Articles about Information Technology

Cloud adoption is continuing to grow amongst enterprises and small businesses alike and, as competition in the technology industry becomes ever-more intense, it has never been more important to be able to respond to network outages and unplanned downtime.

This is where disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS) comes in, providing a failsafe in the event of man-made or natural catastrophes through the replication and hosting of physical or virtual servers by a third-party.

Continue reading →

With high-profile data breaches continuing to make headlines with disturbing regularity, the general consensus on the cyber security front is that we need to be doing more. Of course, if you’re sitting down to discuss your company’s IT security budget, you’re going to need to get more specific than that.

Determining the right cyber security budget can be a challenge, especially for companies that are looking into security seriously for the first time and unsure where to start. While one approach is to look to industry benchmarks -- averages by vertical, percentage of overall IT spending, etc. -- the truth is there is no universal right answer to determining your security budget.

Continue reading →

Late last week, the UK government introduced a new Investigatory Powers bill, which requires Internet service providers to keep a record of the Internet activity of everyone in Britain, as well as cracking down on encryption and increasing government surveillance.

The initial reaction from industry professionals was mixed, but a new survey from Swiss data bank Artmotion has found that a massive 87 percent of IT leaders disagree with the government’s plan to reduce the strength of data encryption.

Continue reading →

Major global IT vendors -- including leading hardware, systems software, eCommerce, big data, cloud, network, telco and systems integrator companies -- have little wisdom, advice or vision to offer their customers and prospects when it comes to blockchain technology.

This is the result of a survey entitled Searching in Vain for The Block Chain, conducted by enterprise IT specialist consulting firm Lighthouse Partners. It is also the main reason this company decided to start offering consulting services on the topic.

Continue reading →

Over three-quarters (76 percent) of senior IT leaders in the UK, France and Germany feel more personal risk when making decisions than they did five years ago because of IT’s increasingly central role in businesses, a study commissioned by Colt reveals.

At the same time, 77 percent of chief information officers (CIOs) say that pivotal moments in a business calendar define their career trajectories, and not day-to-day performance. This is compounding the sense of vulnerability felt during key decision-making moments, as highlighted in Colt’s recent ‘Moments that Matter’ study.

Continue reading →

The transition from permanent employee to full time freelancer is filled with questions. Are you ready to make the leap? Can you succeed financially as a contractor? Will you be able to find work?

There are many aspects to factor in when it comes to changing your job -- and contracting is no different. It may seem like a move into the unknown as the legislation and practicalities of contracting can seem confusing at first glance.

Continue reading →

With Microsoft unveiling its latest operating system earlier this summer, many businesses are faced with a difficult choice about whether or not to take the plunge and migrate to Windows 10.

It’s a decision that shouldn’t be taken lightly, and it seems that many companies are hesitant about making the move. A recent survey found that 71 percent of businesses polled were looking to wait at least six months from its release date before migrating.

Continue reading →

The recent cyber-attack on TalkTalk has reinforced a common perception that cyber-attacks are the work of shadowy figures operating from bedrooms or basements, attempting to mimic the work of James Bond’s arch rival, Spectre. The reality -- and a lesser known fact -- is that the majority of attacks (55 percent) involve insiders.

These insider-inspired attacks may not grab the headlines in the same way as attacks by 15 year-olds do -- in fact for obvious reputational reasons, they rarely make the newspapers at all -- but they do give the IT departments of the organizations that have suffered the attack just as big a headache.

Continue reading →

The arrival of Windows 10 is a significant step forward for the Windows platform, further unifying the desktop, laptop, tablet and smartphone ecosystem and implementing another significant change to the Windows user interface.

Many are already looking at Windows 10 as a refined and bug-fixed migration alternative to Windows 8. Business interest in deploying the new system is high -- particularly as Windows 10 is a free update for many existing PCs. However, free or not, a badly planned and executed Windows 10 migration in the workplace has the potential for substantial disruption.

Continue reading →

If you want to earn more money than your friends, consider a career in tech. Median gross annual earnings for tech specialists in 2014 were £36,600, new figures published this week by Tech Partnership show.

This is more than one third (35 percent) higher than the level for all full-time employees, a follow-up press release reads.

Continue reading →

The fourth quarter of each year is my favorite. Why? Well, besides wearing hoodies and drinking pumpkin spice lattes, I love the holidays. Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas are three of the best. Christmas is great for the religious aspect, but regardless of your beliefs, it can be great for spending time with family and exchanging gifts.

As a tech guy, I love getting new gadget gifts (this year I want an Apple Watch), but I have more fun giving them. Presenting a family member with their first computer or tablet just warms my heart. If you are not sure what tech to buy for your friends and family this year, don't panic. Best Buy, the popular electronics retailer, has conducted a survey and determined the hottest tech for the 2015 holidays. If you stick to this list, you cannot go wrong. Do you agree?

Continue reading →

A whopping 93 percent of office workers engage in some form of unsafe online habits that could jeopardize their employer or their customers, a new report has shown.

The report, entitled 2015 Insider Risk Report, was done by Intermedia and it exposes the online security habits of more than 2,000 office workers in both the U.K. and the U.S.

Continue reading →

Security is the biggest challenge among IT professionals across the globe, trying to keep their company’s business running, a new survey suggests.

A report titled "The 8 Issues Derailing IT Team Innovation", was created by Ipswitch who tried to uncover the biggest issues IT departments are facing as 2016 approaches.

Continue reading →

Oracle is set to offer its customers an entirely new service that lies somewhere between contracting IT staff and cloud computing, according to Business Insider.

Reports suggest that Oracle will allow customers to rent its IT staff alongside its cloud services -- essentially offering an entire IT department as a service.

Continue reading →

The challenges of front line IT have become increasingly complex in recent years thanks to changes in technology, cyber threats and the sheer volume of work.

But what are the biggest challenges that IT teams face? A new survey by network monitoring company Ipswitch set out to find out and reveals the eight most critical issues that are holding IT teams back from achieving their innovation and operational goals.

Continue reading →