The CIO 100

Industry Analyses

Big buildings, big business

The UK construction industry is set to capitalise on the 2012 London Olympics in a big way. It is already one of the UK’s most important economic sectors, with 250,000 firms employing more than two million people and representing, according to the DTI, eight per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).

Conservation hits CIOs’ desks

Suddenly, energy is hot. Whether it is security of supply or conservation and carbon footprint reduction, or cutting electricity cost impact on the bottom line, it is increasingly a concern for CIOs.

Positive outlook ahead for IT

Despite reports of IT budgets being squeezed, the outlook for communications and IT services spending looks more positive in this region of the world than any other, according to a consensus of analysts and industry watchers.

Driving through innovation

There is an exciting feel to the logistics and distribution industry at the moment. Yes it is beset by fuel problems, both the cost of the stuff and the damage it does to the environment. But the underlying structure of the industry is evolving fast and although in the past this arena was hardly known for leading edge use of technology, these days a company with a poor technology infrastructure is likely to struggle.

The free time gadget show

One could be forgiven for thinking the future of leisure and entertainment in the UK consists of a couple of hours online gambling, watching sport or ‘participation’ shows on an HDTV before texting in your vote as you listen to downloaded music en route to an actual casino.

Easing the pain of shopping

Freed from the shackles of Chip and PIN implementations, retailers have spent their budgets on a broad variety of technologies over the past 12 months. Many have invested in staff scheduling, online recruitment, IP-based security surveillance and e-learning systems, in an effort to improve operating efficiencies, increase sales and reduce costs.

Deregulation comes to Europe

By far the biggest event in the utilities sector in the 2007 calendar is the EU-wide electricity and gas market deregulation, which takes place on 1 July. This is predicted to drive supplier consolidation as the ‘race for scale’ hots up.

Keeping up with demand

It has been a mixed bag for UK manufacturing so far this year. The British Chambers of Commerce kicked off the year with a report that 8,000 manufacturing jobs disappeared in January and said that the outlook for the rest of the year was ominous.

Government IT under siege

Last year it appeared to be a case of “plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose” for public sector IT. The £12.4 billion NHS National Programme for IT (NPfIT) continues to court controversy.

Keeping your clients satisfied

The financial services industry continues to haul in massive profits and grow its business, even though worries about bad debt, rising rates, poor security and ‘fat cat’ profits continue to dominate the headlines.