The UK roll-out of superfast broadband has reached the halfway mark, it has been claimed, with 50 per cent of the projects now in the delivery phase. With the initiative now reaching the halfway point, the Government is clearly confident that a high-speed broadband network benefiting all businesses and homes in the UK is possible.
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Those living in Essex could soon be seeing superfast broadband services coming to their local area. Plans to implement the highspeed internet connection have taken a step forward, with the organisation behind it being given Government permission to issue its tender documents. Funding for the highspeed services has also been given ‘provisional approval’, This is
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The biggest education cloud project is being rolled out in China, highlighting the impact the technology is having across the globe. 3Tcloud, the Chinese cloud services provider, is currently implementing the project, which will allow numerous local authorities to make better use of resource allocation as well as making major cost savings. The city of
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According to a telecommunications expert, VoIP systems are ‘less susceptible’ to fraud than traditional analogue phones, laying security fears to rest. Business development director at South Africa-based business telephony organisation Connection Telecom, Rob Lith, explained that hackers looking to breach VoIP security would find it far harder than breaching an analogue phone system. This is
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Manufacturers who are keen to make themselves stand out in an increasingly competitive marketplace are turning to the cloud, with many adopting cloud-based systems across their entire organisation. Under pressure to increase the level of accuracy they provide, as well as being easy and appealing to work with from a supply chain point of view,
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A new body of research is to be carried out by Imperial College London and partners into the impact cloud computing has on businesses across the globe. The researchers – who will be made up of experts from five other academic institutions and tech firms located across Europe, along with those from Imperial – aim
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Around 96 per cent of homes and businesses in Cheshire will soon benefit from high-speed fibre broadband thanks to a new £28.5 million project between BT and four local councils. The Connecting Cheshire Partnership has secured funding to implement the super-fast broadband, which is expected to be introduced to homes and businesses within the next
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New research has shown that the number of subscribers making use of communication services such as VoIP is on an upward trajectory. The 'VoIP and UC Services and Subscribers market share and forecast report' – which was compiled by market research firm Infonetics Research – revealed a sharp rise in those using unified communications (UC)
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One in four organisations are said to be 'heavily into' cloud computing, a new 'State of the Cloud' survey has revealed. The survey – which was carried out by RightScale, a cloud management provider – found that these organisations were providing lessons regarding the cloud from which others could benefit. Of those organisations which are
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Amazon Web Services is set to offer new security applications in the cloud, including hosted intrusion protection appliances and extended encryption features, reports say. Amazon has worked hard to reassure businesses about their cloud concerns. Stephen Schmidt, chief information security officer at Amazon Web Services, is quoted as saying, "For example, they [enterprises] are concerned
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Many businesses may be unprepared for the surge in traffic that super-fast 4G mobile broadband could bring, it has been claimed. New research by Barclays found that half of online businesses expect 4G to boost traffic to their sites, yet 89 per cent of those quizzed have not taken action to ensure their website is
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The second Open Government Summit, to be held later this week, will discuss how the open source model is opening up more cloud computing opportunities to benefit government departments. It is hoped that this year’s conference will build on the topics discussed last year – mainly open source and open source standards, which were adopted
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Ofcom has said it will take action to make the cost of calling business phone lines clearer. The move is part of the “fundamental restructuring of call charges” which the watchdog announced last year. Ofcom feels there is too much confusion and uncertainty around how much it costs to call businesses, public bodies and other
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Connectivity and convergence is one of the ‘mega trends’ that will affect businesses and the UK over the coming years, new analysis has said. The New Mega Trends in the UK report by Frost & Sullivan predicts that there will be 200 million 'connected devices' in the UK by 2020, representing six for every household.
