppliers, says Yard.(John Yard, United Kingdom. Board of Inland Revenue)
November 2, 2004... outsourcing Former Inland Revenue IT director says incentives, not penalties, are key to success Julia Vowler julia.vowler@rbi.co.uk Beware of imposing draconian penalties and liabilities on your outsourcing supplier, as they can...

Techniques for terminating spam before it reaches the inbox still have some way to go.(Column)
November 2, 2004... e-mail Software can only do so much to spot spam and eliminate it. Try people power BYLINE: Peet Morris Tech talk Until there are new laws on e-mail use, there are really only three ways to eliminate spam. You can change your...

From manager to chief information officer.(management skills)(Column)
November 2, 2004... career development Moving into a company's top IT post requires a shift in focus, both organisationally and personally, from technology management to technology exploitation BYLINE: David Flint & Sharm Manwani Opinion Despite the...

Understand how IT is perceived to get in synch with business needs.(book)
November 2, 2004... IT Performance Management by Peter Wiggers, Henk Kok and Maritha de Boer-de Wit performance management Get a better idea of what users expect In most organisations the relationship between the IT department and...

Compliance and value delivery dominate IT directors' forward planning for 2005.
November 2, 2004... strategy Here are the five biggest challenges facing IT directors over the next 18 months BYLINE: Tim JenningsOpinion As IT directors plan for 2005, their thoughts will be dominated by two factors: compliance with information...

Havering's council partnership develops online system to speed up library services.
November 2, 2004... smart projects Open Galaxy software slashes support and maintenance costs by 40% Nick Huber nick.huber@rbi.co.uk Havering Council has designed a new library system that has slashed IT support costs and also administration costs....

BMC and HP upgrade software to help IT make business changes.(BMC Software Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co.)
November 2, 2004... l BMC adds automation to Marimba as part of its business service strategy l HP boosts Openview to manage PCclients better and improve admin Arif Mohamed computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk BMC and Hewlett-Packard, two key software...

Will desktop searching reveal all your hidden PC secrets?(personal computers)
November 2, 2004... Jack Schofield Tech talk Desktop search is not new: it is already built into the Start menu of Microsoft Windows XP. However, not everyone is aware it exists, it excludes lots of file types, the results are generally poor, and it...

A balanced workforce is a productive one.(women in information technology industry)
November 2, 2004... WOmen in IT The number of women working in IT is falling, but some organisations are recognising how to redress the balance by tempting women back into the IT workforce Bill Goodwin bill.goodwin@rbi.co.uk The number of women...

Modulation change cuts satellite costs.(British Telecommunications PLC)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2004... Antony Savvas computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk BT has developed what it claims is a lower cost method to set up and operate satellite data links. The system is based on a more powerful modulation configuration which allows up to three...

Faster and more secure wireless USB to compete with Bluetooth.(universal serial bus)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2004... Antony Savvas computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk A more secure rival to the Bluetooth short-range wireless connectivity standard is expected next year with the arrival of wireless USB. As its name implies, the technology provides simple...

IBM to offer blades for small firms.(Blade servers)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2004... Antony Savvas computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk IBM plans to make it cheaper and easier for small and medium-sized businesses to buy and set up a blade server system with its eServer Blade Centre Express line. The company wants to dispel...

Invest in IT to boost UK's output, says Oracle boss.(Oracle U.K.)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2004... Nick Huber nick.huber@rbi.co.uk Investment in IT can help the UK close the productivity gap with the larger European economies and the US, according to the managing director of Oracle UK. Speaking last month, Ian Smith said the...

CA's bet on open source pays off as number of Ingres users doubles.(Computer Associates International Inc.)
November 2, 2004... l More than 15,000 licences for Ingres downloaded in 100 daysl Support contract for enterprise users as good as CA's commercial deals Cliff Saran cliff.saran@rbi.co.uk Computer Associates has more than doubled the number of users...

RFID poised to move beyond supply chain.(radio frequency identification )
November 2, 2004... RFID Innovative uses of RFID technology promise benefits beyond improving efficiency in retail supply chains, providing issues of cost, privacy and standards can be resolved Arif Mohamed computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk Radio frequency...

Table helps bosses rate IT courses.(eligibility of universities to train students)
November 2, 2004... Bill Goodwin bill.goodwin@rbi.co.uk The best known universities in the UK are not necessarily the best for training future IT professionals, according to an extensive survey of courses and institutions. For employers, sifting the...

