Wider world web of tech news – Round-up 20 May 2011
BBC: Mobile wallet offered to UK shoppers
The first service that allows users to pay for purchases via their mobile phone has been launched in the UK. Among shops signed up to the system are McDonalds, EAT, Pret-a-Manger and some Boots stores. Users wishing to use the system – dubbed Quick Tap – will need Orange and Barclaycard accounts as well as a handset set up for contactless payments. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13457071?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
SILICON.COM: How to secure the workplace in a ‘post-PC era’
The rising number of consumer gadgets in the workplace will mean CIOs will have to find new ways of managing technology, EMC World heard last week. CIOs will not be able to stop staff bringing smartphones and tablets into the workplace and need to accept they have to secure a far broader range of devices than in the past, VMware CEO Paul Maritz told the conference in Las Vegas. "We are moving into the post-PC era. Laptops and PCs will have to share the stage with other devices," he said. "IT can no longer assume that all they have to do is manage windows desktops." http://www.silicon.com/technology/hardware/2011/05/16/how-to-secure-the-workplace-in-a-post-pc-era-39747400/
HARMON.IE: Refusal to disconnect leads to rudeness
The perceived need to stay connected at all times has reduced civility in the workplace as well as interfering with the ability to focus on the task at hand. A survey for harmon.ie found that:
· Two out of three users will interrupt a group meeting to communicate with someone else digitally, either by answering email (48%), answering a mobile phone (35%), chatting via IM (28%), updating their status on a social network (12%) or tweeting (9%).
· Relatively few workers disconnect to focus on a task (32%) or during virtual meetings or teleconferences (30%), webcasts (26%) or lunch (12%).
· A majority of workers turn off their devices only when their boss asks them to (85%) or during one-on-one meetings (63%).
Nearly 60% of work interruptions now involve either using tools like email, social networks, text messaging and IM, or switching windows among disparate standalone tools and applications. In fact, 45% of employees work only 15 minutes or less without getting interrupted, and 53% waste at least one hour a day due to all types of distractions. That hour per day translates into £3,277.50 of wasted productivity per person annually, assuming an average salary of £14.25/hour. That is more than the average driver will spend this year to own and maintain a car. For businesses with 1,000 employees, the cost of employee interruptions exceeds £3.2 million per year and total cost to UK PLC is £57.8 billion. http://harmon.ie/news/i-cant-get-my-work-done-enormous-impact-distractions-workplace
GUARDIAN: Osborne – Treasury under sustained cyberattack
Charles Arthur reports in the Guardian that the UK Treasury is under malicious software attacks led by foreign intelligence agencies. According to chancellor, George Osborne, foreign intelligence agencies are carrying out sustained cyberattacks on his department. He said that government systems are the target of up to 20,000 malicious emails every month, and said that in 2010 "hostile intelligence agencies made hundreds of serious and pre-planned attempts to break into the Treasury’s computer system". In fact, Obsborne said, "it averaged out as more than one attempt per day". http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/may/16/treasury-sustained-cyberattack-george-osborne-reveals
COMPUTING: IT Leaders: CIOs focus on BI, mobility and the cloud
A global study of chief information officers (CIOs) has identified the implementation of business intelligence and analytics as a top priority for CIOs, while 65 per cent of UK organisations are ready to embrace cloud computing over the next five years – higher than the global average and nearly double the number of CIOs who said they would embrace cloud in the same study two years ago.
IBM carried out a survey of 3,000 CIOs, conducting face-to-face interviews with IT leaders from diverse organisations in 71 countries and 18 industries. http://www.computing.co.uk/ctg/news/2071226/leaders-cios-focus-bi-mobility-cloud
COMPUTING: IT chiefs warned over cloud’s hidden costs
Analyst firm Gartner has warned IT chiefs to beware the hidden costs of cloud computing as increasing number of businesses look to switch their models of IT delivery. While many cloud service providers promise lower up-front costs and switching costs, IT chiefs need to be mindful that the risks associated with cloud computing are often unclear or overlooked in contracts, said Alexa Bona, an analyst with Gartner. http://www.computing.co.uk/ctg/news/2072218/chiefs-warned-clouds-hidden-costs
COMPUTER WEEKLY: One-stop IT suppliers will bring vast benefits and risks, says Ovum
The emergence of suppliers capable of acting as a one-stop shop for all the IT needs of organisations will transform the way businesses buy IT services. Major IT suppliers are reaching a size that will allow them to operate as the sole IT supplier for big businesses, creating huge benefits of scale and new risks for IT departments, says Carter Lusher, chief analyst for the Enterprise Applications Ecosystem at Ovum. IT departments will need to respond by building much deeper relationships with their suppliers and developing new ways to manage the relationship. "They are also going to need a lot of good lawyers," he said. http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2011/05/18/246672/One-stop-IT-suppliers-will-bring-vast-benefits-and-risks-says.htm
ECONSULTANCY: Twitter ads don’t deliver
"Our clients are very (return on investment)-focused. We’re not that excited about Twitter as an ad network." The message: Twitter ads don’t make any sense unless you’re a big brand. http://econsultancy.com/uk/blog/7534-twitter-ads-don-t-deliver-reports
