Industry news

Dell has brought on-site self-service analytics to its workforce, allowing staff to directly implement analytic services, and in-turn reduce waiting times by bypassing approval from the head of IT operations.

The new analytics services allow each Dell business unit to create individual analytic reports.

The new service replaces the past practice of developing separate business unit capabilities which copied analytics data from a central site, this process saw millions being spent on duplicating existing data.

Executive director of IT for Dell Rob Schmidt, said:"The new model says you don't have to be on my road map. Once you have been trained, you have access to all of these enterprise class tools and every single piece of data that exists within Dell,"

The new capabilities available have reduced the time it takes to create new analytic reports by 70 per cent.

Dell brings U.S. entrepreneur initiative to UK

Shareholders approve Dell buyout

Ex director-general of the BBC, Mark Thompson, is set to face questions from a parliament committee today, surrounding the failure of the BBC’s Digital Media Initiative (DMI).

The public affairs committee will see MP’s question current and former members of the BBC surrounding the failure of the multi-million pound project.

The DMI was expected to create cost and time savings but the project was scrapped in 2013 after more than £125 million was invested.

BBC tenders for web analytics system

Committee chair MP Margaret Hodge, said: “I look forward to discussing this with senior, and former senior, members of the BBC, such as former director general Mark Thompson, when they come before us."

BBC head of IT warns businesses of difficulties impacting on cloud services

UK Factory activity slowed down in January after a strong increase in performance over the previous months, at the same time January saw an increase in the number of new orders.

While UK manufacturing experienced a slowdown according to the latest figures in Markit's UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), the PMI of 56.7 still represents strong growth, with the start of the year seeing increased orders from domestic and overseas buyers.

An export orders index figure of 57.5 for January is the highest level seen since February 2011.

Rob Dobson, senior economist at PMI compiler Markit, said: “Although the pace of output expansion has cooled slightly in recent months, growth is still tracking at one of the highest rates in the 22-year survey history".

UK construction records strong growth

UK service sector activity reaches eight month high despite Eurozone recession

The Bank of England has announced the removal of 100 positions in the biggest cull in over a decade.

The cuts come as part of a efficiency drive as part of a review designed to deliver savings of £18 million.

Jobs affected include IT and HR staff, with the Bank claiming that the reforms will improve efficiency, with the job cuts being made to the 3,600 workforce avoiding key staff members.

The statement detailed: "The changes will provide new opportunities for some staff, as they will move to new roles in the organisation. A number of other jobs will not be filled as staff retire or move on.

It is, however, envisaged that there will be between 80 and 100 redundancies, subject to staff consultation. The Bank is working closely with the Bank's union to ensure that affected staff will receive support to find alternative employment".

Bank of England steers away from interest raise

Bank of England set to implement risk assessment system

The Government Digital Service (GDS) has revealed plans for the development of the CloudStore, to offer a broader range of services beyond the G-Cloud and digital frameworks currently available.

The planned upgrade is seen as a necessity due to the current demand on the existing framework, which is now no longer capable of meeting future goals, having already reached growth limitations despite its 2012 rollout.

A government notice said: “The CloudStore has been successful and has had to cope with a growing volume of data beyond initial predictions; it is nearing capacity and design limits.”

Government G-Cloud Cloudstore suffers technical failures

Huddle grabs majority of CloudStore sales

A planned outsourcing operation, valued at £50 million has been revealed by Oxfordshire County Council, as part of a move to generate costs savings.

The planned outsourcing program would focus on providing BPO services to the council and to educational facilities, including HR and payroll services.

The council revealed in the prior information notice that it would: “would look for a contract duration of 4 years with the option to extend by up to a further 4 years however we are looking for the market's view on this among other areas.”

The tendering process for the contract is expected to begin over spring.

Hammersmith and Fulham Council deploys new virtual desktop system

Dorset County Council releases tender for ICT services

Argos has opened new offices next to Victoria station in a move to attract developers to the ‘digital hub’.

The new offices will cater to flexible working practices and will seek to take advantage of the East End start-up scene.

The retailer is looking for developers, designers, testers and product managers as part of the company’s attempts to attract new talent.

The move comes as Argos seeks to capitalise on online services and cater to online markets which account for 46 per cent of Argos’ total revenues, as high street stores are reduced in number.

Argos closes 75 stores in digital transition

Large enterprises are moving to leverage their size and scale in order to compete against technology start-ups, according to Accenture.

Technology start-ups which have come to be viewed as the main technology innovation drivers, being able to disrupt the market and expand rapidly, are expected to face increased competition, as large enterprise firms develop digital strategies in order to reinvent themselves.

The size and resources of large enterprise firms are allowing them to rapidly transform services, moving to digital iterations, with digital technologies being employed within many services.

Chief technology officer at Accenture, Paul Daugherty, said: “Leading companies are adopting digital to drive their processes more effectively and transform how they go to market, collaborate with partners, engage with customers and manage transactions.”

A new virtual desktop system has been rolled out to 2,700 employees by Hammersmith and Fulham Council, to increase productivity and create cost-savings.

The virtual framework is being provided by suppliers Colt alongside the council’s IT partner Agilisys.

The virtual framework is expected to deliver savings of up to 25 per cent and will provide staff with remote secure access, allowing the council to reduce office space and increase time efficiency.

The council director for procurement and ICT strategy, Jackie Hudson, said: "The underlying infrastructure is a fundamental element of our virtual desktop solution, which provides our employees with access to a wide selection of applications and the ability to work off-site and on any device.”

Will 2014 be the year of the Hosted Desktop?

Tesco launches virtual UK supermarket

The EU has endorsed the creation of a single standard for e-procurement and invoicing, allowing all European public services to accept e-invoices.

The single standard has the potential to deliver savings of €2.3 billion by removing border-barriers to cross-public procurement and facilitate digital invoices with their added benefits.

The acceptance of the draft directive sets the way for a final vote in April before the single standard is adopted.

EU creates new procurement rulings

Commissioner for internal market and services, Michel Barnier, said: “By agreeing on the establishment of a common EU standard for e-invoicing in public procurement, interoperable with existing national standards and ensuring acceptance of e-invoices sent in this standard, we have prevented the creation of a new barrier to the single market and reduced complexity for all parties involved.”

European Parliament votes for competition regulation