Computing (28 July 2005)

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Happy Ever after Everton enters the new season with a revamped system off the field page 9

Top jobs

The war on ID theft

Seek out the best jobs in IT, starting on page 40

Our monthly Data Business section takes a look at how businesses are hitting back page 17 28 July 2005

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London tests car tag system Daniel Thomas TRANSPORT for London (TfL) will next month begin trials of a system that could replace the current congestion charge technology for regular commuters driving into the capital. If tests prove successful, the tag and beacon vehicle detection system could replace the camerabased automatic number plate recognition technology when the city’s congestion charge contract with Capita expires in 2009. TfL last week appointed two companies, Norwegian technology firm Q-Free and Austrianbased Kapsch TrafficCom, to test the new system in the London borough of Southwark.

Starting in August, more than 100 vehicles will be used to test the accuracy of the tag and beacon technology, which is already used on many toll-roads across Europe, including the M6 Toll in the Midlands. Trial vehicles will have a credit card-sized tag fitted to their windscreen. The tags will be detected using infrared communications when they pass one of 20 roadside beacons in Southwark. ‘We believe that tag and beacon will be more accurate than the cameras that we use, which have a detection rate of about 70 per cent for a single pass of the vehicle,’ said a TfL spokesman. ‘In comparison, the system we are testing has a detection rate of

Rex Features

Tag and beacon could replace capital’s current congestion charge technology

Tag and beacon trials for congestion charging begin next month

99.5 per cent for a single pass.’ By improving vehicle detection rates, the technology could also help the transport body introduce an account-based charging system for commuters. ‘It would allow for a far more flexible road congestion scheme.

The congestion charge contract runs out in 2009, with the retendering process starting next year. If successful, we would like to see tag and beacon as part of the new contract,’ said the spokesman. Paul Watters, head of road and transport policy at The AA

More e-crime training for UK police Daniel Thomas UK police officers are to receive improved training on how to deal with high-tech criminal evidence, using an elearning portal. Centrex, the Central Police Training and Development Authority, has introduced the online course to address the technical knowledge gap between new recruits and serving officers. Basic computer crime courses have been compulsory for recruits since September 2003, but many long-serving police officers still lack an understanding of possible high-tech evidence to be found at crime scenes (Computing, 23 June). The High Tech Crime First

Responder elearning programme will provide all police officers with training, ranging from how to deal with the public reporting of internet crimes through to identifying, seizing and preserving digital evidence. The course is accessible via the National Centre for Applied Learning Technologies’ elearning portal run by Centrex and the Metropolitan Police Service. ‘Today almost any crime has some technology element to it,’ said Nigel Jones, head of hightech crime training at Centrex. ‘If a suspect is standing there with a blood-stained knife an officer will seize it, but often they are missing vital information or evidence that can be stored on mobile

E-crime skills: Computing, 23 June

phones, PDAs or computers.’ Police call centre staff will also receive training so they can deal more efficiently with reports of crimes such as identity fraud, racism and child pornography. If someone reports racist emails, police support staff will be able to give better advice and tell the victim how to preserve the

digital evidence, says Jones. Jim Gamble, deputy director general of the National Crime Squad, said: ‘It is vital that all police are trained to investigate technology-based crime, particularly the highly sensitive area of online child abuse. ‘By preserving technological evidence where the crime has been committed and ensuring all material seized is dealt with in a consistent and confidential manner, we can maintain the highest level of professionalism in our efforts to combat such crimes.’ Further reading www.computing.co.uk/2138572 [email protected] www.computing.co.uk

Motoring Trust believes the system could reduce errors and make congestion charging more ‘user friendly’. ‘The current system is very unwieldy. Tag and beacon, if it was account-based, could reduce the risk of drivers forgetting they are entering the congestion zone and incurring penalties,’ he said. Tag and beacon may have to run in parallel with the current system as it would be impractical to apply it to occasional visitors to London, says Watters. TfL has ruled out the use of global positioning and GSM systems for the 2009 contract renewal, saying that the technologies will remain unaffordable in the next decade. Further reading www.computing.co.uk/2071556 [email protected] www.computing.co.uk

Government IT spending to rise CENTRAL government IT spending is to grow by more than a fifth in the next three years, according to figures from research group Kable. Expenditure will increase from £2.6bn in the financial year 2004-5 to £3.2bn in 2007-8, of which just over 60 per cent, or £1.9bn, will be outsourced, says the report published this week. Much of the growth will come from the three biggest-spending departments: HM Revenue and Customs; the Department for Work and Pensions; and the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Document management systems and eprocurement are the most common projects being planned by government.

Enterprise p9…Opinion p14…Letters p15…Data Business p17…Metrics p33…Advantage p36…Courses p38-39…Backbytes p48

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We talk to Sohaib Abbasi, chief executive of enterprise software vendor Informatica See page 20

inside ● News Fast-food giant McDonald’s serves up data analysis software for improved customer service See page 4

computing

news

Met Office boosts airline forecasts

Further reading www.computing.co.uk/2127253

Further reading www.computing.co.uk/2135643

● Enterprise

THE Met Office is working with specialist technology provider Sita to develop an advanced online weather application for airlines that will help save money and reduce delays. The interactive service will display weather details graphically, with significant forecast changes that might affect a flight, such as clear air turbulence, hurricanes or volcanic eruptions. Due for launch in November, the tool will be linked to Sita’s online flight briefing service, widely used by airlines to plan the most efficient and cost-effective routes for flights. During winter, weather is the single largest cause of flight delays, costing US and European airlines $750m (£432m) in January alone, according to the

Police IT organisation Pito defends its troubled firearms licensing management system See page 13

● Data Business Businesses are starting to fight back against the rise of identity theft See page 24

James Watson

Hack

How one company took decisive action against unauthorised applications on its laptops See page 26 Your cut-out-and-keep guide to wireless technology See page 29

● Careers IT services firm Capgemini seeks graduates with soft skills as it expands its recruitment drive See page 48

Predictions of conditions such as turbulence will appear in graphics

Met Office. This cost translates to about £50 per minute. Met Office chief scientist John Mitchell says the Advanced Weather Service will help airlines to reduce costs by extending their prediction capabilities. ‘This will allow decisions to be taken earlier and improve turnaround times when the weather presents a threat,’ he said. The service will combine webbased graphical images and weather briefings with flightplan route information for realtime, route-specific information that can be printed out for pilots. The application, in which the Met Office is investing £1m, will also provide longer-range predictions of temperature, wind and pressure, to allow airlines to plan aircraft loads more effectively. Toby Tucker, director for flight

James Watson

operations at Sita, says much of this information is either not currently available or is provided in text formats. ‘Presenting it visually will make choices on flight routes quicker and easier,’ he said. ‘Assessing projected flightplan routes against the shifting track of a hurricane, particularly when aircraft are already in the air, and being able to take the necessary action, will give aircraft operators a critical advantage.’ In April, the Met Office boosted its prediction capabilities by installing an NEC SX-8 supercomputer, adding to NEC systems installed a year earlier.

Interactive weather service will reduce flight delays

Computing goes to California for a preview of IBM’s Shark shorthand technology See page 11

Standard for ecommerce safety delayed THE banking industry’s plans to establish a standard for physically authenticating online transactions have been delayed. The standard was scheduled for May, but banks have so far failed to reach a consensus (Computing, 14 April). Banking industry group Apacs says getting all partners settled on one specification is difficult, but that progress is being made. ‘We have to get agreement from all the banks involved,’ said a spokeswoman for the group. Apacs now hopes to come to an agreement later this summer. The standard is intended to help create greater consumer confidence in internet security, possibly by providing a physical device to generate unique codes to secure online transactions. Apacs says banks are likely to start rolling out devices to select customers in the next nine to 12 months, once the technical standard has been set. Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclaycard have tested the technology, while HSBC is investigating an extra layer of physical security, broadly known as twofactor authentication. But some firms doubt how effective a physical means of authentication might be. ‘It doesn’t actually solve the problems we’re trying to address,’ said Egg chief information officer Gary Price (Computing, 26 May).

Capital Radio is to provide an online elearning system for its staff to improve their IT skills See page 5

Holiday resort firm Center Parcs uses web-filtering software to improve its IT security See page 9

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● Have your say

Ikea deploys software to track home deliveries

Opinion and readers’ letters See pages 14 and 15

Miya Knights

computer aid Join our charity appeal by donating old PCs so they can have a second life in the developing world. Visit: www.computing.co.uk/computeraid

HOME furnishing retailer Ikea has deployed specialist software to improve the management of its home deliveries. The Swedish company, which offers a home delivery service for large items purchased at its shops or through its catalogue, is investing in the software to route deliveries to customers more efficiently and to track their progress more effectively. ‘Our home deliveries are a growing part of our business and

will probably accelerate,’ said Adrian Worth, customer order distribution manager at Ikea UK. ‘Our concern was that, as their volume grew, the inefficiencies in our operation would become more problematic.’ Worth says the technology behind the old home delivery system was unreliable, and that staff had to track deliveries manually. Ikea is implementing home delivery management software from vendor Axida under the terms of a £1m deal, which will integrate the information it han-

dles more easily with existing sales, supply chain and customer back-office systems. The software also connects into the routing, tracking and administrative systems of transportation partner Excel Logistics, which handles Ikea’s deliveries. The first stage of a phased deployment of the software went live in Ikea’s distribution warehouse and customer contact centre earlier this month. ‘At this stage, we are using it to track orders; as a routing mechanism to assist the delivery com-

pany find the best route; and to provide better information to our customer service department about the deliveries,’ said Worth. The software will be extended by the end of the year to allow customers to track their purchases via Ikea’s web site. More detailed data will also help to reduce inaccurate deliveries and the waste created in the supply chain. Further reading www.computing.co.uk/2010339 [email protected] www.computing.co.uk

28 July 2005 Computing

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www.computing.co.uk

Fast-food giant aligns reporting software to boost sales

financial world IBM announced second-quarter income from continuing operations of $1.85bn (£1.06bn), compared with $1.74bn (£994m) in the same period last year. Revenue of $22.3bn (£12.7bn) was up six per cent year on year, excluding the PC business which has since been sold to Lenovo. Chip maker Intel reported secondquarter revenue of $9.2bn (£5.3bn), up 15 per cent on the same period last year. Net income grew 16 per cent year on year to $2bn (£1.1bn). O2 UK reported first-quarter revenue up three per cent year on year. The mobile operator has 14.6 million customers – up 8.1 per cent on last year – with average revenue per user up £2 to £271. Web portal Yahoo reported second-quarter revenue of $1.25bn (£714m), a 51 per cent increase on the same period in 2004. Net income of $755m (£431.6m) was up from $113m (£64.6m) last year. Search engine Google announced second-quarter revenue of $1.38bn (£789m), up 98 per cent year on year. GAAP net income was $343m (£196m), compared with $79m (£45m) in the same period last year. Microsoft announced fourthquarter revenue of $10.16bn (£5.8bn), a nine per cent increase on the same period last year. Net income of $3.7bn (£2.1bn) was up from $2.69bn (£1.54bn) in 2004.

SAP announced second-quarter revenue of €2.02bn (£1.4bn) an increase of 13 per cent on the same period of 2004. Net income was €289m (£200m), up 16 per cent. Online auctioneer eBay reported second-quarter revenue of $1.09bn (£623m), up 40 per cent year on year. GAAP net income increased 53 per cent to $291.6m (£166.6m). Indian IT provider Wipro announced first-quarter net income up 31 per cent to 4.3bn rupees (£56.5m). Revenue increased 29 per cent year on year to 22.9bn rupees (£301m). Storage specialist EMC reported second-quarter revenue of $2.34bn (£1.34bn), up 19 per cent on the same period in 2004. Net income of $293m (£167m) was up 52 per cent. Nokia’s second-quarter sales increased by 25 per cent to €8.1bn (£5.6bn). Net profit was €799m (£555m), compared with €695m (£483m) in the same period last year. UK software company Misys announced preliminary results for the year ended 31 May, with turnover of £888m down from £900m in 2004. But operating profit grew from £30m to £41m. Unisys reported a second-quarter net loss of $27.1m (£15.5m), compared with net income of $19.4m (£11.1m) last year. Revenue increased three per cent year-on-year to $1.44bn (£823m).

The Computing 30 share index After peaking at 670p in March, internet security and anti-spam firm SurfControl’s share price continues to slide. The company recently appointed a new chief executive after founder Steve Purdham switched roles to chief strategy and technology officer. The software group says full-year revenues are expected to be above the lower end of the previously guided range of $97m (£55.7m) to $102m (£68.9m). Its share price is now trading at 430p.

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Biggest movers 1: Easynet 2: SurfControl 3: Gresham Computers

For full listing details, visit www.computing.co.uk/index30

6.8% 7.5% 8.5%

McDonald’s serves fresh data analysis Miya Knights FAST-food giant McDonald’s is using data analysis software to improve customer service and increase sales in its UK outlets. The company has standardised reporting software across all areas of its operations, to evaluate trials of new products and business practices, and to rate the success of technology initiatives. ‘There are many business initiatives that we have used the software to assess the business benefits,’ said Keith Frimley, McDonald’s business relationship manager. ‘We are using it to pull up information on our next innovation – the introduction of our new deli baguette, which is being tested in 160 restaurants. ‘We are looking to see how the introduction of this new product is affecting our sales,’ he said. McDonald’s has extended the use of business intelligence software from vendor Business Objects, to provide additional information about customers and sales patterns. Data gleaned from the use of the software prompted the company to open outlets half an hour earlier. Frimley says sales data demonstrated that extended opening hours would increase

McDonald’s is gleaning additional information on sales and customers

sales enough to warrant the trial’s extension to all 1,300 UK restaurants. The software has also been used to evaluate the use of wireless handheld devices to take orders and cut queueing times (Computing, 17 July 2003). ‘We collected transactional data from the devices and pulled it into the software to assess the speed of service,’ said Frimley. ‘This was one business initiative that we needed to report on its success to decide whether or not we should extend it across our restaurants. This proved the

business benefit, but also helped us look at speed of service and how our order takers could improve their level of customer response,’ he added. McDonald’s has been steadily extending use of the business intelligence software since it first standardised a variety of reporting packages used by its own restaurants, and is evaluating further use on a global basis. Further reading www.computing.co.uk/2070128 [email protected] www.computing.co.uk

UK banks face rising bill for Basel II James Watson COMPLYING with Basel II credit risk regulations is expected to cost the UK banking sector at least £2.5bn, says research published this week. The findings from consultancy Accenture showed that costs incurred by just 20 banks in the UK and Ireland amounted to more than £750m. Paul Cartwright, global head of risk and regulation at Accenture, says the findings paint a picture of the ‘colossal’ cost of compliance, even though banks want value from the investment. ‘One large bank spent more than £135m,’ he said. Nearly half (45 per cent) of UK and Irish banks surveyed say they expect to spend at least £35m. Globally, almost half of all banks polled predict they will spend more than £34.5m by

2007, significantly up from just a quarter who cited the same figure a year earlier. Most UK banks are either engaged in building and testing appropriate systems (40 per cent), or are in the process of rolling out a compliant solution (30 per cent). Accenture considers the building and testing phase as the primary indicator of progress towards implementing a system for the regulations. But many firms have reported rising compliance costs as they move through the implementation process. ‘As European banks advanced further in the Basel II implementation cycle, they reported substantial increases in expected costs,’ said Cartwright. ‘Banks must make sure they achieve these benefits if their Basel programme is not to be

money down the drain,’ he said. Many firms have noted some overlap with their work on Basel II and other compliance programmes, such as International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and Sarbanes-Oxley. But Cartwright says the gains from this overlap pale in comparison to the cost. ‘The expense to Britain’s banks of the recent regulatory and accounting changes has been colossal, and it will come as cold comfort to shareholders that some of these costs have been mitigated through an overlap between the various requirements from IFRS, SarbanesOxley and anti-money laundering measures,’ he said. Further reading www.computing.co.uk/2070736 [email protected] www.computing.co.uk

computing

www.computing.co.uk

Sarah Arnott GOVERNMENT spending watchdog the National Audit Office (NAO) is considering reporting on public sector IT successes, rather than failures. The plan is one of three crossgovernment procurement efficiency studies being evaluated by the agency. ‘A number of our reports have drawn attention to projects that experienced problems,’ says the NAO’s Focus newsletter. ‘Not every government IT project, however, experiences difficulties; many are successful. ‘To understand why these projects avoided the pitfalls that befell others, the study will examine successful IT-enabled business change projects in both the public and private sectors.’ Public sector technology programmes face considerable scrutiny from both the NAO and its parliamentary counterpart, the Public Accounts Committee. If the report goes ahead it will be the first time that either body has looked at how successful schemes achieved their aims. Learning from successful projects is a key aim of Ian Watmore, head of the eGovernment Unit in the Cabinet Office. ‘We are already doing a lot of good things,’ he said earlier this year (Computing, 19 May). ‘The question is how we can make that more ubiquitous.’ Further reading www.computing.co.uk/2071456 [email protected] www.computing.co.uk

Radio firm tunes into elearning

Thebulletin week in in The week 60 seconds seconds 60 Technology among top brands Technology brands account for four of the 10 most valuable global brands, according to a survey by Interbrand. Microsoft and IBM are considered the second and third most valuable, after Coca-Cola. Intel and Nokia occupy fifth and sixth spot respectively. Technology brands account for nearly one-fifth of the top 100 brands in the list. Microsoft’s brand is valued at almost $60m (£34m). www.interbrand.com/ surveys.asp

Capital Radio readies merged company for online IT training Mark Samuels COMMERCIAL radio company GCap Media is to provide staff with an online learning system, allowing them to develop IT skills at their own pace. GCap, formed by the merger of GWR Group and Capital Radio in May, aims to have the elearning system up-and-running by the start of September. Training materials will be available to 1,900 employees via the company’s intranet, providing staff with the opportunity to learn about the company’s Atlas planning system. Hina Patel, group head of business systems at GCap, says the company wants to introduce online training courses for all the applications it uses. ‘Individuals can work at their own pace and only move on to the next stage when they are ready,’ she said. Patel says Capital Radio began experimenting with online learning at the end of 2003. The company analysed the scope of online learning and whether or not it could be tailored to its needs. She says GCap is now ready to

Rex Features

NAO to focus on IT project success stories

Radio station staff will be able to take a flexible approach to IT training

use elearning for the company’s training requirements. ‘We have been getting used to elearning in Capital, and it means that our training team does not have to travel all over the country,’ she said. Patel says the media group’s move to online learning forms part of a holistic approach that also includes running its own training programmes. ‘All our technical training is in-house and it is available for whatever workers need,’ she said. Capital insourced training provision in late 2000 and began establishing in-house training personnel and materials. ‘It was costing us too much to outsource our IT training. We

realised we could offer training in-house,’ said Patel. ‘A member of my in-house support team was quite keen on undertaking training and we agreed that he would take it on.’ The team member was trained and a range of relevant Microsoft Office documents were purchased and tailored to meet the media company’s needs. Patel says Capital realised inhouse training could be used for other systems, such as email. It is now used to support training across all GCap systems. Further reading www.computing.co.uk/2076039 [email protected] www.computing.co.uk

