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Editor's Choice

  • Will RIM Survive?
    As Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie step down as co-CEOs at Research in Motion, the company is at a cross roads. Thorsten Heins steps into the CEO chair with many daunting obstacles ahead of him and RIM.
  • Why Bully IT Bosses Lose The Game
    Short-term thinkers will pressure you to dismiss anything but scorched-earth personnel management tactics as soft, or a waste of money. But IT is a service business where nice guys win.
  • American Airlines Reveals Limits Of World-Class IT
    American Airlines once had the industry's best business and IT minds and produced the most innovative IT-based products. But now it's staring at bankruptcy.
  • 10 ways to win at business change by keeping staff onside
    Top tips and keeping the project - and your team - running smoothly(silicon.com - CIO Insights)
  • Apple unveils bulk app purchases for enterprise
    Apple has unveiled its Volume Purchase for Business programme (VPP), essentially an App Store specifically for businesses to purchase iOS apps in bulk. Apart from allowing developers to custom-tailor software for specific businesses, it also gives Apple another entry into the business market.
  • Hackers use videoconferencing to spy on boardroom meetings
    Teleconferencing vendors say they're trying to strike the right balance between security and usability after security researchers found they could dial in to the conference lines of major companies and manipulate video cameras to spy on boardrooms.
  • SAP accelerates plans to wean customers off Oracle databases
    SAP is to accelerate plans to migrate customers away from Oracle databases by introducing in-memory computing support for its ERP product in 2012.
  • How to Make IT Irreplaceable
    How do you turn captive IT users into loyal customers? Start by asking whether they'd use your IT operation for their next project.

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  • Fixed Mobile Convergence is a building block for enterprise mobility
    It is not just the current economic climate that is delaying the authorisation and implementation of IT and telecoms projects. Many CTOs are also delaying decisions due to the rapid rate of change and innovation across the technology sector that may make their decisions rapidly obsolete. However, in a world that is becoming more competitive, connected and global – delays in receiving and responding to voice calls is increasingly commercially unacceptable.
  • How will M2M innovate the consumer electronics industry?
    The GSMA, with the support of AT&T, Deutsche Bank and Vodafone, and in partnership with Machina Research, recently released research that defines the market opportunity and revenue potential for Machine to Machine (M2M) connected devices. M2M is the use of telecommunications infrastructure to connect devices to various applications and other devices to enable monitoring, control and transfer of information.
  • Achieving business transformation through mobility and collaboration
    Mobile flexible working, particularly the use of mobile email, is increasing employee productivity and satisfaction. But mobile email is only the first part of business transformation.
  • Vodafone positioned in the Leaders Quadrant
    Vodafone has been positioned by Gartner, Inc. in the leaders quadrant in the ‘Magic Quadrant for Pan-Western European Mobile Service Providers’* report.
  • International data roaming and the enterprise
    Research studies indicate that many business travellers switch off their mobile data connections when abroad. We examine how this represents not only huge inconvenience for business travellers but also a significant loss in potential revenue for operators.
  • What is driving the enterprise demand for Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC)?
    Fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) is the seamless connectivity of voice data between fixed and wireless telecommunications networks with a single number and voicemail and seamless transfers between devices. We examine the enterprise demands which are driving the adoption of FMC.
  • M2M World Europe 2011
    Europe's premier conference focussing on the opportunity M2M and connected devices bring to the MVNOs and MNOs. Marc Sauter will be representing Vodafone in a debate covering opportunities for operators to offer additional services.
  • Connected Vehicles World Europe 2011
    Lukas van der Kroft is a panel speaker in a discussion on helping automotive OEMs meet the potential of telematics, while maximising revenue.
  • Vodafone acquires Bluefish Communications
    Vodafone Global Enterprise – the business within Vodafone which manages the communications needs of its largest multinational customers – is strengthening its professional services arm through the acquisition of European IT and communications consultancy, Bluefish Communications Ltd.
  • Smart Metering Forum
    The future of smart metering is mobile. Erik Brenneis, Global Head of Vodafone M2M, presents the Vodafone proposition at Marketforce and ASI’s Smart Metering Forum – the UK’s leading strategic forum of debate in the utilities sector for smart metering.
  • Smart Metering Forum
    The future of smart metering is mobile. Erik Brenneis, Global Head of Vodafone M2M, presents the Vodafone proposition at Marketforce and ASI’s Smart Metering Forum – the UK’s leading strategic forum of debate in the utilities sector for smart metering.
  • Attend the Vodafone Health Debate at the mHealth Summit 2011
    Join our Health Debate to discuss mHealth adoption behaviours. A panel of mHealth experts addressing one of the greatest barriers to mHealth adoption, human behaviour.
