IT services and outsourcing

OVHcloud aims to bring Glacier-like cloud archive to Europe

OVHcloud makes Cold Archive GA with deep archive storage cheaper than AWS’s offer and all based on IBM 3592 tape hardware spread across four sites with Atempo backup Continue Reading

How lab grown neurons could power the future of AI

Melbourne-based Cortical Labs’ lab grown neurons could speed up AI training in a more energy efficient way and its work has caught the eye of hyperscalers and Amazon’s CTO Continue Reading

Capita pension clients told data may have leaked

Capita has told trustees of some of the pension funds for which it provides outsourced services that their customer data may have been stolen by the Black Basta ransomware operation Continue Reading

Security Think Tank: Thinking beyond IAM in the cloud

Looking beyond IAM, there are other aspects of securing public cloud environments that admins can reasonably expect to control Continue Reading

The changing role of infrastructure and operations

I&O leaders will need to automate for efficiency, manage customer requirements, optimise cloud operations and explore new technologies to improve services and enable innovation Continue Reading

Cyber Action Plan for Wales launched

The devolved Welsh government has set out four priorities in an action plan designed to foster cyber resilience, talent and innovation across the country Continue Reading

US competition watchdog issues generative AI warning

Generative AI can be used to manipulate people into making harmful decisions, says US Federal Trade Commission in warning to firms building and using AI-powered tools Continue Reading

Want to get cloud IAM right? Master the fundamentals

By getting the basics right, you’re setting yourself up for success to then can build more advanced and complex functionalities on top Continue Reading

SAP eyes SMEs in Southeast Asia

SAP debuts the Grow with SAP programme in Southeast Asia to drive adoption of S/4 Hana Cloud among small and medium-sized enterprises Continue Reading

More Post Office software-related convictions overturned takes total to 86

A total of 86 former subpostmasters wrongly prosecuted for financial crimes after computer errors showed phantom losses have had convictions overturned Continue Reading

Microsoft fails to get CMA thumbs-up on Activision deal

The UK Competition and Markets Authority has decided that Microsoft‘s proposed $68.7bn acquisition of Activision would damage the cloud gaming market Continue Reading

Zopa’s emotional journey to becoming a bank

Zopa Bank’s CEO sees no reason why the app-based bank should not be as big as the high street giants Continue Reading

Google Cloud seals bug that could have led to data breaches

The Asset Key Thief vulnerability gave rise to multiple potential attack scenarios that could have impacted thousands of Google Cloud users, but has now been safely fixed Continue Reading

Police Scotland receive formal notice about cloud system

Scotland’s biometrics watchdog has issued Police Scotland with an information notice over its deployment of a cloud-based digital evidence system, following disclosure of major data protection concerns by Computer Weekly Continue Reading

UK government introduces Digital Markets Bill to Parliament

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill will seek to level the playing field in digital markets by empowering regulators with new tools and powers to directly enforce competition and consumer protection laws Continue Reading

Post Office paid IBM millions when it ended proposed contract to replace Horizon

The Post Office ended a proposed contract with IBM to replace its controversial Horizon system after work had already started Continue Reading

Data a driving force at Aston Martin Formula One

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we speak to Aston Martin Formula One’s Clare Lansley to find out how digital transformation helps the team to move further up the F1 grid. We explore how automation and AI is helping businesses tackle rising costs and also look into the maturity of Industry 4.0 initiatives. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Amazon Web Services selects 14 startups for space accelerator

The cohort of startups will use AWS and its resources to accelerate the research and development of their technologies and boost their growth Continue Reading

From Nokia to Merge Mansion: Helsinki’s tech expertise is sparking a new era for global gaming

Helsinki has a reputation as the go-to place for game development, and now the city’s tech community is taking gaming into new areas Continue Reading

The road to the Digital Growth Grant

GUEST POST: In this contributed blog post, Hannah Bernard, Head of Business Banking, Barclays, explains how the firm's entrepreneurs’ network, Eagle Labs, plans to use the Digital Growth Grant to ... Continue Reading