Swansea IT staff put their case for secondment.(Unison)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2004... Antony Savvas computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk The threat of council-wide industrial action at Swansea Council, triggered by an eight-week strike by 100 IT workers, has been lifted. The IT staff walked out over plans for a [pounds...

Leicester lowers costs with self-service HR.(human resource)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2004... Lindsay Clark computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk Leicester City Council aims to reduce its data entry costs by 45% with a new integrated human resources and payroll system. The council, one of the UK's largest local authorities, has...

Threat of more electricity failures prompts Standard Bank to relocate IT to Docklands.(Standard Bank of London Ltd.)
November 2, 2004... l Merchant bank to spend [pounds sterling]400,000 on kitting out new datacentrel Risk highlighted by six-hour blackout when trip switch could not be found Bill Goodwin bill.goodwin@rbi.co.uk Standard Bank is to relocate its IT...

MoD says it will save [pounds sterling]600m with EDS HR.(United Kingdom. Ministry of Defence)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2004... Lindsay Clark computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk The Ministry of Defence expects to save [pounds sterling]600m over 10 years with a joint personnel administration system covering all UK armed forces to be built by global IT services company...

Ignorance of IT breeds turkeys.(United Kingdom. Ministry of Defence bought Chinook Mk3s helicopters)
November 2, 2004... MP Edward Leigh says the Ministry of Defence might just as well have bought eight turkeys as eight Chinook Mk3s. We would go further, although admittedly with the benefit of hindsight. We suggest that the [pounds sterling]259m used to buy the...

Security and integration burden AS400 managers.(user group Common UK)
November 2, 2004... Single sign-on, security, heavy workload and constantly changing technical and business requirements are among the issues that keep members of the IBM mid-range systems user group Common UK awake at night. Other concerns to emerge from a...

Outsource your changes.(requiremments of outsourcing)(Column)
November 2, 2004... Fast-changing firms benefit from third-party services BYLINE: John Creber Opinion The process for outsourcing both infrastructure and business process is well understood and documented, and is supported by a number of...

More people use Tcl than know about it.(Tool Command Language)
November 2, 2004... hot skills If Tcl tickles your fancy, go for it - it is widely used for GUIs and integration Nick Langley computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk What is it? Tool Command Language/Tool Kit (Tcl/Tk ) is a scripting language for coding...

datawarehouses ; Smarter use of data will drive profitability.(Brief Article)
November 2, 2004... Arif Mohamed computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk Businesses have invested heavily in datawarehouses, but few are getting sufficient value from their data, according to Marcus Blosch, vice-president and research director at Gartner. Blosch...

Banks' three-year data transfer project due to roll out this month.(Brief Article)
November 2, 2004... l The system will transfer information for customers switching banksl Voca worked with the banks to build an electronic transfer system Nick Huber nick.huber@rbi.co.uk UK banks are this month due to complete a three-year IT project...

Limit user freedom to improve IT security.
November 2, 2004... Arif Mohamed computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk IT departments need to lock down their users' PC configurations, Gartner research vice-president Brian Gammage has warned. "We tend to allow users too much liberty," he told Computer Weekly....

outsourcing ; Governance is key to offshoring success.
November 2, 2004... Arif Mohamed computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk The changing global outsourcing market and the opportunities and challenges this will create for the IT organisation will be the subject of a speech by Gartner research vice-president Ian Marriott...

Service-oriented architecture will help ITmake business more agile.
November 2, 2004... gartner symposium Delegates in Cannes will discuss how IT directors can re-engineer their systems to manage business change and respond to user demand for online services Arif Mohamed computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk Three thousand IT...

Grocery wholesaler reduces stock errors to almost zero with voice recognition system.(James Hall and Company (Holdings) Ltd.)
November 2, 2004... l James Hall invested in the voice recognition system to cut staff errorsl Improved accuracy means the system will pay for itself in 18 months Karen Gomm karen.gomm@rbi.co.uk Grocery wholesaler James Hall has cut costs and...

YOUR SHOUT; Have your say at ; computerweekly.com.
November 2, 2004... On how to successfully develop applications In response to Bola Rotibi's opinion article on the secrets of successful application development (Computer Weekly, 19 October) Bola Rotibi raised some interesting points but missed a...

Nominations sought for BCS awards.(Brief Article)
November 2, 2004... John Kavanagh computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk People who have made a significant contribution to IT are being sought by the BCS for its prestigious Lovelace Medal and Roger Needham Award. Previous Lovelace Medal winners have included...

