computerweekly.com 24-30 March 2015 1

HOME

NEWS

TECH-FOCUSED ANNOUNCEMENTS

OF BUDGET 2015

CIOS ILL-PREPARED FOR DATA-DRIVEN

BUSINESS

SAINSBURY’S CIO ON CUSTOMER-FACING

TECHNOLOGY

EDITOR’S COMMENT

OPINION

BUYER’S GUIDE TO DESKTOP

COMPUTING 2020

MOORE’S LAW BRINGS VIRTUAL REALITY CLOSER

DOWNTIME

24-30 March 2015 | coMputerWeekly.coM

Government backs tech in 2015 budget

COMPUTER WEEKLY PICKS OUT THE TECH POLICY HIGHLIGHTS FROM CHANCELLOR GEORGE OSBORNE’S FINAL BUDGET BEFORE THE GENERAL ELECTION

REX

FEA

TURE

S

computerweekly.com 24-30 March 2015 2

HOME

NEWS

TECH-FOCUSED ANNOUNCEMENTS

OF BUDGET 2015

CIOS ILL-PREPARED FOR DATA-DRIVEN

BUSINESS

SAINSBURY’S CIO ON CUSTOMER-FACING

TECHNOLOGY

EDITOR’S COMMENT

OPINION

BUYER’S GUIDE TO DESKTOP

COMPUTING 2020

MOORE’S LAW BRINGS VIRTUAL REALITY CLOSER

DOWNTIME

THE WEEK IN IT

Data security

Premera hack exposes financial and medical records of 11 million customersUS health insurance firm Premera Blue Cross has revealed its IT systems were breached, exposing the financial and medical records of 11 million customers.The company said it discovered cyber attackers had breached its systems in January 2015. An investigation showed the first attack took place in May 2014.

Public sector itHMRC moves tax system to the cloudHM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has started moving the IT system that collects tax in the UK into the cloud. The department has finally completed the break-up of its Aspire outsourcing deal, which cost £800m per year. HMRC converted the overall contract with prime contractor Capgemini into three separate agreements. The new deal turns the two main sub-contractors – Fujitsu and Accenture – into direct contractors.

Data management

Global Experian research reveals wrong data is on the rise around the worldExperian research suggests companies in the UK, the US, Australia and western Europe have poorer quality data this year than last. The credit information com-pany’s 2015 Global Data Quality Research, which surveyed 1,239 organisations, showed 29% of respondents were still cleaning their data by hand.

Public sector itPoll shows demand for consultation on outsourcing public sector ITA poll of more than 1,000 people showed 68% of the UK public want to be consulted on public sector outsourcing, with Labour and Ukip supporters most in favour. The poll, conducted by campaign group We Own It, revealed half of the respondents are not in favour of outsourcing public sector IT.

Payments technology

Facebook introduces friend-to-friend payment system to its Messenger appFacebook has introduced a feature to its Messenger app that enables people to transfer money to their friends in a few clicks. The feature will soon be introduced in the US for Android, iOS and desktops. “We’re adding a new feature in Messenger that gives people a more convenient and secure way to send or receive money between friends. It’s easy and free,” said Facebook.

big Data

Big data sees mobile passenger experience soar at Dublin AirportOwner and operator of Dublin and Cork Airports, daa, has turned to enterprise mobile app platform developer FeedHenry – now part of Red Hat – to expose more data about its day-to-day operations to passengers through an updated mobile app system.

access the latest it news via rss feed

CO

MIC

REL

IEF

RED NOSE DAY 2015: HOW COMIC RELIEF USED CLOUD TO BANK A RECORD £78M

Red Nose Day 2015 raised a record £78m for Comic Relief, bringing the total amount made by the charity since its inception 30 years ago to more than £1bn.

In recent years, cloud has played an increasingly important role in supporting the charity’s websites, payment systems and data capture services, with many of the providers offering access to their technologies and staff for free.

computerweekly.com 24-30 March 2015 3

HOME

NEWS

TECH-FOCUSED ANNOUNCEMENTS

OF BUDGET 2015

CIOS ILL-PREPARED FOR DATA-DRIVEN

BUSINESS

SAINSBURY’S CIO ON CUSTOMER-FACING

TECHNOLOGY

EDITOR’S COMMENT

OPINION

BUYER’S GUIDE TO DESKTOP

COMPUTING 2020

MOORE’S LAW BRINGS VIRTUAL REALITY CLOSER

DOWNTIME

THE WEEK IN IT

access the latest it news via rss feed

broaDbanD infrastructure

Ofcom challenges Inmarsat and Solaris over unused spectrum bandsSatellite broadband providers Inmarsat Ventures and Solaris Mobile face being stripped of spectrum bands previously set aside for their use, after being issued with a compliance notice by Ofcom. The UK communications regulator has written to both firms urging them to take immediate steps to comply with conditions that came along with their spectrum holdings.

Data analytics

IBM adds Twitter data to Watson Analytics service and BluemixIBM is extending its partnership with Twitter to include the social media site’s data in its Watson Analytics service, delivered in the cloud. It is also making tweets available in its Bluemix cloud developer environment. IBM Analytics general manager Alistair Rennie unveiled the service at CeBit, the business IT event held in Hanover.

Payments technology

Transport for London now the fastest growing contactless merchant in the UKTransport for London (TfL) has become the fastest growing contactless Visa mer-chant in Europe, and the fastest growing MasterCard and American Express mer-chant in the UK, a mere six months after it first launched contactless payments. TfL claimed 60 million contactless journeys have now been made on its system.

financial results

Oracle talks up cloud revenue growth in the face of flat third-quarter salesOracle blamed a strengthening US dollar for the lack of revenue growth in its latest set of financial results, while hailing growth in cloud sales as the high point of its third quarter. The database giant posted revenue of $9.3bn for the three months to 28 February 2015, which was on a par with the $9.6bn it banked during the previous quarter.

it services

Shared business services help productivity and costs, says DeloitteGlobal shared business services are on the rise, delivering an 8% average increase in productivity, with 91% of organisations claiming they help to reduce costs, according to research by Deloitte.The business consultancy surveyed 300 organisations across the world and concluded that shared business services are paying for themselves quickly.

mobile networks

Competitions watchdog to scrutinise EE takeoverThe Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is to scrutinise BT’s £12.5bn takeover of EE. A CMA spokesperson confirmed a preliminary invitation to com-ment was launched earlier this month. The objective of the consultation was to allow interested third parties to make their views known on the acquisition.

GARTNER REPORTS SHRINKING MARGINS IN GROWING DEVICE MARKET

2014

2016

2015

2.42 billion

2.49 billion

2.59 billion

Source: Gartner

2.66 billion2017

Worldwide device shipments, 2014-2017

computerweekly.com 24-30 March 2015 4

HOME

NEWS

TECH-FOCUSED ANNOUNCEMENTS

OF BUDGET 2015

CIOS ILL-PREPARED FOR DATA-DRIVEN

BUSINESS

SAINSBURY’S CIO ON CUSTOMER-FACING

TECHNOLOGY

EDITOR’S COMMENT

OPINION

BUYER’S GUIDE TO DESKTOP

COMPUTING 2020

MOORE’S LAW BRINGS VIRTUAL REALITY CLOSER

DOWNTIME

ANALYSIS

From digital public services, to funding for broadband and mobile networks, the latest Budget includes a long list of technology policies. Bryan Glick reports

Budget 2015 policies for technology

In his final Budget before the 2015 gen-eral election, chancellor George Osborne included a range of measures to help

support the growth of technology and digital government across the UK. Below is a sum-mary of the highlights, extracted from the Treasury’s Budget 2015 Red Book.