  • Enterprise Mobility and Communications Service Adoption in 2011
    Corporate communication technology trends, mobile apps and unified communications – listen or watch a recent Forrester teleconference that has some great insight on the future of enterprise mobility.
  • Attend our Gender Diversity in Business event
    Moyo Gender Diversity in Business will explore key issues of personal effectiveness and productivity in business today through a highly stimulating agenda and opportunity to network with key business influencers and senior executives from the private and public sectors. Julie Meyer, a regular contributor on BBC's Dragons' Den online, is the keynote speaker for this first launch event where all proceeds will be donated to the Moyo initiative.
  • Fixed mobile convergence – The First Step in a Unified Communications Strategy
    The world of work is changing. As multinational companies strive to cut costs, improve efficiency and streamline processes, many are starting to benefit from the convergence of technologies in unified communications (UC) to achieve business transformation. Here we examine recent analyst reports and industry trends to understand the issues businesses face around fixed mobile convergence.
  • Keeping tablet and smartphone data roaming costs under control
    Tablets and smartphones are replacing the demand for laptops and PC’s. We examine how enterprise business managers can keep international data roaming costs under control.
  • Mobile business apps drive enterprise collaboration
    Enterprise mobility is driving the need for mobile business apps. We examine the new shift from client-server environments to cloud based mobile apps, which are serving multiple devices and operating systems and driving rapid change and innovation.
  • Data roaming regulation
    Many multi-national companies are unable to manage costs when unlimited data plans are converted to per MB charges, resulting in large unpredictable mobile bills. In alignment with these developments, Vodafone Global Enterprise has already liaised with key clients to understand on-going and future roaming requirements and have introduced six roaming tariff options to complement their existing price per minute/per MB tariffs.
  • The role of fixed line in a unified communications strategy
    How do fixed line services fit within a long term business communications strategy? This research report from Aberdeen Group evaluates how to maximise the business value of fixed mobile convergence.
  • What are the key strategies for enterprise collaboration?
    More and more enterprises are realising the benefits of mobile flexible working. But what apps do people need to get their jobs done? We examine the recent Forrester report, Mobilise Your Collaboration Strategy, which has identified eight “must have” categories of mobile collaboration apps.
  • Highlights of this week’s Cloud conference
    Rather speculatively, I wheeled up to this week’s “Cloud Expo” event in Olympia, London. My first impressions were of a rather technology-centric event, with pretty much all 50 of the exhibitors showing-off their software for service management or software integration.    … Continue reading →
  • Is Handling the Cloud so Different at Home?
    Happy New Year, everyone! The only problem with holidays is that “free time” must so often be consumed with laborious (and unpaid!) work.  Having spent three hours on Sunday mucking about with data on my family’s home PCs, I was … Continue reading →
  • The Maturing Cloud
    Recently I spotted the first real signs that Cloud is maturing as an IT market offering.  I attended the Business Cloud Summit 2011 in Hammersmith, and had the privilege of speaking to a number of people about Cloud.   90% of … Continue reading →
  • Still learning … and this time from students
    Travelling across to the University of East London this week, neither Declan nor I quite knew what to expect.  We’d been asked to present on ‘cloud’ as part of a longer lecture on professional issues, to contribute to a module … Continue reading →
  • Cloud Computing in a Nutshell
    I was recently talking to the CEO of a large European domestic appliances manufacturer who asked me what Cloud was. I responded with my usual descriptor along the lines of:  “In pure business terms, cloud is essentially a flexible, scalable, … Continue reading →
  • Life in a Crumble
    The events of the past week with BlackBerry leaving its customers dangling on a continuum from ‘distraught’ through to “happily unlinked” (refer today’s article on FT.com  – http://on.ft.com/qBEX2F ),  I was again minded to read Mark Poley’s excellent blog published … Continue reading →
  • Don’t mention the ‘C’ Word
    With Gartner’s assessment showing Cloud computing near to the “peak of inflated expectations”, this seems like a good time to write about the danger of hype, and to reiterate some of the concrete benefits of Cloud commercial models. It’s my … Continue reading →
  • Cloud – Hot Air, a Hurricane or New Weather Front?
     Even for an industry hardly averse to talking up the “Next Big Thing”, there is a phenomenal amount of hype and hot air surrounding cloud computing.  But cloud is real; it is a huge step change in the way IT-based … Continue reading →
  • Moving to Cloud? Considerations Before Taking The Leap
    When moving to the cloud there are some key considerations for the organisation. Here are my top 7 1. What is the motivation for cloud? Organisations need to understand why they are moving to cloud. Is the overall objective: Cost … Continue reading →
  • Top 10 Cloud Adoption Headaches
    Questions to ask and how you can address them… 1. Where and how should the different clouds be used? There are many different types of cloud model, and whether considering these as a continuum from private through to public clouds or … Continue reading →
  • Cloud impact on internal data centre
    It is rather odd that the pundits are forecasting growth for Co-location data centres in the UK over the next couple of years. Are they forgetting the cloud impact on data centre capacity? During times of business uncertainty the demand … Continue reading →
  • Time is an illusion, cloud time doubly so!