Should a small firm outsource its security?
November 2, 2004... security Can a small business justify employing a full-time in-house IT security manager? Our company suffered a security breach in the form of a virus last month. As managing director, I am concerned about the effect on our business of...

In control of IT.(information technology in small businesses)
November 2, 2004... The proportion of smaller businesses with an in-house IT manager is becoming smaller. The IT function is often now run by the marketing manager or even the director, and they have a pretty good idea of what they want IT to do for their...

secure state of mind.(security in business enterprises)(Column)
November 2, 2004... Mick Hegarty Opinion Not surprisingly, security is one of the biggest issues facing businesses today. The threat posed by viruses, hackers and fraudsters affects every organisation, as do the consequences of accidental damage,...

Outsourcing review will force firms to rethink risk.
November 2, 2004... outsourcing Many financial firms could struggle to meet international regulator's proposed guidelines Nick Huber nick.huber@rbi.co.uk Financial services firms could come under pressure to review their outsourcing arrangements...

Two-thirds of large projects hit by poor co-ordination, says report.
November 9, 2004... l Two in three business transformation projects do not meet all objectives l IT directors should look for common objectives between different projects Nick Huber nick.huber@rbi.co.uk Two in three large IT projects that cut across...

Time for government to get tough.(Excerpt)
November 9, 2004... In an extract from his bestselling book, security expert Bruce Schneier calls for legal reform to curb the activities of hackers BYLINE: Secrets and Lies: Digital Security in a Networked World, by Bruce Schneier At...

Microsoft joins industry move towards using domain-specific modelling languages.
November 9, 2004... l Visual Studio 2005 will aim to build service oriented applications l Move echoes industry-wide trend to automate application development Arif Mohamed computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk Microsoft has released a programming utility that...

Gateway reviews are not addressing project failure.(Office of Government Commerce )(Brief Article)
November 9, 2004... Lindsay Clark computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk Three years of effort by the Office of Government Commerce has done little to alter the basic weaknesses of major public sector IT projects, according to the National Audit Office. In a...

Demand more from agencies: fine tune the recruitment process and reap the rewards.
November 9, 2004... Jerry CaveOpinion Users must be proactive in ensuring that recommended candidates are suitable For years organisations have complained about the paucity of staff with good IT skills. The apparent lack of good permanent staff led to...

Don't Leave it all to the firewall.
November 9, 2004... Although firewalls form the first line of defence for most companies, it is becoming clear that a layered approach is vital to cope with a battlefront that is becoming much more mobile. Antony Savvas reports Firewalls are no longer...

Manning the breaches.(information security)
November 9, 2004... Most companies do not employ staff with information security qualifications and yet they are confident they can cope with any attempted system breaches. Jane Dudman reports Measuring the potential threat of attacks on the network is so...

Buckinghamshire speeds up data sharing and cuts costs with broadband network.(Buckinghamshire County Council)
November 9, 2004... smart projects Broadband network brings local councils together for e-government Karen Gomm karen.gomm@rbi.co.uk Buckinghamshire County Council has rolled out a broadband network to speed up data sharing between councils and help...

WHo goes there?(phishing control)
November 9, 2004... Passwords alone are no longer sufficient, and with the rapid rise in phishing, companies that host valuable assets are seeking more stringent methods of authentication. Helen Beckett reports Confirming that someone is who they say they are...

Losing it in the detail.(network security)
November 9, 2004... Andrew Kellett Opinion Managers responsible for network security are being hampered by too many products and too many services IT security suppliers as a whole talk far too glibly about how their security products have the ability...

Intel battles rise of blade servers with power boost to Itanium 9M.
November 9, 2004... Intel has increased performance as an interim step until Montecedol Analysts say users are looking to simpler, lower powered processors Danny Bradbury computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk Intel has bolstered top-end performance on its Itanium...

Downtime.(information technology)
November 9, 2004... Snappy phones could land you in Saudi clink Saudi Arabia's highest religious authority has issued an edict banning the import, sale and use of mobile phones with built-in cameras on religious grounds, blaming them for "spreading obscenity"....

shooting phish.(phishing)
November 9, 2004... Identity theft as a result of phishing expeditions is a growing source of fraud. It may need an initiative by government and firms to alert online users to its power to inflict serious damage BYLINE: Phil Cracknell Opinion Since...

