IT innovation, research and development

How research firm Icon is using analytics and wearables to enhance clinical trials

The company is investing in emergent technology to boost the attractiveness of trials as a care option and attract more participants, while enhancing internal efficiency around drug and device development. Continue Reading

Middle East countries accelerate quantum computing research

Gulf countries must invest in quantum computing research to ensure they continue to to remain digital pioneers Continue Reading

Met Office seeks chief information security officer

The national weather service wants to recruit a new leader to spearhead a cyber security enhancement programme Continue Reading

ICO kicks off sandbox beta to support innovation

The UK’s privacy watchdog has launched the first phase of an initiative aimed at enhancing data protection while supporting business innovation Continue Reading

Interview: Mark Gray, director of digital transformation, Crown Prosecution Service

The introduction of fully digital services to improve stakeholder engagement is among the highlights of a world-first transformation initiative in the criminal justice system Continue Reading

Businesses losing out on early payment discounts due to outdated software

Chief financial officers need to upgrade their accounting software to benefit from discounts available for paying suppliers early Continue Reading

Scottish government advances payments programme

Platform is intended to support outbound and inbound payments and could integrate Gov.UK Pay in Scotland Continue Reading

Government expects NHS IT overhaul will unleash innovation

Common technical standards, modular contracts and a fintech-style regulatory model will underpin the new approach to technology in the health service in England Continue Reading

Salesforce opens AI research outfit in Singapore

Cloud-based software giant Salesforce will train up to 100 postgraduate students over three years in artificial intelligence technology Continue Reading

Police algorithms should be regulated, says think tank

Better use and regulation of data-driven technologies should be the norm in UK policing, according to research Continue Reading

BT switches on quantum network link at Adastral Park

BT has opened its quantum network link between its Adastral Park research base and the UK Quantum Network node at the University of Cambridge Continue Reading

Getting it right this time: Why the strategy is not about delivery for NHSX

Government needs to move on from the mantras and beliefs that exist around digital and technology – the new NHSX organisation could set an example by transforming healthcare Continue Reading

Manchester City Council CIO steps down

In a return to the private sector, Bob Brown joins healthcare technology firm EMIS as chief solutions officer Continue Reading

London launches open data cultural map

The collated data on the capital's cultural locations is hoped to support local authorities, property developers and associations develop existing clusters and build creative infrastructure Continue Reading

Government cyber security strategy is ‘chaotic’

Responding to potential threats at a national level is unfeasible given the time ministers are currently dedicating to Brexit negotiations, says shadow Cabinet Office minister Continue Reading

Interview: How the DWP Dojo innovates

Juan Villamil, director of enterprise infrastructure and production operations at DWP Digital, discusses how the Department for Work and Pensions tests out new tech ideas Continue Reading

GDS and Cabinet Office admit to over-optimism over Verify

The system's architects blamed failures to deliver the objectives set out in the original business plan on the slow pace of digital transformation across government at a Public Accounts Committee session this week Continue Reading

IBM demos quantum leap in artificial intelligence

Working with MIT and Oxford university, the researchers have looked at how quantum computing can accelerate data classification in machine learning Continue Reading

Department for Transport launches future of urban mobility plan

Future of Mobility minister Jesse Norman launches “biggest review into transport in a generation” Continue Reading

NatWest launches business virtual account platform

Features supported by a new system enable corporate customers to manage and segregate money, and are part of a wider digital transformation plan to enhance customer experience Continue Reading

Build in trust, experts advise cyber innovators

Trust will be increasingly important in the digital era, and is therefore a key component of new products and services, experts have told cyber security innovators Continue Reading

Department of Health considers overhaul of screening IT

Modernisation intended to address high-profile failures in national screening services will be informed by an investigation on the topic to be published next month Continue Reading

CyLon announces latest cyber security accelerator cohort

Swiss and Israeli cyber security startups join teams from the UK for CyLon’s ninth London accelerator cohort Continue Reading

UK sees increase in contactless card use

Surge in use of “tap and go” payment feature is attributed to adoption by transport operators and more retailers, according to a trade body Continue Reading

Digital divide threatens healthcare innovation

Consumers and physicians are open to technology innovation, but progress is slow due to tech adoption at a varying pace and focus on different priorities, says report Continue Reading

Why the web needs patching

Regulators want to curb the web giants, while World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee believes problems with the web's misuse can be fixed Continue Reading

DCMS announces new funding for prison coding skills

The expanded scheme by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is part of a a £1.2m package to help under-represented groups get jobs Continue Reading

Avoid infosec mistakes of the past, urges Robert Hannigan

Technology innovators need to avoid security mistakes of the past by building in integrity so that products and services can be used with trust and confidence, says former GCHQ director Continue Reading