Digital government The Government Digital Service (GDS) will be given an extended remit to work with local government for the first time, as prom-ised recently by Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude.

The Budget Book said: “Budget 2015 announces that the digital ambition will extend beyond central government and arm’s-length bodies, to consider local ser-vices. HM Treasury, the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Government Digital Service will collaborate with partners in local government, as the

sector develops a set of proposals that will enable more customer-focused, digitally enabled and efficient local services in time to inform future budget allocations.”

Gov.uk Verify – the online identity assur-ance system developed by GDS – will be rolled out across all central government.

“The Budget 2015 announces that, following a successful trial, the government will imple-ment Gov.uk Verify – a new way for people to prove their identity online when using govern-ment services – across central government. This means that departments will use the same tool for their digital services, reducing duplication,” said the Budget Book.

The planned Crown Hosting Service will be set up as a joint venture to centralise non-cloud datacentre hosting requirements.

The Budget Book said: “To prevent individual departments paying different amounts to either build their own datacentres or out-source this service, the government will

In the 2015 Budget, chancellor George Osborne recognised the economic

opportunity for the UK of supporting developments in the internet of things,

and related areas such as driverless cars and smart cities

EDST

OC

K/I

STO

CK

download the full Budget 2015 red Book

download government

report aBout supporting

competition in Banking

computerweekly.com 24-30 March 2015 5

HOME

NEWS

TECH-FOCUSED ANNOUNCEMENTS

OF BUDGET 2015

CIOS ILL-PREPARED FOR DATA-DRIVEN

BUSINESS

SAINSBURY’S CIO ON CUSTOMER-FACING

TECHNOLOGY

EDITOR’S COMMENT

OPINION

BUYER’S GUIDE TO DESKTOP

COMPUTING 2020

MOORE’S LAW BRINGS VIRTUAL REALITY CLOSER

DOWNTIME

A new government plan for digital commu-nications has also been published: “To affirm its commitment to the long-term digital future of the UK, the government is publish-ing its Digital Communications Infrastructure Strategy, proposing how best to support market delivery.”

Osborne announced a commitment to build an ultrafast broadband capabil-ity across the UK, but gave few details

about what this would mean in practice. “Supporting long-term investment in the UK’s digital communications infrastructure, including by setting out a new ambition that ultrafast broadband of at least 100Mbps should be available to nearly all UK prem-ises,” said the Budget Book.

The minimum broadband service expected to be delivered to households will be increased from 2Mbps to 5Mbps, along with further help for satellite broadband services in rural areas. The Budget Book stated: “The government will also take further action to support the delivery of broadband in rural areas, including looking to raise the Universal Service Obligation – the legal entitlement to a basic service – from dial-up speeds to 5Mbps broadband and subsidis-ing the costs of installing superfast capable satellite services.”

suPPort for tech startuPs A range of policies will provide further sup-port for tech startups and entrepreneurs, particularly outside London in emerging tech clusters. Budget statements included:

“The government will implement measures to improve the accessibility of R&D tax cred-its for smaller businesses, including produc-ing new guidance aimed at smaller firms and setting out a roadmap for further improve-ments over the next two years.

create a joint venture to host departments’ non-cloud based servers, which could save up to £100m.”

As reported by Computer Weekly last September, the HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) digital strategy will see the intro-duction of online personal tax accounts for individuals and businesses, but Osborne went a step further by announcing plans to scrap annual tax returns as a result of better data held by HMRC.

“The government will transform the tax system over the next Parliament by introduc-ing digital tax accounts, removing the need for annual tax returns,” the Budget Book said. “By the end of the next Parliament, over 50 million individuals and small businesses will be able to manage their tax affairs online.”

The process for checking criminal records will be digitised, and opened up to third parties through the use of application pro-gramming interfaces (APIs), according to the Budget Book.

“The government will further improve and speed up the process of applying for criminal record checks by ensuring that the applica-tion process is digital by default and can be conducted online. The government will ensure that the process can be integrated into third-party services, including, as appro-priate, sharing economy platforms, through an API,” it said.

broaDbanD anD mobile networks Some £600m will be spent to better co-ordinate spectrum to free up more fre-quencies for use by mobile networks.

“The government will take a more stra-tegic approach to managing public sector spectrum,” said the Budget Book. “The gov-ernment will implement a central manage-ment system, which will enable it to better prioritise spectrum management and max-imise the economic value of public sector spectrum. The government will provide up to £600m to support the delivery of the change of use of 700MHz spectrum, which will fur-ther enhance the UK’s mobile broadband.”

The governmenT will scrap annual Tax reTurns as a resulT of beTTer daTa held by hmrc

ANALYSIS

› UK government sets oUt fUtUre ambitions for Ultrafast broadband, rUral connectivity, 4g and more in digital commUnications infrastrUctUre strategy report

computerweekly.com 24-30 March 2015 6

HOME

NEWS

TECH-FOCUSED ANNOUNCEMENTS

OF BUDGET 2015

CIOS ILL-PREPARED FOR DATA-DRIVEN

BUSINESS

SAINSBURY’S CIO ON CUSTOMER-FACING

TECHNOLOGY

EDITOR’S COMMENT

OPINION

BUYER’S GUIDE TO DESKTOP

COMPUTING 2020

MOORE’S LAW BRINGS VIRTUAL REALITY CLOSER

DOWNTIME

area where the UK is a recognised world leader: “The government is determined to drive increased competition in the banking market, so banks, alternative providers and fintech firms compete vigorously, on a level playing field, to win and retain customers.

“[There will be] measures to further support competition in banking, details of which have been published separately. The lead measures set out the government’s approach to establishing a supportive framework for legitimate digital currency businesses and helping fintech firms gain access to banking data.

“The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Project Innovate will work with HM Treasury and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) to investigate the feasibility of devel-oping a regulatory ‘sandbox’ for financial services innovators. The FCA, working with the PRA, will also identify ways to support the adoption of new technologies to facilitate the delivery of regulatory requirements – so-called ‘regtech’.

“Innovate Finance has agreed to deliver its fintech regional strategy through a series of local partnerships. The first partnership has already been established in Leeds, and further partnerships will be established in Manchester and Edinburgh by April, and in Newcastle, Bristol and other centres before the end of the year.”

