Profile of Gary Flood

News & Commentary Posts: 214

Cloud Contracts Need Work, Gartner Says

8/2/2013
Gartner publishes guidance for IT on tightening up cloud service provider contracts to better protect corporate assets.
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U.K. Tax Agency Names New CIO

8/2/2013
Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs names Vodafone's Mark Dearnley to head IT.
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British Families' TV, Internet Habits Blend

8/1/2013
Today's British families tend to gather in one room to watch TV together, says report, but family members multitask on mobile devices while they watch.
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Microsoft Forced To Drop 'SkyDrive' Brand Name

8/1/2013
Microsoft accepts London court ruling that its storage service name is too similar to products from British satellite broadcaster BSkyB.
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Gartner Tells Outsourcers: Embrace Cloud Or Die

7/31/2013
Service providers must adopt public cloud now or risk being left behind in a rapidly growing market, says study.
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NASA Cloud Contracts Slammed By Auditor

7/30/2013
Space agency's early moves into cloud were poorly managed, may have exposed the organization to risk, inspector general reports.
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Xbox One To Offer Unlimited Cloud Storage

7/29/2013
Microsoft attempts to assuage Xbox users with free cloud, built-in Skype and other features.
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Broadband Project Collapses Due To Lack Of Customers

7/29/2013
Government refuses to spend any more on South Yorkshire Digital Region plan, which has attracted only 3% of the customers needed.
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U.K. Lags In Tech Innovation Credibility

7/12/2013
KPMG Global Technology Innovation poll finds few global business leaders see the U.K. as a tech hub, underscoring Britain's urgency to change its reputation and attract investors.
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U.K. Costliest Country To Bid On Government Contracts

7/12/2013
U.K. tops all European Union countries in expenses incurred by firms bidding on government contracts. It's tough as ever for small companies, especially those in IT, to win government business.
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Desktop PCs: Do They Have A Future?

7/11/2013
Gartner says PC sales have declined for the fifth consecutive quarter in Q2. But the market could turn around faster than many think, says one IT services firm.
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Deloitte Outlines London IT Sector Challenges

7/11/2013
U.K. has potential as a global tech hub, but is hindered by inadequate investment in science and startups, says report.
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U.K. Courts SMBs For IT Services Contracts

7/10/2013
Digital Services Framework dangles £40 million in front of potential bidders, with a special appeal to small and midsize businesses capable of fulfilling the government's "digital by default" mission.
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U.K. Blasts BT Monopoly On Rural Broadband Project

7/9/2013
Leaks suggested that auditors would be tough on BT and the government's rural broadband project, but the final report is even worse than expected.
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Critics Question U.K. Government Tech Gains

7/9/2013
Small and midsize businesses say new tax-collection system costs them dearly, while government auditors dispute accuracy of IT-reform related savings.
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U.K. Debates New Tech Education Standards

7/8/2013
Education reform aims to ramp up British students' mastery of programming, mathematical modeling and other skills that industry says are in short supply.
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British Anti-Cartel Regulators Target Government IT

7/8/2013
Are HP, Accenture stifling competition -- and the economy -- by supplying most of the British government's IT needs? Office of Fair Trading determined to find out.
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Twitter's Tiny U.K. Profits Raise Eyebrows

7/8/2013
Twitter, prepping an estimated $10 billion public offering in the U.S., reported making less than £100,000 in Britain last year.
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Birmingham Amps Up Research With New Linux Supercomputer

7/3/2013
Upgraded high-performance-computing system, BlueBEAR II, to help University of Birmingham researchers solve tough problems such as cheaper fuel cells.
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Parliament Pins U.K. Bank Trouble On IT Fiasco

7/3/2013
Co-op Bank's scrapped Finacle IT platform may have pushed the bank into serious financial troubles, say members of Parliament's Treasury committee.
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Irish Tech Firm Offers Camp For Aspiring App Developers

7/2/2013
Belfast-based Kainos invites 17- to 19-year olds interested in IT careers to apply to CodeCamp, a free mobile app development course.
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PayPoint Launches Emergency Welfare Cash System

7/2/2013
PayPoint's new Quick Credit Voucher program aims to facilitate payment of emergency funds for needy U.K. residents.
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Scotland, Accenture To Overhaul National Police IT Platform

7/2/2013
i6, a joint project of Accenture and country's new unified police force Police Scotland, will replace over 100 legacy paper and IT systems.
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EU Limits Mobile Roaming Costs

7/2/2013
Price of using smartphones to access services is coming down in Europe.
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Google Unveils Plans For London HQ