Spring Statement 2019 allocates £200m to technology

Chancellor Philip Hammond's latest statement announces funding to support progress in areas including supercomputer development, photonics and bioinformatics, promises tighter digital regulation and attempts to ensure flow of skilled professionals into the UK Continue Reading

CW APAC: Buyer's guide to cloud security

When putting data in the cloud, companies must understand how it is protected – and not assume that security is all taken care of. In this buyer's guide, Computer Weekly offers advice on making cloud security choices, looks at how to guard against DDoS attacks, and finds out Amazon's approach to building secure cloud products. Continue Reading

ICO pledges to support innovation

UK data privacy watchdog is increasingly gearing up to support innovation to ensure developers of tech and digital services do not lose society’s trust Continue Reading

Furman Review urges greater competition for tech giants

The six-month review into the UK digital economy includes recommendations of a new code of conduct for large companies, along with greater data openness and mobility Continue Reading

Bank of England’s large IT spend partly due to use of manual processes and legacy systems

The Bank of England admits there is room for improvement when it comes to IT efficiency Continue Reading

IBM’s APAC CEO talks up next chapter of cloud adoption

In the next phase of cloud adoption, enterprises will need to manage multiple cloud environments, as well as data to scale up their use of artificial intelligence technology Continue Reading

RPA spend to increase after Brexit

Organisations will spend 20-30% more as a result of admin overheads expected after the UK leaves the EU, but companies are unprepared and skills are in short supply, analysts say Continue Reading

King's College London IT chief says resisting digital disruption a ‘waste of time’

Speaking at the Cloud Expo Europe 2019 conference in London, King's College London chief architect, Ian Johns, opened up about how his past experiences of digital disruption informed his view that it's best to embrace it than fight back Continue Reading

Defra criticised over no-deal IT systems plan

The introduction of slower, burdensome systems brought about by the challenges of preparing for Brexit must not become the ‘new normal’, MPs warn Continue Reading

Assisted living system moves from Microsoft Azure to IBM Cloud

IBM Cloud provides Watson artificial intelligence and internet of things technologies to support carers looking after elderly and disabled people Continue Reading

The web turns 30: from proposal to pervasion

The web is celebrating its 30th anniversary, but can it remain true to its founder’s vision? Continue Reading

Department for Transport kicks off cloud transformation

A major system has been moved to Google Cloud Platform as part of a wider modernisation exercise Continue Reading

NatWest launches biometric card pilot

NatWest Bank is set to trial biometrics-based cards with 200 customers to verify contactless payment transactions over £30 Continue Reading

CW Europe: Robots deliver savings for Dutch postal service

In this issue we look at how Dutch delivery company PostNL is reaping huge efficiency savings by using robotic technology to automate time-consuming administrative tasks, Facebook’s opposition to the referral of questions about the legality of data transfers between Europe and the US to the European Court of Justice, and how Oslo is thriving from a unique combination of business agility, a cultural receptiveness to technology, and a social desire to do good. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Half of government IT jobs in 2023 do not exist today

Widespread digital transformation in the public sector means government CIO responsibilities will change rapidly in the next four years and many of those future roles do not yet exist, says Gartner Continue Reading

Ministry of Justice concludes prison biometrics pilots

Use of iris scanning and facial recognition software is part of a wider crackdown on drug trafficking in UK jails Continue Reading

UK military robotics get multimillion-pound boost

A budget of £66m from the Ministry of Defence's Transformation Fund has been allocated to a project that will see mini-drones and autonomous vehicles deployed to the battlefield Continue Reading

Santander latest bank to tap Google experience

Spanish banking giant is tapping IT skills from Google through its latest senior tech appointment Continue Reading

Podcast: The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload – Episode 6

In this week’s episode of The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, the team talks about Mobile World Congress, Facebook’s latest data privacy row, the Ocado and M&S partnership, and how the technology industry can tackle unethical data use Continue Reading

Australia ramps up on 5G – telcos and banks among the first to benefit

Australia has been touted as a leader in 5G, although the promises of the technology supporting the use of autonomous vehicles will not be realised for now Continue Reading

London cyber security innovation centre issues open invitation

Government-backed cyber security innovation centre is calling for innovators to address key challenges facing the cyber security industry, offering a year of bespoke support to scale quickly Continue Reading

Volkswagen’s cloud-focused connected car collaboration with Microsoft gathers pace

Car maker has confirmed its Microsoft-based Automotive Cloud setup will be extended beyond Europe into other key markets to support its push to digitise more of the driving experience for its customers Continue Reading

Dutch companies lack knowledge of IoT’s benefits

Many organisations in the Netherlands are missing out on the benefits of the internet of things because they lack awareness of its potential Continue Reading