Plans for a standard API to allow new entrants into the banking sector to access data held by bigger rivals will also go ahead: “The government has confirmed its commit-ment to deliver an open API standard in UK banking and, working with the banking and fintech industries, set out a detailed frame-work for its design by the end of 2015. This will enable fintech firms to make use of bank data on behalf of customers in a variety of helpful and creative ways, and ensure the UK remains at the forefront of developments in financial technology and innovation.”

internet of things The chancellor recognised the economic opportunity for the UK of supporting developments in the internet of things, and related areas such as driverless cars and smart cities. The Budget Book said: “[There will be] £100m for research and

“The government will support the develop-ment of innovative businesses in the north through an £11m investment in tech incu-bators in Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield. These tech incubators will create thriving local ecosystems by nurturing startups, fos-tering collaboration, and providing mentor-ing, learning and business support. The gov-ernment will also provide funding to develop a financial technology incubator in Leeds.”

Support also includes an examination of where regulations are preventing the use of emerging technologies and what can be done to break down those barriers.

“The government will engage with busi-ness to determine where regulations inhibit innovation, including disruptive technologies, and develop a programme for addressing this in the next Parliament,” said the Budget Book.

Popular investment schemes to help with startup funding are being extended, it said: “The government will make amendments to the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme, Enterprise Investment Scheme and Venture Capital Trusts to ensure that the UK con-tinues to offer significant and well-targeted support for investment into small and grow-ing companies, in line with new EU rules.

“[We will] introduce a cap on total invest-ment received under the tax-advantaged venture capital schemes of £15m, increas-ing to £20m for knowledge-intensive com-panies. [We will] increase the employee limit for knowledge-intensive companies to 499 employees, from the current limit of 249 employees.”

There was a particular focus on supporting financial technology (fintech) startups – an

“The governmenT will supporT developmenT of innovaTive businesses Through an £11m invesTmenT in Tech incubaTors”2015 budgeT book

ANALYSIS

computerweekly.com 24-30 March 2015 7

HOME

NEWS

TECH-FOCUSED ANNOUNCEMENTS

OF BUDGET 2015

CIOS ILL-PREPARED FOR DATA-DRIVEN

BUSINESS

SAINSBURY’S CIO ON CUSTOMER-FACING

TECHNOLOGY

EDITOR’S COMMENT

OPINION

BUYER’S GUIDE TO DESKTOP

COMPUTING 2020

MOORE’S LAW BRINGS VIRTUAL REALITY CLOSER

DOWNTIME

use technology to share resources such as spare rooms or cars. The Budget Book gave further details:

“This Budget announces a comprehensive package of measures that will break down barriers, create opportunities for sharing and unlock the potential of this dynamic and growing area. Building on the recommenda-tions of the independent review of the shar-ing economy, the government will:

n Make it easier for individuals to sub-let a room through its intention to legislate to prevent the use of clauses in private fixed-term residential tenancy agreements that expressly rule out sub-letting or other-wise sharing space on a short-term basis, and consider extending this prohibition to statutory periodic tenancies.

n Enable government employees to use sharing economy solutions to book accommodation and transport when travelling on official business, where this represents value for money.

n Encourage local authorities to use their business rates discretionary relief powers to support the sharing economy, including shared workspaces and makerspaces.”

The Budget Book added: “The sharing econ-omy presents an opportunity to drive local growth and deliver local public services more innovatively and efficiently.

“To demonstrate the benefits of the shar-ing economy, the government will launch two pilots – in Leeds city region and Greater Manchester in 2015-16 – to trial local shar-ing initiatives in the areas of shared trans-port, shared public space, and health and social care.” n

development into intelligent mobility, which will focus on enhancing the development of driverless car technology and the systems required to implement and adopt the tech-nology, such as telecommunications.

“[There will be] £40m for demonstrator programmes, business incubator space and a research hub to develop applications for internet of things technologies in health-care and social care, and smart cities… The government will support a competition to fund a smart cities demonstrator as part of the internet of things programme to trial and showcase these new technologies.”

science, research anD skills Osborne announced measures to support scientific research and jobs in science and innovation that will also benefit the technol-ogy sector, including: “Developing a more highly skilled UK labour market by strength-ening support for postgraduate research and apprenticeships, and setting out plans for further investment in the UK’s world-leading science and innovation base.

“The government will commit £400m to 2020-21 for the next round of funding for cutting-edge scientific infrastructure. The government will also provide further stra-tegic science and innovation investments to make the UK a global leader in emerging markets and technologies, drawing on and supporting the UK’s existing world-class research base.

“The government will invest a further £100m in cutting-edge research projects through the current UK Research Partnership Investment Fund round.”

There was also help for women in busi-ness with their use of IT. “The Government Equalities Office IT challenge fund will be

extended for one year in 2015-16,” the Budget Book said. “This addi-tional funding of £1.1m will support women to

take their business online and take advan-tage of superfast broadband.”

sharing economy The government has recently expressed support for the so-called sharing economy, as demonstrated by AirBnB and Uber, which

george osborne announced measures To supporT scienTific research and jobs in science and innovaTion ThaT will also benefiT The Technology secTor

› government chief scientific adviser maKes policy recommendations

in internet of things report

ANALYSIS

computerweekly.com 24-30 March 2015 8

HOME

NEWS

TECH-FOCUSED ANNOUNCEMENTS

OF BUDGET 2015

CIOS ILL-PREPARED FOR DATA-DRIVEN

BUSINESS

SAINSBURY’S CIO ON CUSTOMER-FACING

TECHNOLOGY

EDITOR’S COMMENT

OPINION

BUYER’S GUIDE TO DESKTOP

COMPUTING 2020

MOORE’S LAW BRINGS VIRTUAL REALITY CLOSER

DOWNTIME

ANALYSIS

CIOs are ill-prepared for data-driven business and must change approach

T he “I” in CIO has less to do with information than with technology.

Gartner’s recent information and data management event in London focused on how to derive value from information. But the CIO is unlikely to get the call when the business wants to create and foster information assets.

“In successful organisations, someone owns the vision, execution and strategy to make it successful, such as the chief financial officer role, or a vice-president of operations,” said Gartner analyst Ted Friedman. “Even office rubbish is managed better than information. Organisations need a chief data officer [CDO] to maximise information assets. There are 300 CDOs today, and this number will double.”

Gartner research director Dan Sommer warned that business intelligence is still focused on running analytics on internal data, while users want greater access to external data streams – especially given

the fact that 50% of business data now lives in the cloud. “Many new data sources are emerging that are external to the organisation,” said Sommer.

Debra Logan, vice-president and Gartner fellow, said IT leaders should shift from a technology focus to asking what business outcome needs to be achieved.

Logan said that in her experience of speak-ing to Gartner clients, “More than 50% of clients have no answer, 30% have the wrong answer and only 5% have the right answer”.

Rather than discuss IT systems, Logan urged IT decision-makers to focus on busi-ness outcomes. “Every information conversa-tion is a business conversation,” she said.

Logan urged IT heads to change how they measure success. “CIOs care about projects that are delivered on time and on budget,” she added. “But for an information profes-sional, what matters is business outcomes.”

Such outcomes include those to measure process improvement, or finding new revenue and fostering growth.

