IT Week (UK) articles from November 2007

IT Week (UK) archives from November 2007

Integration boosts business agility.
November 5, 2007... Byline: James Murray Integration boosts business agility Informatica's Mark Seager explains how integration helps IT to facilitate business change IT Week: The data integration, business intelligence (BI) and data management...

OCS offers firms integrated comms.(Office Communications Server )(Product/service evaluation)
November 5, 2007... OCS offers firms integrated comms Updated version of Live Communications Server supports company-wide IP telephony Microsoft Office Communications Server (OCS) 2007, launched last month, enables corporate IT departments to provide...

Nokia handset has corporate appeal.
November 5, 2007... Byline: Daniel Robinson Nokia handset has corporate appeal The E90 has a good specification for business but exhibited a few performance quirks in tests Nokia's E90 Communicator handset provides mobile email and office tools in a...

Telco throws out the datacentre rulebook.
November 5, 2007... Telco throws out the datacentre rulebook The conventional wisdom regarding datacentre design and efficiency does not always add up, reckons BT BT recently embarked on an overhaul of its datacentre infrastructure as part of its efforts...

Firms should tone down green rhetoric.
November 5, 2007... Byline: Alistair Dabbs Firms should tone down green rhetoric The happy-smiley environmental claims of printer makers are nonsense and should be ditched Green has become the big business issue of 2007; every company wants to be...

Service adds GPS to mobile apps mix.
November 5, 2007... Byline: Daniel Robinson Service adds GPS to mobile apps mix Firms can now combine satellite navigation with job scheduling to manage field workers With satellite positioning GPS hardware becoming increasingly common in smartphones...

Diskless PCs ease admin burden.
November 5, 2007... Byline: Daniel Robinson Diskless PCs ease admin burden Dell's On-Demand Desktop Streaming serves up Windows to diskless PCs at boot-up Dell is aiming to simplify PC administration for large customers through a new product that...

Let the network do the legwork.
November 5, 2007... Byline: Alan Stevens Let the network do the legwork Using the LAN to distribute software saves money and makes life easier, so why aren't all firms doing it? As well as writing for IT Week and other computing titles I occasionally...

Plug in and watch data transmissions speed up.
November 5, 2007... Byline: Dave Bailey Plug in and watch data transmissions speed up Orange's Icon 2 USB modem is fast but lacks a usage tracker Orange's Option Icon 2 USB modem is a 44g, 103x46x 14mm USB device that is designed to give mobile...

Protocol analysis for the masses.(Product/service evaluation)
November 5, 2007... Byline: Dave Bailey Protocol analysis for the masses Wireshark 0.99.6 is a free, flexible and feature-packed network protocol analyser Wireshark version 0.99.6 is a free, flexible program for protocol capture and analysis that is...

Admin package is free and easy.
November 5, 2007... Byline: Dave Bailey Admin package is free and easy Spiceworks IT Desktop is an attractive auditing and monitoring solution for smaller LANs Spiceworks IT Desktop is a free program for monitoring and auditing hardware and software...

Report sees big shift in IT delivery.(Brief article)
November 5, 2007... Report sees big shift in IT delivery Kim Thomas Analyst Gartner has identified 14 alternative technology delivery models that it predicts will transform the IT market over the next five years, including software-as-a-service (SaaS),...

3 launches Skype mobile.
November 5, 2007... 3 launches Skype mobile Dave Bailey Mobile operator 3 has launched a mobile phone capable of making voice-over-IP (VoIP) calls over its network. The 3 Skypephone has Skype built-in and can use 3's 3G network to make normal mobile phone...

BT offers Wi-Fi travel vouchers.
November 5, 2007... BT offers Wi-Fi travel vouchers Dave Bailey Mobile workers now have cheaper options for making calls and accessing the internet from abroad after last week's launch by BT Openzone of international Wi-Fi travel vouchers. The...

BSI bolsters business resilience.(British Standards Institute)
November 5, 2007... BSI bolsters business resilience Martin Veitch The British Standards Institute (BSI) has published its formal specification for business continuity in a move that supporters said will bring rigour to processes governing disaster...

Opera 9.5 update released in beta.
November 5, 2007... Opera 9.5 update released in beta An updated version of the Opera browser has been made available in beta format. The update adds new security and search features for web users. Opera Software said that version 9.5, currently dubbed...