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Thanks to European investment, Northumbrian businesses are set to benefit from superfast broadband. The ERDF has invested £2.74 million in the iNorthumberland Digital Economy Programme – this should mean faster business broadband for over 2,600 businesses in Northumberland. Northumberland City Council’s Deputy Chief Executive Kate Roe welcomed the investment and acknowledged that accessible and fast
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New figures from Microsoft have revealed that Skype, the popular VoIP service, is now used for over 2 billion minutes every day. Skype is now an extremely popular business tool as well as being used by social consumers worldwide every day. Microsoft has calculated that the collective 2 billion minutes per day that users spend
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Broadband speeds across the UK are getting faster, according to Ofcom, the telecoms industry watchdog. In November 2008, the average broadband speed was around 3.6Mbit/s. Now, in 2013, this has speeded up to an average of 12Mbit/s, Ofcom figures show. This is the equivalent of a 234 per cent increase. Many consumers and businesses are
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Businesses across Asia Pacific are currently embarking on a “rapid cloud take-up,” according to technology experts in the field. Cloud-based applications are rapidly becoming the “service mode of choice for many big Australian businesses,” science and technology correspondent Jake Sturmer reported for Radio Australia. Almost half of businesses in the country are now making use
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A dramatic rise in the demand for workplace equipment such as computers and telephones has been put down to the increase in remote working. Workplace equipment supplier, Slingsby, revealed that the rising number of firms looking to allow their staff to work from home has led to soaring demand for remote communication equipment. Marketing director,
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The growing interest in public cloud-based solutions has also sparked a new focus on the private cloud. The International Data Corporation (IDC) – the market research, analysis and advisory firm specialising in information technology – estimated in its 'Worldwide Hosted Private Cloud Services 2012-2016 Forecast: New Models for Delivering Infrastructure Services' report that global private
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Technology such as VoIP, instant messaging and video-conferencing is boosting employees’ ability to be productive by working remotely but bosses still need to trust them more, new research has shown. A study by Microsoft, carried out for Microsoft for Anywhere Working Week, found that seven in ten workers say they get more done when they’re
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The use of VoIP is growing and bringing more and more benefits to companies worldwide, new analysis suggests. A new report from ReportLinker suggests that adoption of VoIP is growing faster than ever globally, particularly as the options on offer are improving all the time and more firms and individuals become aware of the benefits
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Amazon could be set to develop a cloud computing system for the CIA, new reports suggest. The high-profile contract could be worth as much as $600 million over the next decade. According to an FCW report, the CIA has turned to Amazon to create a cloud platform which will enable it to "keep up with
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A new development opening in Canary Wharf is set to make the area one of London’s key financial enterprise hubs. Level 39, which takes up the whole 39th floor of One Canada Square in Canary Wharf, was opened this week by London’s Mayor Boris Johnson. The technology “incubator space” will specialise in financial services technology,
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Tech giant Google is going head-to-head with rivals Microsoft and Amazon by pushing forward to enhance its cloud computing services. Google has announced that it will double the size of its office space in Seattle – which is also where Amazon and Microsoft have bases – and take on more engineers and specialists with cloud-related
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A London-based local authority has rolled out increased remote working opportunities for staff in a bid to lower costs and boost technology innovation across the organisation. Brent Council believes that the introduction of flexible working for the vast majority of its employees will have a positive benefit on the body as a whole, cutting the
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A new programme has been rolled out to ensure that Suffolk businesses and residential properties will receive far faster broadband services by the end of this year. In response to high demand from both corporate and individual customers, the Better Broadband for Suffolk programme has been rolled out earlier than initially planned in order to
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The latest TechWatch report from technology and networking firm Cisco has found that 76 per cent of companies across Britain and Ireland are keen to make changes to their technological and communications set-up over the coming three years, basing those changes around the most efficient use of resources and skills. The report also found that
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A new technology development, designed by computer scientists based in California, could boost the efficiency of the cloud computing infrastructure dramatically. The work, which was carried out by scientists based at the University of California, San Diego, could see the infrastructure powering the cloud run up to 20 per cent more efficiently. The new model
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According to the Office of National Statistics, (ONS) the number of people choosing to work from home is continuing to rise, fuelled mainly by the accessibility of technology and communications. The figures revealed that the number of home workers has increased from 9.2 per cent of workers in 2011 to 10.7 per cent in 2012.