UK biometrics watchdog questions police cloud deployments

The UK biometrics commissioner has warned that policing and justice bodies must be able to demonstrate ‘immediately and unequivocally’ that their cloud deployments are lawful Continue Reading

Prototype cyber tech has revolutionary potential

The so-called CHERI protection model developed at the University of Cambridge is showing great promise for future cyber security technologies Continue Reading

3CX incident may be world’s first double supply chain attack

It’s supply chain attacks all the way down as Mandiant publishes information suggesting that the 3CX software supply chain compromise was initiated via a prior software supply chain compromise Continue Reading

Banks don’t want to develop fintech in-house

Banks are increasingly partnering with fintechs to gain access to their platforms, with few interested in developing such capabilities in-house Continue Reading

Good Friday Agreement key to growth of Northern Ireland cyber hub

Now 25 years since the historic Good Friday Agreement ended the Troubles, Northern Ireland has become a flourishing centre of cyber security excellence and has ambitions to grow further Continue Reading

UK SMEs are the most tech savvy in Europe

UK SMEs have taken to contactless payments faster than their counterparts in continental Europe Continue Reading

Reduced spending on cloud services weighs European IT services market down

Reduced spending on cloud services in the EMEA region meant a year-on-year drop in total IT and BPO services spend Continue Reading

IT Priorities 2023: Cloud and disaster recovery top storage and backup plans

Cloud storage still the biggest project planned in data storage in 2023, with disaster recovery the most important area in data protection cited by TechTarget/Computer Weekly survey respondents Continue Reading

Focus on these three risky behaviours to boost cloud security

Some 80% of cloud security alerts are triggered by just 5% of security rules. Security teams can substantially improve their resilience by zeroing in on a small set of risky behaviours, according to a report Continue Reading

Why IAM systems are crucial for securing multicloud architecture

As business tools evolve into cloud-based services, organisations are finding themselves becoming ever more reliant on the cloud, but how can data be secured across so many different platforms? Continue Reading

Tech spending in India to grow by 9.6% in 2023

Digital initiatives in the public sector along with investments in telecoms and other areas are expected to spur technology spending in India this year Continue Reading

HMRC defends removing names of known tax avoidance schemes from public list

HMRC under fire over 'ridiculous' legislation that means it has to remove names of known tax avoidance scheme operators 12 months after publication Continue Reading

Charity data stolen in ransomware attack on supplier

A number of charities in Ireland and the UK have had their data compromised following a ransomware attack on an IT supplier Continue Reading

Public cloud adoption set to surge in Australia

New and existing workloads are increasingly being migrated to public cloud, with two-thirds of Australian organisations already running cloud workloads in production in 2022 Continue Reading

Alibaba Cloud unveils cheaper cloud options, new language model

Alibaba has introduced cheaper instances of its compute and storage services in China and is jumping on the generative AI bandwagon with its Tongyi Qianwen language model Continue Reading

Global spending on IT and BPO down as cloud deals slow

Spending on IT and BPO services drops as demand for cloud services slows Continue Reading

Helsinki’s tech and business ecosystem in 90 days

Helsinki gives tech entrepreneurs a taste of life and business in Finland for 90 days as it bids to attract global tech startups. Continue Reading

CW EMEA: Under attack and stressed out

In this month's CW EMEA, we look at how cyber attacks are taking a toll on security professionals, damaging their mental health and forcing some to quit. We also look at Finland's allure for tech entrepreneurs, how software is enabling a new business model for a Swedish car manufacturer, and the importance of backup testing. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

How Agoda is shaping up to be a technology powerhouse

Agoda’s CTO Idan Zalzberg explains why the online travel agency with a massive technology footprint prefers to run things in-house and not rely too much on public cloud services Continue Reading

Sweden and Finland make advances in quantum computing

Separate Swedish and Finnish quantum computing projects make promising advances in the technology of the future Continue Reading

ICO responds to UK government AI regulation plans

The ICO has officially responded to the government’s plans for regulating artificial intelligence as outlined in its recent whitepaper, but called for clarity on certain aspects before the proposals are taken further Continue Reading