IT not ready for Mifid demands.(Markets in Financial Instruments Directive )
November 5, 2007... IT not ready for Mifid demands Rosalie Marshall Financial services firms across Europe could be at risk of breaching the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (Mifid), which came into effect on 1 November. Experts last week warned...

Suite boosts USB control.(Desktop Authority)(Brief article)
November 5, 2007... Byline: Daniel Robinson Analysts and security experts have been pointing out the risk of information theft ever since USB Flash memory sticks became popular. Management tool vendors and security firms alike soon responded with ways to...

Aruba unveils 802.11n kit.
November 5, 2007... Aruba unveils 802.11n kit Dave Bailey Aruba will today launch its pre-draft 802.11n Unified Mobile Network system, which the firm said would enable "true wireless connectivity". The launch features the 3000 series of hardware...

A framework for averting disaster.
November 5, 2007... A framework for averting disaster The new BSI disaster recovery standard should help firms to ensure their continuity plans stay fit for purpose The ancient joke states that standards are such a good thing that everyone wants their own...

Firms shown how to profit from social media.
November 5, 2007... Firms shown how to profit from social media Phil Muncaster Businesses attending last week's E-commerce Expo in London were urged to explore ways of using Web 2.0 applications to strengthen relationships with customers. However,...

Reach for the Skype.
November 5, 2007... Reach for the Skype A number of recent mobile announcements look likely to help both IT managers and remote workers. BT is offering Wi-Fi vouchers for mobile professionals travelling to Europe and the Americas; Microsoft and O2 are...

Google unveils Web 2.0 standard.
November 5, 2007... Google unveils Web 2.0 standard Google is attempting to get its hooks further into the Web 2.0 space with the launch of OpenSocial, a set of APIs aimed at providing a standard for developing social networking applications. OpenSocial...

Leopard earns plaudits.
November 5, 2007... Leopard earns plaudits Martin Veitch Apple has seen its new operating system received with rapturous approval after selling two million units in the first few days of availability, despite problems experienced by users upgrading to the...

Oracles BEA bid expires.
November 5, 2007... Oracle's BEA bid expires Kim Thomas Oracle's bid to acquire middleware developer BEA Systems expired late last month with the passing of the 28 October deadline. Oracle had offered to acquire BEA for $17 a share, valuing the...

Skills marketplace shares IT talent.
November 12, 2007... Byline: Phil Muncaster Skills marketplace shares IT talent Neil Bradford explains how OrderWork enables skills exchanges between IT services firms IT Week: Can you explain what OrderWork does? Neil Bradford: We're an...

Calling time on office time-wasters.(Viewpoint essay)
November 12, 2007... Calling time on office time-wasters A revolutionary scheme to help firms control internet use in the workplace may be ahead of its time I was talking to a friend the other day about the horrors of the high street. It's an interesting...

Why OCSi?1/2s success is far from assured.
November 12, 2007... Why OCS's success is far from assured There are many scenarios where the ROI case for Office Communications Server is less than compelling Earlier this month Microsoft launched Office Communications Server (OCS) 2007, the latest...

Prepare for on-demand service disasters.
November 12, 2007... Prepare for on-demand service disasters Hosted applications are still vulnerable to continuity issues, so firms must make disaster recovery plans Until recently, the full extent of any disaster recovery process in traditional software...

Is Microsofti?1/2s SOA vision blinkered?
November 12, 2007... Is Microsoft's SOA vision blinkered? Its SOA strategy has been criticised for ignoring the needs of firms with mixed architectures Microsoft risks alienating potential customers of its service-oriented architecture (SOA) solutions by...

Virgin Games reaps green benefits.
November 12, 2007... Virgin Games reaps green benefits New technology helps online gaming company reduce energy use and server numbers One of the biggest obstacles to any green technology initiative is the mistaken belief that environmentally friendly...

Web services come to the support of IT.
November 12, 2007... Byline: Daniel Robinson Web services come to the support of IT Remote access vendor LogMeIn is adapting its infrastructure to support IT administration LogMeIn started out offering a web-based remote control service for PCs, but...

A helping hand for Office migration.
November 12, 2007... Byline: Daniel Robinson A helping hand for Office migration Office 2007 will be a trickier transition than earlier versions, according to Converter Businesses planning an upgrade to Microsoft Office 2007 could face a sterner...