    For those who attended the Cloud Computing World Forum this week and saw my presentation on how Time is an illusion, cloud time doubly so!, thank you - and I hope that you enjoyed the subject. For those who weren’t there, … Continue reading →
  • Managed Clouds
    As organisations start to embrace cloud to help them in meeting their business needs they are often finding that the challenge in moving to cloud is no less difficult than that of a traditional upgrade / migration. Of course in some situations … Continue reading →
  • Hybrid Clouds
    Looking at and developing cloud platforms and services through a system integrator lens has been interesting over the last two years. I have spent many hours conversing with many cloud thought leaders from my own industry peer group and across … Continue reading →
  • Levelling the playing field for ISVs with cloud
    How does David battle Goliath in the highly competitive software marketplace? Traditionally with great difficulty, anyone who has worked in the IT industry for a period of time and has procurement in their role will have encountered the bright, fresh … Continue reading →
  • Cloud – as reliable as you choose
    Even for an industry that talks up the “Next Big Thing”, there is a phenomenal amount of hype around cloud computing, but as cloud users have found, cloud can provide real benefits in savings and business agility. We are getting … Continue reading →
  • Technology Perspectives – updated for 2012 and beyond
    In general, we don’t directly promote Fujitsu products and services on this blog, but we do try to highlight our thought leadership and, late in 2010, we highlighted Fujitsu’s “Technology Perspectives” microsite, which provides Fujitsu opinion on the future of technology, … Continue reading →
  • Futurology: art, science or nonsense?
    Recently I was asked to present to a group of MBA students on my view of the future and how technology will shape our world by 2015 through to 2020 and beyond. I decided to deliver the session under the … Continue reading →
  • Computing an answer to life, the universe and everything
    In the 1970s, high performance computing was a major trend but in recent years, it’s fallen into the shadows created by the personal computer and the world wide web. Indeed, for a while it seemed that HPC’s destiny was to … Continue reading →
  • Innovation in a tea shop, whatever next?
    In recent weeks, I’ve seen this quote crop up in several places: “US Department of Statistics state that 50% of the jobs we will have over the next six years have not yet been created.” I haven’t seen the original … Continue reading →
  • Bring your own… or use what you are told?
    A few days ago, I read an article about the risks presented by IT consumerisation. It rang alarm bells with me because, whilst the premise is sound (there are risks, some serious ones, and they need to be mitigated), the … Continue reading →
  • Bring you own… or use what you are told?
    A few days ago, I read an article about the risks presented by IT consumerisation. It rang alarm bells with me because, whilst the premise is sound (there are risks, some serious ones, and they need to be mitigated), the … Continue reading →
  • A bite of the Apple, remembering a forgotten war hero
    If I was to mention an apple with a bite taken out of it you would probably think of one of the great technology icons of the past 100 years – namely Apple, and more specifically the late Steve Jobs, … Continue reading →
  • A bite of the Apple, remembering a forgotten war hero
    If I was to mention an apple with a bite taken out of it you would probably think of one of the great technology icons of the past 100 years – namely Apple, and more specifically the late Steve Jobs, … Continue reading →
  • The 2011 Computer Weekly Social Media Awards
    Just over a year ago, we launched the Fujitsu UK and Ireland CTO Blog – written by our Chief Innovation and Technology Officer, David Smith. It’s always been our intention to draw on a combination of external go-to-market and internal … Continue reading →
  • Some thoughts on the “Internet of Things”
    The “Internet of Things” has become a commonly used phase and I think it’s quite a good on: we’ve some idea what the “Things” are but no idea where it will lead (although Hollywood has tried a few times over … Continue reading →
  • Big data – the professional and the amateur
    In my last post on big data I hypothesised that really we are just beginning to understand some of the implications. Within this evolving ecosystem we have an interesting tension developing between the role of the professional and a community … Continue reading →
  • Big data – getting on the front foot
    With cloud now part of everyday language, the next big thing is Big Data. Essentially it is the recognition that the digital world is generating increasing volumes of data (according to Cisco, humans created more data in 2009 than in … Continue reading →
  • Is technology at the heart of business, or is it simply an enabler?
    I saw a video from Cisco this morning, and found it quite inspirational. The fact it’s from Cisco isn’t really relevant (indeed, if I showed it without the last few seconds you woudn’t know) but it’s a great example of … Continue reading →
  • As Amazon fuels the fire, where are the networks to deliver our content?
