Computer Weekly Data Bank: May 2012 Archives

UK is 'third in Europe for Social Networking'

By Bill Goodwin on May 23, 2012 10:20 AM | No Comments

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Source: Google

The British, apparently, are the third most enthusiastic nation for using social networking tools in Europe,behind the Spanish and the Italians, according to a survey from Google.

Other enthusiastic users of social media, the survey claims, include:

• Senior managers
• High growth companies
• Retail, Consumer and Creative industries
• SMEs with an international reach

You can find out more here.

Where are the high-flying women ? Not in IT that's for sure.

By Bill Goodwin on May 22, 2012 10:09 AM | No Comments

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People have been campaigning for decades to make IT a more women-friendly profession. But, despite initiatives like the highly successful Computer Clubs for Girls which is inspiring girls at school with the possibilities of technology, talented women are giving IT a wide berth, the latest research from Harvey Nash shows.

The irony is that CIOs would really like to have more women on their teams. Over half say that women IT professionals help IT to bridge the much-talked about gap between IT and the rest of the business, and 48% say a mixed team improves cohesion and morale.

What's going wrong ? Well, the Harvey Nash research suggests that women are simply avoiding the IT profession. Over 80% of CIOs say that they would like to hire women for roles, but simply can't find qualified female candidates.

For more, download the Harvey Nash CIO Survey.

CIOs face pay freezes in 2012

By Bill Goodwin on May 21, 2012 10:06 AM | No Comments

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Source: Harvey Nash

Some 61% of CIOs face a salary freeze in 2012 as nervousness over the economic climate and the debate over executive salaries continues.This compares with 50% who experienced a pay freeze in 2011. Despite this, almost a third expect to benefit from a salary increase this year.

There is better news for the 78% of CIOs who are eligible for a bonus this year. Almost a quarter expect a higher bonus this year compared to last year, when the average bonus level was 9%. The trend suggests that employers are turning to bonuses to give them greater flexibility over remuneration during a difficult time in the economy.

For more, download the Harvey Nash CIO Survey.

Global tablet sales: what are people buying ?

By Bill Goodwin on May 18, 2012 1:00 PM | No Comments

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Apple continues to dominate sales of tablet, with the iPad, and that shows little sign of changing soon, according to projections from Gartner. By 2016, sales of tablets based on Apple's iOS operating system will make up just under half of total tablet sales, while Android tablets will make up about 40% of the tablet market.

Microsoft will account for a relatively small 12% of total tablet sales, despite the impending launch of tablet-friendly Windows 8 operating system. Although Research In Motion's Playbook tablet, designed around the Blackberry, has been well received, sales of tablets based on RIM's QNX operating system are expected to account for only a small slice of the market.

Read exclusive articles from Gartner analysts from Computer Weekly.

What do you want from a printer - one that works ?

By Bill Goodwin on May 17, 2012 10:13 AM | 1 Comment

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Source: Quocirca

Printing may not be the most exciting activity in IT but as every CIO knows when the printers don't work you get to hear about it pretty quickly.

Phil Pavitt, CIO of the HM Customs and Revenue is a shrewd operator. When he wanted to convince the board of HMRC to renegotiate the department's £200m contract with Cap Gemini, he needed to needed to win their trust quickly.

How did he do it ? He made sure the department's printers were working properly.

For the people running printing, reliability is just as important as for the people using printers. Low maintenance costs are their number one priority, according to this survey by analyst group Quocirca. Thats closely followed by the ability to understand how printers are being used, and low energy consumption,

You can find out more in their report on energy efficient managed print services here.

Do we really want to become digital citizens ?

By Bill Goodwin on May 9, 2012 3:33 PM | No Comments

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Source: Accenture

Digital government is firmly on the political agenda as the public sector looks for ways to do more with less. But do people really want to interact digitally with government ? Research by Accenture suggests the answer is yes... but only to a point.

Most people are happy to interact with the public sector through the internet and email when they are initiating a query or a transaction. They prefer to use the internet for tracking queries and making payments. But when it comes to resolving a problem, the study shows, people still like to talk with a real person on the phone.

You can read more here. Download the full study.

What do employees want from 'bring your own device' schemes ?

By Bill Goodwin on May 8, 2012 10:53 AM | No Comments

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Conventional wisdom suggests that employees like 'bring your own device' to work schemes because of the potential they offer to use the latest high-tech gadgets, with the most sophisticated capabilities, rather than lower tech devices often used by businesses.