Mobile VoIP is here i?1/2 get used to it.
November 12, 2007... Byline: Dave Bailey Mobile VoIP is here A- get used to it Now that mobile VoIP is up and running, will operators embrace it with panache A- or a grimace? The launch of the Skypephone by mobile operator 3 looks set to change the...

Movers and shakers call for UK web forum.
November 12, 2007... Movers and shakers call for UK web forum Bringing stakeholders together in a UK Internet Governance Forum would help to fight e-crime and promote best practice At a recent event backed by .uk registry Nominet, government ministers,...

Firms may find a lot to like in Leopard.
November 12, 2007... Byline: Daniel Robinson Firms may find a lot to like in Leopard The new version of Apple's operating system could drive more business customers to the Mac The Mac versus PC debate is one that has rumbled on for years, with...

Weighing up archiving alternatives.
November 12, 2007... Byline: Martin Courtney Weighing up archiving alternatives Many factors must be taken into consideration when evaluating archiving technologies New rules on data retention, such as the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive...

Systems streamline data delivery.
November 12, 2007... Systems streamline data delivery Firms have new options for enhancing the delivery of networked apps and mobile content Two network and application performance management vendors have released systems that promise to give unprecedented...

Ordnance Survey takes the optical storage route.
November 12, 2007... Ordnance Survey takes the optical storage route The Ordnance Survey (OS) is Britain's national mapping agency, employing over 1,400 people worldwide. Each aerial photograph it takes is around 700MB in size once 3D and spatial information...

Clock speed is only half the story.
November 12, 2007... Byline: Martin Veitch Clock speed is only half the story Intel engineer Steve Fischer explains the thinking behind the firm's new Penryn processors Intel's Penryn chips are set to usher in changes to desktop, laptop and server...

IT nous is key to effective marketing.
November 12, 2007... IT nous is key to effective marketing The marketing sector is crying out for techies with business savvy, says Donald Hamilton IT Week: As UK managing director of behavioural targeting specialist Wunderloop, can you describe how big a...

Social networking gears up for business.
November 12, 2007... Social networking gears up for business Google's OpenSocial tools could thrust Web 2.0 applications into the heart of e-business Earlier this month Google launched OpenSocial, a set of developer tools to make it easier for users of web...

Scanner ensures defences are intact.
November 12, 2007... Scanner ensures defences are intact The latest LANguard scanner is a good tool for maintaining an up-to-date security profile Version 8 of GFI's popular LANguard Network Security Scanner (NSS 8) is a feature-rich and easy-to-use...

Dell ploughs $1.4bn into SAN move.
November 12, 2007... Dell ploughs $1.4bn into SAN move Martin Veitch Dell is to buy EqualLogic in a move that will take the PC giant deeper into storage area networking (SAN) and a step away from its dependency on direct sales. The $1.4bn cash...

Search rivalry hots up.
November 12, 2007... Search rivalry hots up Martin Veitch Microsoft is to offer free and paid-for search products in a move that is likely to see enterprise search programs move away from being the dominion of premium providers such as Autonomy and Fast,...

Sideways view.(Brief article)
November 12, 2007... Good Week You probably haven't heard of it, but the founders of Alibaba.com don't mind too much for now. After floating on the Hong Kong stock market last week, the Chinese online trading community was valued at almost $26bn. That...

Google sets stage for mobile push.
November 12, 2007... Google sets stage for mobile push David Neal Google has unveiled its new platform for creating advanced services for mobile phones, aiming to replicate the PC experience on handsets. However, the announcement may only serve to...

Diversity hinders mobility.(Brief article)
November 12, 2007... Diversity hinders mobility The head of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)'s Mobile Web Initiative (MWI) has urged content developers to stick closely to standards, and pleaded with platform vendors to pay more heed to interoperability...

Penryn packs bigger punch while saving power.
November 12, 2007... Penryn packs bigger punch while saving power Daniel Robinson Intel's first 45nm processors match the performance of current top-end chips at a lower level of power consumption and with faster media processing, according to tests....

Smallest BlackBerry gets Wi-Fi.
November 12, 2007... Smallest BlackBerry gets Wi-Fi Daniel Robinson BlackBerry maker RIM has updated its slimline Pearl handset with Wi-Fi capability, a higher-resolution camera, and enhancements to the handset's browser and user interface. However, the...

Morgan Stanleyi?1/2s Firebird to cut IT energy use.
November 12, 2007... Morgan Stanley's Firebird to cut IT energy use The bank's new project will implement green IT strategies Morgan Stanley is considering powering its next-generation datacentres using renewable energy sources, such as wind farms and...

