As more and more human activity moves online, it is easy to think that geography no longer matters—surely the internet is without borders? Whilst in some cases this is true, more often than not online activity spills over into the real world. 

This week’s Computer Weekly asks what chancellor George Osborne's Budget means for the UK IT community and if he can deliver his goal to make Britain "the technology centre of Europe". Also you'll find the final part of our private cloud Buyer's Guide and we examine the options for choosing the right WAN optimisation strategy. 

This case study describes how one company was able to leverage desktop and application virtualization to meet extreme mobility requirements while gaining additional benefits such as increased security, more efficient maintenance, centralized information and more. 

This week’s Computer Weekly kicks off our Buyer's Guide to data security by looking at the changing role of the IT security chief. We also examine why flexible working is proving so slow to roll out and we talk to the UK's air traffic control operator about its ambitious desktop virtualisation project. 

This case study details how North York General Hospital's implementaiton of the IBM XIV Storage Systemen helped them reduce rackspace requirements and cut data center hosting costs. They now have a fast, resilient and flexible storage architecture that will support their mission-critical IT systems for years to come. 

This report from Knowledge Peers and Pierre Audoin Consultants (PAC), reveals what leaders of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (SMBs) think of IT – its strategic value, its potential, and the changing way in which it is being used in their organisations. 

This research from management consultants, Xantus, shows that while there is still a lack of clarity and a reluctance to fully commit to the cloud, there is a general acceptance from CIOs of the benefits and a growing commitment to develop those benefits. 

UK hosting company NetBenefit deploys the Intel Xeon processor 5500 series and reaps the benefits from a 25 percent increase in the number of virtual machines, as well as increased performance and reduced power. 

Digital Britain is the UK government’s strategic vision for the UK digital economy. While social inclusion and rights protection are major themes, the plans will also have a significant impact on businesses. 

More and more companies are showing interest in data center outsourcing, but there are a variety of providers to choose from. This white paper compares the outsourcing capabilities and infrastructure utility services of 17 vendors. Find out which providers were considered the challengers, leaders, niche players, and visionaries. 

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. 

In May, 2010, Verizon Wireless told investors at Barclays Capital media and technology conference in New York that it expected to offer customers who signed up for its 4G services monthly “buckets” of data. 

Taking steps towards meeting the legal challenge of carbon reduction within data centres in a sensible, cost effective and sustainable manner.