Deutsche Bank to close Russian software operations

German bank has been winding down its Russia-based software development operations and is close to shutting them down Continue Reading

Scotland links its tech scaler programme with the NHS

As part of the deal, firms part of the tech scaler programme aimed at helping startups scale up will be given access to NHS regional test beds Continue Reading

Controversial Fujitsu contract with Post Office extended after technical challenges moving to cloud

The Post Office has extended a contract with Fujitsu after being unable to resolve technical issues related to migrating its IT to the cloud Continue Reading

How India’s Cropin is tapping the groundswell in agritech

Cropin, one of the first movers in agriculture technology, has built an industry cloud platform that is now used by the likes of PepsiCo to maximise crop yields Continue Reading

IBM's Nataraj Nagaratnam on the cyber challenges facing cloud services

Governments are introducing increasingly prescriptive data protection policies, but with organisations becoming ever more reliant on multiple cloud service platforms for essential business needs, how can they ensure they meet regulatory requirements? Continue Reading

Gartner forecasts massive growth in software and IT services

IT leaders are set to deploy more workloads on infrastructure-as-a-service public clouds as they attempt to keep costs under control Continue Reading

Clop ransomware booms in March as Fortra zero-day pays off for gang

Backed by the threat actor tracked variously as Gold Tahoe and TA505, the Clop ransomware operation hit new ‘heights’ of activity last month, according to researchers Continue Reading

Nordic app-based bank offloads its peer-to-peer lending business

Danish fintech Lunar has sold its peer-to-peer lending business to Sweden’s SaveLend Continue Reading

Scottish police tech piloted despite major data protection issues

Scottish policing bodies are pressing ahead with a data sharing pilot despite data protection issues around the use of US cloud providers, placing sensitive personal data of tens of thousands of people at risk Continue Reading

Developers say Apple and Google are running app store monopolies

Coalition for App Fairness and its members speak to Computer Weekly about alleged anti-competitive practices of Apple and Google in their respective app stores, and call for urgent regulatory action to level the playing field Continue Reading

Oracle to open second cloud region in Singapore

The move comes less than two years after Oracle opened its first cloud region in Singapore which is already supporting over 1,000 customers across Southeast Asia Continue Reading

HPE launches GreenLake for File and Block, and unified arrays

HPE upgrades its storage-as-a-service offer with Greenlake for File and for Block, configurable via the cloud but deployable on-prem. Meanwhile it shows new Alletra MP arrays Continue Reading

UAE central bank selects partners for phase one of digital currency programme

The UAE central bank has kicked off the first phase of its project to launch a digital currency Continue Reading

Revitalising UK digital government

In this week’s Computer Weekly, as the UK plummets down the international rankings for digital government, can its £400m identity system revitalise the UK’s digital strategy? We examine the container management platforms from the big six storage suppliers. And we look at the challenges of achieving IT sustainability while continuing to drive digital innovation. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Three-day Capita outage was result of cyber attack

Public sector outsourcer Capita has confirmed a major outage which began on 31 March was the result of a cyber attack affecting its Office 365 apps Continue Reading

Generative AI central to Accenture’s tech vision

Generative AI will play a central role over the next 10 years as the digital and physical world become more and more integrated Continue Reading

How Australian organisations can plug the cloud skills gap

Organisations will need to acquire a broader set of skills and invest in reskilling and employee experience to attract and retain cloud talent Continue Reading

OSC&R supply chain security framework goes live on Github

The OSC&R framework for understanding and evaluating threats to supply chain security has made its debut on Github to allow anybody to contribute to the framework Continue Reading

How millions of consumers and businesses are using open banking

SMEs and consumers are increasingly turning to open banking services to help them manage their businesses and lives Continue Reading

Reactive approach to cyber procurement risks damaging businesses

Too many organisations are following a reactive approach to cyber security, which WithSecure believes is stifling security teams ability to demonstrate value and align with business outcomes Continue Reading