M&S and Ocado announce £750m food delivery joint venture

Deal will see M&S take a 50% share of Ocado’s UK retail business, with access to the Ocado Smart Platform Continue Reading

MWC 2019: Satya Nadella presents intelligent edge vision

Microsoft has unveiled a version of the Xbox Kinect device for business called the Azure Kinect, which sees and hears its environment Continue Reading

SAP Malaysia MD Duncan Williamson talks up the ‘experience economy’

In a world where consumer experience can make or break a business, companies need to continuously reinvent themselves to stay relevant Continue Reading

Facebook planned to spy on Android phone users, internal emails reveal

Facebook planned to use its Android app to track the location of its customers and to allow advertisers to send political advertising and invites to dating sites to ‘single’ people, confidential documents show Continue Reading

MWC 2019: O2 to launch 5G by Christmas

Ahead of Mobile World Congress, operator O2 has revealed further details of how it is planning for the advent of 5G Continue Reading

CW Nordics: Sweden to test e-krona and plans cashless society

Sweden’s vision of a cashless society has gained traction after the Riksbank (central bank) rolled out plans to test a digital currency, the e-krona. Also read how the Nordic region’s longer-established companies are playing a forceful role to advance digital transformation, and how Finland’s IT sector has rebounded strongly after Microsoft’s takeover of Nokia’s mobile phones and smart devices business units in 2014. Continue Reading

MWC 2019: 5G smartphones go live on Vodafone network

Vodafone has connected three 5G-enabled smartphones to a live network during trials in Spain Continue Reading

MWC 2019: Huawei claims massive lead on 5G readiness

At a pre-Mobile World Congress event in London, Huawei’s Ryan Ding shared details of the firm’s rapidly expanding 5G mobile portfolio, and laid into his competitors Continue Reading

IT professionals are getting ready for the onset of digital twins

While few businesses are running digital twins in production, Gartner expects two-thirds will implement the technology by 2022 Continue Reading

Bank of England to migrate from core system with a one-off big bang

The Bank of England will migrate from its current core settlement system with a 'big-bang' migration before the end of 2025 Continue Reading

MWC 2019: 5G in Europe driven by industrial automation, says Ericsson

As Mobile World Congress 2019 nears, Sweden’s Ericsson has been expanding, and expounding upon, its plans for 5G mobile networks Continue Reading

Central Saint Martins hosts Three’s 5G trial for London Fashion Week

Three’s trial 5G network will enable the world’s first augmented reality fashion show at Central Saint Martins, while consumers can test out a prototype network at its flagship store Continue Reading

Born to be wired

IBM is helping legendary US motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson to get its motor running with a cloud-based service for a new electric bike Continue Reading

Cisco CEO brushes off Brexit and other crises

Chuck Robbins has been speaking about the networking business’ resilience in the face of multiple geopolitical trends and crises, and says his customers just can’t stop spending Continue Reading

Chinese AI startup claims breakthrough in pediatric diagnosis

Yitu Healthcare claims over 90% accuracy when diagnosing a range of pediatric diseases using a natural language processing system Continue Reading

GE Digital addendum

The term “digital” is only referenced twice, in the 87 minutes of GE’s Q4 2018 earnings call that took place at the end of January. In a transcript of the call, posted on the Seeking Alpha ... Continue Reading

London and Helsinki digital partnership challenges big IT platforms

CDOs of London and Helsinki meet at London’s City Hall to sign a city-to-city digital declaration around AI, open data and digital innovation Continue Reading

Legacy systems holding banks back from meeting demand for instant accounts

Banks are struggling to meet customer demand to open accounts instantly because of legacy IT systems and processes Continue Reading

Deloitte will double Hyderabad workforce to support demand for technology services

Deloitte will add 40,000 staff at its operation in Hyderabad, with IT professionals accounting for a significant portion of employees Continue Reading

The Met Office storms ahead on data analytics

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we find out how the Met Office takes 2TB of weather data every hour and turns it into useful business insight. We examine whether Amazon’s presence in the retail market is putting off other retailers from using its public cloud services. And we look at the new 802.11ax wireless networking standard and analyse the benefits for enterprise IT. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Digital project failure still off the menu

Eight years ago, YouTube head Susan Wojcick described eight pillars that Google uses to innovate – but IT pros are still failing to fail fast Continue Reading

AI and robotics to form part of curriculum for future medical students

For the NHS to capitalise on the digital future, new technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics will have to be designed into the learning process for medical students Continue Reading

Businesses still figuring out digital transformation have already lost

Accenture is calling it a post-digital era, one where businesses are already looking beyond digitisation to capitalise on new tech-driven opportunities Continue Reading

Nordic region primed to pioneer 5G

The Nordic region could pioneer the commercial use of 5G, with Finland and Sweden hotbeds for the technology Continue Reading