IT leaders told to shift focus from technology to business outcomes at Gartner event concentrated on deriving value from information. Cliff Saran reports

integrated analytics gives

users operational intelligence edge

Big & fast data: the rise of

insight-driven Business

“cios care abouT projecTs ThaT are delivered on Time and on budgeT. buT for an informaTion professional, whaT maTTers is business ouTcomes”debra logan, garTner

Debra Logan: “We need to get everyone in the organisation to understand information”

computerweekly.com 24-30 March 2015 9

HOME

NEWS

TECH-FOCUSED ANNOUNCEMENTS

OF BUDGET 2015

CIOS ILL-PREPARED FOR DATA-DRIVEN

BUSINESS

SAINSBURY’S CIO ON CUSTOMER-FACING

TECHNOLOGY

EDITOR’S COMMENT

OPINION

BUYER’S GUIDE TO DESKTOP

COMPUTING 2020

MOORE’S LAW BRINGS VIRTUAL REALITY CLOSER

DOWNTIME

Democratising information

Among the themes coming out of the Gartner Business Intelligence and Analytics Summit was the fact that IT can no longer keep pace with the demands of the busi-ness. “We need to get everyone in the organisation to understand information,” said Logan.

Transforming business to a point where information is collected and harnessed will involve organisations changing the way data is governed, she said. “Monolithic govern-ance does not work. Governance should be democratic, but many organisations are far from democratic.”

Logan urged IT heads to consider a bimodal approach to information govern-

ance, which would support the democ-ratisation of data, separat-ing informa-

tion that must be retained centrally from a compliance perspective from data that can be distributed to the business. “Most of what you do is not controlled by a regula-tor. Agile information governance requires a decentralised organisation,” she said.

According to Logan, regulated informa-tion and vital records represent only 5% of a company’s data. “The majority of informa-tion in an organisation should be governed in an agile way,” she said. In fact, Logan rec-ommended that 90% of governance should be devolved to the business user.

Bupa’s IT director for data strategies and applied technologies, Tony Cassin-Scott, admitted that when he joined the healthcare organisation, he started out looking down the wrong end of the proverbial telescope. “I wasn’t sure of the problem I needed to solve,” he said.

But he has worked to build a pragmatic, value-based data strategy, which he said is a force underpinning the company’s 2020 vision, tying his data strategy to the business strategy. “I wanted to think of the culture and vision of the organisation by creating an insight-driven world where information is democratised,” said Cassin-Scott.

He said he had looked at taking operational data to generate value to the business. For instance, he looked at the 300 care homes that Bupa runs in the UK and found that they buy a large quantity of low-value goods, which is an opportunity to apply economies of scale.

To encourage skills and best practice, Bupa has built a community of 300 data analysts to share ideas, and this is augmented by webinars for business users. “We educate the masses to know what questions they can ask,” said Cassin-Scott. “There is no shortage of technology. What we lack is imagination.”

Cassin-Scott, who also runs data discovery sessions, added: “Bring out your data and we’ll find value. Without exception, every session generates value, from £500,000 to £14m.” n

› national grid Uses analytics to Keep the lights on

› travel corporation finds data fast tracK › m&s Uses predictive analytics to Keep shelves stocKed

ANALYSIS

Bupa IT director Tony Cassin-Scott spoke of creating an insight-driven world at the recent Gartner event

“There is no shorTage of Technology. whaT we lack is imaginaTion”Tony cassin-scoTT, bupa

computerweekly.com 24-30 March 2015 10

HOME

NEWS

TECH-FOCUSED ANNOUNCEMENTS

OF BUDGET 2015

CIOS ILL-PREPARED FOR DATA-DRIVEN

BUSINESS

SAINSBURY’S CIO ON CUSTOMER-FACING

TECHNOLOGY

EDITOR’S COMMENT

OPINION

BUYER’S GUIDE TO DESKTOP

COMPUTING 2020

MOORE’S LAW BRINGS VIRTUAL REALITY CLOSER

DOWNTIME

INTERVIEW

Sainsbury’s invests in customer-facing tech to improve shoppers’ experience

Supermarkets are facing challenging times. Sales are

dropping as low-cost, no-frills supermarkets

such as Lidl and Aldi carve out a bigger share of the market and customers move towards online shopping.

But one of the most recognisable UK supermarket brands is investing in customer-facing technology to improve the shopper’s experience.

Jon Rudoe heads IT as the digital and technology director at Sainsbury’s. He believes bringing together the twin responsi-bilities of digital and technology – a vanguard move in an industry where many companies’ structures still separate the two – creates positive and exciting propositions for Sainsbury’s customers.

“If you go back 10-15 years, technology was obviously very important to retailers, but it wasn’t technology touched directly by

consumers,” says Rudoe. “It had a huge part to play in the tills and systems that put stock on the shelves and, while those things are hugely influencing customers, they’re not directly touched by them.”

Rudoe says that, in recent years, the biggest change in the retail industry, among many others, is the move by customers to digital technology.

“That probably started with self-service checkouts and online retail, but now it’s the mobile space with applications. Even things like CRM [customer relationship manage-ment] technology interacts very closely with customers.” And this, says Rudoe, is why more companies are beginning to fuse their digital and technology teams.

“When you talk about our company strat-egy, about being there for our customers, that’s not just physically. It also means being there for them on their phones and able to deliver the brand and business where they are – in their pocket.”

Sainsbury’s digital and technology director Jon Rudoe talks to Caroline Baldwin about his team’s agile approach to developing technology for its customers

it needs to improve

network infrastructure

for future of retail

high street stores emBrace

digital to entice customers

“The indusTry has evolved so iT’s

increasingly hard To separaTe digiTal

and Technology”

CW500 interview

computerweekly.com 24-30 March 2015 11

HOME

NEWS

TECH-FOCUSED ANNOUNCEMENTS

OF BUDGET 2015

CIOS ILL-PREPARED FOR DATA-DRIVEN

BUSINESS

SAINSBURY’S CIO ON CUSTOMER-FACING

TECHNOLOGY

EDITOR’S COMMENT

OPINION

BUYER’S GUIDE TO DESKTOP

COMPUTING 2020

MOORE’S LAW BRINGS VIRTUAL REALITY CLOSER

DOWNTIME

aPPlication DeveloPment

Sainsbury’s has harnessed the necessary skills to create customer-facing technolo-gies through in-house development as well as through contractors, suppliers and startups. The supermarket is currently looking for people to join its technology and digital team, an organisation which varies from those with traditional big infrastruc-ture service roles to staff employed to manage the user experience and the enter-tainment team.

“The industry has evolved, so it’s increasingly hard to separate those two things,” Rudoe says.

Every one of his team of hundreds has a job that touches on technology in some way.

Rudoe was promoted to the role of head of digital and technology in February 2014, after helping to build up Sainsbury’s online pres-ence. Before that, he spent five years working for online supermarket distributor Ocado.

“Technology is very embedded, and per-haps one of the reasons we haven’t talked about how exciting that technology is, is because it’s quite normal for us,” he says.

DigitiseD shoPPing list

One of the technologies Rudoe hopes will make an impact on the business is Sainsbury’s mobile shopping application. The app allows customers to create shopping lists which can be used to navigate the shop and scan goods as they are placed in the basket. It also enables the device to pay for goods, allowing the user to avoid checkout queues.