Take control of your staff.(Data security)
November 9, 2004... How do you make staff aware of the latest social engineering ploys, teach them to protect company data and stop them leaving work addresses in chatrooms? Lindsay Nicolle reports Six out of 10 UK employees regularly and knowingly put their...

Big brand websites delaying Windows switch.(Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0)(Brief Article)
November 9, 2004... Antony Savvas computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk Large numbers of leading UK companies were still relying on NT4 to run their web servers at the beginning of November, despite the fact that Microsoft will be withdrawing product and security...

Appoint a champion to lead IT to changes.(enterprise architecture)
November 9, 2004... Tim Westbrock Tech talk enterprise architecture Setting a company-wide strategy for standards, technologies and suppliers can deliver a leaner, meaner business, if you put someone in command Many enterprise architecture (EA)...

Process portal - composite not complicated.
November 9, 2004... A process portal can reduce errors and improve customer service by eliminating the need for staff to switch between different applications Jessica Twentyman computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk Many companies call it "swivel-chair...

Companies do not know the market value of their intellectual property.(Brief Article)
November 9, 2004... Nick Huber nick.huber@rbi.co.uk European companies could be missing out on billions of pounds of additional revenue because they do not know the value of their intellectual property, a survey has warned. Of the 300 organisations...

Ease the pain of complying with legislation.
November 9, 2004... There is no way for IT directors to avoid the impact of regulation. Suppliers are of limited help but careful planning can reduce workloads without sacrificing quality Jane Dudman computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk All organisations,...

House of Lords ruling increases confusion over IT patents.
November 9, 2004... Nick Huber nick.huber@rbi.co.uk A ruling in the House of Lords on patents will create more confusion about when companies can enforce patents on technology they have developed, according to law firm Thring Townsend. In a ruling...

How better application planning cuts costs.(development of information technology applications strategy)(Brief Article)
November 9, 2004... Nick Huber nick.huber@rbi.co.uk IT departments can be run more effectively and at a reduced cost by taking a more systematic approach to the development of IT applications, according to Forrester Research. With an application...

Report warns of skills shortage bombshell.
November 9, 2004... skills The UK's economy could be damaged within a decade unless employers and educators act now to create a new breed of IT professionals, warns E-Skills/Gartner study Bill Goodwin bill.goodwin@rbi.co.uk Businesses in the UK are...

spread the word.(training to the users regarding computer security )(Column)
November 9, 2004... Nick McGrath Opinion Technical advances are making computing more secure, but user education must be a priority in the battle against viruses and vulnerabilities Pervasive computing will be as critical to the economic and social...

CA releases wireless site management tool.(Computer Associates)(Brief Article)
November 9, 2004... Cliff Saran cliff.saran@rbi.co.uk Computer Associates has released Wireless Site Management 4.0, an administrative tool for managing wireless networks. WSM reduces the time, effort and resources required to manage Wi-Fi...

VMware upgrades to four-way processors.(Brief Article)
November 9, 2004... Arif Mohamed computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk VMware plans to release software for datacentres that will allow companies to run virtual machines on multi-core processor systems with up to four processing "cores". The software will be...

Poor consultation may hit NHS IT plan, warns BMA.(British Medical Association, National Health Service)(Brief Article)
November 9, 2004... Lindsay Clark computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk The NHS national programme for IT risks failure if it does not engage the medical profession, the British Medical Association's IT committee has warned. The health service should learn from...

Prudential targets VoIP benefits with BT outsourcing deal.(voice over internet protocol, British Telecommunications PLC, Prudential Corporation PLC)
November 9, 2004... Antony Savvas computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk Prudential UK has signed a multimillion-pound voice and data outsourcing contract with BT that will include roll out of voice over IP to cut communications costs. Under the five-year deal,...

Central Scots Police fixes lost-call problem.(Brief Article)
November 9, 2004... Antony Savvas computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk Central Scotland Police Force has implemented a call centre to replace a system that lost 15% of its internal and external calls. The force has split its central call handling operation,...

Oracle user satisfaction grows but complaints about costs continue.(survey)
November 9, 2004... Cliff Saran cliff.saran@rbi.co.uk The satisfaction rate among UK users of Oracle enterprise software has gone up in the past year, according to the annual survey conducted by the Oracle User Group, although longstanding concerns about...

Card issuers get to grips with contactless payment.(Brief Article)
November 9, 2004... Nick Huber nick.huber@rbi.co.uk Two of the biggest credit card providers are to introduce new cards based on chip and Pin and radio frequency identification technologies. At the Cartes 2004 conference in Paris last week Mastercard...