Argos to launch electronic gift card Miya Knights HIGH-STREET retailer Argos is to launch one of the UK’s largest electronic gift card schemes later this year. The swipe cards will replace existing paper-based vouchers. The firm is investing in new server and software technology to link gift card transaction data with other data about customers and sales, currently handled by its existing till systems. Argos, which has 600 shops in the UK, is one of the biggest users of paper-based gift tokens in the country, processing three million transactions a month. It hopes that the electronic system

Retailer to replace paper gift vouchers with electronic card technology will help to target customers more effectively. ‘Argos is considering implementing an electronic gift card solution by the end of the year,’ a spokeswoman for the store told Computing. The company, which is working with technology supplier Trintec on the project, has started installing the gift card technology to be ready for launch in September. ‘Argos was looking at whether or not to send related transac-

tions to a service provider, but decided to run the technology inhouse because it had a strong benefits case,’ said a Trintec spokesman. The retailer also plans to use the cards to issue refunds when a customer has no receipt for the goods they bought, for promotions such as store openings, and for issuing as payment for successful claims made on its furniture and jewellery insurance. Argos hopes that an electronic system will also cut down on

internal fraud, by removing the opportunity for the theft of paper gift vouchers from tills. Kieran Hines, cards and payments analyst at researcher Datamonitor, says other retailers will be closely following the company’s progress. ‘If Argos’ implementation is successful, the fact that the system costs less than a paper-based version and provides better customer information will mean that more retailers will introduce the technology.’ Further reading www.computing.co.uk/2075963 [email protected] www.computing.co.uk

news

Home Office recruits CIO The Home Office is recruiting a chief information officer (CIO) to create the department’s first overall IT strategy. The role will oversee the Home Office’s major technology programmes, including high-profile plans such as eBorders. www.computing.co.uk/2135382 CRB ahead with IPLX database The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) has made significant progress on the targets set by the Bichard report into the Soham murders, including the launch of the interim police local cross-referencing database (IPLX), says the CRB annual report. IPLX data supplements existing CRB information and is a ‘significant advancement’ on the protection of the vulnerable, it says. www.computing.co.uk/2139087 EU to play high-speed catch-up The European Commission is running a public consultation to help close the digital divide across the EU. There are 40 million broadband lines across the 25 member states, a 70 per cent increase on last year. However, high-speed internet access was available to 90 per cent of urban dwellers, but to only 62 per cent of the rural population. www.computing.co.uk/2137664 E-voting to garner more electors Some 66 per cent of people who did not vote in the last General Election say they would be more likely to vote next time if online voting was available. A survey of 2,136 British adults, conducted by YouGov for Cisco Systems, suggests that e-voting could have a dramatic effect on UK democracy. ‘We do know that voters want a choice of convenient, secure ways to vote,’ said Angela Salt, director of communication at the Electoral Commission, www.computing.co.uk/2140250 28 July 2005 Computing

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London travel card to add e-cash feature Daniel Thomas LONDON retailers have welcomed Transport for London’s (TfL’s) plans to add electronic money features to its Oyster travel card, saying it could improve business in the capital. The National Federation of Retail Newsagents (NFRN), which represents 20,000 shops in the UK and Ireland, is providing input into the Oyster e-money scheme, which will allow London commuters to use the smartcard to pay for lowvalue goods and services at newsagents,

National Federation of Retail Newsagents to aid introduction of smartcard to London stores fast-food outlets, supermarkets and parking machines. The retail group says many London newsagents already have the IT infrastructure in place to top up TfL’s Oyster travel cards, and believes this could easily be extended to accept smartcard payments for low-value goods. ‘We are working with TfL to look at how

it would work. It could bring many benefits,’ said an NFRN spokeswoman. Last week TfL announced it had shortlisted seven consortia to bid for the Oyster e-money scheme and hopes to begin trials of the technology by the end of the year. ‘Oyster has the largest customer base of all smartcards in the UK, with 2.2 million users and a significant level of public

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trust,’ said Jay Walder, managing director of finance and planning at TfL. ‘Extending Oyster to include low-value payments is a natural progression which will make the smartcard even more convenient,’ he said. Companies and consortia bidding to run the project are: alphyra; Barclays; BBVA, Accenture, MTR and Octopus; EDS and JP Morgan; Nucleus; Dexit, Ericsson, Hutchison 3G and Euroconex; and PayPal and Royal Bank of Scotland. A spokeswoman for TfL also told Computing that it has received initial interest from a number of prominent food and drink retailers, including Pret A Manger, Starbucks and Eat. TfL first announced its plans for Oyster e-money in March, and says it hopes to use the scheme to generate additional revenues for the London transport system. Further reading www.computing.co.uk/2071576

Security

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ALMOST two-thirds of businesses are planning to simplify their existing IT systems, research shows. Some 61 per cent of IT managers want to reduce the number of vendors, operating systems and types of hardware they use, citing maintenance costs and inflexibility as the main reasons for change, according to a report from BT published this week. Between 70 and 80 per cent of IT budgets are spent on maintaining existing systems, and business flexibility is being severely hampered by legacy networks and applications sewn together by middleware and patches, says the survey of 455 IT and business managers. The report, conducted by The Bathwick Group, also says procurement processes, lack of IT standards and the need for bespoke solutions have left most companies locked into costly and complicated multi-vendor environments. Some 77 per cent of respondents admit that individual IT projects, mergers and acquisitions, and departmental spending independence has led to poor integration of technology systems across the business. IT complexities are also hindering business decisions, with 52 per cent of respondents saying they are unable to access information added to core systems on the same day. Some 25 per cent of firms also expect the cost of maintaining legacy systems to rise by 10 per cent over the next year. Further reading www.computing.co.uk/2140136 [email protected] www.computing.co.uk

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Computing 28 July 2005

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Growth in European IT spending Q1 2004 to Q1 2005 $bn and to the right, percentage change from previous year

$50bn

Services Comms

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$40bn

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Growth in Asia-Pacific IT spending Q1 2004 to Q1 2005 $bn and to the right, percentage change from previous year $60bn 006 1%

$50bn

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Compute hardware

IT spending around the world: we break down what companies are doing with their IT budgets See page 33

Tesco redesigns scales software to cut waiting Miya Knights SUPERMARKET giant Tesco has cut customer waiting times at its fresh food counters by 60 per cent after redesigning the software that runs its scales systems. As part of an application development programme, the company has replaced its previous system, which was based on ageing technology that simply weighed and costed produce and printed labels. ‘The scales and printers were, in some cases, 15 years old, and should have gone with the Ark,’ said Mark Green, Tesco business development manager. ‘They were slow and unreliable, and did not capture any data.’ Tesco has developed a scales application using Microsoft .Net architecture. The firm used specialist .Net skills from IT consultancy Conchango. The software connects into Tesco’s IT infrastructure and feeds back supply and waste information into the sales system via a Windows 2000 server. It has been designed to provide a familiar look and feel. Green says the system is continually being adapted. ‘We’re improving the system from three angles: removing manual tasks, focusing on the supply-chain and understanding our product flow, and linking into the web site.’ Further reading www.computing.co.uk/2137693 [email protected] www.computing.co.uk

enterprise

Edited by Emma Nash www.computing.co.uk

Everton kicks off with new system

HOLIDAY resort firm Center Parcs UK is using web-filtering technology to improve IT security and reduce support time. The company’s 800 internet users at its four UK resorts are now far less likely to access inappropriate web content following the installation of SurfControl’s web-filtering technology. By customising the SurfControl Web Filter, Center Parcs has reduced the time that IT staff spend adapting employee access rights so they can view competitor leisure sites blocked by traditional web-filtering settings.

Whittards revamps web site High-street retailer Whittards of Chelsea is to revamp its four-year-old web site with a new navigation structure to enable customers to manage accounts, wish lists and reordering, as well as find products and advice more easily. Whittards has signed ecommerce systems specialist e-InBusiness to host the system. www.computing.co.uk/2139403

Club ditches 3Com infrastructure for network upgrade Daniel Thomas EVERTON Football Club is overhauling its IT networks and installing new retail systems to deal with the increased business it expects to receive when it plays in Europe next season. The Champions League hopefuls are working with Cisco and BT to install a converged voice and data network around the club’s Goodison Park stadium in Liverpool before the start of the season next month. By replacing its existing 3Com infrastructure with a fibre network, the club will be able to install new business applications, internet telephony and wireless internet connectivity for corporate hospitality boxes and the press. ‘All the hospitality locations have been overhauled, and we are looking at other corporate facilities. We want to ensure that people come to the grounds for corporate events rather than go to business facilities elsewhere,’ said Steve Etheridge, head of IT at Everton FC. Everton will also work with The Logic Group to upgrade their retail and ecommerce systems to be able to cope with growing merchandise sales in the UK and the Far East. The Logic Group will manage

Everton: preparing for the Champions League in Europe this season

electronic funds transfers (EFT) and security for sales from tickets, mail order, hospitality and Everton’s ecommerce site. The club’s participation in this month’s Premier League Asia Trophy and its sponsorship deal with Asian brewery Chang Beer has forced a switch to the 24-hour managed EFT service as a result of a massive growth in online merchandising sales coming from supporters in the Far East, says Etheridge. ‘We decided to switch to The Logic Group’s service as we needed to be forward thinking and ensure that, due to demand, our payment card processing did

not disintegrate under pressure,’ he said. The retail IT specialist will manage payment processing for Everton’s shops, bars and restaurants at Goodison Park, and its two shops in Liverpool. The supplier will also protect the club’s online transactions through the Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode payer authentication schemes, and install chip-and-PIN technology for Everton’s point-of-sale systems. Further reading www.computing.co.uk/2076022 [email protected] www.computing.co.uk

Center Parcs filters access for internet workers Daniel Thomas

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$60bn

Holiday resort firm protects staff with SurfControl web-filtering technology ‘The new system will assist HR policy and improve our internal security policy,’ said Brian Scanlon, security administrator at Center Parcs. The company has also improved security by blocking access to inappropriate sites, stopping downloads of malicious software and access to spoof phishing sites, says Scanlon. ‘It is protecting our employees as well as the business and our network infrastructure,’ he said.

‘Since we have been running the filters we have seen a huge reduction in attempts to access, either inadvertently or on purpose, inappropriate material. ‘We have also been able to lock down many of the download and malicious hacking sites.’ SurfControl’s web-filtering technology has been tailored to fit with Microsoft’s Internet Security Acceleration 2004 platform, which Center Parcs uses to provide extra application-layer fire-

wall, virtual private network and web-caching protection. Center Parcs UK took over management of its customer web site and IT infrastructure in 2003, after its Dutch parent company decided to switch maintenance of technology to the UK. ‘When we first took over it was clear that there were transgressions in our internet security policy. Since then we have added multiple layers of protection,’ said Scanlon. Further reading www.computing.co.uk/2071231 [email protected] www.computing.co.uk

Rexam repackages intranet Consumer packaging company Rexam has saved $2m (£1.14m) a year by consolidating its corporate intranet using enterprise content management products from supplier Stellent. The new Information Network, has increased the number of information and tasks accessed by Rexam’s 21,000 employees in 20 different countries, increasing its security, rights and access management. www.computing.co.uk/2070369 RFID market in period of flux The global radio frequency identification (RFID) market will alter in the coming six to nine months as firms struggle to develop the management software required to power RFID infrastructures, research shows. ABI Research says development initiatives are ‘flying thick and fast’, but says many existing RFID vendors and technologies will fail in a period of acquisitions as players compete to develop more business-focused RFID software. www.computing.co.uk/2140155 Microsoft acquires FrontBridge Microsoft is to acquire FrontBridge Technologies for an undisclosed sum. FrontBridge provides a hosted email security, regulatory compliance and guaranteed availability service. Microsoft will offer the services as an added outsourced security technology to its Exchange users. www.computing.co.uk/2140156 IBM focuses on Project Harmony IBM has committed engineering resources to help in the development of Project Harmony, an initiative from the Apache Software Foundation to create an open source implementation of the J2SE specification. Project Harmony allows Java applications to run on desktop computers. www.computing.co.uk/2140209 28 July 2005 Computing

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Shark tales from IBM’s labs James Watson in California SITUATED atop rolling hills in the middle of 700 acres of undeveloped land in California, IBM’s research centre is an unlikely setting for some of the world’s finest technology brains. Although just a short drive from the heart of Silicon Valley, the Almaden site feels remote, with nothing but open country all around. But within its walls, more than 400 scientists, programmers and researchers are busy working on a diverse range of cutting-edge technologies and applications. Staff at Almaden, which is one of eight such IBM centres around the world, spend their time working on basic science research and the continued development of existing technologies. Dr Robert Shelby, a research staff member at the centre, is investigating new technologies for memory devices. Having spent the past 25 years working in electro-optics, Shelby tests various composite materials to determine their properties when rapidly heated and cooled. Using a laser test station that he threw together with old components in the lab, he fires green and red laser beams into a range of germanium and antimony composites. The green laser heats the material while the red laser measures its reflectivity, which is how data is read by the system. The research is part of the centre’s work on a new phase change memory (PCM) technology, which aims to store data by changing the state of various materials from an amorphous to a crystalline structure, rather than as an electrical charge. It is a slow process, because the right composite materials need to be found that can cope with being heated and cooled millions of times at temperatures suitable for use in desktop computers. Phase change is already used in some technologies, such as rewriteable CDs and

The software’s trick lies in accurately predicting the word users want to write from the line that they trace DVDs. But if his research succeeds, Shelby will help to develop high-capacity memory that lasts longer, is more stable and operates faster than existing Flash memory, with read speeds measured in nanoseconds rather than microseconds. ‘Flash memory is terrible,’ says Shelby. ‘Both read and write speeds are too slow. And because Flash memories degrade over time, they need to include lots of error-checking software to compensate.’ In May, IBM announced that it will work with researchers at Infineon and Macronix to further develop PCM technology. The potential pay-off from PCM is huge, as this kind of memory could replace existing technologies such as DRam and Flash, powering a new generation of iPods

How the Shark shorthand keyboard works IBM researcher Per-Ola Kristensson demonstrates a new style of writing for mobile devices that forms the basis of IBM’s Shark shorthand software. The first version of the system, for Windows XP-based tablet PCs featuring a 7,000-word dictionary, is freely available for download from www.alphaworks.ibm.com. A new version, with a substantially expanded 60,000-word, dictionary will go live at the end of August.

and other consumer devices. ‘Flash memory is key, especially for use in mobile phones, digital cameras, MP3 players and so on,’ says Dr Gian-Luca Bona, group manager for science and technology at Almaden. ‘It’s the fastest-growing market for memory in the world and its needs are increasingly demanding as users swallow up more and more capacity and want it faster and more reliable.’ PCM technology is just one aspect of the storage research carried out at the centre, with other scientists working on tape technology and other types of storage. ‘Tape technology is especially important, as new regulations demand that data be retained by firms and airports and so on for lengthy periods of time. Tape is the most cost-effective tool for doing this,’ says Bona. One of the more unusual areas of research is in the magnetic race-track, a type of three-dimensional memory with the capacity of a typical hard disk drive and the performance of solid state memory. Still only a proof of concept, the basic science is being tested by the lab led by Dr Stuart Parkin, an IBM Fellow responsible for numerous breakthroughs in experimental physics. But storage is just one of several technologies being explored. Researchers are working on technologies from healthcare systems and computer interfaces to better techniques for protecting digital content. Although the focus is on the basic science, a lot of attention is also paid to bringing new technologies to market. One example is an application called Shark. Aimed at improving the techniques for writing on small mobile devices, the concept relies on tracing letters with a stylus, rather than tapping them out individually (see box, above). The software’s trick lies in accurately predicting the word users want to write from the line that they trace. If it is unable to decide immediately which word the user might want, it provides a list of options. Unrecognised words can be entered by simply tapping the right letters on the pad, which are then automatically added to the system’s dictionary. With some practice, Shark allows users to ‘write’ at speeds of between 50 and 80

words per minute, faster than any other existing input system excluding a computer keyboard. IBM says writing longhand has a theoretical maximum speed of 24 words per minute. ‘It is a trial platform at the moment, but we can port it rapidly to any other platform should the right hardware partner express a desire to work with us,’ says Dr Shumin Zhai, the research staff member leading the project. Shark is one of several human-machine interfaces being developed at the labs, as scientists investigate ways of improving

the way we interact with computers. ‘The user experience is terrible at the moment. We are working on trying to change that here,’ says Dr Daniel Russell, a senior research assistant in user sciences and experience research at Almaden. Russell is finalising a system that tracks the movement of a user’s eyes to see where and for how long they focus their attention on a specific point, which will be used as a kiosk-based exhibit at a local technology museum. It combines a non-obtrusive eye tracker with recording and analysis software developed in IBM Research. Russell says one practical application for the software could be for ecommerce firms wanting to see how much attention customers pay to various elements on a site, such as price, the product’s image, specifications and so on. IBM has already worked with retailer Lands’ End for an online shopping study, and is now working with its consulting arm to deploy the system for ecommerce usability studies. Further reading www.computing.co.uk/2076016 [email protected] www.computing.co.uk

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28 July 2005 Computing

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Pito defends troubled firearms licensing project

UK police set to pilot register Emma Nash BY THE end of next year police forces across England and Wales should be using the National Firearms Licensing Management System (NFLMS). The web-based system, developed by supplier Anite, will link to an Oracle database. It is intended to fulfil requirements passed in the 1997 Firearms (Amendment) Act to provide a searchable, national register of all firearm certificate holders. The Police IT Organisation (Pito), which is responsible for the project, says technical issues identified in initial pilots last summer have now been corrected, and that it will begin live tests with the Lancashire and Metropolitan police forces in the autumn (Computing, 21 July). The initial pilots identified problems with printing certificates and inadequate bandwidth, which Pito says were a result of the rapid pace of technology change. ‘When you scope a project like this in terms of user and bandwidth requirements, it freezes time,’ said Selvin Baker, NFLMS project manager at Pito. ‘But in the real world, police forces have moved on and are using some of that bandwidth.’ The problem is prompting Pito to review the way police forces across England and Wales use bandwidth. The NFLMS will be accessed by forces over the Criminal Justice Extranet (CJX). This bandwidth is provided through an agreement between Pito and Cable & Wireless, and forces purchase capacity as required. Pito is considering delivering this bandwidth centrally. ‘The contract is coming up for negotiation,’ said Tom McArthur, director of operational services at Pito. ‘We are talking to IT directors to see if we can do this better. This would remove a lot of the grief and go a long way to enforcing some standards.’ McArthur says being able to deliver more bandwidth to forces as new applications are delivered will be essential in the coming months and years, particularly as Impact progresses – a programme set up to create a national intelligence system for UK police (Computing, 9 February). It is envisaged that NFLMS will be used to fulfil the firearms criteria of Impact. ‘How Impact will integrate with the NFLMS, which will already exist, is not completely clear yet. But we do know there is an intention that NFLMS will be integrated as part of Impact,’ said Baker. But Simon Dicketts, central administrator of NFLMS, says the register will prove useful in tracing the history of illegal weapons. ‘Unless it is homemade, a gun did not start life as illegal,’ he said. ‘At some point in a gun’s life it becomes bent. Where that is happening has been hard to find. This

NFLMS timeline 1997: Firearms (Amendment) Act proposes searchable firearm certificate register Mid-2000: Pito given formal remit to create national firearms application

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Autumn 2002: Project is rescoped October 2003: Contract signed with supplier Anite. Anite begins coding July 2004: Anite delivers NFLMS and initial pilots begin with Lancashire and Metropolitan police forces July 2004: Testing identifies problems with the printing of certificates and bandwidth September 2005: Live pilots to begin within Lancashire and the Met police, with a view to extending the system to all other forces in England and Wales

puts another link in a chain. We may have a trail to follow.’ Pito says the NFLMS should be fully operational by the end of next year, and is partly blaming its lengthy development on a reluctance to change within forces. ‘It should be live everywhere by the end of next year, although it could also be a lot sooner if there is a willingness from forces,’ said McArthur. ‘There is a lot of resistance to change. What a national system does is force everybody onto the same standard.’ The NFLMS has also attracted critics who argue that a register of legal firearms will not help in the fight against illegal firearm activity. Conservative Lord Marlesford has been critical of the project for some time and is calling for the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to look into the delays. ‘The whole thing is totally unsatisfactory,’ he told Computing. ‘The Home Office has a responsibility to implement legislation and it has failed to do so. It seems instead to be allowing the police to defy parliament. I believe the PAC should look into it urgently.’ But Pito says such criticism is unjustified, and that because the project was rescoped, the organisation has been working on it for, essentially, only three years. ‘This was passed in 1997. We are now in 2005 and the project is still not there,’ said Baker. ‘But you cannot say this without understanding what the issues have been from day one. It is unfair to do so.’