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According to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the number of people using the internet has more than doubled in the last six years, meaning that web-based communication tools are more relevant than ever. The ever-increasing impact of the internet – which now has 33 million adults making use of it every
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Cloud-based computing is helping new businesses get off the ground, as well as bringing myriad positive benefits to existing organisations, new research has found. The study – which was carried out by Rackspace Hosting and UK-based Manchester Business School – polled 1,300 executives both in the UK and the US and found that the cloud
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Many British businesses are failing to reap the benefits of flexible working, according to new research from a major telecommunications firm. Research carried out by O2, which surveyed 400 businesses and 2,000 workers, found that, whilst the majority of businesses across the country believed that they were ‘promoting and encouraging’ flexible working, just 19 per
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A new study has analysed VoIP usage across the globe, highlighting the growing importance of – and worldwide reliance on – the communication system. The Arbitron Mobile on-device software meter, which was put together by international media and marketing research firm Arbitron, found that Japanese smartphone users are the most likely to access the service,
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The largest company in the world by revenue has introduced cloud computing at 'multiple levels' of its operations, highlighting the ever growing importance of the concept to large scale corporations. Royal Dutch Shell plc has rolled out cloud-based technology across its global IT infrastructure, driven by the greater flexibility and cost savings the service can
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New figures from YouGov have revealed that many businesses across the UK are suffering from poor mobile coverage and are seeking an alternative telecommunications solution. The survey – commissioned by SpiderCloud Wireless and carried out by YouGov, the international internet-based market research firm – found that 39 per cent of managers based at firms across
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Remote working is continuing to increase in popularity as businesses seek to reduce overheads and rising take-up of new technologies make it even easier to keep in touch. So long as a strong, reliable internet connection is in place, many jobs can now be carried out from home, using technologies such as VoIP and cloud
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One of Microsoft's senior researchers has confirmed the importance of cloud computing to the technology sector, saying that it stands to be the 'key platform' for most applications over the next 10 years. Principal researcher in the Microsoft Research Silicon Valley Laboratory, Gordon Bell, said that while cloud computing was not currently 'made use of
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Businesses that are making use of VoIP could see major cost savings, a new report has revealed. The report, which was carried out by VoIP Review – the guide for VoIP service and VoIP service providers – found that increasing numbers of businesses are turning away from the traditional communication methods in favour of a
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Companies must be as prepared and well equipped as possible before implementing VoIP services, a technology expert has suggested. According to business and technology author Nancy Perkins, taking on a new communications service such as VoIP must be done alongside educating staff as to how to make the most of the new technology. Being familiar
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An IT expert has outlined the way in which new cloud computing algorithms could help to make computing networks more ecologically friendly and more efficient. University of Sydney's resident IT expert and director of High Performance Computing and Networking at the university's Faculty of Engineering and Information Technologies, Professor Albert Zomaya, said that high-performance computing
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The importance of digital technology to businesses located across the globe will only continue to grow, according to an expert. The executive director of Digital Northern Ireland 2020 (DNI 2020), Dr Sinclair Stockman, revealed that, whilst technology was already of ‘fundamental importance’ to businesses of all sizes and across all sectors today, it would become
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Highlighting the importance and potential of VoIP to major organisations across the globe, the Queensland parliamentary service is planning to roll out an IP-based unified communications structure. The Queensland parliamentary service – which provides support services such as advice and information to the Australian Parliament – has said that it is keen to upgrade its
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The US Small Business Administration (SBA) has highlighted the positives of cloud computing for small businesses across the globe. Cloud computing is fast becoming an essential component of contemporary business life, with increasing numbers of organisations – of all sizes – making use of the concept. “Imagine being able to log onto a website and
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The problem of capacity management is the most underestimated issue in cloud computing, recent comments from Morgan Stanley’s executive director of IT strategy have claimed. Evangelos Kotsovinos, who heads up cloud computing at the company, explained to Computer Weekly that the service is most commonly employed in order to enable “efficiency and cost savings”. He
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The number of IT services contracts that have included some form of cloud computing has increased three-fold since 2010, according to a new report that underlines the popularity of cloud computing. A survey by Information Services Group (ISG) found that back in 2010, only 9 per cent of service deals involved a cloud computing element.
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Allowing staff members to work remotely and from home can help to engage and motivate staff, according to the latest survey on the subject from Hays Recruitment. The report found that 64 per cent of the employers questioned said that flexible and home working options motivate and engage staff members, while around a quarter said
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According to new research, organisations across the globe are not realizing the full business potential of technology. The research by information technology research and advisory firm Gartner found that companies across the world are making use of just 43 per cent of technology’s business potential, meaning that, in an increasingly competitive corporate world, they could
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VoIP has been given the ultimate seal of approval as social networking giant Facebook rolls the service out to its Facebook Messenger users in the U.S. Following a fortnight of testing in Canada, US users can now make use of VoIP calling through their Messenger app in a similar way in which they would use
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According to the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), the European Commission’s (EC) cloud computing strategy does not do enough to boost the development of cloud services. The EESC – which is the EU's consultative body – have said that the policy also fails to support the emergence of the cloud computing infrastructure across Europe.
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