    Last week saw Amazon’s announcement of the Kindle Fire - a new tablet computer which marks the bookstore-turned-online-warehouse-turned-cloud-infrastructure-provider‘s latest skirmish into the world of content provision and consumption. It’s not going to be available in the UK and Ireland for a while (some … Continue reading →
  • The future Internet and the Intelligent Society
    Last week, I spent an evening with the British Computer Society’s Internet Specialist Group, where I’d been asked to present on where I see the Internet developing in future – an always-on, connected vision of joined-up services to deliver greater … Continue reading →
  • Microsoft reimagines Windows while others search for business value
    Whilst there are many conferences and many keynotes to keep an eye on, I watched last night’s keynote from Microsoft’s Build conference with great interest. The geek inside me was interested in the technology but there was another side too … Continue reading →
  • Could this be the ultimate unified messaging client?
    Much has been made of the slow death of email and the rise of enterprise social software so I was interested to read a recent paper in which Benno Zollner, Fujitsu’s global CIO, commented on the need to balance email … Continue reading →
  • Rumours of the death of IT consumerisation have been greatly exaggerated
    If you follow anyone IT-related on Twitter, or even the mainstream media, it’s difficult to have missed Hewlett-Packard (HP)’s news that it is planning to discontinue the production of WebOS devices and is considering a full or partial separation of its personal … Continue reading →
  • IT and the law – is misalignment an inevitable consequence of progress?
    Yesterday evening, I had the pleasure of presenting on behalf of the Office of the CTO to the Society for Computers and Law (SCL)‘s Junior Lawyers Group. It was a slightly unsual presentation in that David [Smith] often speaks to … Continue reading →
  • Innovation: within companies and on a global scale
    Recently I had the privilege of sitting on the panel for the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) “Business Leaders of Tomorrow” award.  This was organised by the TSB’s Knowledge Transfer Partnerships and was a fantastic day spent talking with 11 high-achieving young … Continue reading →
  • Joi Ito
    Joi Ito, one of the world's leading authorities on business and technology, contemplates the impact of the Internet of Things, big data, open hardware — and the CIO’s changing world.
  • Special Report: The move to mobile first
    Mobile devices will soon be the most popular means of accessing the Internet. How are global businesses seizing the many opportunities this presents?
  • Rod Vawdrey, president Global Business Group, Fujitsu
    Over the past year, a clear set of themes has dominated the agendas of global CIOs. We asked Rod Vawdrey, president of the Global Business Group at ICT leader Fujitsu, how some of these major challenges are being addressed.
  • Analysts' predictions for 2012
    From spending forecasts, to the widespread uptake of enterprise cloud computing, to CIO salaries: a handy round-up of key predictions from the analysts.
  • Economic uncertainty drives cloud adoption
    Renewed economic instability is causing CIOs to seek the flexibility of cloud computing.
  • Global CIO appointments
    Our monthly round-up of the latest major CIO moves from around the world.
  • User-developed software
    Why writing apps is fast becoming child's play.
  • Security: Why it's everyone's problem
    The consumerization of IT is making information security a bigger headache than ever, according to research by analyst group Frost & Sullivan.
  • The innovation of innovation
    In a global survey of chief technology officers and chief innovation officers, management consulting firm Arthur D. Little cited five innovation management trends that organizations need to incorporate into their planning for the next decade.
  • APIs: The future of ecommerce
    Application programming interfaces (APIs) are an increasingly popular means of growing an online business.
  • Global CIO appointments
    Our regular round-up of the latest major CIO appointments from around the world.
  • Beyond PDF
    Wolfram Research's new "Computable Document Format" aims to breath life into static documents.
  • Using social media to drive customer engagement
    The rise of social media is enabling remarkable levels of customer engagement and employee collaboration, highlights Dominic Shine, group CIO of global events company Reed Exhibitions.
  • Data as a service
    Selling datasets "as a service" is set to become a new revenue stream for organizations.
  • Social indexing
    For businesses seeking to enhance their online presence, being “liked” may soon be more important than SEO.
  • The future of work
    If technology is underpinning flexible working, then the CIO is the new enabler of productivity, argue DEGW’s Nicola Gillen and Francesca Jack.
  • Global CIO appointments
    Our regular round-up of the latest major CIO appointments from around the world.
  • The challenge of application portfolio management
    The majority of CIOs are letting their software costs spiral out of control, according to new research by Fujitsu.
  • Where mobile meets social
    The era of location-based social computing has only just begun, says Kevin Lynch, CTO of Adobe Systems.
  • Do CFOs have too much control over the IT budget? Part 2
    Who should make the major technology investment decisions in a business? Arun Gupta, group CTO of Indian department store chain Shoppers Stop, argues that CFOs are now an integral part of the process — so CIOs need to cultivate strong relationships with their financial chiefs.