At the time of the interview, Rudoe says his team was in a store in south London, trying out the application.

“We’ve actually been working on that for a while. We started with a mobile scan-and-go

product which enabled you to go around the store and scan prod-ucts, pay on the phone, get a

receipt and walk out,” he says. “Now the next iteration is to create a list wherever you are, searching for products on the phone or scanning products in your kitchen – real digitised shopping.”

Rudoe says that, once the shopping list is created, you can take your smartphone into a store and shop from the list on the app, which ticks off items as you scan them into your basket.

“Something like 60% of our customers create a shopping list before they go to the supermarket,” he says. “So we’re not working on the periphery of our business – we’re digitising the heart of the journey.”

in-house agility

Rudoe says the team has taken an agile approach to developing the app, iterating as they go along. “It’s not the kind of product you can write on a piece of paper, predicting everything – it’s not really something that’s been done in that form before,” he says.

The app was created through a mix of in-house skills and outside development. Rudoe predicts it will continue to evolve: “We’ll release it, we’ll iterate it and we’ll release it some more,” he says.

“Across an organisation as diverse and as big as Sainsbury’s, we’re going to have a wide variety of ways in which we want to do things. In some areas we will want to buy a system that already exists and do nothing more than plug it in; but in this area there aren’t a lot of known solutions out there, so we’ve taken the approach that we want to be much more involved with the development of that product – which is why we want to build more of an in-house development capability.”

The other digital development Rudoe is proud of is last year’s Christmas pre-ordering site, an HTML5 responsive website allowing customers to pre-order their Christmas produce. “It only took us a few months to develop and was a very simple site,” he says.

Rudoe believes it’s innovative develop-ments such as this that make Sainsbury’s a great company to work for. He says that, when you think of the dinner party conversa-tion – What do you do for a living? – there are a lot of jobs where you can develop code or mine data, but actually doing it in the context of something everybody buys and eats – food – is really motivating.

“And to be blunt – everyone has heard of Sainsbury’s,” he says. n

This is an edited excerpt. Click here to read the full interview.

› interview: andy wolfe, cio, shop direct

› retail’s digital fUtUre

› interview: phil pavitt, global cio, specsavers

INTERVIEW

computerweekly.com 24-30 March 2015 12

HOME

NEWS

TECH-FOCUSED ANNOUNCEMENTS

OF BUDGET 2015

CIOS ILL-PREPARED FOR DATA-DRIVEN

BUSINESS

SAINSBURY’S CIO ON CUSTOMER-FACING

TECHNOLOGY

EDITOR’S COMMENT

OPINION

BUYER’S GUIDE TO DESKTOP

COMPUTING 2020

MOORE’S LAW BRINGS VIRTUAL REALITY CLOSER

DOWNTIME

EDITOR’S COMMENT

UK on digital roll with tech-friendly Budget

It’s rare that we are inclined to congratulate George Osborne, but recognition is due to the chancellor for making his latest Budget the most tech-friendly ever.

Each year, Computer Weekly is inundated with press releases before the Budget from various interest groups calling on the chancellor to include this or that technology policy. Typically, the day after the Budget we then get the follow-up release chastising the chancellor for failing to deliver on their wish-lists.

But this year, few could complain – the list of supportive announcements was long. Tech startups, science and technology research, internet of things, driverless cars, smart cities, skills, broadband and mobile networks all received funding or government support of some form.

The government’s digital strategy even underpinned one of Osborne’s headline-grabbers – the abolition of tax returns, to be made possible by the planned introduction of personal online tax accounts and HM Revenue & Customs’ real-time information system for tax collection.

There is little doubt that whichever party wins the election in May, digital and technology will play a bigger role in the next government than ever before.

Labour must be a little frustrated. Since the party’s digital government review was released last year, the coalition has slowly nicked a lot of its most popular recommendations. Osborne added another – extending the remit of the Government Digital Service to help local authorities with their digital plans.

Some of the announcements promise to be truly transformational – we are, slowly, getting the UK onto a digital roll. Whichever party wins the election must commit early to protecting, continuing and, preferably, accelerating this momentum.

The UK has a genuine opportunity to be a world leader in the digital economy and it will be for the betterment of everyone – creating jobs, wealth and social opportunity; improving healthcare and education; and making this country a base for science and technology innovation that is the envy of the world.

We look forward to whichever party or coalition of parties is willing to accept and deliver on this defining challenge for the next parliament. n

Bryan GlickEditor in chief

Computer Weekly/ComputerWeekly.com2nd Floor, 3-4a Little Portland Street,

London W1W 7JB

GENERAL ENQUIRIES

020 7186 1400

EDITORIAL

Editor in chief: Bryan Glick 020 7186 1424

bglick@techtarget.com

Managing editor (technology): Cliff Saran 020 7186 1421

csaran@techtarget.com

Head of premium content: Bill Goodwin 020 7186 1418

wgoodwin@techtarget.com

Services editor: Karl Flinders 020 7186 1423

kflinders@techtarget.com

Security editor: Warwick Ashford 020 7186 1419

washford@techtarget.com

Networking editor: Alex Scroxton020 7186 1413

ascroxton@techtarget.com

Special projects editor: Kayleigh Bateman020 7186 1415

kbateman@techtarget.com

Storage editor: Antony Adshead07779 038528

aadshead@techtarget.com

Business applications editor: Brian McKenna 020 7186 1414

bmckenna@techtarget.com

Business editor: Clare McDonald 020 7186 1426

cmcdonald@techtarget.com

Datacentre editor: Caroline Donnelly 020 7186 1411

cdonnelly@techtarget.com

Production editor: Claire Cormack 020 7186 1417

ccormack@techtarget.com

Senior sub-editor: Jason Foster 020 7186 1420

jfoster@techtarget.com

Sub-editor: Ben Whisson020 7186 1478

bwhisson@techtarget.com

DISPLAY ADVERTISING

Sales director: Brent Boswell 07584 311889

bboswell@techtarget.com

Group events manager: Tom Walker 0207 186 1430

twalker@techtarget.com

computerweekly.com 24-30 March 2015 13

HOME

NEWS

TECH-FOCUSED ANNOUNCEMENTS

OF BUDGET 2015

CIOS ILL-PREPARED FOR DATA-DRIVEN

BUSINESS

SAINSBURY’S CIO ON CUSTOMER-FACING

TECHNOLOGY

EDITOR’S COMMENT

OPINION

BUYER’S GUIDE TO DESKTOP

COMPUTING 2020

MOORE’S LAW BRINGS VIRTUAL REALITY CLOSER

DOWNTIME

(EPMOs) from cumbersome and bloated to a real-time tool. EPMOs have gained respect for their ability to give an enterprise perspec-tive and deliver detailed lines of sight into specific parts of the business. Perspectives and insights are empowering companies to make better real-time decisions.

aligning it to the business

In the beginning, IT was bolted on to the business where automation had an impact. Over time, IT grew to dictate how work was done and with what tools. Today, IT is trans-forming to a more consultative role with a focus on enabling flexibility and accelerating the rate of strategic execution while increas-ing the business’s ability to adjust to change.

righting strategy anD execution balance

While slower organisations still lean on strategy development to remain relevant, every day more companies are shifting their balance towards strategic execution. Although strategy-making is still essential, successful organisations are putting more emphasis on ensuring their strategies are not over-thought, are well executed and are constructed to provide maximum flexibility.