6/28/2013
Plans for the facility, located adjacent to King's Cross railway station, include a roof garden and space for an interior campus.
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Britain Wants Courts Digitized By 2016

6/28/2013
Government commits £160 million to replacing paperwork bottlenecks in British courtrooms with Wi-Fi, screens and video.
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IT Visionary James Martin Dies

6/28/2013
British-born philanthropist and author of more than 100 books on computers, technology and society was a visionary who some say predicted the Internet.
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U.K. Startup Offers Neural Net-Based Fashion System

6/27/2013
Cortexica's Find Similar for Fashion analyzes images to help consumers find clothing and accessories with similar characteristics.
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U.K. Outsourcing Market Gets More Competitive

6/25/2013
New research suggests service provider market is tightening, advises outsourcing customers to consider renegotiating current contracts.
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U.K. IT Job Market Shows Growth

6/25/2013
IT salaries are up 5% and job openings up 500,000 over the past six months, finds Adzuna survey.
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Vodafone Confirms Kabel Deutschland Acquisition

6/25/2013
Germany's largest cable operator will help Vodafone expand from its core cellphone business to establish a "quad-play" future.
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EU Helps People With Disabilities Find Assistive Technology

6/21/2013
ATIS4all portal compiles information about technology that helps people with disabilities and the elderly participate more fully in life.
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EHR Project Loses U.K. Hospital 18 Million Pounds

6/20/2013
Royal Berkshire Foundation Trust's implementation of Cerner Millennium electronic health record system is costly to maintain and hard to use, causing patient backlogs.
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British ISPs Join Battle Against Child Porn

6/20/2013
Tech companies pledge 1 million pounds, sign zero-tolerance pledge and promise to help fight child abuse.
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BT CEO Poached For Parliament Role

6/20/2013
Ian Livingston will join the House of Lords and help grow the country's international investment and trade.
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Network Rail Wins IT Project Award

6/19/2013
Corporate IT Forum singles out members' best tech projects in annual "Real Tech" awards ceremony. Other winning projects: London's subway Wi-Fi and a plumber's app.
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O2, U.K. Employee Union Reach Outsourcing Deal

6/19/2013
Communication Workers Union says threat of mass walkouts forced O2 and outsourcer Capita to sign a better deal for call center staff.
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Britain: The New 'Silicon Island'?

6/18/2013
The U.K.'s recently launched Information Economy Strategy could take off, but it will require a skilled workforce and a strong infrastructure.
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Microsoft, Virgin Media Back U.K. 'Digital Maker' Initiative

6/17/2013
Microsoft links its Kudo game developers' site to U.K. IT educational initiative Make Things Do Stuff; meanwhile Virgin Media, others help create weekly online sessions to challenge young developers.
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Zombie IT Contract Refuses To Die

6/17/2013
In Britain, terminating a multi-billion NHS project in 2011 hasn't stopped more money from being poured into the ill-fated program, say critics.
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Britain Launches National 'Information Economy' Strategy

6/14/2013
Working with industry and academia, the plan sets out objectives designed to nurture small enterprises and prepare students for IT careers.
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Will IT Departments Disappear By 2020?

6/13/2013
Forrester Research predicts IT will be embedded in various customer-facing teams.
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Scotland Maps Rural Farms With Open Source, Cloud

6/13/2013
Scotland turned to small businesses and new technologies to improve access to data about its crofts -- the country's extensive network of tiny agricultural holdings.
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Vodafone Ponders Major German Cable Market Expansion

6/12/2013
As Liberty Global completes its purchase of Virgin Media, London-based Vodafone considers swoop on Germany's biggest cable provider.
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U.K. Auditors Slam BT Rural Broadband Project

6/11/2013
BT is taking advantage of taxpayers, charging a high premium for the £530 million project to bring high-speed networks to rural areas, claims leaked government report.
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U.K. Ministry Of Justice Postpones Major IT Contract

6/10/2013
Whitehall unexpectedly puts £300m IT contract covering extensive user network on hold. Some speculators say it's because too few SMBs were in the running.
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British Unemployed Offered Low-Cost Net Access

6/10/2013
Ultra-low-cost broadband and refurbished desktops and laptops is digital access nonprofit's latest bid to get underprivileged online.
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G-Cloud's Challenge: Few Understand It

6/6/2013
U.K. plan to encourage public sector to purchase cheaper IT via the cloud won't work unless government explains it better, says new research.
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BYOD Resistance Is 'Futile'

6/6/2013
Stop trying to make the wave roll back, cautions analyst group, and instead focus on securing your employees' BYOD smartphones and tablets.
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CIOs Need To Improve Budget Practices, Says Study