Public sector welcome for open source.
November 9, 2004... open source IT managers see possibilities for increased flexibility but will not be taking risks following OGC verdict that open source is viable alternative to proprietory software Lindsay Clark computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk Public...

Oracle promises PeopleSoft 9 in 'final offer'.(Brief Article)
November 9, 2004... Cliff Saran cliff.saran@rbi.co.uk Oracle has tried to win the backing of PeopleSoft users for its bid to take over the rival enterprise software developer by promising to release a new version of PeopleSoft's main products if it...

BAE Systems buys SSA's ERP system.(enterprise resource planning system, SSA Global Technologies Inc.)(Brief Article)
November 9, 2004... BAE Systems has signed a five-year [pounds sterling]2m deal with SSA Global for an enterprise resource planning system that will support the construction of the Typhoon Eurofighter (above). "We anticipate a significant reduction in costs by...

Sun fights Linux with Solaris 10.(Sun Microsystems Inc.)(Brief Article)
November 9, 2004... Cliff Saran cliff.saran@rbi.co.uk Sun Microsystems is due to release a major upgrade of its Solaris operating system next week, which it hopes will deter users from defecting to Linux. Over the past year Sun has come under...

The Co-op installs [pounds sterling]5m real-time sales info system to support new web travel services.(Comtec Automated Solutions, Co-operative Group, contract)
November 9, 2004... l System automates processes and will offer a single view of customersl Records will be accessible from stores, web and call centres Bill Goodwin bill.goodwin@rbi.co.uk Travelcare, the high-street travel arm of the Co-operative...

EDS postpones results.(Electronic Data Systems Corp., earnings and contract)(Brief Article)
November 9, 2004... Cliff Saran cliff.saran@rbi.co.uk EDS postponed the release of its third quarter earnings for the second time last week, pending the completion of an independent audit of a [pounds sterling]4.8bn contract with the US navy and an...

CBI calls on government to help firms plan for disaster recovery.(Confederation of British Industry)
November 9, 2004... l Study finds 60% of companies have concerns about recovery capabilityl CBI wants government to offer more information and help with planning Bill Goodwin bill.goodwin@rbi.co.uk The Confederation of British Industry is calling for...

NAO advocates openness but not publication of Gateway reviews.(National Audit Office)
November 9, 2004... Lindsay Clark computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk The National Audit Office has recommended that Gateway reviews should be more widely available to civil servants, but has stopped short of recommending publication. Computer Weekly is...

Government departments skip parts of gate process.(Gateway review process)(Brief Article)
November 9, 2004... Lindsay Clark computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk Government departments are dipping in and out of the Gateway review process, according to a study by the National Audit Office published last week. Of the 62 projects considered ready for...

Pains Fireworks brings IT infrastructure bang up to date.(Brief Article)
November 9, 2004... Pains, the UK's largest supplier of fireworks for professional displays, has updated its IT infrastructure with Dell hardware. The company installed a Dell Poweredge 2500 server running Microsoft Small Business 2000 to run its entire back...

Get tough on suppliers, users urged.(Brief Article)
November 9, 2004... Nick Huber nick.huber@rbi.co.uk Companies may need to get more aggressive with their IT suppliers to help ease the burden of compliance with corporate governance regulations, delegates at the City IT forum were told last week. ...

High-risk IT projects skipping vital review stages, reveals NAO.(National Audit Office)
November 9, 2004... National Audit Office says some government departments are missing out Gateway checks Tony Collins tony.collins@rbi.co.uk Some Whitehall departments are avoiding the system of checks and balances introduced by the government to...

Abbey admits Cahoot testing poor.(Abbey National PLC)(Brief Article)
November 9, 2004... Arif Mohamed computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk High-street bank Abbey has admitted that lack of thorough testing resulted in the security flaw in its Cahoot website last week, which allowed customers to access other users' bank accounts. ...

500 Club IT directors to tackle mobile challenges.(Brief Article)
November 9, 2004... The management implications of mobility and flexible working will be the topics of the Computer Weekly 500 Club's last two meetings of the year. On 10 November the 500 Club will discuss IT directors' personal responsibilities in mobile...

Pre-built functionality and ease of use makes PHP beginners' choice.(Preprocessor, Hypertext)
November 9, 2004... hot skills Elegance and power has made PHP a top scripting language Nick Langley computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk What is it? PHP stands for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor. It is an HTML-embedded scripting language which enables web...