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Further reading www.computing.co.uk/2140164 [email protected] www.computing.co.uk

28 July 2005 Computing

* Statistics taken from a RAM independent survey.

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comment

confused and rushed ID card scheme shows nothing UK must increase The has been learned from other IT projects, says Sarah Arnott research budgets Flawed ID card plan

ONE of the aims of the UK’s six-month presidency of the European Union (EU) is to focus debate on funding for science, technology and innovation. EU research published last week shows how critical this is. The US devotes 2.59 per cent of its wealth to research and development (R&D) in science and technology, Japan spends 3.15 per cent, but Europe invests just 1.93 per cent of its GDP. Meanwhile, China’s investment levels are growing 10 per cent year on year. In the UK, the government’s 10-year Science and Innovation Framework (S&IF) sets a target of spending 2.5 per cent of GDP on R&D by 2014, compared with the current level of 1.9 per cent. While the government’s contribution to achieving this is far from perfect – the R&D tax credits system was criticised by the CBI last week – at least it is trying to make a difference. Where the UK is falling down is in the private sector. The first annual report for the S&IF was released last week, and shows the latest figure for business spending on R&D is just 1.23 per cent of GDP – slightly down from previous estimates of 1.25 per cent, with a target of 1.7 per cent to achieve within 10 years. In the US and Japan, the most R&D intensive economies in the world, investment in this area is normal practice. Look at some of the innovations coming out of IBM’s research labs as an example (see page 11). But the S&IF annual report says of this country: ‘There appears to be a relative lack of large UK-owned businesses in traditionally R&D intensive sectors such as IT.’ The UK is a great nation of inventors, and our academic research is as good as anywhere in the world. But businesses – both in the UK IT industry and among its customers – are falling behind. IT directors should argue for a small portion of their budget to be dedicated to R&D – a luxury afforded to few today. This would be a big step towards improving competitiveness, both for their own company and the UK. Published weekly by VNU Business Publications Ltd Registered in England no 1513633 Computing is printed by St Ives Peterborough Ltd © copyright VNU Business Publications Ltd Average qualified circulation: 115,641 BPA (January-June 2004) available at http://marketing.vnu.co.uk/computing ISSN: 1361-2972 Subscribe online at http://www.subscription.co.uk/cc/computing Delivery or circulation issues Email us at [email protected] or call our helpline on (01858) 435344 Reprints Computing offers a commercial reprint service. Call Alex Watson on (020) 7316 9206 Licensing Computing is available for international licensing. Contact: [email protected] Computing contains articles under licence from CMP Media LLC which are reprinted with permission of Information Week. © Copyright 2005 CMP Media LLC. All rights reserved. Computing supports The Prince’s Trust Technology Leadership Group, raising money for technology-related startup businesses. Call (020) 7543 7331

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Computing 28 July 2005

ignores past lessons GERMAN statesman Otto von Bismarck said: ‘A fool learns from his experience. A wise person learns from the experience of others.’ Sadly, it seems the government never learns at all. In our approach to reporting public sector technology, Computing works hard not to slip into the all-too-easy condemnation of every hiccup as further evidence of an unavoidable rerun of the failures of the past. Such an approach is lazy, and entrenches negative perceptions of technology that do not help the government, the IT sector or society in general. It also ignores the considerable progress that has been made. But there is one major programme that even the most favourable critic can only conclude exhibits all the signs of impending disaster. And it is not only one of the most expensive of the government’s plans, but one of the most high profile. The national ID cards scheme is one of the largest, most ambitious IT programmes ever attempted. Yet it is ignoring just about every lesson that should have been learned from the past. It lacks clear aims; it has a politically-motivated timetable; it is likely to go into procurement before the details are finalised; it belongs to everyone and no one. The list goes on. In the interests of brevity, let us stick to only the two most arresting issues. First, the timetable. The government announcement that the first ID cards would be issued at the end of 2007 was made before the legislation was even in Parliament, let alone passed. Because of the General Election, the bill’s passage was cut short and the original schedule for the technical procurement, which was to have started by this summer, was held back. With the second bill due to

Identity charade: ID cards have no clearly stated purpose

take its time through Parliament this autumn, the bidding is now unlikely to start until next spring. So there is already a nine-month delay, but the 2007 start date remains unchanged – not a good sign. Second, what are ID cards trying to achieve? In the two years since the plan was first mooted, its primary purpose has skidded from public service entitlement, to fighting crime and terrorism, to cutting identity fraud, and back again, in a frenzy to keep up with the news agenda of the day. Even the government is mixed up. As MPs went through their line-by-line consideration of the proposed legislation last week, Home Office minister Andy Burnham told colleagues that the UK would not turn into a ‘flash and go’ society where every adult carried their card, because the central biometric database would mean they would not have to. A primary focus for the plan is to cut health tourism, he said. And while no one will be turned away from emergency medical care because they cannot prove their identity, GPs, dentists and so on may use either the card or the register to ensure their patients are entitled to the care they receive. The implications are enormous: card scanners and networked biometric readers in every GP surgery and NHS

dental practice in the country. But the Home Office says the minister is confused and there is no such plan. Not only would it only be possible once ID cards are compulsory, and therefore at an indeterminate time in the future, it says, but it would be down to the individual department – in this case the Department of Health – and would require authorisation by another vote in both Houses of Parliament. So it appears that a ‘primary focus’ of the plan is entirely up in the air and will remain so for another decade, even though procurement is due to start in nine months, and PA Consulting has been working with the Home Office for more than a year. This is costing in excess of £62,000 a day, according to figures recently released under the Freedom of Information Act. The most interesting parallel is with the much-maligned £6bn NHS Connecting for Health (CfH) programme. While critics have continually predicted disaster, CfH at least has specific goals, robust leadership and a structure, both technical and contractual, tailored specifically to the unique challenges of the sector. It would be the height of irony if CfH turned out to be a beacon of good practice. And more than foolish if its lessons were ignored.

What do you think? If you have an opinion about issues raised in Computing, email us at feedback@ computing.co.uk. Please keep to a maximum of 250 words and include your job title and postal address

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If you have an opinion, write to the editor at 32-34 Broadwick Street, London W1A 2HG email us at [email protected] or call the hotline on (020) 7316 9744

Try to identify a moving target BOTH David Lee and RD Feltham favour the idea of people being chipped for identity purposes (Letters, 7, 21 July). I assume neither of them has watched the television series Animal Hospital. If they had they would have seen the fun that vets have trying to locate microchips on cats and dogs. It seems these pesky devices have a mind of their own, and often go for a stroll around the host’s anatomy. So, it would not be a case of simply ‘passing your arm across a sensor’, or pressing your forehead against one. As for RD Feltham’s reference to Revelations, Chapter 13, and the cipher of the beast, surely Nostradamus must have predicted something along these lines – he covered just about everything else. Jim Davies By email

Take the time to train I was interested to read the views of Allan Gilmour and Roy Benson on employers who fail to train staff (Letters, 14 July). My employer is of the view that training can be given by people doing the job. In some instances this can work well, but with complex enterprise resource planning systems it is wholly inadequate. We have ended up with a poorly managed system with one person’s bad habits being passed on to other staff. Moreover, there is a lack of understanding from management about how we can get a return on investment for this expensive IT system. The employees have become so disillusioned that they have resorted to the tried and tested Excel spreadsheet to control data. This all stems from a failure of the employer to offer staff proper training on how the system can work for the company. Ultimately, this training would allow the company to gain the ‘well-developed and committed employees’ that Roy Benson talks about. Name supplied By email

Wasting police time? Having read your front-page report on the new national firearms database being tested (Police test firearms register, 21 July), several thoughts occurred to me. What is the business requirement for this system? How many dangerous weapons are out there legally? Does the government believe they are legally held by criminals or terrorists? My impression is that only a few farmers and perhaps small-bore shooters hold firearm certificates. So did we really need to invest in a new database system? Would not the existing local police records

have sufficed? Besides, criminals and terrorists use illegal weapons that are surely not covered by this system. Perhaps, despite the headlines this new system is attracting, it is just a couple of servers on an intranet. So, how much of my tax was spent constructing it? Sounds like a solution looking for a problem to me. Ian Packer By email

Firearms register: Computing, 21 July

Hacked off by leniency I am bemused at the leniency of the sentence for the virus writer Sven Jaschan (Businesses ‘let down’ by virus writer ruling, 14 July, Letters, 21 July). We walk a fine line when we use such people to work on improving security. But just as it can be useful to capitalise on their knowledge and expertise we also need to ensure they are punished appropriately for the crimes they commit. In the current technology climate, where you can affect a computer in another country in an instant, there need to be serious changes in the way technology crimes are dealt with. Surely it is no longer fitting for such criminals to be dealt with by domestic courts? Since their crimes have a global impact it would be more appropriate to try them in a world court, where consistency for related crimes can be maintained. Andy Bolton By email

Criminal acts

Microsoft causes trouble

Chris Absalom (Letters, 21 July) offers career advice for young people: write a virus, do £3.5bn damage, get 30 hours’ community service and then wait for the job offers to roll in from security firms. Well said. I know that the security industry has a long history of using ex-criminals as advisers, but to reward a criminal act with well-paid employment seems perverse. Why not provide an entry-level job opportunity for someone who can work undercover? A teenager who has been caught after releasing one highly destructive virus is not an asset. But a company that invests in valuable intelligence-gathering operations might also gain credibility. Of course, neither approach is without concerns in terms of business ethics. Keith Barlow By email

I have to agree with Andrew Stringer (Letters, 21 July). The insecurities in Microsoft operating systems are really at the heart of our problems with hackers and virus writers. People are all too eager to blame bored teenagers for their loss of time and money, whereas the real culpability lies with the software. Windows XP Professional now retails at about £200, yet I still have to download and install anti-spyware, anti-virus and personal firewall products from other vendors to protect Microsoft’s flagship desktop operating system. I also have to switch off services such as Windows Messaging and Windows Messenger, as these are likely channels of attack that remain unchecked in a standard install. Surely Microsoft must now have to face the fact that it is the main target and make systems secure by default, rather than pass on the responsibility to the end user. Graham Bentley By email

Rewarding behaviour So, Sven Jaschan gets 30 hours’ community service for causing damage estimated at £3.5bn (Businesses ‘let down’ by virus writer ruling, 14 July). But I was also surprised that the two informants who provided the details that led to his arrest are to receive a reward of $250,000 (£143,300). This demonstrates a huge and potentially dangerous misalignment between the punishments and the rewards in these types of cases. Although not the case in the Sasser prosecution, what would happen if informants and the perpetrator of a crime were in fact working hand in hand? Even split three ways, $250,000 in return for 30 hours’ community work, plus a few hours programming, is not a bad return. Murray Grainger By email

Lorry scheme took its toll The cancellation of the toll scheme for lorries is a rare example of the government abandoning an IT-based scheme before millions of pounds were wasted (Lorry road user charge procurement cancelled, 14 July). The scheme was backed by British haulage firms that believed they would be refunded by the tolls, and only foreign lorries – topped up with cheap diesel before entering the UK – would pay more. However, it was estimated that although the scheme would cost £400m to set up and £600m a year to run, it would only generate annual income from foreign lorries of £150m. It is disturbing that such a daft scheme got as far as it did. John McGoldrick National Alliance Against Tolls

Talking point On successful projects (Innovation nation? 14 July) Change management is the biggest area of failure in project management, and it is often change in people’s behaviour that is the problem. Untrained users often ignore, misuse or underuse new technology. They can costcompanies large amounts of time and money; novice users can take four times longer than trained users to become proficient at new or upgraded applications and require up to six times more support. Attention to behavioural change is an important priority during the blueprint phase of any IT project. Mike Cotton OnDemand Software On digital convergence (UK set to lead way in digital convergence, 21 July) Although UK technologycompanies are among the first to drive convergence forward, it is consumers that have created this need. Consumer appetite is driving the need for digital content on the net to be enjoyed via multiple devices, such as DVD players, PCs, mobile phones and media players. This has forced manufacturers to respond. Butconvergence will only become a reality if there is a consistent platform to increase interoperability. Mark Lawson DivX On key information (IT must show more professionalism, 21 July) No other part of the business gets away with the level of obfuscation IT deems acceptable. IT directors are used to being on the wrong end ofcomplaints about projects that are late and over-budget. The problem is that the IT director is often in the dark about the real implications of new projects for the existing workload. With information on people, skills and projects scattered across the department, attaining a credible picture of today’s position is enough of a challenge. Predicting long-term implications for time, resources and cost is impossible. Barry Muir Innate Management Systems On data access (Halfords replaces core IT and stock systems, 21 July) While IT systems need to be effective, the data used must be too. Managing goods that are manufactured and ultimately delivered needs more than a view of historical reports to have an impact on productivity and operational efficiency. Butcompanies often lack the completeness of information required to understand the minute-by-minute performance in the supplychain. Many have struggled to attain this information since itresides across platforms from different suppliers. Nelson Smelker Symon Communications 28 July 2005 Computing

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Our BlackBerry upgrade software comes with an attachment. Brian. Or Mike. Or Petra. Or any one of our Technical Sales Group. You see, the new BlackBerry Enterprise Server™ upgrade V4 has to be installed on live servers and if it’s not done right, users could lose their email service. That’s why we don’t just send you the CD like other networks do, we send you experts who’ll do the installation for you. For help upgrading your BlackBerry wireless handhelds, speak to your Vodafone Service Manager.

28 July 2005

How business can lead the fight against identity theft and fraud

THE RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE: A GUIDE FOR THE FEARLESS. For today’s enterprise, the only constant is change. And keeping up with change is the ultimate challenge for a business faced with an endless series of paradoxes: making information both secure and available; being reactive and proactive simultaneously; responding quickly to both new threats and new ideas. The solution? A resilient infrastructure that lets you respond as rapidly to opportunity and innovation as you do to threats and disruptions; and where the elements that help keep your company up, running and growing – security, storage and recovery – are firmly in place. This is the ideal that has brought together Symantec and VERITAS to form a single company with a single goal: to help you build a fearless enterprise. For more information visit www.symantec.com/en-ri.

BE FEARLESS.

Symantec, the Symantec logo, VERITAS and the VERITAS logo are U.S. registered trademarks of Symantec Corporation or its subsidiaries. Copyright ©2005 Symantec Corporation. All rights reserved.

03 Inside

We talk to Shoaib Assabi, chief executive of Informatica Data Business 04 What businesses can – and should – be doing to tackle identity fraud Data Business 08 Chemicals manufacturer Colorcon puts a stop to malware on its laptops Data Business 10 Boardroom briefing: your cut-out-and-keep guide to WiFi Data Business 13 Jargon buster: all you need to know about Really Simple Syndication Data Business 14

ID theft fight must be led by business THE chances are that, like me, you have become sick and tired of seeing Alistair McGowan and Jennifer Saunders pontificate on TV about the problems of identity theft and credit card fraud. While it is OK to claim the two credit card issuers in question will ‘protect’ you from credit card fraud, their anti-fraud measures and policies on disputing fraudulent transactions are in fact no different from those used by other credit card companies. All these TV ads serve to do is lure the consumer into a false sense of security – believing that one credit card over another will make them more resilient to internet-based fraud and ID cloning. Not to mention deflect the glare of scrutiny from a select group of financial services companies.