As business continues to accelerate, flexibility and speed of strategic execution becomes more important than ever. Smart, top-performing organisations have already structured themselves to react more quickly to external and internal shifts. They view the future as a possibility, change as an opportunity and their strategy as the tool to get them there. n

OPINION

More firms expected to follow high-performing organisations by applying a range of forward-leaning approaches to strategic execution, writes Tim Wasserman

Strategic execution trends for 2015

R eal time isn’t a trend; it’s a reality. No matter how quickly – or slowly – a business can respond to change, the

rate of change and the required speed to respond are constantly accelerating.

This year, it is expected more companies will follow high-performing organisations by applying a range of forward-leaning approaches to strategic execution that better enable real-time adjustments to an ever-changing marketplace. Here are five trends around strategic execution to look out for in 2015.

real-time strategic execution

Planning for projects in advance will always be important, but building in the flexibility to adjust strategic execution in real time is gaining importance. As the velocity of business continues to increase, the likelihood that ideas and innovations that were relevant six months ago will become outdated during execution is increasing just as quickly.

In response, companies are growing their reliance on leading indicators, running more projects in parallel to ensure at least some succeed, and building flexibility into their strategies as well as their strategic execution to facilitate adjustments in real time.

leaDing inDicators taking Prominence

Traditional planning emphasised looking at historical indicators; more contemporary approaches have challenged companies to also examine their current status to influence decision-making. Today, this trend goes further as the use of leading indicators moves beyond early-adopting, high-performing companies as organisations seek a more forward-looking perspective and better data to enable effective, real-time strategic execution adjustments.

leveraging enterPrise PersPective

Businesses are evolving their perspective on enterprise project management offices

from service to strategy: the

it project management

journey

firms must incorporate

agile into their strategic planning

Tim Wasserman is chief learning officer at IPS Learning and programme director of the Stanford Advanced Project Management programme.

computerweekly.com 24-30 March 2015 14

HOME

NEWS

TECH-FOCUSED ANNOUNCEMENTS

OF BUDGET 2015

CIOS ILL-PREPARED FOR DATA-DRIVEN

BUSINESS

SAINSBURY’S CIO ON CUSTOMER-FACING

TECHNOLOGY

EDITOR’S COMMENT

OPINION

BUYER’S GUIDE TO DESKTOP

COMPUTING 2020

MOORE’S LAW BRINGS VIRTUAL REALITY CLOSER

DOWNTIME

BUYER’S GUIDE

Companies are still handing out corporate PCs, with some issuing thin clients with a server-hosted virtual desktop – also commonly known as virtual desktop infra-structure (VDI) – that includes the same set of tools for everyone.

A business computer, tablet or a smartphone is like a toolbox, and the applications are like the tools, each with a specific purpose.

When executives set goals for their firms and managers, then set goals for employees, they seldom ask their people whether they have the tools they need to do the work – perhaps out of fear of the answer. Nevertheless, the employee is now on the hook to carry out orders and meet his or her goals without the tools or information needed to do the job.

LIFE

SIZ

EIM

AG

ES/I

STO

CK

dawning of vmware vsphere

6 Builds anticipation

migrating away from

windows server 2003

bUsinesses need to eqUip staff with the tools to do the jobWorkforces will become frustrated if they do not have the technology they need to deliver what their organisation wants. David Johnson reports

BUYER’S GUIDEDesktoP comPuting 2020 part 2 of 3

computerweekly.com 24-30 March 2015 15

HOME

NEWS

TECH-FOCUSED ANNOUNCEMENTS

OF BUDGET 2015

CIOS ILL-PREPARED FOR DATA-DRIVEN

BUSINESS

SAINSBURY’S CIO ON CUSTOMER-FACING

TECHNOLOGY

EDITOR’S COMMENT

OPINION

BUYER’S GUIDE TO DESKTOP

COMPUTING 2020

MOORE’S LAW BRINGS VIRTUAL REALITY CLOSER

DOWNTIME

BUYER’S GUIDE

Only 15% of North American and European information workers say they are completely satisfied with their IT department’s understanding of what they need to be successful. For the remaining 85%, there is a gap. The larger that gap, the more time staff may spend figuring out how to get the job done anyway.

“Discretionary effort” in psychology is the difference between doing the bare minimum to get by and doing your very best. Withholding the necessary tools or making them difficult to access can lead to employees feeling angry at having to waste time doing grunt work and create a perception that the project is not very important.

In effect, it makes workers less willing to go the extra mile. Consider the case of a big com-mercial bank where a large team of software engineers in India can only use a locked-down VDI environment to maintain code. They only have the tools that their employer provides, yet they know of other tools that could improve their effectiveness. The artificial constraints of their computing environment limit their options for innovative solutions to problems.

Deliver customer value

Employees in the best position to deliver customer value have fewer options to do so. Vineet Nayar, former CEO of HCL Technologies and author of the book Employees first, custom-ers second: turning conventional management upside down, observes: “The true value is cre-ated in the interface between the customer and the employee. Through a combination of engaged employees and accountable manage-ment, a company can create extraordinary value for itself, its customers and the individu-als involved in both companies.”

For IT professionals, it means technology decisions and policy play a significant role in the ability of employees to deliver value. For example, given the option, car mechanics readily use internet forums and social media to help diagnose problems more quickly, saving customers time and money.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN SHOPPING FOR BUSINESS TOOLS

There are significant nuances within each product category that may not be obvious until the system is thoroughly tested in the customer environment. For example, VMware’s Horizon View product uses the PCoIP protocol sourced from Teradici, a Canadian partner company, for commu-nication between the server and the endpoint, while Citrix uses its own proprietary HDX protocol.

From a network administration standpoint, HDX is a more manageable protocol because it rides on TCP, whereas PCoIP rides on UDP. As a result, several suppliers offer options for opti-mising HDX’s performance for a good user experience under a wide range of conditions.

According to analyst Forrester, IT professionals should conduct a pilot programme that includes real-world scenarios within their own organisation to determine which system is best for their unique environment before buying.

“Through a combinaTion of engaged employees and accounTable managemenT, a company can creaTe exTraordinary value for iTself, iTs cusTomers and The individuals involved in boTh companies”vineeT nayar, auThor

and former hcl ceo

computerweekly.com 24-30 March 2015 16

HOME

NEWS

TECH-FOCUSED ANNOUNCEMENTS

OF BUDGET 2015

CIOS ILL-PREPARED FOR DATA-DRIVEN

BUSINESS

SAINSBURY’S CIO ON CUSTOMER-FACING

TECHNOLOGY

EDITOR’S COMMENT

OPINION

BUYER’S GUIDE TO DESKTOP

COMPUTING 2020

MOORE’S LAW BRINGS VIRTUAL REALITY CLOSER

DOWNTIME

BUYER’S GUIDE

But when employees find themselves improvising ways around obstacles, or when the options outside of what tech management provides are better for their needs, they will take liberties with information because they cannot adequately assess the risks.