Naver Cloud teams up with Korean tourism body

The South Korean hyperscaler has teamed up with the Korea Tourism Organisation to improve visitor experience using its cloud capabilities Continue Reading

3CX unified comms users hit by supply chain attacks

Ongoing supply chain attacks against customers of UC firm 3CX appear to be linked to North Korean threat actors Continue Reading

Podcast: Cloud storage, data protection and compliance

The lure of cloud storage hides its drawback, namely that you can lose control of it from a compliance perspective. We talk to Mathieu Gorge, CEO of Vigitrust, about how to tame it Continue Reading

UK’s open banking industry at a crossroads

The UK open banking sector is at a crossroads and suppliers need more certainty about its direction, says report Continue Reading

UK government publishes AI whitepaper

Artificial intelligence whitepaper outlines UK government’s proposals to regulate the technology, which are based around creating an agile, “pro-innovation” framework Continue Reading

Lloyds Bank looking for fintech partners

Lloyds Banking Group wants to partner startups in the financial services sector in its latest fintech and insurtech programme Continue Reading

Inside Group-IB’s cyber security playbook

A focus on threat intelligence, fraud protection and its work with Interpol has enabled Group-IB to compete against bigger rivals in the market Continue Reading

How APCOA is using big data to reinvent car parks

Car park operator APCOA is using big data to transform traditional car parks into mobility hubs that will offer electric vehicle charging, space for small businesses and depots for delivery companies Continue Reading

CBI launches campaign to boost UK tech unicorns

The CBI has launched a campaign to transform the UK’s technology unicorns into decacorns valued at $10bn, with specific policy recommendation due to be published later in 2023 Continue Reading

Most Singapore organisations operate distributed IT infrastructure

More than two-thirds of organisations in Singapore use a mix of private and public clouds as well as on-premise and hosted datacentres, even as they face challenges with data management and complexity Continue Reading

Accenture to cut 19,000 jobs globally

Accenture is cutting ‘structural’ costs which includes a reduction of 19,000 staff and a consolidation of office space Continue Reading

Tech Nation says UK needs roadmap to help tech sector reach $4tn

In its final report published before shutting for good in April, Tech Nation has outlined success of the UK’s tech sector to date, and explores at a high level what needs to be done to ensure massive future growth Continue Reading

Podium taps ChatGPT for reputation management

The customer interaction and payment specialist with operations in Australia has integrated ChatGPT into its platform to help local businesses respond to customer reviews on social media Continue Reading

Why Veeam thinks ransomware warranty payouts are unlikely

Veeam Data Platform v12 offers a financial guarantee to customers that can’t restore after ransomware attacks, but the backup supplier is convinced it won’t be making many payouts Continue Reading

OVHcloud opens India datacentre

The French cloud service provider has opened its first datacentre in India that will provide Indian businesses with access to local compute and storage capabilities Continue Reading

UK signs digital trade deal with Ukraine

The UK and Ukraine have agreed a trade deal that will reduce the cost of IT imports from the war-torn country Continue Reading

Hitachi Energy emerges as victim of Clop gang’s Fortra attack

The power and energy division of Japanese conglomerate Hitachi has disclosed that it has fallen victim to a Clop cyber attack, but insists customer data is safe Continue Reading

Danish law firm transforms digital collaboration through core system replacement

NJORD has transformed how it shares documents among lawyers through a cloud-based platform Continue Reading

Inside AIA’s cloud adoption journey

The Hong Kong-based multinational insurance firm has moved 86% of its IT infrastructure to public cloud to drive growth, productivity and efficiency Continue Reading

CIO interview: Russ Thornton, chief technology officer, Shawbrook Bank

Russ Thornton swapped life on the theatre podium for financial services IT, but thrives in an environment where orchestrating IT teams is a core skill Continue Reading

UK government to create code of practice for generative AI firms

The code will look to strike a balance between copyright holders and generative AI firms so that both parties can benefit from the use of copyrighted material in training data Continue Reading

Budget 2023: startups extra funding via R&D relief and pensions

UK government aims to promote increased investment in research and development-intensive startups through tax relief measures, relaxed pension rules, and new investment zones Continue Reading