Modern businesses now have a renewed and pressing responsibility to ensure their systems are secure Regularly used as a form of identification and proof of signature, a person can easily pretend to be you by using your credit card. The cards can also be used to acquire more credit cards and loans – one of the main reasons for ID theft – in the name of the person whose ID is being cloned. The thief then has a great time running up huge bills, while the card issuers waste time pursuing the innocent party for the money. ID theft has rapidly become a criminal enterprise. With so much of our day-to-day lives tied up in electronic records, it has become easier than ever to acquire the key bits of information needed to pass yourself off as someone else and perpetrate a fraud. Just have a look at where your information currently lives online: ● Online banking sites ● Electronic payment services, such as PayPal and NoChex ● Paperless utility billing ● Online dating, genealogy and social networking sites, such as Friends Reunited ● Forums and chat rooms ● Your personal and work web sites ● Electoral register

Federal Trade Commission ID Theft Resource The US government’s main web site for information about ID theft www.consumer.gov/idtheft www.computing.co.uk

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ID Theft Secrets Blog Tips, reviews and resources to aid consumers in protecting their credit and personal information from ID and data theft http://idtheftsecrets.blogspot.com

● Directory enquiries ● Retailers that keep your credit card details

on file, such as Amazon and Play.com. Before we get letters of complaint, I am not accusing any of the sites named of being insecure. In fact, those I mention are among the more secure, in terms of protecting access to your financial data. But, this small list gives you an idea of where your personal data lives in electronic form. It also shows the kinds of third-party companies that hold sensitive data about you – data that, in the wrong hands, could be used to carry out fraud in your name. You could suffer great financial damage if you do not keep secret and secure your login details for certain web sites. Consumers are responsible for the personal data in their own possession, such as their passport, driver’s licence, credit cards, pension book, ID card, work PC login and so on. But any third party holding information on the user must also take steps to ensure that a hacker, disgruntled employee or rogue contractor does not manage to wander out of the office with a copy of the customer relationship management database, ready to sell it to the local crime syndicate or, possibly more damaging, a reporter from The Sun. Modern businesses, particularly those involved in retail, financial services or that handle public sector information, have a renewed and pressing responsibility to ensure that their systems are secure, and that the safety of the user, corporate or staff data in their possession can be assured. As our cover feature this month explains, the onus is on businesses to lead the fight against ID theft, not simply to shift their responsibilities to the consumer.

Chris Green

Weblinks Home Office ID Theft Committee A collaboration between UK financial bodies, government and the police to combat the threat of ID theft

Editor Chris Green 020 7316 9627 [email protected] Managing editor Mike Wright 020 7316 9153 [email protected] Picture editor Richard Brighouse 020 7316 9143 [email protected] Sub-editor Sophy Dale 020 7316 9157 Graphics artist Matt Buck Contributors Craig Hinton, Jason Compton VNU Business Publications 32-34 Broadwick Street London W1A 2HG Brin Bucknor Managing director John Barnes Publishing director Catrina Attard Publishing administrator 020 7316 9158 [email protected] Marieke Visser Marketing manager 9306 Joanne Hurst Production director 9227 Sales www.computing-media.co.uk Kumaran Ramanathan Sales director 9209 Mark Burton Sales manager 9351 Daniel Shaw Major client manager 9594 Helen Butcher Major agency manager 9349 VNU Business Information Europe Ruud Bakker Chief executive US representation Global Media USA, LLC, 565 Commercial Street, 4th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94111-3031, USA, tel: 415 249 1620, fax: 415 249 1630 www.globalreps.com European/Asian/Middle East representation Global Media Europe, Sarah Speake, tel (44) 207 316 9749, fax (44) 207 316 9774, [email protected] Subscribe online at: www.vnuservices.co.uk/computing Problems with circulation? Call our helpline on 01858 435344 or email us at: [email protected]

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www.identity-theft.org.uk 28 July 2005 Computing

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04 Chris Green meets Sohaib Abbasi, enterprise

Outsourcing to drive uptake of data integration THE enterprise software market continues to grow as companies begin to reinvest in software technologies and address necessary consolidation issues brought about by mergers and acquisitions, as well as the problems of having nurtured mature systems and processes beyond their normal lifespan. Data Business travelled to Washington DC to attend Informatica World, the annual conference for users of products from business software firm Informatica, to speak with chief executive Sohaib Abbasi about his views of the highly competitive business intelligence and data integration market, and his plans for Informatica’s products as it battles with a growing number of competitors. How do you see the market for data integration products changing over the coming year? What are users asking for? Demand is being driven by increasing need to consolidate IT systems and data. Companies are dealing with a growing problem of fragmentation of systems and the data residing on those systems. Today we are called on to help companies consolidate existing silos of data rather than engineer whole new systems for them. What has been the main cause of all this data fragmentation? It has been caused mainly by the automation of company functions on a department-by-department basis. Each time a new department was created or a new process was put into place to automate or part-automate that department’s workflow, a new database was set up, and with it came another independent data source within the business. The more automation, the more fragmentation there is in the business. To address this, we look to integrate all these disparate data sources and provide the business with a 360-degree view of

their operation, letting managers see how everything in the organisation is working. Is the fragmentation issue a continuing problem for businesses, even those that have realised their legacy problem? The trend that will create even more fragmentation is outsourcing. There are three types: business process outsourcing, such as pushing out payroll and other activities to third-party vendors that will assume the responsibility for running the process and the logistics of delivering it, such as distributing payslips and banking. Then there is software as a service – companies such as Salesforce.com, Siebel On-Demand and Netsuite, which offer their software on a subscription model, where both the application and the data is managed remotely. Third, there is complete IT department outsourcing, whereby an outside company manages your systems, data and storage because it can do it for less. In all three cases there is greater data fragmentation. Any time a company outsources, it fragments its IT infrastructure. For regulatory compliance reasons and effective management, you need control and visibility over your data. That is an emerging and promising opportunity for us. Is this a US phenomenon or are you seeing the same kind of IT problems emerging in UK, European or Asian businesses that are outsourcing? It is universal. The value proposition of the outsourcing providers is very simple. It is that they can operate economies of scale on account of undertaking a specific set of similar functions for multiple businesses. Regardless of where you are in the world, if an outside organisation can offer you a significant reduction in your operating overheads, albeit at the expense of fragmenting your IT infrastructure, then you

Business Intelligence Strategies Publisher: Microsoft Press, US How to make better, faster decisions about their customers, partners, and operations using business intelligence ISBN: 0735616272

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05 software vendor Informatica’s chief executive CV: Sohaib Abbasi Sohaib Abbasi joined Informatica as president and chief executive in July 2004. Previously, he had spent 20 years at Oracle, where he was most recently a member of its executive committee and was senior vice president of two major divisions, Oracle Tools and Oracle Education. Abbasi joined Oracle Corporation in 1982 when it was a 30-person startup and was heavily involved in growing the business from $4m (£2.3m) in annual revenues to more than $9bn (£5.1bn) in revenues, and more than 42,000 staff worldwide. Abbasi graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1980, where he earned a BSc and an MSc degree in Computer Science. have a responsibility to shareholders and the business to investigate it, and in many cases implement it. The other proposition is that outsourcing is often a cost-effective and straightforward way to adopt and implement best practices within the business. With many organisations facing new regulations affecting best practice and business accountability, they are turning to outsourcing. However, losing control and visibility of data does not have to be a by-product of outsourcing and adopting external efficiencies and cost savings. In what environment would you see a company using data integration tools such as Informatica’s alongside outsourced operations? If we use the BBC as an example, it realised it could save a great deal of money if it outsourced its invoice processing to a third party. However, it soon realised that it had lost real-time visibility of the process and the data. Visibility was critical for the BBC to understand enough about its business and cost structure to refine its business processes and identify areas where it could reduce spending. It understood the benefits of outsourcing from a financial standpoint, but needed to retain control of the business. It is using our product, in conjunction with the outsourcer, to do that. The net benefit is that processing cost is half of what it used to be, and the BBC still has full visibility over the process as if it were run in-house. The data integration market is becoming extremely competitive. How is this

going to change the market for business intelligence and data integration technologies and vendors? Customers are looking for an independent, open vendor that will allow them to make use of all of their computing resources. Many of the companies coming into this space are not viewed as being open enough. For example, database vendors tend to bias their data integration and business intelligence products to work best or only with their own database and tools. If you look at what Microsoft and Oracle offer, they would allow you to move the data wherever you want, provided it ends up in their respective database. If you are running a site with data sitting in repositories based on multiple technologies, be it SQL, DB2, Oracle, or even something such as MySQL, that support will not be available from any of the traditional database vendors. But the dedicated business intelligence vendors have a degree of bias in their applications towards one platform or database over another… If you look at the business intelligence vendors, their aims are narrower than ours, which is to move the data for a variety of reasons, be it business intelligence, data migration and consolidation. Their focus is to move the data so that it is accessible only through their analytics and business intelligence tools. Neither of those tool sets are necessarily open and neither are necessarily applicable to the wider aim of providing straightforward access to data across the organisation.

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08

Businesses take action ag ID theft has become a lucrative criminal industry, targeting companies and their databases as well as individuals and their wallets. But, as Jason Compton reports, businesses are fighting back IDENTITY theft and related fraud are hot topics, to put it mildly. Combating ID theft is one of the major planks of the government’s national ID card programme, and virtually everyone in the data and transaction business has a stake in the equation. With all the attention, public concern and reportedly rise of ID theft, the question remains: short of waiting for a government initiative that may not be a cure-all, what can business do to stem the tide? For a start, they must accept that the problem may be too big for any single organisation to solve. ‘Sadly, fraud as a whole is a growth industry here in the UK,’ says Kevin Doherty, head of financial crime prevention at stock broker TD Waterhouse Investor Services. But as with many hot issues, the definition of fraud has been stretched

beyond its true meaning. Simple credit fraud, such as double-swiping a physical card or using a card number/expiration date, is often inappropriately lumped into the category of ID fraud. Such basic exploits have become easier to thwart, with the advent of signature panel codes and increasingly aggressive monitoring of activity on the part of card issuers. True instances of ID theft typically involve a person’s or organisation’s details being fabricated or co-opted to secure a line of credit, a credential, a lease, or some other piece of tangible or intellectual property. As much as individuals do not want to see their good name used for ill-gotten gains, business is equally motivated not to be scammed by false credentials. But detection is sometimes easier said than done. ‘Even those institutions that by law have to check backgrounds for money laundering

Protecting identity with the right people INTERNAL policies and procedures, and the employees who carry them out, go a long way towards determining whether a company will fulfil its regulatory and moral obligation to protect customer data from ID thieves, or provide rich pickings for fraudsters. ‘You have to look at the people who have access to the data versus the group that has a right to the data or a need for the data, and think about how to store and distribute it,’ says Nick Coleman, head of security services at IBM. ‘I recently came across an organisation looking to enhance its electronic trading for customers, but it didn’t have an information risk manager, an information security manager or a policy on handling the data. It didn’t have the elements in place to protect data.’ HR outsourcers are increasingly recasting themselves as risk management partners, by virtue of keeping personal data for potential hires in secure, restricted access databases, as well as having the specialisation and focus

required to carry out widespread background checks. ‘Customers are using our services for temporary and hourly workers,’ says Stuart Smith, UK sales manager at Recruitmax, one such HR provider. He acknowledges that investigating a top executive candidate is often easier than an entry-level hire due to the longer paper trail such people tend to generate. But he says hundreds of corporate clients are now looking to Recruitmax to provide thorough, widespread checks. Peter Dorrington, head of fraud solutions at analytics developer SAS, warns against complacency after the initial background check. ‘Not all fraud-committing employees joined you with the intention of committing fraud,’ he says. ‘Some got themselves into a bad position by their own doing, or coercion, because organised crime is getting good at identifying vulnerable individuals who can get at corporate data.’

are at risk of being duped,’ says Kiran Sandford, partner at law firm Mishcon de Reya. ‘If you are serious about taking somebody’s identity, you can intercept their post, find out about them from the electoral roll, and pretend you are them.’ That is why systems such as chip-and-PIN, lauded for their ability to cut down on simple card theft, cannot protect a victim of identity fraud. A fraudulently issued credit card — chip, PIN and all — is issued to the criminal under the victim's name and profile. ‘If somebody gets hold of the credit application and pretends to be somebody else, chip-and-PIN is not going to help very much because they have the chip and the PIN,’ says Andy Brown, senior product manager for transaction software developer ACI Worldwide. ‘That is why it's very difficult to open new accounts, because of the identification you have to show. But if any system is too Draconian, people aren't going to take them up.’ Security challenges Without government or industry standards, some firms find it challenging to impose stricter controls on incoming customers, for fear that legitimate customers will become frustrated by questions and take their business elsewhere. This challenge typically shows up in situations where a company may wish to require or deploy additional authentication tokens or safeguards. ‘We can use SecurID in the corporate world, but that's expensive to issue to everybody,’ says Michael Maddison, director of UK security services at Deloitte. A small number of banks and financial institutions, including online broker ETrade, have rolled out RSA Security’s SecurID or similar multi-factor, challenge/response authentication systems to customers, but such systems have yet to fully penetrate any major financial market, let alone one the size and complexity of the UK’s. Business is not only a target for criminals looking to trade on false pretenses, but a

Business data is at risk from employees either wilfully

target as a source of information that can be used to steal an identity. Companies have been encouraged to develop a voracious appetite for personal data in the past decade, as communication channels have opened up thanks to the internet, plummeting database costs, and customer relationship management (CRM) experts encouraging knowing and seeing everything possible about each and every customer. Recent news reports of personal data being liberated from outsourced call centres by tabloid journalists throw the potential risks of that data-hoarding policy into sharp relief. ‘You can keep most details that your system or a human operator would need but that a fraudster isn’t interested in, such as how many times you’ve sold a customer brushes,’ says Ted Crooks, vice president of global fraud solutions at risk assessment specialist Fair Isaac Corp. ‘But if you’re a merchant and you have information on past transactions by your customers, don’t keep it. Or keep it in a locked room, with no connection to the outside world. Don’t underestimate the importance of physical security.’

Behind-the-scenes at Los Angeles International Airport, including an arrest and investigation into a suspected credit card fraud in the airport

24

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Rootsecure: Links to daily security-related news, features and interviews www. rootsecure.net

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Essentialinfo Identity Theft: How to Protect Your Most Valuable Asset Publisher: Career Press Advice on how to protect your identity and reduce the risk of ID theft from consumers and business ISBN: 1564146367

Weblinks UK ID Card: official Home Office site dedicated to the forthcoming national ID card bill www.identitycards.gov.uk www.computing.co.uk

09

ainst identity fraudsters The bigger they are…

y stealing information or being coerced into doing so

The risks involved with keeping that information go far beyond any concerns about an internet hack attack. Internal employees and partners may be able to access and profit from selling large amounts of customer records – or be strong-armed or tricked into aiding another in this process. The usual solutions to internal data control problems include better segregation practices, such as increased and more granular levels of data access, multi-factor authentication, and segregation procedures that keep large quantities of data away from most operational employees. Some companies have switched to asking only for individual characters of a password or shared secret, such as the often-used mother’s maiden name, and only displaying the proper response characters to the call centre agent as well. Controlling data access Some firms have taken it further, and distance their support staff entirely from some of the key areas of account control. ‘If you call our customer service line, they are not going to know your password. Changing it or resetting it is all in the hands

of the users,’ says PayPal spokeswoman Amanda Pires. As two of the most commonly spoofed brands in phishing attacks, PayPal and its parent eBay set up a secure, dedicated inbox for signed-in users, where all critical customer communications can be validated. The inconvenience of managing a special mail account for each customer is outweighed by the return, just as PayPal’s pioneering system of validating legitimate bank account ownership through the use of two small deposits costs far less than the fraud it prevents. The reward for anyone who can devise a strong identity management system is obviously great. Both Microsoft and its Passport opponent Liberty Alliance have been pondering ways to enter the broader identity verification market, and RSA is also attempting to roll out a universal authentication scheme, to build on the success of its SecurID in the business world. TD Waterhouse is increasingly relying on streamlined, electronic processes to validate information, instead of sluggish, paper-based processes that took up to 10 days to establish an account and which left more room for error and accidental

ADVANCED identity schemes are a major challenge. Unless they become universal and compulsory, they can put the issuer at a competitive disadvantage by erecting barriers to doing business, be it commercial or civic. Well-intentioned companies can validate their way out of a project or a sale. ‘We were trying to set up credit checking arrangements to limit fraud at a client, but it was so complex that none of its intermediaries would agree to participate,’ says Peter Dorrington, head of fraud solutions at analytics developer SAS. With the public unveiling of the national ID card plan barely two months old, many questions remain as to just how

difficult the cards will be to obtain using a combination of misappropriated credentials, or foreign documents of less rigorous design that will still be subject to exploitation. It remains to be seen whether resistance to the plan, as well as any lingering doubts about the source documents that feed into the national registry, will hamper adoption and encourage further use of specialised identity solutions. Dorrington concludes that advances are made in fraud prevention when someone takes up ‘the challenge of being the white knight, instead of being a minimalist who wants to do the minimum to limit exposure to risk’.

approvals. The firm has joined others in cross-checking applications against key fraud targets, such as rolls of deceased people. But ultimately, says TD Waterhouse’s Doherty, much of the responsibility for preventing identity theft falls on the owner of the identity. ‘We are trying to make consumers of financial services more aware so they can help themselves – reminding them not to throw away paper that has their name and other information on it, to shred documents before putting them in the bin. Simple, common-sense things like that.’ Although TD Waterhouse is aggressive in its reminders, many financial

than its counterparts in the consumer and business sector. ‘One of the problems we have is the legislation not keeping up with these crimes,’ says Maddison. ‘The penalties for ID theft were a couple of thousand pounds, which obviously was not a significant deterrent for these individuals, particularly given the size of the profits they can make.’ Sandford believes that tighter controls could still be delivered under the terms of the Data Protection Act. ‘One of the key requirements is that businesses that process personal data have to keep that data secure, and some businesses don’t,’ she says. ‘As directors could be fined and there could be criminal convictions for the companies involved, it has been much talked about.’ The fight looks unlikely to end. As targets change and new schemes emerge, companies and customers will have to find new ways to deal with the reality that working around any authentication system will always provide an illicit profit potential for criminals. As Crooks puts it: ‘ID theft is like building security: the awareness, vigilance and procedures alone are not very sophisticated, but they require attention to detail and people working together to stay on top of them.’