One software company suffered a damaging lawsuit because employees were using an unlicensed version of a commercial database software product to demonstrate its software to prospects. Why? Because when they asked the company to provide licences to the field team, the request was declined, yet the software was necessary to effectively demonstrate the company’s own products.

mobility anD byoD necessitate a bigger box of tools

Thanks to brisk innovation in technology and tools, it is now more achievable than ever to create a workforce computing environment that removes obstacles for employees and fosters creativity and innovation while offering better security and managing risks.

But these technologies can also add complexity, and it is difficult for IT decision-makers to understand the way they work and the implica-tions of the various tools for their organisations.

Some technologies here offer remarkable resources that can extend both the capabilities and the flexibility of employees’ working options. For instance, technologies such as application virtualisation can help solve legacy application compatibility issues and enable companies to deliver them to newer devices and operating environments.

By understanding these aspects, IT profession-als can make better decisions, but, more impor-tantly, are likely to find alternatives among some of the newer offerings that are either less costly or a better fit for their organisation’s needs.

But each of these technologies has clear limita-tions that IT professionals need to understand before they prescribe them to their organisa-tion’s workforce. Although the companies that make these technologies are reputable, they will not advertise their products’ limitations with the same enthusiasm with which they promote their benefits.

For example, a common feature of server-hosted virtual desktop systems is an offline or local mode for employees who travel. But the market-ing literature fails to mention that using this feature may result in gigabytes of data travelling between the datacentre and the client PC or Mac. Also, significant data transfer may also happen when the user checks the virtual desktop back in. While the process does work, the time needed for the data transfer may make the system a non-starter.

Each employee is likely to benefit from more than one of these technologies being available to them to improve their effectiveness. Conducting a survey is advisable. Look at the perso-nas within the organisation and make ideal matches for each.

Forrester outlines four workforce personas, which IT professionals can use as a guide to defining the personas for their organisation, but a simple way to think of it is that profession-als need productivity apps and practitioners need access to process apps, while others need a combination of both. n

alThough The companies ThaT make These Technologies are repuTable, They will noT adverTise Their producTs’ limiTaTions wiTh The same enThusiasm wiTh which They promoTe Their benefiTs

This is an extract from the Forrester report: “Build digital workspace delivery systems to give employees the right tools for their job”, April 2014, by David K Johnson.

computerweekly.com 24-30 March 2015 17

HOME

NEWS

TECH-FOCUSED ANNOUNCEMENTS

OF BUDGET 2015

CIOS ILL-PREPARED FOR DATA-DRIVEN

BUSINESS

SAINSBURY’S CIO ON CUSTOMER-FACING

TECHNOLOGY

EDITOR’S COMMENT

OPINION

BUYER’S GUIDE TO DESKTOP

COMPUTING 2020

MOORE’S LAW BRINGS VIRTUAL REALITY CLOSER

DOWNTIME

MANUFACTURING IT

Are we on the cusp of a virtual reality revolution? Or would it be unreasonable to suggest we will have virtual reality headsets in the living room by the end of 2015? Perhaps, but all the signs point to a rapidly developing market for virtual reality. In the past year alone, Facebook bought Oculus VR, Sony announced its Project

Morpheus VR headset, Microsoft revealed its augmented reality HoloLens and Google released Google Cardboard – a fold-out smartphone mount for virtual reality applications.

The concept of virtual reality can be traced back as far as the 1860s, when 360° panoramic murals – such as those by Baldassare Peruzzi – first appeared. However, virtual reality as we know it first began to appear in the 1980s.

One of the early pioneers, Jaron Lanier, formed VPL Research in 1985, creating the goggles and gloves system that virtual reality became known for. These early forms of virtual reality required substantial computing power. Cyberzone, the first virtual reality gameshow, required a network of six 486 PCs (with only 8MB of memory each). It was impressive, but still clunky, due to being CPU-driven. Due to the computing limitations and high costs, virtual reality was considered a niche area only high-end companies could afford to enter. As such, it lacked development focus and was not particularly robust.

ISTO

CK

open source light saBre with

virtual reality imaX headset

faceBook pays $2Bn for

virtual reality company oculus

moore’s law brings virtUal reality one step closer

Greatly increased processing capability and commercial opportunity could bring virtual reality technology into the mainstream, writes Peter Ray Allison

computerweekly.com 24-30 March 2015 18

HOME

NEWS

TECH-FOCUSED ANNOUNCEMENTS

OF BUDGET 2015

CIOS ILL-PREPARED FOR DATA-DRIVEN

BUSINESS

SAINSBURY’S CIO ON CUSTOMER-FACING

TECHNOLOGY

EDITOR’S COMMENT

OPINION

BUYER’S GUIDE TO DESKTOP

COMPUTING 2020

MOORE’S LAW BRINGS VIRTUAL REALITY CLOSER

DOWNTIME

MANUFACTURING IT

shifting barriers of entry to virtual reality

Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (NAMRC) head of virtual reality and simulation, Rab Scott, says the barriers of entry have since changed.

“In the old days you would need six computers, but now all you need is one graphics card, because so much of what you need is being pushed onto the graphics card, so they are becoming GPU-driven,” he says.

The cost of the viewing equipment has come down, with a 3D screen costing £200 and an Oculus Rift headset costing £475, both of which can be run from a standard laptop. The experimental Google Cardboard costs about £10, and works with a smartphone. The captur-ing and creation of content has been streamlined with software from the likes of Autodesk and Bentley, as well as the capability to capture entire rooms using 3D laser scanners.

Virtual reality has extended into becoming fully immersive, such as with cave automatic virtual environments – similar to the holodeck from Star Trek. These virtual environments use projectors directed on three to six sides (including the floor and ceiling) of a room-sized cube, allowing people not only to experience a full 360° view, but also walking around the virtual models.

Virtual reality technology can be broken down into four distinct elements:n Content, which is the 3D model being visualised;n Delivery mechanism, which is the display device;n Driving software, which is used to view content;n Interface, the device for controlling the viewpoint and interacting with the environment.

Autodesk has a long history in visualisation technologies with its 3D modelling software products such as AutoCAD, Navisworks and Infraworks.

It recently worked with Owlized on the Better Market Street project, which sought to improve Market Street in San Francisco by bringing more trees and greenery into the area. A series of “Owl” viewers installed on location allowed the general public to virtually see what the new Market Street would look like, once the design was complete.

bringing together the virtual anD Physical at forD

In recent years, vehicle manufacturer Ford has started marrying the virtual world and the physical world with an adjustable vehicle. This physical representation can be arranged so it matches the simulated vehicle that Ford is representing virtually. Thus, a person interact-ing with the simulated model in virtual reality is also touching a physical representation of it. The cost of virtual reality is now becoming minimal compared with what businesses can save down the line.

Ford’s virtual reality and advanced visualisation technical specialist, Elizabeth Baron, says the car firm has spotted things in its most recent vehicle that would otherwise have been missed and cost a lot to correct.

