The majority of user authentication schemes today still use userid and password. The burden to users of managing large numbers of userids and passwords has led to proposals for Federated Identity systems, where a single set of credentials can be used to authenticate with several organisations, which have agreed to work together as a federation. 

This week’s Computer Weekly examines research that suggests CEOs want to invest in IT more than ever, but still see CIOs as technical experts and not business people. We review SQL Server 2012 and ask if Microsoft's database software is catching its competitors as well as concluding our Buyer's Guide to data security. 

After carefully weighing competing options, Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility chose Quantum's DXi-Series solution with deduplication technology for its data protection system upgrade. This case study explains why they made that choice. 

In this article, we describe how some key Digital Britain proposals have been implemented in the Digital Economy Act 2010. 

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we look at the IT challenges facing retailers, as consumers turn increasingly to web and mobile shopping channels. Oracle president Mark Hurd talks about how the supplier intends to simplify IT infrastructures. And new government CIO Andy Nelson discusses how he plans to transform Whitehall IT. Read the issue now. 

Competition has never been so strong and retail organisations are finding they cannot afford to stand still. 

Retail consumers can now research purchases online and access customer support via social networking sites, and disgruntled consumers can now shop around on the Web and on mobile devices. Read this white paper to learn more about the drastically changing world of retail. 

This quarters figures compiled by jobadswatch.co.uk show that during the fourth quarter of2010 the IT jobs market for permanent staff being recruited by retail organisations is up by5.1%.The growth indemand for IT staff in this sector shows 44.5% more vacancies being advertised than ayear ago. 

This case study explains how one retail giant improved business support services by rehosting its mainframe applications to HP integrity servers. Learn how they were able to overcome the integration difficulties connected to mainframe-based management, maximize use of open technologies, and much more. 

Timely access to information is something retailers need to satisfy consumer needs and wants. HP’s Converged Infrastructure can improve customer service and give retailers a competitive advantage. Learn how, through the use of HP’s Converged Infrastructure, retail businesses can streamline/standardize equipment, and advance their technology. 

Over the course of several months in 2011, IDC conducted a research study to identify the opportunities and challenges to adoption of a new technology that changes the way in which traditional business solutions are implemented and used. The results of the study are presented in this white paper.