‘If you have information on past transactions, keep it in a locked room. Don’t underestimate physical security’ institutions are keeping their response to the risk muted, judging by their web pages. We visited the web sites of 16 major UK banks and credit card issuers and found only four with any sort of prominent ID theft information on their home pages. Despite the number of stakeholders in the ID theft equation, nobody controls the final resolution to the problem. Ultimately, many feel that business has done more

● www.computing.co.uk/2139210

Weblinks Credit Expert: UK site operated by credit reference agency Experian. Provides individuals with access to their credit records online, allowing them to see all attempts to gain credit in their name www.creditexpert.co.uk www.computing.co.uk

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Weblinks Chip and PIN: official UK chip-and-PIN information site, with material for consumers, retailers, card handlers and other financial services www.chipandpin.co.uk 28 July 2005 Computing

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10

Colorcon protects laptop users Chemicals manufacturer took decisive action against unauthorised applications on its laptops Colorcon is not a household name, but most people will have come into contact with a Colorcon product if they have ever swallowed a tablet. Colorcon’s core business is the manufacture of film coating and pharmaceutical dosage forms for immediate- and slow-release tablets. It also has divisions devoted to non-toxic printing inks and food colourants. Colorcon is a US-based business with laboratories in the UK, Europe, Asia and South America, and manufacturing plants around the globe. It employs 1,200 people worldwide. While all the desktop machines at Colorcon operate in a ‘lockdown’ environment, preventing employees from installing any unauthorised applications, users with laptops were able to install software freely. These ranged from innocent route-planning software to the potentially harmful peer-to-peer file services that may contain malicious code or pirated software. Since laptop users are mainly based out of the office, they do

not receive vital security patches or updates as promptly as desktop users. The issue came to a head when the Netsky virus emerged last year. ‘One of our sites was infected by a flavour of the Netsky virus that was looking for SMTP servers’, said Russell Ryan, global Windows administrator at Colorcon. ‘Someone caught it via their laptop on the day it came out and when they reconnected to the network, it overloaded one of our mail servers.’ Finding a solution Colorcon realised it needed to take action to prevent a reoccurence. ‘Our focus was twofold: protection from viruses and develop a consistent standard for our laptops,’ says Ryan. ‘What has tended to happen is that laptops have the correct versions of software when first issued to users, but down the line, printer software is installed, or people take their laptops home and let their kids download and play games on it. Then, when a user’s

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into Websense to allow it,’ says Ryan. Since installing CPM, Colorcon can log every time a new attempt is made to launch a software program. ‘We have already seen quite a few attempts to install new applications,’ says Ryan. ‘Now I sometimes receive worried calls from users after they realise that I can see they have tried to install an application.’ Since Colorcon began running Websense CPM on its new laptops, there has not been a single incident relating to

‘Our focus was twofold: protection from viruses and developing a consistent standard for our laptops’ an unauthorised application, virus or instance of spyware. The flipside is that Ryan and his team now receive a lot more calls from users requesting permission to install applications, but this in turn allows IT to enforce policy on requesting software before it is installed. ‘We have turned our helpdesk from being reactive and dealing with unplanned, often expensive incidents – which in some cases meant either shipping the damaged laptop back to site or flying out ourselves to fix it – to being proactive and helping to enforce a cultural change at Colorcon,’ he says.

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laptop breaks, he or she wonders why.’ The company turned to its preferred reseller, PCS Business Systems, for advice. PCS came back with two suggestions: Websense Client Policy Manager (CPM) and another product that Ryan considered too intrusive. ‘We wanted to be able to compile logs, but with this application you could pretty much record a user’s entire day’s work, which we knew would cause problems with privacy laws in some countries.’ So Colorcon opted for Websense and, following a successful trial, it purchased 100 licences at the end of December. Locking down the mobile users By the beginning of January, it had equipped laptops in the UK and Europe with Websense CPM. A week later, new laptops in Asia were also installed with the program. ‘It was a very quick implementation, and from initial contact to going live it only took four weeks,’ explains Ryan. Now, the company has rolled out Websense CPM to about 100 laptops around the globe, and this will increase to about 300 by the end of the year. When a user or a piece of malicious code tries to install an application, an instant ‘block’ message appears instructing the user to contact their IT department for authorisation. From the IT department, users can continue the installation. ‘This is so that if I am installing something new, I can let it continue and simply build new rules

We can’t do without IT and neither can you

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Maufacturer Colorcon needed to protect the laptops of its employees around the world

Your evil twin: behind the identity theft epidemic Includes whodunit details from identity thieves of the Forbes 400, as well as interviews with internet criminals ISBN: 0471648108

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WiFi technology SINCE the construction of the first computer networks in the 1960s, one of the perennial bugbears has been the cabling. Quite apart from the inconvenience and expense of laying cables in an office environment, there is also the problem of upgrading. This became apparent in the late 1990s, when one of the primary inhibitors to the uptake of Gigabit Ethernet was the inability of existing Cat 5 cabling to handle the increased traffic. The cost of ripping out a Cat 5 network and replacing it with either Cat 6 or fibre was, and still is, prohibitive for many businesses. Another problem with a cabled network is the difficulty in altering or adding to the existing set-up. Thankfully, demand for a new way to connect network equipment came at the same time as revolutionary developments in wireless communication. Unusually for successful technological innovation, the prime mover was the US government, not developers. While radio technology was fairly mature, the major hurdle was that transmissions need a frequency at which to operate. Apart from a few bands allocated to CB radio, most of the spectrum in the US was under government control. The release of a particular spectrum allowed developers

The proliferation of hotspots brings a degree of freedom from the office to push forward with wireless networking technologies. These technologies have gained a blanket name – WiFi, meaning ‘wireless fidelity’. When developing WiFi technologies, developers had to take into account certain restrictions, including the need to avoid causing interference in other bands. They employed a solution from the military.

WiFi hotspots bring networking to new areas

‘Spread spectrum’ moves the signal across a defined range of frequencies rather than just one. It also reduces drastically the risk of cross-interference with neighbouring networks. This makes eavesdropping extremely difficult. But in the rush to market the new technology different vendors adopted proprietary and incompatible protocols. One solution to this was put forward by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, which had previously standardised Ethernet. In 1988, the organisation proposed the 802.11 standard for wireless communication. The standard was not published until 1997, and it was another two years before the creation of the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA) by heavy-hitters such as Cisco, 3Com and Nokia. This body ensured that a WiFi appliance was truly compatible with other WiFi devices. As the 802.11 standard has produced new and faster variants, WECA, now known as the WiFi Alliance, still ensures compatibility. The benefits are obvious. When setting up an office, there are no significant cabling overheads. Furthermore, the topology of the network is infinitely flexible: resources

Casestudies can be added or removed without time-consuming analysis. The proliferation of hotspots, or wireless access points, across the country, both free or available for a small fee, brings a degree of freedom from the office. Many even support true roaming, allowing a connected machine to move seamlessly from one hotspot to another. WiFi also brings networking to environments in which it was previously impossible, such as listed buildings and vulnerable public areas. There are drawbacks. Legislation on available frequencies varies from country to country, and some of the frequency ranges can interfere with others, sometimes rendering equipment unusable for periods of time. This is especially true of the 2.4GHz range used by 11Mbit/s 802.11b and 54Mbit/s 802.11g technologies, which is also the range in which Bluetooth devices, cordless phones and microwave ovens operate, so the danger of interference is high. Possibly the most important factor to consider is security. Many early adopters installed hotspots for their staff without considering the security implications or switching on the inbuilt security functions. This meant WiFi hotspots sprang up which were inadvertently open for all to use. As well as the dangers of illegal access to corporate networks, there were also bandwidth considerations. However, security applications such as encryption have improved and are now commonplace. As with all network equipment, a risk analysis is vital before implementation. Just as modern home entertainment equipment is no longer saddled with a tangle of thick black wires, gangway plugs and adapters, the 21st-century IT network is freeing itself from the bonds of cable. With developments in bandwidth and security, the true wireless network, with the freedom and adaptability that it offers, is only a few years away.

Public access WiFi in Bristol

In a groundbreaking collaboration of public and private sector services, Bristol City Council and Cityspace created the UK’s largest outdoor urban wireless broadband network, providing public services to residents, visitors and city workers. Known as a Hotzone – the linking of many hotspots – the 3km-wide network was established as a test bed for delivering communication and information services seamlessly across the city within the council’s ‘Legible City’ initiative. ● www.computing.co.uk/2140226 Wireless access for home workers

Extending corporate security to the home for remote workers has long been a headache. But the introduction of WiFi has added a new dimension to the problem. With a single internet pipe out of the house, how do you ensure that different members of the household have access only to the resources to which they are entitled? BT, Cisco and Intel’s solution has allowed a freelance film producer to share his wireless network without compromising security. ● www.computing.co.uk/2140233 www.wi-fi.org The WiFi Alliance grew out of the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA), and now comprises more than 200 companies, ensuring the compatibility of wireless appliances. http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/802/11 The home of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), detailing the different 802.11 wireless protocols.

Analystview… AN OPPORTUNITY exists for organisations to extend the reach of information and services. Wireless broadband is fast becoming a reality, allowing organisations to exploit the various wireless technologies to improve collaboration and productivity. Organisations must not be overtaken by events. They need to develop a strategy to promote knowledge mobility, where business requirements drive selection of the appropriate wireless services. To remain competitive, organisations need to www.computing.co.uk

implement mobile middleware that is capable of frequent change, supports various wireless technologies, addresses security issues and provides the ability to administer a boundary-less infrastructure centrally. Mark Blowers, senior research analyst, Butler Group All businesses need to be aware of WiFi and have a sensible policy that is articulated to all staff who may use wireless PCs for

✄

company business: unauthorised and insecure WiFi access points can cause significant problems. WiFi can be secure, but measures have to be taken to make it so. Ignoring WiFi or banning it will result in rogue use. Staff can easily buy a low-cost WiFi access point with no security features activated, and connect it to the office local area network without the network manager being aware of it. Ian Keene, research vice president, Gartner

DON’T JUST BE CONFIDENT.

BE FEARLESS. www.symantec.com/en-ri

28 July 2005 Computing

29

14 The market view:

Self-help seizes the CRM reins Jason Compton THE business of self-help is getting bigger. As companies increasingly turn to automated services to answer customer queries they will also have to consider how they can differentiate their business from the competition, when so much of the customer service they provide is processed by the same generic technologies that their competitors use. Bringing the burgeoning self-help market into balance is the Self Service Scorecard, a recent industry analysis report from research firm ABG, which rates and ranks providers of self-help technology, with detailed breakdowns of the top players. The scorecard, which can be found at www.ssscorecard.com/pages/2, is a mishmash of colours, shapes and sizes, clearly not intended for human consumption it would seem. It seems odd that CRM strategy has pivoted so sharply in favour of self-help. In the 1990s, the focus was on intimate customer relationships that would build the much-vaunted 360-degree customer view. No one is abandoning the idea of collecting customer data and presenting marketing offers, but direct customer contact seems to have become a liability – and it shows in the booming bottom line of many self-help vendors. ‘Last year, the top three companies accounted for $100m (£57.5m) in revenue. Now, it’s $200m (£115m),’ says ABG president Allen Bonde. He pegs the overall market at somewhere in the region of $1.2bn to $1.5bn (£664m to £830m), with more than 100 companies vying for business. Enterprise software leaders, such as SAP and Oracle, did not make Bonde’s scorecard, but he says they will arrive soon, one way or another. ‘I would not be surprised to see an Oracle acquisition of someone in our Top 10.’ The speed at which this market has

developed is astonishing, as are the broader implications of a billion-dollar global industry dedicated to having less personal contact with customers. Just five years ago, knowledge management experts were still arguing over matters of taxonomy and ownership of corporate information, trying to decide how best to record and report what a company knew, so that resignations and lay-offs would be less debilitating. Now, contact centre outsourcing and self-help technologies are at the forefront of the very same customer interaction processes. Perhaps self-help is the natural progression of the paradox of a technology-hungry society, one that has been raised to adopt high-tech at the till, but to fear and loathe it in their daily lives. VCRs were never that difficult to

No one is abandoning the idea of collecting customer data, but direct contact seems to have become a liability program – but try to name two people who proudly boast of their mastery over the recording timer. As products and services companies become more and more complex to meet greater sophisticated demands, they may be confounding the customers who, in the final analysis, were not prepared for the experience. The truth is that in life, as in business, intimacy can be a troubling thing. It brings with it responsibility and expectations. Time will tell if self-help is as beneficial as its advocates claim, or just another generic, highly replicable factor that contributes to commoditisation and the very sorts of cost pressures which firms have felt to address by adopting self-help strategies in the first place. Jason Compton is a freelance journalist specialising in CRM

RSS What exactly is RSS? Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is a system for tracking updates to internet and intranet-based content, using XML-based scripts known as RSS feeds. An RSS feed can be used as a means to distribute a simple form of the new content, be it a news story, blog post, podcast, press release or even your quarterly financials. Oh yes, RSS feeds are usually free. So is it a new form of web page? In a way, yes. RSS feeds allow you to access a shortform version of the content on the site in question, without all the fancy graphics, fonts, stylesheets, flash animations and so on. This makes them bandwidth-friendly – and fast. How do I use these RSS feeds to get content? To make use of RSS feeds you will need a piece of client software known as a feed reader. This client application allows you to bookmark all the RSS feeds of interest to you, and then scan them automatically to look for new updates. This means you can access and check for updates on multiple sites from a single application, in a single window – as opposed to having a number of browser windows open at the same time or checking through bookmarks one at a time. There are hundreds of different RSS feed reader applications available, for pretty much every platform. Some integrate with existing applications, such as Outlook, and there are even web-based feed-checking services for users who do not, or cannot, install an application on their PC. Some feed reading software is freeware or shareware, but most is now commercial, albeit cheap. I use a Windows application called FeedDemon, which looks and operates much like Microsoft Outlook, and has

more than 100 RSS feeds for sites and specific pages within a sites. As soon as I load FeedDemon, it checks all those feeds for updates, in much the same as Outlook checks for new mail. Any new updates to each RSS feed are highlighted in the same way as new email is highlighted in Outlook; there is even a preview pane if you do not want to open each message. I can even use it to check RSS feeds for podcasts, and download new podcast MP3 files. Sounds similar to Usenet newsgroups I suppose it is, in a way – no fancy layouts, it can be used to distribute files and, as with newsgroups, you subscribe to multiple feeds within a single application. The difference here is that RSS feeds are simply extensions of existing web sites and content sources, rather than being a whole distribution platform in their own right, like Usenet. What kind of sites have RSS feeds attached to them? You name it, and it probably has an RSS feed attached to some part of its site. For example, nearly all blogs use RSS as a means for both readers and aggregation sites to track new posts. News sites, such as the BBC, make extensive use of RSS feeds. The BBC operates RSS feeds for the whole of BBC News and BBC Sport, as well as feeds for sub-pages. I have subscribed to a BBC RSS feed that simply tracks new business stories, and another that tracks new sports stories that relate to a specific football club. I also take the main BBC News feed, which tracks everything new on the front page of the site. You will also find RSS feeds on some government and local council web sites, news agency sites such as Reuters and, of course, on www.computing.co.uk.

In the next issue of Data Business, we look at business intelligence – how it can help you understand your customers and extract 18 August value from your data 30

Computing 28 July 2005

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Virus alert level

Contact us at (020) 7316 9000 or 7316 and extensions as listed on the right

Get your daily news at

2 Critical stats

Network Box

Most active viruses this week...

Total US IT spending 2001 to 2006

Growth in European IT spending Q1 2004 to Q1 2005

$bn and percentage change from previous year

$bn and to the right, percentage change from previous year

$1,000bn

$60bn

$800bn

Salary & benefits Outsourcing Services Software

Comms Computers & peripherals

$50bn

Services Comms

Software Hardware

$40bn $30bn

$600bn

$400bn

Netsky q 24%

2

Zafi d 17%

3

Zafi b 10%

Q1 04

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1 05

Computer hardware

25%

16%

18%

15%

12%

Software

18%

13%

13%

13%

8%

Comms equipment

11%

20%

22%

18%

25%

IT services

14%

9%

11%

15%

14%

Total vendor revenues

16%

13%

15%

15%

15%

$10bn 0 Q1 2004

$200bn

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1 2005

Growth in Asia-Pacific IT spending Q1 2004 to Q1 2005 $bn and to the right, percentage change from previous year

4 Others 49%

‘All the evidence indicates that Europe faces a serious risk of a shortage of IT skills and companies need to take action now to support long-term IT competency needs’

0 Percentage change 2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

Computers & peripherals -1%

-5%

-2%

-10%

-15%

-11%

Comms -7% equipment

-3%

-10%

-3%

-5%

-6%

Software -3%

-10%

-1%

-8%

-7%

-8%

IT services -5%

-16%

-1%

-3%

-3%

-4%

14%

5%

9%

9%

9%

1%

3%

6%

6%

5%

Outsourcing 28% Salary & benefits 1% Average 2%

Q1 04

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1 05

Computer hardware

29%

19%

4%

-1%

4%

$40bn

Software

9%

15%

11%

8%

8%

$30bn

Comms equipment

8%

18%

14%

4%

13%

$20bn

IT services

18%

18%

13%

4%

-4%

Total vendor revenues

18%

18%

10%

3%

3%

$60bn

-4%

Richard Peynot, senior analyst, Forrester Research

-1%

5%

7%

$50bn

Services Comms

Software Hardware

$10bn

7%

0 Q1 2004

Q2

Q3

News from Europe

News from the US The US Department of Defense is to use a 1,024-node cluster of HP Proliant servers to help with weapons design, reports Information Week. The system is due to be installed in September at the Aeronautical Systems Center Major Shared Resource Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. It will help research into weapons concepts, and support programmes to evaluate potential new systems

Computing media information www.vnumedia.co.uk Computing Directories directories.computing.co.uk

Public sector employee www.computing.co.uk/ publicsector

$20bn

1

Computing jobs www.computingcareers.co.uk

Computing Awards for Excellence www.computing.co.uk/awards

IT spending Source: Forrester Research

network-box.co.uk/

Hot links

A European Commission report suggests that science and technology investment in the EU is declining, reports BBC Online. Figures show Europe spent just 1.93 per cent of its GDP on research and development in 2003, compared with 2.59 per cent in the US and 3.15 per cent in Japan. China’s R&D funding is only 1.3 per cent, but this is growing by 10 per cent per year

Q4

Q1 2005

News from Asia/Pacific The Australian government's high-technology investment fund has lost more than A$40m (£17.4m), with one in six of its companies going out of business, reports The Australian. The Innovation Investment Fund, launched in 1997, provided money to 97 companies. Sixteen have since gone out of business or had their investment written off and only two have been sold, says the paper. The scheme's annual report says the value of the remaining companies is just A$82m (£35.7m) – which is all that is left from a total investment of A$175m (£76.2m)

News from the US

News from Asia/Pacific

The New York City Police Department has opened its $11m (£6.3m) Real Time Crime Center to help solve crimes using new technology, reports Information Week. The centre will make access to information contained in millions of local, state and national records available to the city's 4,000 crime investigators on the move, via mobile phones and pagers

Ten-year-old Arfa Karim Randhawa from Faisalabad in Pakistan, has become the youngest person to gain accreditation as a Microsoft Certified Professional. She met Bill Gates last week on a tour of Microsoft's Redmond campus, and asked him why children were not allowed to work for Microsoft. She was told they should concentrate on their school studies