Rubrik customer, partner data exposed in possible Clop attack

Rubrik was supposedly compromised by the Clop ransomware gang via a zero-day vulnerability in a managed file transfer software package it uses Continue Reading

How industry cloud platforms are shaping the future of business applications

More than half of enterprises are expected to use industry cloud platforms that combine cloud-based infrastructure, platform and application services to accelerate their business by 2027 Continue Reading

AI interview: Elke Schwarz, professor of political theory

Elke Schwarz speaks with Computer Weekly about the ethics of military artificial intelligence and the dangers of allowing governments and corporations to push forward without oversight or scrutiny Continue Reading

Subpostmaster demands names of Post Office executives who crushed him to suffocate truth

One Post Office scandal victim was deliberately destroyed by the Post Office to deter other subpostmasters from challenging the integrity of its core computer system Continue Reading

Liverpool Football Club signs Wasabi in on-premise-to-cloud storage transition

Liverpool Football Club has transitioned from lead-footed on-premise infrastructure to Wasabi cloud storage that’s well-suited to its video production and distribution requirements Continue Reading

HSBC buys Silicon Valley Bank UK arm for £1 following collapse

UK tech ecosystem welcomes government intervention to facilitate HSBC purchase after the collapse of SVB left many UK startups unable to access their deposits Continue Reading

SolarWinds doubles down on APAC business

SolarWinds teams up with key systems integrators in the APAC region to develop joint offerings as it bolsters its capabilities in observability and autonomous operations Continue Reading

Technology minister Michelle Donelan defends data reforms

Secretary of state Michelle Donelan has defended the government’s new data reforms as providing certainty for businesses while simultaneously retaining high standards of data protection, but industry figures are having mixed reactions Continue Reading

Podcast: Why DBaaS and what problems does it solve?

We talk to Tobias Ternström of Nutanix about how the enterprise landscape has seen thousands of databases from multiple vendors mushroom and how database as a service can help manage that complexity Continue Reading

Emerging markets lead growth in cloud spend in Asia

Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines are expected to lead the rest of Asia in growing their cloud spending in 2023, study finds Continue Reading

CW EMEA: How Sweden is accelerating digitisation

Large conglomerates with diverse business portfolios face challenges when digitally transforming because one size cer-tainly doesn’t fit all. In this month’s CW EMEA, we find out how Richard Ventre, group CIO at Dutch company SHV Holdings, goes about ensuring his IT department pro-vides the foundations for a wide variety of businesses to thrive digitally. We also find out how to make the most of a composable enterprise architecture and how green storage can deliver savings if done right. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

UK government introduces revised data reform bill to Parliament

Designed in close collaboration with technology businesses, the UK government is re-introducing an updated version of its Data Protection and Digital Information Bill to Parliament, which civil society groups say upends key safeguards Continue Reading

How ForgeRock is tackling identity management

ForgeRock CEO Fran Rosch has set the identity and access management software supplier on a path to deliver a frictionless identity experience without compromising security or privacy Continue Reading

IT worker evidence reveals a toxic Post Office IT helpdesk that discriminated against subpostmasters

IT worker tells public inquiry that the Post Office Horizon helpdesk was toxic, rudderless and racist Continue Reading

Nationwide goes cloud native to transform payments

Nationwide Building Society is moving retail payments from on-premise systems to a cloud-native platform Continue Reading

Spring Budget 2023: Campaign calls on government to ‘fix or ditch’ IR35

Ahead of next week’s Spring Budget, contracting authority ContractorCalculator is calling on freelance IT workers to join campaign centred on getting government to ‘fix or ditch’ IR35 tax rules Continue Reading

Can the UK keep its fintech crown?

In this week’s Computer Weekly, two years after the Kalifa report laid out a roadmap for continued fintech sector growth, UK entrepreneurs and startups are worried about the lack of progress. We look at the top tech trends in retail and find out which companies are leading the way. And we examine six ways to slash IT emissions. Read the issue now. Continue Reading