News InTheSpotLight-daily

Workspace

For IBM, Watson’s Success Is Not So Elementary

Some people poured cold water on IBM's New Watson AI Unit. Daryl Taft says the project needs time to prove itself

Workspace

IT Life: Don’t Be A Supervillain!

Cyberpunk novels got Dell's Dominique Vanhamme into tech

Cloud

Ford’s Alan Mulally Waves Goodbye To Microsoft CEO Race

The next Microsoft CEO could be promoted from within

Security

So Really – Why DID Intel Dump The McAfee Name?

John McAfee was a liability, and the Intel brand is stronger, says Sean Michael Kerner

Security

‘Dinosaur’ Intel Kills McAfee Name

John McAfee is happy to see his name off Intel's security products, but the change will make Intel's sales harder, say rivals

Upgrading From Windows XP Is Not For The Faint Of Heart

It's no wonder businesses are trying to avoid upgrading from Windows XP, says Wayne Rash

Workspace

IT Life: Importing Ideas

Iain Chidgey from Delphix says it’s about time we replace the relational database

Cloud

How Governments Will Shape Data Centres

Governments' energy policies and surveillance activities will unintentionally shape our data centres, says Peter Judge

Mobility

BlackBerry Can See The Light At The End Of The Tunnel

Investors must see something if they are going to invest in a company that's just lost £2.7 billion, says Steve McCaskill

Workspace

The Logic Behind Alan Turing’s Christmas Pardon

Alan Turing's pardon is welcome, but he wasn't the one at fault, says Peter Judge

Security

Relax – Credit Cards Cover Commerce Breaches

Check your Christmas credit card bills, don't be scared of security breaches, says Sean Michael Kerner

Security

IT Life: Sharing Data Makes For Security

for Barry Shteiman, security is all about people sharing information to keep each other secure

Workspace

Obama Report Says NSA Snooping Risks Public Trust

President Obama's task force wants to make sure a new Edward Snowden is not possible... or necessary, says Sean Michael Kerner

Networks

Bruce Schneier Leaves BT As Surveillance ‘Conspiracy Theories’ Denied

Schneier isn't leaving because of alleged BT connections with GCHQ spying, as "conspiracy theories" are shrugged off by the telecoms giant

Workspace

Yahoo Email Fail: Marissa Mayer’s Apology Isn’t Enough

Marissa Mayer's apology doesn't wipe out Yahoo's mishandling of its email fail, says Michelle Maisto

CIO

Will The Cloud Drive The CIO To Extinction?

The CIO hs become dominant, but Calum MacLeod thinks the species could go the way of the dinosaurs

Workspace

IT Life: Making Mobile Data Relevant

James Shannon likes the challenge of making mobile data connect with real life

Marketing

NSA Follows You With Google’s Cookie Trail

The NSA is tracking you with Google cookies. Sean Michael Kerner is not surprised

Cloud

Xen Launches The Mirage Cloud OS

Sean Michael Kerner welcomes Mirage, the Xen project's bid to make a specialised cloud operating system

Innovation

Mars Rover Laser Hits Landmark

The Mars rover 'Curiosity' has now fired its laser 100,000 times since landing on the red planet last year

Workspace

IT Life: Looking For Answers

Security analyst Jonathan French likes to be solving problems

Workspace

Amazon’s Drone Delivery Is An Air Traffic Control Nightmare

Pilot Wayne Rash shoots down Amazon's ambition to deliver goods by drone

Security

Baddies Bash Bountiful Bitcoins

As the value of a Bitcoin increases, so does the scale of attacks on the currency, says Sean Michel Kerner

Workspace

Banks Must Not Take The Internet For Granted

Banks and other bodies can be hit badly if their Internet service fails, warns Stephen Bonner

Collaboration Suites

Cyber Monday: The Day Of The Marketing Tentacles

Cyber Monday sucks, and it's all a sign of the faltering creativity of marketers, who are getting ever more invasive, says Tom Brewster

Browsers

Mozilla Revenues Grow, But So Does Dependency On Google

Mozilla's revenues have come a long way, but most of its income is from one source, says Sean Michael Kerner

Workspace

Putting Businesses On A Data Diet

Virtualisation has created a glut of duplicated data. Virtualised databases can trim the fat away, says Iain Chidgey

Networks

IT Life: From Modems To Data Security

Colin Tankard likes modems - and makes his living in data security

Security

How An Adobe Flaw Let Anonymous Into The FBI

Adobe users' passwords were stolen and the FBI got hit. Sean Michael Kerner smells password reuse