Subscriptions Subscribe online: www.vnuservices.co.uk/ computing Problems with circulation? Call our helpline on (01858) 435344 or email us at: [email protected] Toby Wolpe Editor-in-Chief [email protected] 9132 Mike Wright Managing editor [email protected] 9153 Bryan Glick Managing editor [email protected] 9149 Emma Nash News editor [email protected] 9146 Mark Samuels Features editor 9412 Sarah Arnott Senior reporter 9629 James Watson Senior reporter 9644 Daniel Thomas Reporter 9235 Miya Knights Reporter 9588 James Brown Reporter 9156 Chris Green Technical editor 9627 Sophy Dale Sub–editor 9157 Richard Brighouse Picture editor 9143 Matt Buck Graphics artist VNU Business Publications London Brin Bucknor Managing director John Barnes Publishing director Catrina Attard Publishing administrator [email protected] 9158 Marieke Visser Marketing manager 9306 Joanne Hurst Production director 9227 Sales www.computing-media.co.uk Kumaran Ramanathan Sales director 9209 Mark Burton Sales manager 9351 Daniel Shaw Major client manager 9594 Recruitment: Matt Bush Sales manager 9121 VNU Business Information Europe Ruud Bakker Chief executive US representation Global Media USA, LLC, 565 Commercial Street, 4th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94111-3031, USA Tel: 415 249 1620 Fax: 415 249 1630 www.globalreps.com European/Asian/Middle East representation Global Media Europe, Sarah Speake Tel (44) 207 316 9749 Fax (44) 207 316 9774, [email protected]

Matt Buck

ALERT STATUS is 2: (1 to 5 where 5 is most serious). There is serious worm/virus activity without a public exploit code

metrics

28 July 2005 Computing

33

See it to RAID1 for Data Backup (Optional)

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*Not applicable outside UK. Full details at www.toshiba.co.uk/s100trial. Typical Purchase Price (“TPP”) has been quoted for the above products. TPP is based on Toshiba market survey. The final purchase price may vary from Reseller to Reseller as Toshiba’s Resellers determine their price in accordance with their own business policies and methods of distribution. In addition to the purchase price, customers may be charged for delivery. TPP and specification are correct at time of going to print. Your purchase will be subject to the individual distributors terms and conditions of sale. Please check with the individual distributors for their terms and conditions. TPP, product design and specifications change frequently, may vary from those shown, are subject to change without notice and may be withdrawn without notice. Products are subject to availability and while stocks last. The photographed product may not always match the description. Please contact your distributors for further detail on specification, pricing and availability before purchasing. CPU performance may vary from specifications under certain conditions such as the use of battery instead of AC power, certain external peripherals, certain multimedia applications or network connections, complex modelling software and in areas with low air pressure and/or certain temperatures at high altitude (1,000 metres above sea level). Under some conditions, your computer may automatically shut down as a normal protective measure. To avoid risk of lost data, please make periodic back-up copies. For optimum performance, use your computer only under recommended conditions. Please read detailed restrictions in the product resource guide, visit the Toshiba website: computers.toshiba-europe.com

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computing Try the Computing Directories for free COMPUTING Directories are the most accurate and detailed source of IT marketing intelligence on UK companies. They provide fresh and accurate data for lead generation, telemarketing, direct mail and research. Computing Sites is a searchable online database containing more than 40,000 key named contacts from 13,000 major UK company sites. It is designed specifically for precision sales and the marketing of IT products and services to users. The IT used at all 13,000 company sites is profiled in great detail, from software used to the number of IT staff. It also includes the option to download contact lists into Excel. Computing Suppliers is a comprehensive online directory of 10,000 UK IT vendors, resellers and service providers, and also includes the option to download contact lists into Excel. Computing is offering a free trial to both Computing Sites and Computing Suppliers. To take advantage of this offer, call customer services on (020) 7316 9610 or email your contact details to [email protected], stating sites trial or suppliers trial in the header. For more information, visit www.computing.co.uk/directories.

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Diary Softworld Accounting and Finance 12-13 October NEC, Birmingham Europe’s leading software event for the accounting and finance profession brings together more than 70 leading software providers under one roof. Delegates can attend free vendor case studies and learn about the key business challenges facing industry through the independent masterclass and briefing sessions. www.softworld.co.uk/af Softworld HR and Payroll 12-13 October NEC, Birmingham Europe’s leading software event for the HR and payroll community brings together more than 40 suppliers under one roof, offering free vendor case studies. Delegates will be able to learn about key business issues, share their knowledge and network with industry peers. www.softworld.co.uk/hrp Business Performance & Project Management (BPPM) 12-13 October 2005 NEC, Birmingham BPPM focuses on project management. This forum will home in on the skills and technologies available for the real end

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user – the project and programme manager. Vendors will also present case study material in a new solutions centre on the showfloor. Once again, the event is co-located with complementary Softworld events. www.bppm.com Forrester Research Financial Services Forum Europe 2005 13-14 October Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, London Forrester analysts will present up-to-the-minute research on financial services and European executives will share their companies’ best practices. Whether you are looking for advice on business, marketing or IT management, this event will provide the answers to issues facing financial services firms. www.gigaweb.com/events

and is a superb opportunity to entertain VIPs, business partners and important clients. Book your table or enter online at www.computing.co.uk/awards Online Information 2005 29 November - 1 December 2005 Grand Hall, Olympia, London Online Information is an essential forum and meeting place for international information professionals, knowledge managers, librarians, academics, publishers, information users and IT professionals and vendors. Leading online industry commentators, consultants and professionals, top academics and key vendors explore the major issues that have shaped the industry, and determine the key trends facilitating developments for the future. www.online-information.co.uk Content Management Europe 29 November - 1 December 2005 Grand Hall, Olympia, London This content management event showcases the leading providers of enterprise and web content management solutions to the public and private sector, incorporating free exhibitions and a comprehensive seminar programme. www.cme-expo.co.uk

Computing Awards for Excellence 16 November Battersea Park Events Arena, London The Oscars of the IT industry, the Computing Awards is the leading, largest and most prestigious event of the year for IT business leaders. The 13th annual awards ceremony will be attended by more than 1,000 of the industry’s most influential people,

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CISCO/SUN/IBM/HP/3Com/DELL Servers/Switches/Networking/Comms/PC’s/Laptops

The PC, Networking and Communications Sourcing & Recycling Specialists Since 1992

IT Recycling

Software Testing

Redundant equipment isn’t just a nuisance, it’s a hazard. To free valuable space and raise cash, call 0118 903 7905 or visit www.sml-recycling.co.uk

Sun Micro Systems

“ Discovery Computer Services Ltd, (more commonly recognised as Buy-IT-Back.com), have found over the past few years that Computing Services Section is the perfect ‘Marketing Tool’ to reach an ideal client base to provide our services to. For over 11 years we have specialised in buying redundant Computer Hardware; for example Networking, Comms, Servers, PC's & Notebooks etc], back from companies that are upgrading, relocating or downsizing and have added a number of clients to our growing customer base thanks to the coverage we get within Computing.” – Roger Martin (Director) DISCOVERY COMPUTER SERVICES LTD

28 July 2005 Computing

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Smart trainers

bcs diary events

BCS supported event 30 July-5 August. 19th International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence. Edinburgh. Visit: http://ijcai05.csd.abdn.ac.uk/ Wired West and the BCS 2 August. 6.30pm. ‘Computer Forensics.’ New College, New College Drive, Swindon. Email: [email protected]

Advertise in Computing’s Training section

Cybernetic Machine Specialist Group 8-13 August. The 7th International Conference On Computing Anticipatory Systems. Liege. Visit: www.bcs.org.uk/ siggroup/cyber/bcs_cmg.htm

• Reach 115,641 IT professionals • Dedicated training section • Appear weekly for rapid response • Tailor-made, flexible advertising

Software Practice Advancement Specialist Group 5 August. 10am. ‘miniSPA.’ BCS Davidson Building, London. Visit: http://bcs-spa.org.uk/miniSPA

For further information on the type of IT professionals you can reach through the Computing Training section, or to discuss your advertising needs, contact:

Call John O’Grady on (020) 7316 9373 or email john_o’[email protected]

Young Professionals Group 1 September. Skillcentre event: Leadership. 5 Southampton Street, London. Visit: www.ypg.bcs.org BCS Human-computer Interaction Specialist Group 5-9 September. 9am. ‘HCI 2005: The Bigger Picture.’ Napier University, Edinburgh. Visit: www.hci2005.org Primary Health Care Specialist Group 9-10 September. 9am. Annual Conference, Downing College, Cambridge. Visit: www.phcsg.org/ Agile North (part of BCS/SPA Group) 13 September. ‘Sharing experience in agile software development.’ Harris Park Conference Centre, Preston. Visit: www.agilenorth.org.uk Formal Aspects of Computing Science

www.computing.co.uk

there is

www.computing.co.uk

Specialist Group Evening Seminar 21 September. 5.45pm. ‘Formal Methods Meets Biochemical Pathways.’ Davidson Building, 5 Southampton Street, London. Visit: www.bcs-facs.org/ events/EveningSeminars/ Elite Group 22 September. 11am. ‘Embedding Innovation in the Business.’ Royal Mail Group Innovation Laboratory, Rugby. Email: [email protected] Agile Business Conference 2005 27-28 September. BCS-supported event. London. Visit: www.agileconference.org Sociotechnical Group 19 October. 7th Annual Lecture Series. Social Computing. Visit: www.witsg.org/ BCS South Yorkshire Branch 20 October. 6pm for 6.30pm. ‘Longhorn why do we need it?’ Hallam University, Sheffield. Visit: http://bcs.shef.ac.uk Specialist Groups’ Assembly 25 October. Venue and further details to be announced. Email: [email protected] Open Source Specialist Group 27 October. 6pm. ‘Open Source Software Quality in Practice.’ Southampton Institute. Visit: http://ossg.bcs.org

Bristol Branch & Nursing Specialist Group 17 November. 6.30pm. ‘The NHS IT Project: the biggest computer programme in the world... ever!’ CEMS Faculty, University of the West of England, Bristol. Visit: www.bcsnsg.org.uk/ bristolnov05.htm BCS South Yorkshire Branch 17 November. 6pm for 6.30pm. ‘Network Convergence & VoIP.’ Affiniti (Kingston), Stoddart Building, Hallam University, Sheffield. Visit: http://bcs.shef.ac.uk BCS South Yorkshire Branch 8 December. 6pm for 6.30pm. ‘Egovernment in S Yorks.’ Bar Matrix, Charter Row, Sheffield. Visit: http://bcs.shef.ac.uk BCS South Yorkshire Branch 19 January. 6pm for 6.30pm. ‘Managing Risk - Technology and Communications.’ Stoddart Building, Hallam University, Sheffield. Visit: http://bcs.shef.ac.uk Visit the full BCS diary at www.bcs.org/BCS/Awards/Events/ BCSEventsCalendar/. It is advisable to confirm venue and date with the organisers before attending an event. Diary Editor: Brian Runciman (01793) 417474, [email protected]

THE BCS has more than 40 branches throughout the UK, 16 international sections and more than 50 Specialist Groups. It also has a number of affiliated groups and other member groups such as the Young Professionals Group, an active and lively forum dedicated to the needs of younger members; the BCS Disability Group, which focuses on the role of IT in giving disabled people a better quality of life; and the Women in IT Group, which is raising the profile and increasing access for women in the IT industry. Visit: www.bcs.org/groups

Ensure your training programme reaches key IT professionals

NO

Advertise in Computing’s Training section

limit…

• Reach 115,641 IT professionals • Dedicated training section • Appear weekly for rapid response • Tailor-made, flexible advertising packages to suit all budgets Why Computing? Computing (BPA Total Average Qualified Circulation 115,641) is read each week by IT professionals across all industry sectors. Which industry? Whichever industry your training package is suited to, the Computing Training section can help you reach the people you need.

…with CITI you reach the stars Based upon industry best practice and academic excellence, CITI’s postgraduate Certificate in Managing Major Projects (CMMP) improves managers’ skills, attitudes and individual performance.

Who will I reach? The Computing Training section is a well-used area of the magazine, which attracts a high number of readers. 26,051 readers are personally responsible for the purchase of training courses for their company; the Training section ensures you can reach these important potential clients. For further information on the type of IT professionals you can reach through the Computing Training section, or to discuss your advertising needs, contact: John O’Grady (020) 7316 9373 or email John_O’[email protected]

visit www.citi.co.uk/cmmp to assess your eligibility or call us for a brochure and further information.

CITI, Lovat Bank, Silver Street, Newport Pagnell, Bucks MK16 0EJ

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Computing 28 July 2005

● Tel: 01908 283 600

● Fax: 01908 283 601

● www.citi.co.uk

www.computing.co.uk

computing

www.computing.co.uk Information for the courses page should follow our usual format – course category, title of course, venue, date, price, organising company/body, telephone number. Unless the information is presented in this way, we regret that it cannot be included. For details on how your courses can be included, contact John O’Grady on (020) 7316 9373

Security Fundamentals of Cryptography and Key Management Trust in Gloucestershire, various dates available, price from £600, organised by Kryptosec (01453) 860537 Fundamentals of Data Security and Electronic Trust in Gloucestershire, various dates available, price from £600, organised by Kryptosec (01453) 860537 Physical Security, Terrorism, BS7799, BCM, PAS56, Risk, M_o_R, DPA, FoI and IT Courses at your office, you choose the date. Fees from £600 per course/team for 10 staff. To book contact Assetz Training [email protected] (0845) 230 0313. Visit: www.assetz.net Check Point VPN-1/Firewall-1/Mgmt 1 & 2 (five days) in London and Manchester, monthly at both locations, price £1,450, organised by Corefacts (01954) 212111 www.corefacts.co.uk Forensics Class in London, two-day course, price £1,500, organised by Internet Security Systems (01753) 845100 www. iss.net/education/ course_descriptions/ Ethical Hacking Class in London, four-day course, price £3,000, organised by Internet Security Systems (01753) 845100 www.iss.net/education/ course_descriptions/

Forensic Aspects of IT Security in Oxfordshire, providing the essential foundation knowledge to handle a potential computer crime scene, various dates available, organised by Vogon International (01869) 355255 www.computer-forensics-training.com

Software Planning a Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Organisation [MOC 2008] and Upgrading from Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5 to Microsoft Exchange 2003 [MOC 2009], various dates available, online, instructor-led training in the HP virtual classroom, classes run in multiple three-hour sessions over two weeks, organised by HP. Price and details at: www.win2003training.net/hp/ exchange.htm

Software Testing ISEB Foundation Certificate in Software Testing in Birmingham on 5-7 September, price £800, organised by QBIT (01702) 290558 www.qbit.co.uk ISEB Foundation Certificate in Software Testing in Manchester on 19-21 September, price £800, organised by QBIT (01702) 290558 www.qbit.co.uk ISEB Foundation Certificate in Software Testing in Bristol on 17-19 October, price £800, organised by QBIT (01702) 290558 www.qbit.co.uk ISEB Foundation Certificate in

Software Testing in Edinburgh on 21-23 November, price £800, organised by QBIT (01702) 290558 www.qbit.co.uk ISEB Foundation Certificate in SoftwareTesting, various dates and venues available, discounted price £760, organised by e-testing (020) 8387 1701 www.etesting.com

Linux Linux System Administration delivered at client’s site anywhere in the UK, price from £94 a day, organised by Tuxaco (01844) 351162 www.tuxaco.co.uk

organised by C2U Solutions (08456) 442266 [email protected] Windows Server 2003 Active Directory in Leeds on 24-26 August, three-day intensive course, price £175, organised by Leeds College of Technology (0113) 297 6459 www.lct.ac.uk/ networkingacademy Cerco Training Computer Systems and Network in Nantwich or London, four-week course, price £3,995, organised by Cerco Training (01270) 626300 www.cercotraining.co.uk

Audit/Asset Management

Support Microsoft MCSA, four-week course covering any Microsoft + CompTIA training. Various dates available, price £4,495 (special offer £3,495), organised by C2U Solutions (08456) 442266 [email protected] Implementing and Supporting Microsoft Windows XP Professional (MS2272), various dates and locations available, price £1,395 (special offer £995), organised by C2U Solutions (08456) 442266 [email protected] Managing and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Environment (MS2273), various dates and locations available, price £1,395 (special offer £995), organised by C2U Solutions (08456) 442266 [email protected] Implementing, Managing and Maintaining Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure (MS2277), various dates and locations available, price £1,399 (special offer £995),

iInventory (previously LANauditor) in Hampshire. One-day course for iInventory, various dates available, price £200 + VAT. Course covers upgrade, deployment, report generation, licence reconciliation and configuration. Contact: [email protected] (01264) 336336 or visit: www.ensignuk.com

Networking Cisco CCNA Weekend Bootcamp in Milton Keynes on 6-7 August, 20-21 August, 3-4 September and 24-25 September. Hands-on experience configuring Cisco routers and switches. Price £297 + VAT, including all materials and post-course support, organised by Networks Incorporated (01908) 263335. Visit: www.networksinc.co.uk to access your free How to Pass Your CCNA ebook Make the Microsoft .Net Framework Real in Berkshire, one-day workshop, organised by Borland. Visit:

training – listings www.borland.co.uk/news/events/ Planning for Java Quality and Performance in Berkshire, one-day workshop, organised by Borland www.borland.co.uk/news/events/

Conference IT Cost Reduction Workshop in London or Gatwick, various dates, in-house also available. One-day intensive plus post-course assignment, price £400 + VAT including full documentation on the Crosslight cost reduction process. Organised by Crosslight (01342) 716939 www.crosslight.co.uk

Elearning MCSE/MCSA Online course. Log in from any PC, 12 months access, price £599 reduced to £399, developed by MindLeaders (08456) 442266 www.c2usolutions.co.uk

Storage Management Implementing Tivoli Disaster Recovery Manager for Tivoli Storage Manager – elearning or CD-based, price £99 + VAT, organised by Karyfi Consulting (01252) 870844 www.karyfi.com ITIL for Storage Managers – elearning or CD-based, price £99 + VAT, organised by Karyfi Consulting (01252) 870844 www.karyfi.com

XML and Web Technologies XML Summer School at Wadham College, University of Oxford, price £995 for five days, £395 for two days, £195 for one day, programme tailored to suit your needs, plus optional seminars www.xmlsummerschool.com

Business Analysis Diploma - ISEB accredited 4 modules leading to the diploma will run in London as follows: • • • •

Business Analysis Essentials Business Organisation Requirements Engineering Analysis & Design Techniques

19-21 September 2005 22-23 September 2005 14-16 November 2005 17-18 November 2005

£850 £550 £850 £550

Who Else Wants to Become a Cisco CCNA? 2 Day Weekend Boot Camp Leading to the CCNA Qualification

Modules can be taken separately

book all 4 for £2,500 saving £300. Optional open book exam on completion of each module. to book call

0845 166 2161

[email protected] www.BusinessAnalystSolutions.com

or email

Intensive hands on training with routers and switches Each student has their own equipment (no sharing) Small class sizes All trainers are experienced Cisco consultants Comprehensive course notes supplied Post course tutor support Courses held monthly in Milton Keynes. Special offer - only £297 + VAT. Go to www.networksinc.co.uk NOW to access your FREE 'How to Pass Your CCNA' e-book or call 01908 263335 for an informal chat.