However, research by the Corporate Executive Board, shows that this is an urban myth. Employees main concern is whether the devices they use make it easier to work remotely, improve productivity, and to keep a work-life balance.

For more: Download the CEB's report -'Building consumerised end-user services'

Worldwide IT spending forecast

By Bill Goodwin on May 4, 2012 10:55 AM | No Comments

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Worldwide IT spending is expected to grow modestly in 2012. Austerity measures in the Eurozone and flat spending by the US government will mean lower spending increases compared to 2011, according to projections from Gartner.

Spending on telecoms equipment is expected to show the greatest growth in 2012, with a rise in global spending of 6.9%. Spending on enterprise software is expected to grow by 5%, computing hardware by 4.3%, and IT services by 1.3%.

Click to browse exclusive articles from Gartner analysts on Computer Weekly

Businesses face rise in hacking attacks

By Bill Goodwin on May 3, 2012 4:20 PM | No Comments

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Source: Information security breaches survey 2012

Seven out of 10 large organisations reported significant hacking attempts against their networks in 2012, the highest level recorded. One is seven organisations revealed they had been successfully hacked, with the majority detecting suspected hackers in their networks several times over the past 12 months.

Denial of service attacks affected a third of large businesses and nearly half of all telecoms providers. All sectors reported attackers on the internet trying to impersonate them through phishing and other attacks. Financial services and government bodies reported several phishing attacks a day. Identity fraud has risen threefold since 2008, with criminals impersonating bank customers one of the most prevalent problems.

Download the full information security breaches survey results

Security breaches hitting businesses in the last 12 months

By Bill Goodwin on May 3, 2012 3:38 PM | No Comments

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Source: Information security breaches survey 2012

Small companies experienced one security breach a day, rising to ten a day for larger businesses, over the past 12 months. The number of organisations infected by malicious software reached a near a near all time high, despite the widespread use of anti-virus protection. Technology companies, however were among the least likely to be infected, having high historic records of investment in security technology.

Fraud and theft rates involving computers remain at historically high levels, though the average number of thefts for small organisations is half the level it was two years ago. Large organisations were twice as likely to report staff-related security incidents than small organisations.

Outsider atttacks have increased over the past two years, with three quarters of large organisations reporting attacks. At least half of the organisations surveyed experienced outsider-attacks, rising to three-quarters for travel and finance organasations.

Download the full information security breaches survey results.

Growth of PC shipments worldwide

By Bill Goodwin on May 2, 2012 11:48 AM | No Comments

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PC shipments grew faster than expected in the first quarter of 2012, as businesses began upgrading to Windows 7. However the demand for consumer PCs has slowed as more consumers choose tablets and mobile devices as an alternative to traditional desktop PCs.

Source: Gartner

Read exclusive articles from Gartner analysts from Computer Weekly.

The growing demand for data centres

By Bill Goodwin on May 2, 2012 11:21 AM | No Comments

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A survey of 900 IT professionals by Oracle suggests that businesses have been caught unaware by the scale of data they collect driven by machine-to-machine communications, smartphones, the Smart Grid and on-demand home entertainment.

As a result, the demand for data centres will grow in 2012. According to this survey, nearly 40% of organisations say they will need a new data centre within 2 years. Some 56% favour an external datacentre, while 44% plan internal datacentres.

Source: Oracle

Do you have a dedicated Project Management Office ?

By Bill Goodwin on May 2, 2012 10:47 AM | No Comments

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The number of organisations with a dedicated project and programme management office (PMOs) has fallen slightly this year, an international study published today reveals. Although PMOs are regarded as essential for good IT project management, the proportion of organisations with dedicated project management functions has fallen by 10%, from 82% to 72%.

The survey of over 3,000 project managers, found that 3% of organisations had disbanded their project management office's, often as a result of cost pressures. Nevertheless 5% have plans to create a dedicated project management function in the future.

The survey, conducted in January and February, was completed by 3,044 project managers, in a wide range of industry sectors across the world.

Source: The Global State of the PMO (2012). ESI International.

May 2012 Archives

UK is 'third in Europe for Social Networking'

Where are the high-flying women ? Not in IT that's for sure.

CIOs face pay freezes in 2012

Global tablet sales: what are people buying ?

What do you want from a printer - one that works ?

Do we really want to become digital citizens ?

What do employees want from 'bring your own device' schemes ?

Worldwide IT spending forecast

Businesses face rise in hacking attacks

Security breaches hitting businesses in the last 12 months

Growth of PC shipments worldwide

The growing demand for data centres

Do you have a dedicated Project Management Office ?

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