CW Benelux: Google helps Dutch schools to teach computer skills

A programme in the Netherlands to help primary schools provide computational thinking and programming, developed with financial support from Google, is well on schedule. Also read about four Russians’ attempted hack into the networks of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague, and how Dutch delivery company PostNL is making savings by using robotic technology to automate administrative tasks. Continue Reading

Self-driving cars get updated guidelines for trial safety and transparency

The Department for Transport has issued guidance on trial safety and transparency for self-driving cars, and is sticking by its pledge to have self-driving cars on Britain’s roads in the next two years Continue Reading

Virgin Media tests 8Gbps home broadband service

Fifty residents of Papworth, Cambridgeshire, are trialling an 8Gbps FTTP broadband service using existing fibre infrastructure Continue Reading

Coders and developers: The new heroes of the network?

Cisco is moving towards a software-based future. We chatted to Susie Wee, founder and leader of Cisco developer and innovation programme, DevNet, to find out how she is helping to enable this change Continue Reading

The nightmare driving test: How to make sure self-driving cars are safe

Simulating realistic environments using deep learning to enable self-driving cars to learn the rules of the road will prove more useful than any amount of real-world practice. We find out why, and meet the people doing something about it Continue Reading

Cambridge launches urban data IoT project

The city of Cambridge will use Telensa IoT sensors and a Microsoft Azure platform to better manage its urban data assets Continue Reading

Interview: The power of open source

Stefanie Chiras, who heads up RHEL at Red Hat, discusses how open source enables enterprises to benefit from tech innovations Continue Reading

Building Britain’s national digital twin

The tech sector and wider industry are coming together to create a “digital twin” of Britain to help improve the nation’s physical infrastructure – and you can help Continue Reading

How to create a great strategy in the digital age

What are the best ways for technology leaders to create a strategy that is fit for the digital age? Computer Weekly asks the experts Continue Reading

A datacentre in a church: Welcome to the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre

A chapel wouldn't be top of the list of locations for a supercomputer, but it’s the location for the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre Continue Reading

Government launches data trust programme

Digital secretary Jeremy Wright sets out plans for scheme using data sharing to tackle global challenges such as illegal wildlife trade and food waste Continue Reading

No-deal Brexit would undermine digital economy, BCS warns

Skills, funding and the free flow of data are all at risk, says the chartered institute for IT Continue Reading

IT leaders grapple with workforce skills gap as they deploy AI and digital technology

Organisations will have to find new ways of reskilling their workforce as they get to grips with artificial intelligence and other digital technologies. CIOs also need to keep their skills updated if they are to succeed Continue Reading

Tech Nation announces fourth cohort for Upscale programme

Startups will receive six months of coaching and take part in workshops, mentoring sessions and networking opportunities with the programme’s alumni Continue Reading

Lloyds Bank to migrate hundreds of thousands of customers to Google-inspired fintech

Following its announcement that it was exploring the use of a fintech platform, Lloyds Bank has been quick to plan customer migration Continue Reading

Will AI replace lawyers? Assessing the potential of artificial intelligence in legal services

You may not be surprised to learn that lawyers don't expect AI to replace them, but the potential for the technology in law and other professional services must not be underestimated Continue Reading

NHS England launches public roll-out of NHS App

The all singing and dancing NHS App is now being rolled out publicly across England following a private beta phase with more than 3,000 patients Continue Reading

IT leaders must address integration to support business ecosystem

New survey finds that for most businesses, digitisation initiatives are hampered by legacy IT and integration issues Continue Reading

Singapore releases Asia’s first AI governance framework

The model framework will help businesses in Singapore tackle the ethical and governance challenges of AI implementations Continue Reading

Digital Catapult explores LPWAN and IoT for industry

A Connected Factory Demonstrator managed by the Digital Catapult is seeking input from LPWAN and internet of things specialists Continue Reading

Dowden announces five new successful GovTech Catalyst challenges

Five public sector projects will receive funding as part of the third round of the £20m GovTech Catalyst programme, says implementation minister Continue Reading

Davos 2019: Why data sharing is key to AI in Industry 4.0

Machines can learn from humans, but no one does the same job in the same way, so it makes sense to identify best practices Continue Reading

Thailand pushes for Industry 4.0 in ASEAN

Nearly half of the kingdom’s deliverables as chair of ASEAN will be focused on spurring Industry 4.0 developments across the region Continue Reading

HPE opens Geneva IoT innovation lab to capitalise on edge data

Datacentre equipment provider sees an opportunity on the edge to provide data processing for the internet of things Continue Reading

Leading IT: Lessons from the front line

As a CIO, whatever challenges you face in terms of budget, mandates or timetable, you may already have the right people to carry out incredible IT feats. Here are four ways to lead your organisation to unprecedented success Continue Reading