Smart trainers Selling an IT or management skills training package? Advertise in the Computing Training Section. Tailor-made, flexible advertising packages to suit all budgets. For more details call John O’Grady on (020) 7316 9373 or email john_o’[email protected]

www.computing.co.uk

28 July 2005 Computing

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appointments

Appointments Computing is published every Thursday. Total Qualified Circulation 115,049 (BPA for the six-month period ended December 2004) To place a recruitment advertisement call Recruitment Sales on (020) 7316 9793 or write to: Louise Johnson, Computing, VNU Business Publications, 32-34 Broadwick Street, London W1A 2HG. email: [email protected] Fax: (020) 7316 9350

www.computingcareers.co.uk is the online jobs service from Computing. For help in creating your multi-channel recruitment solution call: Louise Johnson on (020) 7316 9793

Rates All rates and series/volume discounts available on request. Recruitment Customer Services (020) 7316 9309 Circulation Enquiries (01858) 435344

Student & Learning Support Information Technology & Communication Services Systems Manager £25,432 - £29,128 per annum

Mercedes-Benz HighPerformanceEngines is a DaimlerChrysler Company whose principal activities are the design, manufacture and supply of Mercedes-Benz Formula One engines.

We require an experienced professional with technical skills and a thorough knowledge of Sun Solaris and/or Linux to work within our small, highly skilled team in a demanding service environment.

BUSINESS SYSTEMS MANAGER We are seeking a Business Systems Manager to establish a strategy for business systems across the organisation, in response to the top-level business plan and budget. Responsibilities will include defining and supporting a business continuity plan, establishing an efficient business system infrastructure and supporting business activities throughout the organisation.

The role requires significant experience of developing robust server infrastructures whilst maintaining all aspects of information security. A good working knowledge of network protocols and standards is also required.

Candidates must have an Engineering or Technical Computing Degree and experience in an automotive engineering function. The position requires a detailed technical knowledge of business systems, combined with practical IT knowledge in the automotive sector and experience in a senior Business Systems management role. CAD/CAM/CAE knowledge would be an advantage, as would LAN and WAN. ERP/MRP system experience is also required (SAP preferred).

Experience in deploying and supporting Unix based email and web technologies is essential. Knowledge of scripting languages, such as Perl, would be an advantage, as would knowledge of Microsoft Windows 2003. Ref No: SLS012/947

To apply, please send your CV and letter of application to: Human Resources, Mercedes-Benz HighPerformanceEngines Ltd, Quarry Road, Brixworth, Northants NN6 9UB

The University of Sunderland application form and Role Profile for this post can be obtained by contacting the Human Resources Department on 0191 515 2057 or www.sunderland.ac.uk/jobs

In addition to an attractive salary, this position carries a range of benefits including non-contributory pension, private medical insurance, discretionary bonus and an employee car scheme.

Closing Date: 12th August 2005

Closing date: 19th August 2005.

HEAD OF IT Based in Hampshire Competitive Salary + Benefits The Responsibilities •

Motivating and developing IT staff, including contractors and consultants used for network, development and support work.

•

Managing the IT infrastructure including network, servers, desktops, printers, software, phone systems and website.

The Organisation Explore have pioneered adventure tours all over the world. Our expertise and our continual innovations have kept us at the cutting edge of adventure travel and, as the UK’s leading adventure travel specialist, we offer the most diverse range of trips to over 100 countries.

The Role A technically astute, senior management position, with responsibility for defining and managing delivery of IT solutions to achieve corporate objectives, greater business efficiency and excellence in service delivery, including support and development work within sister companies.

•

Managing and prioritising project management of all development work.

•

Setting and managing company IT budgets.

•

Active member of senior management team.

•

Managing Business Continuity Plan for all IT and communication systems.

The Successful Candidate • Ideally qualified to degree level. • Min 5 years project management experience, including full project life cycle. • Min 2 years management experience in technical/IT environment • Travel industry and GDS experience would be an advantage • Likely to have some programming experience • Knowledge of JAVA, JSP, VB, SQL, AIX and IBM U2 preferable.

For full job description, please contact Sue Thorne, HR Manager, Explore Worldwide on [email protected]

leading the way in adventure travel

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For more jobs, go to www.computingcareers.co.uk

computing

(020) 7316 9793

appointments

Senior Opportunities for Talented SAP Professionals £50,000-£100,000 basics + excellent packages

West London and Surrey

This well respected FTSE 100 organisation has a truly Global SAP environment that underpins their entire business operations. Their IS function works closely with key business areas to ensure that the SAP investment is fully exploited and solutions are closely aligned to strategic objectives. As they embark on a period of IS led business change they are looking to further complement their world class team with the following key appointments.

Global SAP Delivery Manager

– IT11369C

Managing the support and enhancement of the global SAP environment. Helping move the organisation towards a scalable, high performance SAP environment and implementing best practice on a competency centre model. You will have a strong SAP delivery background and ideally experience of creating and managing a global SAP competency centre.

Business Process Leaders

– IT10816C

Working with key functional areas (Finance, HR) to translate their requirements into workable SAP solutions and initiating significant business process change through analysis and influence at a senior level. Candidates will possess strong domain knowledge and ideally relevant qualifications in appropriate business area (ACCA, CIMA, CIPD). True business and technology hybrid with strong business change skills.

Senior Business Analysts

– IT10320C

Critical business and technology interface, working with Business Process Leaders to help translate solutions into detailed functional specifications. Managing relationships with development/configuration staff. We are particularly interested in hearing from candidates with knowledge of CO-PA module. Please note that some international travel is expected. All of these positions represent an unrivalled opportunity to join a global blue chip with exceptional opportunities for career development. Please apply quoting appropriate reference number with full career details to Sam Gordon, Harvey Nash plc, 13 Bruton Street, London W1J 6QA. Telephone +44 (0)20 7333 1812 or email [email protected]. Harvey Nash is a global executive search consultancy. Complying with the DTI: We are an Employment Agency.

www.harveynash.com

EAI DEVELOPERS Systems Interface Designers NHS Wide, Mobile Consulting Roles - Permanent & Contract High calibre, professional and dynamic applicants with experience of EAI systems integration and interfacing engines are sought to develop the messaging structures of hospital information systems. To carry out this role successfully you must offer demonstrable experience of HL7 v.2. Ideally you will have exposure to HL7 v.3, solid XML and SOAP skills. Hands-on experience of one of the following is a pre-requisite:

SeeBeyond e*Gate

Orion Rhapsody

Microsoft BizTalk

NEON

Quovadx Cloverleaf

HL7 v.3

You must be comfortable operating in a client-facing capacity, be willing and able to travel to client sites. The positions exist as part of the NHS Connecting for Health / National Programme for IT initiative.

For more information on these urgent requirements, or to arrange a time for an informal discussion, please call Terence Cloote on 01923 224481. Alternatively send your cv to [email protected]. He may also be contacted out of office hours on 07917 220611. Informatiq Consulting Ltd., Gresham House, 53 Clarendon Road, Watford, WD17 1FT. Tel: (01923) 224481 Fax: (01923) 224493 Email: [email protected] Web: www.informatiq.co.uk

For more jobs, go to www.computingcareers.co.uk

28 July 2005 Computing

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(020) 7316 9793

Database & E-commerce Consultants: £25–39k+pa We are looking for confident, highly-motivated individuals who combine a love of IT with an ability to relate the technology to underlying business requirements and a desire to take on high profile client-facing assignments. We have project sites throughout Europe and work across a wide range of technical environments, and will consider exceptional candidates irrespective of skill set. Current and forthcoming projects require graduates with 12+ months experience in the following: Oracle, SQL Server, Access, Sybase, DB2, Ingress, Informix, MySQL, Postgress, Java, J2EE, J2ME EJB, Jservlet, JDBC, Visual Basic, Visual Studio, XML, Jade, Net, ASP C#, C++, Pro 4, Cold Fusion, Weblogic, I 90, Jboss, UML, XSL, DOM, SAX, OOD, SQL, Tomcat, Apache, SVG, CSS, DHTML, HTML CGI, Perl, PHP, JUnit., WinRunner, LoadRunner, RationalRose, Rational Suite, Uniface, JNI, Progress, Singleview, Progen, JavaScript, Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Quark. CISCO, Visio, TOAD, Websphere, Informatica Power Centre, CICS, FileAid, EasyTrieve, COBOL, Flash, Photoshop, IntelliJ Idea, Clipper, Struts Test specialists and applicants with Prince II/ RUP/ITIL exposure, and those with investment banking sector (Reuters/Bloomberg/marketview) especially welcome (£50+k pa available for the best candidates in these areas). Generous project linked bonuses are available in addition to salary for top performers Non-graduates with 36+ months experience will also be considered.

To apply please e-mail your CV (with address and contact details) reference DB H0705 in the subject to [email protected] or write to Lise Thorne, Sybersolve Solutions, Broadway Chambers, 20 Hammersmith Broadway, London W6 7BB.

Network Consultants: £22 – 30+k pa We are looking for confident, highly-motivated individuals who combine a love of IT with an ability to relate the technology to underlying business requirements and a desire to take on high profile client-facing assignments. We have project sites throughout Europe and work across a wide range of technical environments, and will consider exceptional candidates irrespective of skill set. Current and forthcoming projects require graduates with 12+ months experience in the following: Windows, Novell, Unix (all flavours), Linux, Mainframe, Cisco, Genesys/G-Express, Pivotal CRM, Alcatel 4400/CC-IVR, Intel Dialogic, TAPI, LDAP, Citrix, AXE 10, DMS 100, 3G Switchgear, Ideal candidates will combine their network skills with applications such as ARC serve, SQL Server, Oracle, Exchange Server, Notes/Domino & MS Sharepoint Portal Server; with development tools such as Java, C++, VB, perl, and planning/modelling skills such as Visio, MS Project. Network security professionals with experience of Checkpoint, Gauntlet, Proxy server, and other firewalls / VPN / cryptographic solutions are particularly welcome (and can expect a higher salary in the £25-37k pa range) A similar premium is available to those with Prince II, RUP, and ITIL. Generous project linked bonuses are available in addition to salary for top performers. Non-graduates with 36+ months experience will also be considered. To apply please e-mail your CV reference NCH0705 (with address and contact details) to [email protected] or write to Laura Maryon, Sybersolve Solutions, Broadway Chambers, 20 Hammersmith Broadway, London W6 7BB. 42

Computing 28 July 2005

For more jobs, go to www.computingcareers.co.uk

computing

(020) 7316 9793

appointments

Head of Technology Significant package

Central Brighton

Findaproperty.com, the leading property web site, combines listings of properties for sale and rent with relevant editorial content and local information to assist property buyers and renters in finding a property quickly and efficiently. Find a Property was acquired by Daily Mail and General Trust PLC in November 2004. Already a highly successful and profitable business, the organisation is moving into an exciting growth phase with significant investment in its products and the technology that underpins them. They now seek a highly talented and inspirational individual to head their Technology organisation and play a pivotal role in moving the business forward. The Opportunity – Direct report to CEO and member of senior management team with a real input into business strategy – Work with the business to drive product development and innovation ensuring findaproperty.com maintains and grows its market position and revenue streams – Management and development of all software solutions that include the public website and core software product utilised by the agency network – Leadership of all technical teams that include application development, support and operations – Critical review of methods and processes enabling the delivery of consistently high quality releases and robust technical operations

Your Credentials – Proven track record of successful delivery gained within an online business or web product organisation – Significant technology leadership experience spanning 10+ years and covering development management and technical operations – Ability to work in a fast paced and truly dynamic business with high levels of autonomy and accountability – Highly credible and commercially aware, comfortable operating at board level and influencing across the business – A passionate and inspiring leader that builds highly motivated and delivery focused teams

To apply please visit www.harveynash.com, email [email protected] or write to Harvey Nash plc, 13 Bruton Street, London W1J 6QA, quoting reference IT11366C. A current CV and salary details should be included. For more information please call Sam Gordon on +44 (0)20 7333 1812. Harvey Nash is a global recruitment consultancy.

ARCHITECTS Make a notable difference to some of the most challenging green-field projects currently available ...

Infrastructure Architects

Lead Solution Architects

Choice of base location ~ £45k to £65k + car + bonus

Positions UK Wide ~ to £six figure package & benefits

This is an excellent opportunity for Technical Architects with particular expertise in infrastructure design to gain true recognition for their expertise.

These are truly exceptional opportunities – the expression ‘industry leading’ genuinely describes these roles.

Projects are large and complex and will see you working on strategy through conceptual designs to logical and physical design. You will be working closely with clients to capture requirements, conduct design reviews and approve design deliverables.

You will join an elite group of professionals within my client’s Technology Integration team who focus 100% on the design and delivery of ‘overall solution architectures’ for some of the most challenging, complex and high profile systems integration engagements in the UK.

Your remit will include product selection and responsibility for ensuring integration with existing technology. Successful candidates will have an in-depth knowledge of network architectures, communications protocols, storage and security. There is massive scope to develop your career either technically or into management - the choice is yours!

These roles are for individuals who are highly respected by both clients and their peer group and have spent at least the last 3 years defining, designing and implementing enterprise wide solution architectures on programmes in excess of £10m – although engagements are likely to be in the many £10’s of millions

These roles are not for the faint-hearted, we seek individuals who are already recognised and respected by their peers as ‘experts’ in their field - technically excellent but proactive and pragmatic too.

A deep understanding of Application and Data Architectures, with a knowledge of platform integration technologies (J2EE & .NET), form the basis for your innovative design and delivery.

The motivation to move will simply be challenge - you will find yourself working on bigger and better programmes with huge scope for personal development and with the support from senior management to ensure it happens.

These are not ‘infrastructure’ or ‘single package’ solution roles but ones that will see you take ownership of every aspect for the design of a highly complex, multi component, distributed n-tier environment.

To hear more, please call Anna Lewis on 01923 224481. Alternatively, please Email your CV to her at [email protected] and she will contact you at a time convenient to you.

For an informal discussion, please call Dan McCarthy on 01923 224481. Alternatively, please Email him your CV to [email protected] and he will contact you at a time convenient to you.

Informatiq Consulting Ltd., Gresham House, 53 Clarendon Road, Watford, WD17 1FT. Tel: (01923) 224481 Fax: (01923) 224493 Email: [email protected] Web: www.informatiq.co.uk

For more jobs, go to www.computingcareers.co.uk

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appointments

(020) 7316 9793

ERP & CRM Consultants Package £28–53k pa We are looking for confident, highly-motivated individuals who combine a love of IT with an ability to relate the technology to underlying business requirements and a desire to take on high profile client-facing assignments. Current and forthcoming projects at sites throughout Europe require candidates, ideally with Prince II/RUP/ITIL/Visio exposure, and with 12+ months experience in the following: SAP (esp. HR, payroll, oil/gas, and basis), ABAP, Peoplesoft (esp. with PeopleTools, HRMS, Financials) Oracle Applications (esp. Financials, & SSHR modules), Broadvision, JD Edwards, Walker, Siebel, Vantive, Clarify, ATG Dynamo, Tibco, Plumtree, Fidessa, Chordiant, Navision, Great Plains, Globus, Cognos, PowerHouse. Sage L200/500, VISION+, Tuxedo, Seebeyond, Amdocs, TestDirector, Weblogic, Websphere., SAS. Our ERP practice is a predominantly graduate environment. Non Graduates will be considered, but only if able to demonstrate 4+ years of experience. For an application form, e-mail your CV referencing ERP 0705 in the subject and with address and contact details to [email protected] or write to Kay Teasdale, Sybersolve Solutions, Broadway Chambers, 20 Hammersmith Broadway, London W6 7BB.

Global Head of Infrastructure & Service Kingfisher Significant six figure package London Kingfisher is Europe’s largest home improvement retailer with market-leading positions in the UK, France, Poland, Italy, China and Taiwan. Household name brands include B&Q, Castorama and Brico-Depot with a total of 550 stores across Asia and Europe. Sale for the ongoing Home Improvement business for 2003 were over £7bn of which 41% was generated outside the UK. The Group is renowned for the world-class technology which has supported its business success and it now wishes to capitalise upon geographical synergies to create a more global view of systems and programmes. The planned creation of a shared service centre for IT has generated the requirement for an outstanding infrastructure and service delivery executive. THE ROLE · Report to the CIO. Build a world-class, globally integrated IT service delivery and infrastructure capability around best practices and standards in service management. · Key position on the senior IT Executive team. Accountable for delivering economies of scale to Board via substantial cross-business improvement programmes. · Drive up the quality of service to internal customers whilst delivering the economies of scale that global integration brings. THE PERSON · An outstanding IT professional with demonstrable track record of creating a successful shared IT services organisation. · A successful career in an international, service-sector blue-chip where technology and strong IT process has delivered significant shareholder value. An outstanding leader of people and change, experienced in managing large teams and budgets. A track-record of building great third-party partnerships. · Preferably French speaking. Culturally sensitive with true global experience.

Please send a full cv stating current salary details and quoting ref EA-00215 to [email protected] Boyden, 150 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 9RT Tel: 08700 994168 Fax: 0870 0884169 www.boyden.com 44

Computing 28 July 2005

For more jobs, go to www.computingcareers.co.uk

computing

(020) 7316 9793

appointments

Harvest Housing Group is an innovative group of diverse housing associations and companies, which work together to achieve excellence in housing, property regeneration and related markets. We own 15,000 homes throughout the North West and provide solutions to residents and organisations nationwide. We are passionate about the quality of service we provide so our focus is on neighbourhoods and being responsive to our customers.

ICT APPLICATIONS SUPPORT & DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES • PRESTON Reporting to the ICT Applications Manager at our Preston Docklands office, these new key appointments will augment an existing enthusiastic and proactive team.

ICT WORKFLOW AND ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT OFFICER £24,406 - £26,458 pa You will be responsible for the development, implementation and long-term support of workflow and EDM solutions, initially for the Group's Orchard Contact Management System, in a busy working environment.

ICT INFORMATION OFFICER £21,216 - £23,057 pa You will provide group wide information reporting solutions and have a minimum of two years' experience of creating Business Objects reports in a business environment.

ICT APPLICATIONS SUPPORT OFFICER £18,965 - £20,635 pa Primarily you will provide first line application support in a dynamic environment covering contact, housing and financial management systems. You will also require a technical knowledge of PCs, their components and operating systems. For all posts you will possess a strong customer-focused and enthusiastic approach, and a well balanced mix of practical aptitude, troubleshooting skills, and the ability to communicate effectively at all levels. Your commitment to a career in ICT will be demonstrated by vocational/academic qualifications or practical experience. A full driving licence is essential. For an informal discussion on any of these jobs contact Sarah Macadam on 01772 767247. To request an application form, email: [email protected] leaving your name, address and the position you are applying for. We offer a 35 hour week, holidays starting at 25 plus bank holidays, and a final salary pension scheme. We are an Equal Opportunities Employer Harvest Housing Group is a smoke Closing date for receipt of completed application free environment forms is 4 August 2005.

