Industry news

A plan to reduce traffic congestion on London’s roads by increasing the use of technology will be discussed by TfL’s board in the coming days. TfL’s open data strategy which provides information for developers to create new products has already spawned over 500 applications according to Publictechnology.net. TfL will work with the likes of Google to create new programmes to reduce congestion. If you want to read more on the story, click here.

For weekly news updates, subscribe to our email newsletter.

An interesting article in The Economist about the use of digital manufacturing caught my eye this week. A new firm named Vanguard hopes to compete with the big motorcycle producers by using digital manufacturing and 3D computer manufacturing where the product exists and can tested in the digital world well before it is in the physical one. The motorbike was unveiled to the New York Motorcycle show earlier this month.

For weekly news updates, subscribe to our email newsletter.

The British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) has predicted that the UK economy will face slower growth in the future, as worries about Brexit and higher inflation hit consumers and business. Crucially, the BCC predict that the UK will avoid recession but will lose momentum as the effects of the weaker pound push up the cost of imports, eroding purchasing power. You can read more of the story here, at the Guardian website.

For weekly news updates, subscribe to our email newsletter.

The Supply Chain Resilience Report, published by the Business Continuity Institute and supported by Zurich Insurance Group has highlighted that supply chain disruptions have fallen from 74% to 70%. However, the report says that worryingly, supply chain disruptions have cost one in three organisations more than €1m in the last year. To read more of the story, visit SupplyManagement.com.

For weekly news updates, subscribe to our email newsletter.

The BBC have reported that a Turkish hacking group has turned web attacks into a game by rewarding people who successfully hit designated targets. Hackers score points for breaking into sites owned by companies that oppose the Turkish government which can then be cashed for prizes. To read more about this, click here for the BBC article.

For weekly news updates, subscribe to our email newsletter.

According to Reuters, Britain’s trade deficit narrowed in October although there were little sign exports were getting much help from sterling's fall. However, the previous three months of trade deficit was revised upwards, dampening the good news. Official figures also showed a fall in construction output which, along with industrial production figures from earlier in the month, offered a less cheery picture of the economy than upbeat business surveys. To read more, click here and visit the Reuters site.

For weekly news updates, subscribe to our email newsletter.

According to ComputerWeekly.com, the adoption of cloud technology will be a top priority for the Nordic region in 2017. More than half of respondents to the Computer Weekly/TechTarget research believe spending on cloud technology will rise in 2017 while 43% expect IT budgets as a whole to rise with only 27% expecting a fall. You can read more of the article here.

For weekly news updates, subscribe to our email newsletter.

An article in the latest issue of the Economist focuses upon the transition of Siemens and General Electric to the Internet of Things and how both firms are approaching the new technology. It is worth a read as both companies are approaching the evolution differently. Other companies and organisations will want to know what happens when operating technology, as represented by GE and Siemens, properly meets information technology. The first tends to be organised in vertical, industry-specific silos, such as machine tools and medical equipment. The second typically comes in horizontal, widely used layers, such as computer operating systems. Bringing it all together could go badly wrong.

For weekly news updates, subscribe to our email newsletter.

The London Stock Exchange Group underlined its long term presence in Sri Lanka by calling on the country’s financial community to engage with them and also expressed interest in offering expertise for future Government projects including public-private partnerships. LSEG yesterday announced the opening of its new state-of-the-art technology facility in Sri Lanka. London Stock Exchange Group Chairman Donald Brydon was upbeat of Sri Lanka’s future and insisted the country has “enormous potential” to attract investment, especially in the IT industry. To read more about this story, click here.

For weekly news updates, subscribe to our email newsletter.

The IIAR analyst of the year 2016 is Phil Fersht from HfS Research (LinkedIn, @pfersht). Phil was runner up in the award last year, behind Julie Short of Gartner. This is a hat-trick for Phil as was he was also a previous winner of the award in 2010 and 2011. Congratulations once again to Phil. He is obviously doing something right!

For more, please click here.

For weekly news updates, subscribe to our email newsletter.