Microsoft tries to put the future on hold.
November 19, 2007... Microsoft tries to put the future on hold The software giant's attempts to hold back advances in JavaScript must not be allowed to succeed Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) platform architect Chris Wilson is engaged in an illuminating...

A handy tool for remote control.
November 19, 2007... A handy tool for remote control I'm InTouch now allows Windows clients to be remote controlled using a range of handhelds Developed by 01 Communique, I'm InTouch Desktop version 6 enables workers to take control of remote Windows...

Smartphone Show tells the mobile future.
November 19, 2007... Byline: Bill Pechey Smartphone Show tells the mobile future Companies new and old showed off their mobile development ideas at Symbian's London show last month Last month, I made my annual visit to the Excel centre to visit the...

Deal puts Dell in iSCSI driving seat.
November 19, 2007... Deal puts Dell in iSCSI driving seat EqualLogic takeover may drive down iSCSI prices and push the technology into the mainstream Dell's plan to buy iSCSI storage hardware specialist EqualLogic for $1.4bn may cause friction in a market...

Lara Croft gets down to business.
November 19, 2007... Lara Croft gets down to business Is IBM right to believe that computer games can aid corporate education and inspire innovation? It had to happen. IBM, still a venerable name in the computer industry, has taken yet another step to get...

EqualLogic resellers wary of Delli?1/2s direct approach.
November 19, 2007... EqualLogic resellers wary of Dell's direct approach Richard Blandford, head of EqualLogic reseller Fordway, gives his take on the deal EqualLogic has a good distribution model and a very aggressive sales strategy. The range of fixed...

Why IT is a marketeri?1/2s best friend.
November 19, 2007... Why IT is a marketer's best friend IT leaders now have a pivotal role to play in marketing, argues ValueClick's Carl White IT Week: As chief executive of online marketing firm ValueClick, do you think the role of the IT function in...

Operating systems i?1/2 who needs them?
November 19, 2007... Byline: Kelvyn Taylor Operating systems A- who needs them? A new type of Bios firmware that can host built-in tools and applications could spell curtains for Windows It never ceases to amaze me how new ideas A- like cicadas A- can...

Intel sees continuing need for speed.
November 19, 2007... Byline: Martin Veitch Intel sees continuing need for speed Pat Gelsinger, who started at Intel at the dawn of the PC era, insists faster CPUs are still needed After 28 years of experience at Intel, Pat Gelsinger is a veteran of...

Layer 2 switch gives Extreme value.
November 19, 2007... Byline: Dave Bailey Layer 2 switch gives Extreme value Extreme's Summit X150 switches offer a good range of features for an affordable price Extreme Networks' Summit X150 series of 10/100Mbit/s switches represent the vendor's...

TyTN II enables office work on the go.
November 19, 2007... Byline: Daniel Robinson TyTN II enables office work on the go HTC's handset combines a hidden qwerty keyboard with comprehensive wireless support HTC's TyTN II is a Windows Mobile 6 handset that can be regarded as either a...

Resist change for changei?1/2s sake.
November 19, 2007... Resist change for change's sake John Clarke of Lloyds TSB Autolease says change management success is all in the planning John Clarke, head of change management at fleet management and funding specialist Lloyds TSB Autolease, has...

E-traders warned: you snooze, you lose.
November 19, 2007... E-traders warned: you snooze, you lose Online retailers face a constant struggle to keep up with rising consumer expectations At the first E-commerce Expo event in London last month, online retail and marketing experts hailed...

HP and IBM update Unix ranges.
November 19, 2007... HP and IBM update Unix ranges IT buyers can expect enhancements in performance, energy efficiency and manageability HP and IBM both refreshed their Unix server lines earlier this month as they continue to fight it out with Sun...

Encryption service keeps conversations confidential.
November 19, 2007... Byline: Daniel Robinson Encryption service keeps conversations confidential Financial services firms may be tempted by added security With enterprise mobility high on the agenda, securing mobile devices has become a priority for...

Audits deliver supplier improvements.(Interview)
November 19, 2007... Audits deliver supplier improvements Frequent audits are a critical part of any green supply chain strategy, says HP's Karl Daumueller BusinessGreen: What are you looking for on a supplier audit? Karl Daumueller: The basis for HP's...