6/5/2013
To keep up with the fast pace of business, CIOs must shift their budget strategy to bolster employee productivity.
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Network Rail Streamlines Supplier Network

6/4/2013
British state-owned rail infrastructure manager Network Rail aims to improve efficiency, cut costs by culling unwieldy list of 270 IT vendors to only five.
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Vodafone Preps U.K. LTE Debut

6/4/2013
Telecom will double its infrastructure spending to £900 million over the fiscal year to expand its 4G footprint.
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Amazon Plans New Central London Presence

6/3/2013
Company may hire up to 1,600 to staff new site, which will serve as base for new business ventures in areas including TV production and book publishing.
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Whitehall Spending Hawks Tout IT Savings

6/3/2013
Tighter procurement rules have saved the British government £10 billion in the last three years through savvy purchasing of everything from IT to cellphone services.
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Demand For IT Apprenticeships Outpaces Opportunities In U.K.

5/31/2013
With 17 applicants for every available IT apprenticeship position in the U.K., government leaders encourage employers to add more opportunities.
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U.K. Fiber Failures Hinder Economic Growth

5/31/2013
U.K. should follow France's model of public-private investment in broadband infrastructure to bolster its economy, telecom consultants say.
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O2 Call Center Layoff Details Leaked

5/30/2013
British telco O2 plans deep worker cuts driven by a "contact deflection" plan to force customers to use online help, says newspaper.
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Website Aims To Inspire Digital Makers

5/30/2013
Non-profit educational group Nesta addresses U.K.'s fading IT heritage through Make Things Do Stuff, a website that offers British teens online tools that foster digital creativity.
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British Government IT Projects Running Late

5/30/2013
Several IT- heavy government projects are either way behind schedule or need TLC to succeed, says government watchdog group Major Project Authority.
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Parliament Slams U.K. Government Spin Doctors

5/29/2013
Government press releases cite statistics selectively, undermining public trust and good policymaking, say members of Parliament.
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O2's Outsourcing Plans Spark Anger

5/28/2013
Spanish telco's U.K. brand, O2, says it doesn't need as many call center staffers to help customers since the rise of the smartphone. But its plans for dealing with that change have been fiercely attacked.
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BBC Suspends CTO Over Failed IT Project

5/28/2013
Botched Digital Media Initiative cost U.K. taxpayers £98 million, and may cost IT chief John Linwood his job.
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Microsoft, Adobe Top U.K. Software Piracy List

5/28/2013
Windows, Office, and Photoshop are most commonly pirated apps, according to new study.
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Contender For U.K. Smart Meter Rollout: Game On

5/24/2013
SmartReach, a joint venture comprised of several tech and communications companies, has developed communications technology for the U.K's planned smart energy meter project.
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Soros Invests $75M In London Fiber-Optic Startup

5/23/2013
Hyperoptic plans to implement "fiber-to-the-home" broadband technology in more than 500,000 British households within 5 years.
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British Tax Authority Criticized On Data Handling

5/23/2013
Weakness in the data handling capacity of the U.K.'s equivalent to the IRS is leading to billions being lost to error or deception it can't afford, say MPs.
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Does London Tech Scene Need More Money?

5/22/2013
British investor timidity -- in contrast to U.S.'s "appetite for risk" -- is hurting Britain's chances of becoming another Silicon Valley, say London CEOs.
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Public Transit Users Demand Digital Services

5/21/2013
Public transportation providers would be smart to heed riders' expectations for smartphone-based e-tickets and social media communications, finds Accenture study.
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Debate Grows Over Big Tech Taxes

5/21/2013
Lawmakers are increasingly targeting the tax practices of big companies like Apple and Google. But should the focus be on the rules of international business?
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British Cloud Firm Wins Background Check Security Contract

5/20/2013
Skyscape Cloud Services will partner with Indian consulting group Tata to provide security for U.K.'s new online criminal background check system.
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Facebook Ranks Top 'Enterprise' Collaboration Platform

5/20/2013
Businesses beware: Employees prefer using Facebook to SharePoint and other IT-driven collaboration platforms, finds global study by Avanade U.K.
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Ireland Launches New National Broadband Service

5/20/2013
Network promises speeds of up 70 Mbps and could be in 60% of all businesses and homes by end of 2015.
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British MPs Attack Google On Taxes

5/17/2013
British politicians criticize Google and Amazon for failing to pay enough taxes in a country where they are reaping great rewards.
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New Imaging System 'Reads' Ancient Scrolls

5/16/2013
X-ray-based imaging system uses computer modeling to create virtual versions of ancient scrolls, allowing researchers access to never-before-seen historical documents.
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U.K. Has $10 Billion Of Public Data, Study Concludes