“In the past we would have had to build a physical model to see how change would impact our design,” she said. “We are now a lot more agile in what we can understand right away, so we can understand problems that do come up a lot quicker.”

builDing submarines with virtual reality

Virtual reality is even going beyond the visualisation stage of design. BAE Systems recently used a product development virtual reality system by Virtalis to assist in planning the construction of the Astute-class submarines. Instead of creating physical prototypes, 3D virtual models were viewed from cabins positioned on gantries surrounding the submarine, replacing the need for expensive physical models.

Virtual reality is also finding uses in disaster management, where trainees can experience high-impact/low-probability events. Such situations would normally be unfeasible to simu-late in traditional training exercises. Virtual reality allows trainees to become familiar with the environments in which they could be expected to work, or to gain confidence in their ability to handle dangerous situations.

computerweekly.com 24-30 March 2015 19

HOME

NEWS

TECH-FOCUSED ANNOUNCEMENTS

OF BUDGET 2015

CIOS ILL-PREPARED FOR DATA-DRIVEN

BUSINESS

SAINSBURY’S CIO ON CUSTOMER-FACING

TECHNOLOGY

EDITOR’S COMMENT

OPINION

BUYER’S GUIDE TO DESKTOP

COMPUTING 2020

MOORE’S LAW BRINGS VIRTUAL REALITY CLOSER

DOWNTIME

MANUFACTURING IT

virtual reality in crime scene investigation

Law enforcement agencies are also finding practical uses for virtual reality, especially in crime scene investigations. Instead of traditional methods which require the physical presence of investigators at the crime scene, a virtual reality model of the scene can be created. Prior to anyone entering the scene of a crime, it is scanned using a laser scanner and/or high-definition camera, limiting any contamination of the crime scene. This technique also allows investigators to review the scene of the crime at a later date, long after the on-site investigation has been concluded.

Unlike previous 3D design review packages, such as Navisworks, which only provide an assumed line of sight based on the current perspective, virtual reality gives users a true sense of depth. This depth perception creates a level of immersion and parallax. It is this immediate immersion that makes virtual reality such a powerful tool for users. “Even the simple walk-through of a day in the life of a factory operator gives an architect an understanding of what needs to be where and why it needs to be there,” says NAMRC’s Scott.

the future of virtual reality

But immersion and sense of depth come at a price. People prone to motion sickness can experience similar symptoms. Known as simulator sickness, this occurs as the brain tries to rationalise what it is viewing with what the body is experiencing at the same time. Symptoms can vary from headaches and drowsiness to dizziness and nausea.

Since commercial applications of virtual reality are relatively new, there is little plug-and-play functionality. Just because you can use the Oculus Rift headset to view something does not mean you can use the same software to view something else with Google Cardboard. But Autodesk CTO and director of engineering in emerging technology, Brian Pene, says using virtual reality will become no different to plugging in a monitor eventually.

“Today, applications only support a certain type of headset and you have to specifically integrate with different software development kits for different headsets, as they have differ-ent ways of displaying stereoscopic virtual reality,” he says.

Virtual reality technology is also seeking to embrace other senses, such as sound and touch. Binaural audio – the recording of sound using two microphones to create 3D stereo sound – is one such example. With this we will soon be able to model the effects of sound in a room, such as a concert hall, or the expected noise pollution of proposed transportation projects – by modelling the sound effects of high-speed trains, for example.

“There are a number of people using virtual reality to model the effects of sound in an environment,” says Pene. “For doing something with the design of sound, such as under-standing how sound incorporates into a design or how a design affects sound, or how echo effects can be felt, is invaluable.” There are also a number of people researching the use of tactile properties of models in virtual reality, as the sense of touch can be invaluable for its immersive quality.

But what does the future hold for virtual reality? As research continues, the capture and creation of content for virtual reality will become increasingly refined and easier to use. Likewise, we may soon be able to edit and manipulate 3D models directly in virtual environ-

ments, rather than just passively viewing them.Nasa is experimenting with an Oculus Rift headset and Xbox

Kinnect motion sensor to develop a more natural method of control system for a robot arm. Using the virtual reality headset allows the operator to gain a greater understanding of the

environment in which the robot arm is operating.“At the moment, researchers are looking into projecting onto your retina, contact lens

delivery and augmented reality glasses,” says Scott.Pene concludes the future of virtual reality will be moving away from headsets. “I think the

future of virtual reality will be new types of display technologies, such as holographic displays or blending the real with the virtual, which is more augmented reality,” he says. n

› what is virtUal reality modelling langUage?› what is virtUal reality?

› video conferencing best practice

computerweekly.com 24-30 March 2015 20

HOME

NEWS

TECH-FOCUSED ANNOUNCEMENTS

OF BUDGET 2015

CIOS ILL-PREPARED FOR DATA-DRIVEN

BUSINESS

SAINSBURY’S CIO ON CUSTOMER-FACING

TECHNOLOGY

EDITOR’S COMMENT

OPINION

BUYER’S GUIDE TO DESKTOP

COMPUTING 2020

MOORE’S LAW BRINGS VIRTUAL REALITY CLOSER

DOWNTIME

DOWNTIME

he’s just there to hang out (ahem) with his mates. “When I go banya, they’re friends,” he told an interviewer.

Cloudy eclipse knocks over networkDowntime experienced the full effects of the solar eclipse last week when the network failed. Since London was under a pea-souper of pollution, the best views were on a live stream from other parts of the country blessed with clear skies.

Obviously the streaming had nothing to do with the network at CW Towers going down, at least not according to IT sup-port. When Downtime finally got through to the helpdesk (it’s on the network), the automated response helpfully explained that, due to the juxtaposition of the Sun and the Moon, a sub-atomic particle had whizzed across time and space and embedded itself in a network switch. n

Kaspersky’s sauna nights with the KGBWhen it comes to kicking back after work, most people open a bottle of wine, binge-watch a favourite show on Netflix or hit the gym to work off the day’s frustrations.

But not antivirus kingpin Eugene Kaspersky, who spends his downtime in a sauna with a handful of his closest allies in the Russian intelligence services. Cosy!

His predilection for sauna came to light in a Bloomberg report that accused some members of the senior management team at Kaspersky Lab of passing customer data to the Russian security services for law enforcement purposes.

“Kaspersky rarely misses a weekly banya [sauna] night with a group of about five to 10 that includes Russian intelligence officials,” said Bloomberg.

However, Eugene’s not interested in talking shop while things get steamy, as

HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH YOUR SMARTWATCH

Here’s a few things you can do with your new smartwatch:n You can check if your heart is still beating after the 25th PowerPoint slide of

your boss’s presentation;n When you get mugged, you can now give the mugger the app that allows him

to drive away in your BMW;n Play the Intel Inside jingle every hour, on the hour, with Tag Heuer’s

Intel-based smartwatch;n Connect to other nearby smartwatches over Bluetooth, so you can tell

what time they have without needing to ask;n Watch a digital animated analogue watch face that cost 10 times as much

as the thing you got from the bloke on Oxford Street, (but at least his lasts more than three hours before a recharge).

read more on the

downtime Blog