Charles Bligh TalkTalk Business me / Company / Years in IT / Areas of expertise? I have been the Managing Director at TalkTalk Business since 2011 and have been in the IT industry for 22 years, starting at IBM as an Engineer. From there I held a number of senior project management, sales and senior leadership roles in professional services and product related businesses. I have worked across Asia for 4 years (based in Tokyo) and have spent the last 5 years in the UK. What has been your favourite project so far? This one! Joining TalkTalk Business and working over the past two years to further improve the customer experience has been both fulfilling and rewarding, but the best is yet to come. I like to say TalkTalk Business is the best kept secret in the industry. We are just at the beginning. What tech were you involved with ten years ago? Ten years ago, back in early 2000, I was working with companies to help them view the web as a revenue generating opportunity, not just to reduce costs. It all sounds incredibly naive now when you think about how far we’ve come. What tech do you expect to be using in ten years' time? In ten years’ time I would expect to be using, flexible (bendable) touch screen devices integrated into all aspects of my life, at home, on the move and at work. Who's your tech hero? My tech hero is Gordon Moore, the man who came up with Moore Law, which says that everything doubles in performance every two years. The law challenges us to drive innovation while relying on the idea that everything will be smaller, faster and more connected. Who's your tech villain? This is a tough one, I am not sure I would single out one person. I’ve always been a very ambitious person, so when it comes to technology, I think it would have to be any kind of person who says it can’t be done. What's your favourite technology ever made? Which do you use most? The web is my favourite technology and my favourite gadget is my tablet (iPad!), which I use for all kinds of things, to stream movies, surf the web and listen to music. What is your budget outlook going forward? Flat? Growing? Substantial growth! We’ve had a strong first quarter of our financial year and we’re seeing increased demand for our data and carrier services. Apart from your own, which company do you admire most and why? Companies that provide excellent customer service on a sustained basis. At TalkTalk Business we put good customer service at the heart of everything we do, so I value that trait when I see it in other organisations. Barclays, who won an award for Best Customer Experience Centre of the Year last year, is a great example. What’s the greatest challenge for an IT company/department today? One of the greatest challenges the technology industry is facing today is managing the fast growth of mobility and how to harness it in the workplace. The need for mobility to drive business objectives, now combined with the added device-driven dimension of BYOD, presents quite a network and security challenge for businesses of all sizes. To Cloud or not to Cloud? For me, the answer is undoubtedly to Cloud. But which cloud? Your own private or public or hybrid? Businesses are moving into a world where the cloud is used for almost all enterprise applications. The cloud allows companies to use a shared environment, makes it easier to tap into common interest data and provides access to the computing power of hundreds of servers, without the expense. That isn’t to say working in the cloud doesn’t present its own challenges, but with the right technology choices, secure flexible network and ICT partners, they’re not insurmountable. What did you want to be when you were a child? It wasn’t what I wanted to be, but more of where I wanted to be. I wanted to live and work around the world.Name / Company / Years in IT / Areas of expertise? I have been the Managing Director at TalkTalk Business since 2011 and have been in the IT industry for 22 years, starting at IBM as an Engineer. From there I held a number of senior project management, sales and senior leadership roles in professional services and product related businesses. I have worked across Asia for 4 years (based in Tokyo) and have spent the last 5 years in the UK. What has been your favourite project so far? This one! Joining TalkTalk Business and working over the past two years to further improve the customer experience has been both fulfilling and rewarding, but the best is yet to come. I like to say TalkTalk Business is the best kept secret in the industry. We are just at the beginning. What tech were you involved with ten years ago? Ten years ago, back in early 2000, I was working with companies to help them view the web as a revenue generating opportunity, not just to reduce costs. It all sounds incredibly naive now when you think about how far we’ve come. What tech do you expect to be using in ten years' time? In ten years’ time I would expect to be using, flexible (bendable) touch screen devices integrated into all aspects of my life, at home, on the move and at work. Who's your tech hero? My tech hero is Gordon Moore, the man who came up with Moore Law, which says that everything doubles in performance every two years. The law challenges us to drive innovation while relying on the idea that everything will be smaller, faster and more connected. Who's your tech villain? This is a tough one, I am not sure I would single out one person. I’ve always been a very ambitious person, so when it comes to technology, I think it would have to be any kind of person who says it can’t be done. What's your favourite technology ever made? Which do you use most? The web is my favourite technology and my favourite gadget is my tablet (iPad!), which I use for all kinds of things, to stream movies, surf the web and listen to music. What is your budget outlook going forward? Flat? Growing? Substantial growth! We’ve had a strong first quarter of our financial year and we’re seeing increased demand for our data and carrier services. Apart from your own, which company do you admire most and why? Companies that provide excellent customer service on a sustained basis. At TalkTalk Business we put good customer service at the heart of everything we do, so I value that trait when I see it in other organisations. Barclays, who won an award for Best Customer Experience Centre of the Year last year, is a great example. What’s the greatest challenge for an IT company/department today? One of the greatest challenges the technology industry is facing today is managing the fast growth of mobility and how to harness it in the workplace. The need for mobility to drive business objectives, now combined with the added device-driven dimension of BYOD, presents quite a network and security challenge for businesses of all sizes. To Cloud or not to Cloud? For me, the answer is undoubtedly to Cloud. But which cloud? Your own private or public or hybrid? Businesses are moving into a world where the cloud is used for almost all enterprise applications. The cloud allows companies to use a shared environment, makes it easier to tap into common interest data and provides access to the computing power of hundreds of servers, without the expense. That isn’t to say working in the cloud doesn’t present its own challenges, but with the right technology choices, secure flexible network and ICT partners, they’re not insurmountable. What did you want to be when you were a child? It wasn’t what I wanted to be, but more of where I wanted to be. I wanted to live and work around the world.

Cloud

IT Life: Talking With TalkTalk’s Business Head

Charles Bligh loves the cloud, the web and his iPad