CIO Managing Budgets

Burberry CEO puts faith in IT whilst warning of lower profits

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:40:00 GMT

SAP is delivering savings as US slow-down hit classic British clothing company Burberry

Luxury clothing manufacturer Burberry has warned its shareholders that profits for 2008 will be lower than expected, but in a statement to the stock exchange CEO Angela Ahrendts said the existing IT and supply chain rationalisation initiatives will deliver efficiencies in the “near term”.

Google's CEO calls for innovation and US spending on alternative energy

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 08:00:00 GMT

Pump billions into alternative energy efforts, broadband infrastructure and research

The US government needs to pump billions of dollars into alternative energy efforts, broadband infrastructure and research in an effort to rebuild the nation's economy, CEO of Google said on Tuesday.

Gartner spells out route to datacentre efficiency

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 07:51:00 GMT

Save money, save a million kilowatt hours

Analysts Gartner has launched a list of best practises in the datacentre, designed to save electricity and improve cooling.

IT in firing line as Citigroup announces 52,000 jobs to go

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 11:21:00 GMT

New CIO will lead transformational efforts and centralisation as cuts deepen

Financial services giant Citigroup’s announcement of 52,000 job losses is certain to affect many IT staff.

Carphone Warehouse may "spin-off" TalkTalk broadband

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 09:14:00 GMT

ISP to be sold off

Carphone Warehouse is considering plans to spin off its TalkTalk broadband internet business according to weekend reports.

BT takes axe to workforce as services unit struggles

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 09:20:00 GMT

Offshore and subcontractors to bear the brunt.

The former UK telecoms incumbent, BT, has announced that is to axe 10,000 workers as it seeks to cut costs and improve profitability at its services branch.

IT spend set to slow down dramatically

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 06:09:00 GMT

Recession hits expenditure plans.

IT spending will increase at just half the rate previously predicted according to IDC.

Virgin announces 2,200 job cuts

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 06:03:00 GMT

Layoffs not related to financial crisis

Virgin Media is to cut 2,200 jobs by 2012 as part of a group-wide overhaul in the wake of the company's formation following the merger of cable companies Telewest and NTL in 2006. The group, which employs 14,600 people and has Sir Richard Branson as its largest shareholder, has 76 offices across the UK, with major bases in London, Edinburgh, Nottingham and Sheffield. Virgin said it would not start cutting jobs until the fourth quarter of next year, with the majority of the role reductions taking place before the end of 2010. The company insisted the job cuts were not related to the current downturn in the economy.

Avoiding the tender traps

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 14:00:00 GMT

With many IT outsourcing contracts up for re-tender, it pays to look back for lessons and begin the process as early as possible

Outsourcing of ICT services was very popular in the 1990s and, a decade later, many of these contracts are coming up to expiry. With an increase in the number of re-tendering exercises (often referred to as a ‘second-generation’ outsourcing) there are some timely lessons that can be derived from the experiences of the early movers.

SAP users unconvinced by promise of extra value from support

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 09:30:00 GMT

UK user group members puts ERP giant on notice

SAP users will not accept the next round of price rises for support unless the company has clearly delivered improved total cost of ownership for the businesses that run its enterprise software.

London hospital trust loses £7.2m in upgrade debacle

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 11:34:00 GMT

More NHS computer trouble as BT installs Cerner system

The Royal Free Hospital in London has lost £7.2 million over six months as a result of its implementation of new Cerner-based IT systems.

CIO News View: Desperate Yahoo screams SOS to Microsoft

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 11:07:00 GMT

Yang sends come-and-get-us message to Ballmer but will price ever be right?

The banking collapse has seen Karl Marx’s stock rise higher than at any point since the 1960s and the old stogie-fancier was on the button again when he wrote that “History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce”.

SAP CEO defends support price hike

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 07:52:00 GMT

Just a question of poor communication, ERP giant claims

Retiring SAP CEO Henning Kagermann has again robustly defended his company's decision to move all customers to a more expensive Enterprise Support package.

BT Global Services issues profit warning, chief departs

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 10:02:00 GMT

Barrault steps down from the board

BT Global Services chief Francois Barrault has quit and the group has issued a shock profit warning that performance will be "disappointing", resulting in a share price tumble by almost a fifth.

How is the downturn affecting you?

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 10:22:00 GMT

Your opinions matter as CIO.co.uk analyses the state of the sector in the credit crisis

CIO, together with two partners, is putting together a definitive analysis of how CIOs are dealing with the current economic slowdown. Two surveys on this site are gathering information on IT spending plans and attitudes to outsourcing as organisations face shrinking budgets.

Brewery giant praises flexible IT supplier deals

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 09:56:00 GMT

Offer new incentives to suppliers when changing terms, InBev advises

The need to renegotiate IT supplier contracts can be minimised by making deals as flexible as possible, according to brewer InBev.

Indian outsourcers likely to cut jobs

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 09:39:00 GMT

Not seen the bottom of the market yet

Business process outsourcing providers and call centres are among industry sectors in India that are likely to cut more than 25 percent of their staffing in the next 10 days, according to a report by a trade body.

London 2012 Olypmics CIO: Don't specify contracts for current needs

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 09:28:00 GMT

Bring suppliers closer, think long term says Gerry Pennell

Gerry Pennell, chief information officer for the London 2012 Olympic Games, has said catering for future business needs is the key to success in IT supplier contracts.

Procter & Gamble steps up SAP standardisation

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 09:19:00 GMT

Wants to cut costs and speed up applications rollout

Procter & Gamble is moving up a gear in its SAP-based IT standardisation programme.

LinkedIn gets SAP investment

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 00:44:00 GMT

Boost for business social networking site

The SAP venture capital arm has sunk an undisclosed sum of money into LinkedIn, the business-oriented social-networking site.

Government blew £273m on cancelled IT projects

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:34:00 GMT

Nearly every department has ditched IT projects over five years

The government has shelved IT projects worth at least £273 million during the last five years, MPs have revealed.

Merrill Lynch to cut thousands of IT jobs

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 09:22:00 GMT

Merger leads to jobs slashed across two banks

Takeover of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America will result in thousands of job losses, Merrill Lynch chief executive John Thain has said.

Fast Search charged with fraud in Norway

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 11:07:00 GMT

Alleged improper reporting of revenue at latest Microsoft acquisition

Norwegian police have charged Fast Search & Transfer, an enterprise search company owned by Microsoft, with accounting fraud.

CIO News View: Mini-notebooks look recession proof

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 20:54:00 GMT

Trend to small, cheap laptops chimes with economy

At first sight, Gartner’s latest report suggesting that PC sales are 15 per cent up on last year would appear to be out of kilter with the faltering economy. Look closer, however, and this is revealed as no three-pipe problem.

CIO News View: Service ethos is reshaping IT procurement

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 13:15:00 GMT

CIOs must go cold turkey on fixed costs and capex addiction

One of Gartner’s best analysts, Barbara Gomolski, says in a press release today that IT delivery models have to change, essentially by weakening the grip of fixed costs and embracing variable costs.