5/16/2013
U.K. needs to plow the valuable public-sector data it collects back into better services and drive economic growth, says study commissioned by the British government.
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IGEL Fattens Thin-Client Product Line

5/16/2013
European hardware maker unveils two new devices to support companies' need for powerful, multimedia-capable terminals.
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Apptio Wants To Be 'Workday Of IT'

5/15/2013
Apptio is pushing into Europe with its software that helps CIOs manage IT operations and monitor costs of IT services, backed by a $45 million round of venture funding.
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Lottery Fund To Help Bridge U.K. Digital Divide

5/14/2013
Big Lottery Fund plans to make some £15 million ($23 million) available to increase tech literacy of U.K. citizens.
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Troubled U.K. Bank Seeks New IT Strategy

5/14/2013
U.K.'s Co-operative Bank scrapped a £250 million new banking platform to use a partner's system instead. But that plan didn't work out.
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U.K. Appoints Builder Of Rural Mobile Booster Network

5/13/2013
Government's plan to boost cell and mobile broadband coverage in "not spots" finally in motion after two-year delay.
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Britain's 'Smart Meter' Project Delayed

5/13/2013
Utilities and firms looking to build new smart communications networks say they need at least another year to prepare.
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Financial Times Taps Former BBC Tech Heavyweight

5/10/2013
Multichannel expert John O'Donovan joins The Financial Times as new CTO, will help develop mobile strategy among other challenges.
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Olympics CIO Heads Up To Manchester University

5/10/2013
Gerry Pennell goes back to his alma mater to help deliver the infrastructure component of its ambitious 'Manchester 2020' plan
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BT Increases Profits, Broadband Market Share

5/10/2013
Ambitious fiber broadband investments appear to be paying off, as 51% of British broadband users are now BT customers.
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Ireland Names First National CIO

5/9/2013
Former British government IT and EMC U.K. executive Bill McCluggage will lead national IT strategy for Ireland.
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Kids' Gaming Adds Up For U.K. Parents

5/8/2013
Survey shows many British households face unexpectedly high bills from children's unauthorized gaming purchases.
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Data Centers May Benefit As U.K. Invests In Green

5/8/2013
Government's £21 million low-carbon energy innovation fund could produce power saving technologies for the data center.
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U.K. Government Mandates Cloud First IT Procurement

5/7/2013
Cabinet Office issues directive to government workers: Prioritize cloud-based IT solutions whenever possible.
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Never Miss Another Mobile Call, Promises U.K. Startup

5/7/2013
iBeacon mobile device accessory clips onto bags and uses audio and lights to notify owners of activity on their cell phones.
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U.K. Eyes Apprenticeships To Grow IT Talent

5/3/2013
Public-private partnerships offer on-the-job IT training to unskilled youth, aiming to produce a new generation of IT talent.
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Microsoft Says Goodbye Hotmail

5/3/2013
Microsoft moves 300 million Hotmail accounts and 150 petabytes of email data to Outlook.com.
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Internet Of Things Faces CIO Skeptics

5/1/2013
Majority of CIOs in six countries queried in SAP study see potential in the Internet of Things, but U.S. and U.K. respondents show more doubt than their peers.
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Whitehall Achieves Important Digital Presence Milestone

5/1/2013
Most of central government, including a cyber version of the Prime Minister's office, is now at one Web address, but hundreds of URLs still have to make the shift.
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Tech Execs Help U.K. Raise Its Procurement Game

4/30/2013
Six former industry players, including tech execs from Compaq and Accenture, are brought in to sharpen negotiation and purchasing skills in central government.
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BlackBerry Q10 Sells Out In London Store

4/29/2013
Selfridges, which became the first British outlet to sell the new BlackBerry Q10, sold out first wave of smartphones in two hours.
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British Police Haven't Solved Tech Problems

4/29/2013
Police languish with old BlackBerrys and no easy way to coordinate tech efforts while the government's promised central crime-fighting organization is no where in sight.
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All Thumbs? Tablet Keyboard Promises To Help

4/26/2013
Kalq, soon available for Android devices, re-orders the keyboard layout to speed typing with two thumbs.
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British Startup Targets 'White Van Man'

4/25/2013
Powered Now offers tablet-based administration solutions to U.K.'s small service businesses.
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U.K. CIOs Must Modernize, Report Warns

4/24/2013
Two new reports say business and government organizations aren't making good use of modern technology.
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U.K.'s Biggest Social Media Fans: The Middle Aged

4/24/2013
People ages 55 to 64 drove increase in social media profiles last year, says Ofcom study. One in seven U.K. citizens still isn't interested in the Internet, though.
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