End of the road for business travel?
November 19, 2007... End of the road for business travel? Ecological and economic concerns are pushing videoconferencing into the business mainstream For those of us that hate flying, videoconferencing has always been a tantalising possibility. But with...

Network monitor sets gold standard.
November 19, 2007... Byline: Dave Bailey Network monitor sets gold standard Whatsup Gold 11 makes checking and reporting on network hardware quick and easy Ipswitch's Whatsup Gold 11 network monitoring package is an easy-to-set-up system aimed at...

CE geared for talking devices.
November 19, 2007... CE geared for talking devices Daniel Robinson Microsoft has released an updated version of its Windows CE platform for embedded applications, aimed at devices that can communicate seamlessly with each other and Windows PCs, as well as...

Red Hat heads for cloud.
November 19, 2007... Red Hat heads for cloud Martin Veitch The prospect of cloud computing becoming a major business IT platform has moved closer in the wake of Red Hat's announcement that it plans to make its Enterprise Linux flagship product and all...

Plug-in solution for LAN-less offices.
November 19, 2007... Byline: Dave Bailey Plug-in solution for LAN-less offices Motorola's Powerline MU Gateway brings LAN connectivity to buildings via the mains Motorola's Powerline Multiple-Unit (MU) Gateway is designed to offer a quick and easy way...

Law firm makes case for hosted email.
November 19, 2007... Law firm makes case for hosted email Moving to Mimecast's SaaS platform has made email more secure and easier to manage International law firm Taylor Wessing was anxious to make sure that its email systems remained constantly available...

Vignette details new tools.
November 19, 2007... Vignette details new tools Phil Muncaster Web content management firm Vignette is aiming to compete with larger content management rivals such as IBM's FileNet and EMC by sticking to its core competency in the web delivery space. ...

Microsoft drops Viridian moniker.
November 19, 2007... Microsoft drops Viridian moniker Microsoft has given a new name to its server virtualisation hypervisor technology and said that it will offer a version that does not require Windows Server to be installed. Hyper-V is the new name for...

Oracle jumps into virtualisation.
November 19, 2007... Oracle jumps into virtualisation Madeline Bennett in San Francisco At its annual OpenWorld event in San Francisco, Oracle unveiled free open-source virtualisation software designed to help firms manage their virtual servers, and...

Can iPhone and Gmail do the business?(Brief article)
November 19, 2007... Can iPhone and Gmail do the business? David Neal Two major technology releases aimed primarily at consumers A- Apple's iPhone and Google's updated Gmail service A- have significant applicability for enterprises, judging by IT Week's...

Cognos falls to IBM as BI shakeout continues.
November 19, 2007... Cognos falls to IBM as BI shakeout continues Rosalie Marshall IBM is to acquire Canadian business intelligence vendor Cognos for $5bn in a move that sees the last of the big three publicly-traded BI specialists move into the giant...

Put inhouse integrators out to grass.
November 26, 2007... Put inhouse integrators out to grass Pervasive's Mike Hoskins says integration tools are not just for big firms with deep pockets IT Week: Why did Pervasive decide to release an SDK for its latest integration product earlier this...

Mini BlackBerry adds Wi-Fi support.
November 26, 2007... Mini BlackBerry adds Wi-Fi support RIM's BlackBerry 8120 is more compact than other models, but compromises on its keypad The BlackBerry Pearl 8120 from Research In Motion (RIM) fits all of the essential BlackBerry features into a...

Social networks can be your friend.
November 26, 2007... Social networks can be your friend Businesses can benefit from user-generated exposure on the hugely popular social networking sites Say hello to my lil' friend Web 2.0. Anyone familiar with Al Pacino's gun-toting, psychopathic drugs...

On the brink of a mobile revolution.
November 26, 2007... Byline: Phil Muncaster On the brink of a mobile revolution Fjord's Christian Lindholm discusses the future of the mobile web and device design IT Week: As a partner and director of digital design company Fjord, do you believe...

Laserwire makes light work of 10GbE.
November 26, 2007... Byline: Dave Bailey Laserwire makes light work of 10GbE Its low weight and modest power requirements could tempt firms away from 10GbE copper IT managers needing fast network server connections could be tempted by Finisar's new...

Laptop PCs are here to stay.
November 26, 2007... Byline: Daniel Robinson Laptop PCs are here to stay Smartphones may be eating into laptop sales, but there is no real substitute for a full-on mobile PC There have been suggestions in some publications and on technology enthusiast...