Oracle DBA c.£27,000

GODALMING, SURREY

WWF is a global conservation organisation that is actively building a future in which people can live in harmony with the natural world. Right now we’re looking for an experienced individual to analyse, maintain and develop our CARE Business Solutions application, which is a supporter and contacts database hosted on an HP Unix/Oracle platform. You will provide first-line technical support and build genuine subject matter expertise for this business-critical application. As well as managing key issues like space, resources, performance and faults, you will also liaise with the external provider and ensure we follow best practice when it comes to upgrades, capacity planning, security and disaster recovery. With at least two years’ Oracle with Unix experience, you will bring an in-depth and practical knowledge of Oracle management and administration. Just as important will be an understanding of generic database methodology and an appreciation of emerging technologies and industry standards. For more information about this opportunity, visit our website at

www.wwf.org.uk/jobs Please send your CV and covering letter quoting ref: TECANAORUN, to the Recruitment Officer, WWF-UK, Panda House, Weyside Park, Godalming, Surrey GU7 1XR or email [email protected] Closing date: 5th August 2005. WWF-UK registered charity number 1081247. A company limited by guarantee (registered in England) number 4016725

Own a PC? Why not put it to work? Computing Database Administrator You can join one of the fastest growing & most established and ethical in-home business programmes. Start your own 60Minute Money Home Business and begin earning up to £500-£1,500 part-time per month around your existing schedule with the potential to develop a full-time income. The system works 24/7 even while you are asleep! ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

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Royal Holloway, at Egham in Surrey, has embarked on an ambitious programme to implement a number of new administrative systems to support the needs of students, academic staff and administrative staff. It is now looking to recruit to the Administrative Computing Group to provide additional DBA expertise for the current system implementations. The post is for an experienced Oracle DBA used to working in a Unix environment. It would appeal to someone with solid Oracle DBA experience looking to upgrade their skills to an Oracle Application Server environment. In this position, the successful applicant will find themselves working closely with another DBA to provide support to the Admin computing team with regards to software evaluations, implementations, development and support on both the current applications and on new projects. The ability to work in a team is essential. All applicants will need to demonstrate an aptitude for IT-related work. The position will be appointed in the range £32,497 - £38,017 (inclusive of London Allowance), pay award pending. For an informal discussion please contact Hilary Sellars, Head of MIS, on telephone 01784 443727 or email [email protected] Further details and an application form can be obtained from The Personnel Department, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX; fax: 01784 473527; tel: 01784 414241; email Sue [email protected] .uk Please quote reference number KB/004321. The closing date is Tuesday 9th August 2005. We positively welcome applications from all sections of the community.

For more jobs, go to www.computingcareers.co.uk

28 July 2005 Computing

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public sector appointments

www.computingcareers.co.uk

To advertise in the Public

STEP forward INFORMATION SECURITY OFFICER £25,365 - £27,444 pa

Sector Appointments

37 hours per week

section call

South Wigston, Leicester You will demonstrate proven skills of the application of information security issues in an IT environment with strong communication skills, both written and orally, together with a high degree of self-confidence, assertiveness and diplomacy. Ideally you will be able to work independently and also as a team member to demanding deadlines. This post involves being able to communicate effectively with staff at all levels of the organisation. You will be responsible for developing and undertaking information security audits. You will assist in maintaining Constabulary policies by facilitating and assisting members of the Constabulary to comply with legislation. You must have gained a degree in a relevant subject (Business Information Systems, Information Security) or an equivalent qualification OR be able to demonstrate 3 years’ recent experience in the management and practice of information security, ideally within a large organisation. You will be able to demonstrate an in depth knowledge of and understanding of issues relating to ISO17799 and hold a current driving licence.* Post Ref: KC051

Louise Johnson now on (020)

Choose something better. Choose Derbyshire Assistant Web Development Officer (Fixed Term) DCC/05/7490 £22,512 - £24,000 per annum County Hall, Matlock This post is available for a period of 6 months due to a service re-design project within the Education department. We are looking for a person who is flexible in their approach to work, a team player with an ability to work on a range of projects. The person will have had experience in producing online forms, active web content and other web related functionality. Ideally the post holder will have knowledge of C# and ASP.NET. There will be opportunity for training at the outset of this employment if required.

Network Support Technician (Schools)

Interviews for this position will take place on 31st August 2005.

DCC/05/7440 £24,708 - £27,411 per annum County Hall, Matlock with county wide travel The successful candidate will have a good knowledge of the National Standards for Educational Networks and be able to solve complex networking issues relating to the school's LAN and WAN connections. Industry related qualifications such as MCSE or CCNA are desirable but an HNC/HND/Degree in an IT related subject is essential. This job requires two years experience in solving network related problems in educational establishments. A practical test to assess IT skills will comprise part of the interview process. Closing date: 7 August 2005

We are an equal opportunities employer and you will need to provide basic details when requesting an application form. We operate a no-smoking policy.

Web Development Officer (Fixed Term)

* Reasonable adjustments will be considered under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 for applicants who, because of disabilities, cannot meet this requirement. Please note that commencement in post is usually at the lower rate of the salary scale and may rise by annual increments to the maximum of the grade. For an application pack and further details please contact Resourcing on 0116 222 2222, ext. 2519, Monday to Friday, 9.00am to 5.00pm. A re-location package is not applicable to this post. Or alternatively visit our website at www.leics.police.uk/careers where you can download a copy of the application form.

7316 9793 or email louise_ johnson@ vnu.co.uk

The closing date for the return of completed application forms is the close of business on Friday 12th August 2005.

www.leics.police.uk/careers

Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity I GOSHCC

Business Analyst A & C Grade 7 £29,071 to £33,523 pa inc London Weighting Building on the considerable success of previous IT developments, GOSHCC is about to embark on an exciting new project that will introduce business process automation to the organisation. You will be responsible for a wide variety of initiatives at any one time, and will require the initiative and drive to manage and deliver successful business change projects. Working as part of the IT Team, you will need the ability to quickly familiarise yourself with our business practices and procedures, and the skills to communicate effectively with all staff including senior management. You will be responsible for analysing current business processes, recommending change where applicable across our current systems, including web, CRM, finance and data warehouse applications. In addition, you will be responsible for new enterprise-wide processes across existing and future systems. You will be required to develop processes within the SeeBeyond ICAN 5.0 suite of software products, thus previous experience of workflow based process design is essential. Experience of development using one or more of the following, Java, .NET, SQL and XML will be considered highly desirable. 1989 GOSHCC.Registered Charity No. 235825. For an application form and a job description, please contact our 24 hour recruitment line on 020 7813 8407, fax 020 7813 8227 or visit our website www.gosh.nhs.uk Please quote reference AC720. Closing date: 12th August 2005. The Trust is committed to equality of opportunity in employment and encourages applications from all sections of the community. We offer a range of flexible working patterns. Please contact us for more information. The Trust will apply for Enhanced Disclosure with the successful candidate, and confirmation of this will be required before the post may be taken up. For information on Disclosure please visit the CRB website at www.disclosure.gov.uk The child first and always

46

Computing 28 July 2005

DCC/05/7486 £22,512 - £26,157 per annum County Hall, Matlock This post is available for a period of 12 months due to a secondment within the education department. We are looking for a person who is flexible in their approach to work, a team player with an ability to work on a range of projects. The role will involve quality control of the Education department content on websites provided by the County Council. The existing post holder is seconded on another project, hence the requirement for this temporary post. At other times, the work will require assisting members of the team in producing interactive web pages. Ideally the post holder should have knowledge of C#, ADO.NET, XML and ASP.NET. There will be opportunity for training at the outset of this employment if required. The post holder should have experience of working with enterprise level web applications. Application packs for all vacancies are available online at www.derbyshire.gov.uk/jobs or from Call Derbyshire on 08 456 058 058 Closing date: 14 August 2005 unless otherwise stated. We are an equal opportunities employer welcoming applications from everyone.

For all Derbyshire County Council vacancies see www.derbyshire.gov.uk For more jobs, go to www.computingcareers.co.uk

computing

www.computingcareers.co.uk

public sector appointments

People Focused IT Solutions.... Senior IT roles based in various locations in the NW and NE Attractive salary with flexible starting pay With an estimated total spend of more than £1bn a year, the Department for Work and Pensions is one of the largest and most significant purchasers and operators of IT services in Northern Europe The Programme and Systems Delivery (PSD) Group is responsible for the IT solutions and services that enable and support our business. PSD is undergoing a significant transformation to build a world class IT organisation and this demands we attract the best in IT. As part of this transformation programme you can work with us to improve the services we offer our 26 million customers, by helping us to develop and deliver innovative IT solutions which exploit new technologies and concepts.

The Opportunities:

For further information on individual posts look on www.computingcareers.co.uk/dwp

Service Delivery Posts – all based in Birchwood Park Warrington: Corporate Infrastructure Project Manager Corporate Infrastructure Delivery Manager Corporate Infrastructure Financial Manager Corporate Infrastructure Demand Manager Integration Framework Manager IS/IT Integration Manager IS/IT Transition Manager Application Investment Manager Application Supplier Performance Manager Test Planning and Assurance Manager Test Environment Controller

F7/B15 F7/B11 F7/B13 F7/B12 F7/B6 F7/B8 (2 posts) F7/B7 (2 posts) F7/B9 F7/B10 F7/B19 F7/B20

IS Directorate Posts: Service Delivery Monitoring and Co-ordination Manager (2 posts based in Newcastle and Warrington) Testing Release and Change Manager (12 posts based in Newcastle and Warrington) IS/IT Commercial Co-ordinator (4 posts based in Newcastle, Preston and Warrington)

F17/B14 F17/B12 F13/B9

Information Data and Solutions Architect (5 posts based in Newcastle and Warrington) IS/IT Design Authority Manager (4 posts based in Newcastle, Preston and Warrington) IS/IT Security Architect (3 posts based in Newcastle and Warrington) Network Architect (1 post based in Warrington) IS/IT Strategy Planner (2 posts based in Lytham St Annes and Warrington) Portfolio Manager (3 posts based in Newcastle Preston and Leeds) IS/IT Governance and Methods Assurance Manager (2 posts based in Newcastle and Leeds) Live Systems Manager (1 post based in Newcastle) IS/IT Disaster Recovery and Continuity Manager (1 post based in Newcastle) IS/IT Business and Strategy Architect (1 post based in Newcastle)

F15/B12 F13/B7 F13/B5 F14/B11

To request an application pack (including a detailed job specification) please contact Carly Vivian on 0191 215 2678. Please quote the appropriate reference number for all enquiries. The closing date for applications is 11th August 2005.

F16/B9 F15/B10 F14/B4 F17/B10 F17/B3 F13/B4

DWP offers a wide range of benefits including Flexible working hours, 25 days paid holiday on appointment and an excellent pension scheme DWP is committed to providing services which embrace diversity and promote equality of opportunity in our working practices to all our customers, colleagues and partners.

This is a fast moving, creative environment, which offers committed IT professionals the chance to develop to their full potential

South Somerset District Council

CITY OF WORCESTER Making Worcester a Great Place to Live, Work and Visit

DEVELOPMENT OFFICER SYSTEM SUPPORT OFFICER PO 3-6 £26,703 - £29,004 Full time post Relocation expenses available We are looking for a self motivated and enthusiastic individual to join our experienced team of systems developers to deliver systems integration, spatial and web development expertise. You will be a good team player with excellent communication skills. The development environment is stimulating and exciting and we will need you to be able to prioritise your own work and have the ability to work to conflicting deadlines. You will have experience of all stages of the systems development lifecycle and be familiar with systems analysis and design methodologies and be able to demonstrate a full understanding of databases, Oracle portal, web development and integration technologies, and Microsoft office technologies. Knowledge of the following products and technologies is desirable: Oracle, SQL, Java and XML. This post is key to our delivery of the E Government priority outcomes and to the improvement of front line services through the use of information technology systems. You must therefore be able to see the bigger picture and be able to work with our customers to deliver solutions with limited resources. In return we provide a competitive salary and a positive working environment. For an informal discussion or further details please contact Janet Lancaster System Support Manager on 01935 462219 Application forms and job descriptions are available from Human Resources, Brympton Way, Yeovil (01935) 462153 (24 hour answerphone). Alternatively, visit our webpage under SSDC Jobs. Ref Num: JL/758 Closing date 5th August 2005

For more jobs, go to www.computingcareers.co.uk

Salary £24,708 - £26,703 per annum (including Market Forces supplement) The City of Worcester is a forward looking Authority and has continuously upgraded its IT infrastructure and facilities. It is expected the delivery of applications through thin-client technology will continue to grow and, with the advent of e-Government and working in partnership with other local organisations, the delivery of other services through web-enabled technologies will become increasingly important. We have the following exciting opportunity for a self-motivated and enthusiastic individual. You will be leading or involved in projects at all levels, from participating in the feasibility study to implementation, end user and operational support. Externally sourced application support is a major part of this role and you will require strong project management and communication skills, with a sound knowledge of systems analysis. Projects may range from complete in-house development to implementation of externally supplied packages. You will require knowledge in any of the following software components: MS Visual Basic, MS Office, any major RDBMS using SQL, Internet/Intranet development in a mixed environment of operating systems. If required, cross training will be provided in MS SQL or Oracle. Closing date: 19 August 2005. Interviews are planned to take place in the week commencing 5 September 2005. Further details and application form are posted on our website: www.cityofworcester.gov.uk and can be completed on-line or obtainable from the Personnel Section, First Floor, Orchard House, Farrier Street, Worcester WR1 3BB on Worcester (01905) 722056 (an ansaphone is available out of hours) Minicom 01905 722156 or e mail us on [email protected]. Please do not e mail CV’s as these are not accepted. Applicants are required to complete our standard application form. The Council is committed to working towards equality of opportunity in employment as well as in the provision of service.

28 July 2005 Computing

47

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careers

Job of the week Head of IT, Hampshire, Competitive salary

Capgemini expands graduate recruiting

backbytes [email protected]

Taboo is the colour One of the more intriguing signs we have covered was the one painted on the floor of Thales Air Defence, suggesting what that week’s ‘Taboo colour’ was. And finally, we have someone with a suggestion for what this actually means. ‘I suspect it related to the level of security alert applicable at the time,’ says Steve Phillips. ‘And that your revelation of this will lead to a visit by men in raincoats and dark glasses.’ They can join the others waiting in reception.

Firm says IT students also need communication skills Miya Knights

10%

15%

During the summer, our thoughts turn to icky food, as usual. ‘Your series about mouldy food reminds me of the computer department at Tootal in the early 1970s,’ says John Roberts. ‘It installed the first coffee machine in the company. This was a roaring success until one day the machine broke down. The machine was unlocked and for the first time the inside was revealed: at the bottom of the machine, a plastic bucket was installed to catch drips. Floating in the gunge was a dead mouse which had somehow fallen into the bucket and later succumbed.’ Apparently the man whose job it was to clean dead mice out of vending machines could not tell if it died from exhaustion or the coffee, but after that, the machine was not quite so popular.

25% of adverts offered more than £37 per hour 12%

50% of adverts offered more than £28 per hour

75%

9%

of adverts offered more than £21 per hour

A crispy base, side and topping

Source: Jobstats.co.uk

6%

3%

0% 0

£10

£20

£30

£40

£50

£60

£70

£80

£90

£100

Which brings us to this week’s picture, sent by an anonymous police contact. It is the chief suspect in an alert that involved multiple smoke alarms, disrupted the chief constable’s schedule, cleared out the police control room and summoned the fire brigade. It is, if you can’t identify it, a pizza after it had been recovered from the microwave.

Grandad, we love you, that’s what we all think of you ogy students with an awareness of soft skills, such as communication and team-working. ‘While there are graduates coming through with soft skills, perhaps universities need to make these a bigger part of their courses,’ said Winch. Up to 90 per cent of European businesses fear an IT skills shortage next year, according to Forrester Research.

‘All evidence indicates that Europe faces a serious shortage of IT skills,’ said Richard Peynot, senior analyst at Forrester. ‘Companies need to take action now to support long-term competency needs.’

We are indebted to reader Henry Brysh, who passes on a useful tip for anyone tracing their family tree over the net. ‘A gentleman by the name of Steven Morse has some very helpful search utilities on his web site,’ he says, and indeed he does, if you go to www.stevemorse.org. However, for all those people who emailed Steve to ask if he could find their great grandfather for them, he has a special page: www.stevemorse.org/grandfather/

Further reading www.computing.co.uk/2138641

How to see more on George

[email protected] www.computing.co.uk

Inside today’s Careers: Improve your skills – training courses on page 39

Dilbert®

Wake up and smell the mouse

of adverts offered more than £46 per hour

Matt Buck

IT services company Capgemini is expanding its graduate programme and is looking for technical specialists with communication skills. Nicky Winch, head of recruitment at Capgemini in the UK and Ireland, says the company is recruiting heavily in technology roles this year, at both senior and junior levels. ‘In the recent economic downturn, our graduate recruitment dipped. Now we are taking more than 100 graduates into our management consultancy and technology programmes, and looking to increase that to 200 next year,’ she said. Winch says the company is looking for graduates who understand technology, particularly those completing an IT, computer science or engineering degree. ‘There are one or two particularly hot skills at present. Those are Microsoft SharePoint and Axapta, and SAP specialists and technical architects with .Net or Java experience,’ she said. ‘We give graduates experience across the board. They get a couple of years training and get to specialise towards the end of those two years.’ Winch says Capgemini is not facing a huge problem with skills shortages, but says it can sometimes be difficult to find technol-

Jobs in finance By appearance in percentage of job adverts: Average hourly rates

p40

More on our story from a couple of weeks ago about the web page for TV show Dead Like Me not being available outside the US, for reasons best known to no one. ‘They tried to do the same with George W Bush’s official web site during the last presidential campaign,’ says Sam Roberts, at HBOS Group Technology. ‘However, if you went to the “https” instead of “http” then you could get through from anywhere. Now that’s what I call secure.’

Hong Kong pardon It seems project Blinkenlights, where a German office building was efficiently set up to display programmable images by turning lights on and off, is small beer. ‘Please permit me to be a huge bore,’ says Antony Hawkins, from the University of Sheffield. ‘But anyone who has been to Hong Kong recently will have seen that many of the buildings have programmable light shows that run every night, including the HSBC head office building where even the emergency exit stairwells display a fascinating array of colours and patterns. It’s nice to know where our money goes when we put it in the bank.’ On second thoughts Antony, your permission to be a huge bore is withdrawn. Pictures please.

For more news, features, analysis and jobs, visit: www.computing.co.uk