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 benchmarking study from ESI International identifies the trends impacting the project management function in IT industry in three areas: PMO maturity, measuring and reporting on PMO effectiveness, as well as training involvement. 

The numbers of employees using some form of mobile technology while working has soared. The benefits to the organisation are well documented; employees are more contactable, will probably extend their working days and should be more productive. 

This week’s Computer Weekly examines the growing threat from smartphones being targeted by hackers and viruses as the devices are increasingly used for work. Hospitality giant Mitchells & Butlers talks about its migration to the cloud and the CIO of Airbus discusses his IT priorities and how he spends €500m a year on IT. 

This 2012 benchmarking survey from ESI assesses the role of the Project/Programme Management Office (PMO), its development to full-blown maturity and value to the business.   

Read this paper to learn three ways your company can get the most out of its contracts by ensuring that the agreements you enter into are low in risk and that contractual terms are being observed and met. 

<p>Support contracts are becoming crucial aspects of IT management as IT environments are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Examine the trends propelling the support services market, and discover the importance of continuing post-warranty support.</p> 

Many procurement organizations struggle to meet savings goals with an overworked staff using time-consuming, manual processes or outdated systems. Read this paper to learn how to better collaborate with key stakeholders, qualify suppliers, ensure a competitive bidding process, and negotiate contract terms with suppliers. 

What drives and interface type do you need for your data? Find out how to decide in this white paper. 

<p>Read this paper to gain an approach to unifying utility company's information, processes and people to gain a 360-degree view of contracts, work orders and so much more, effectively enabling employees to make better-informed decisions which then reduce costs and elevate efficiency. Learn how case management can make your business smarter.</p> 

Read this paper to learn more about HP's business processes services for procurement. 

This research from Freeform Dynamics, based on a survey of end users,  identifies the challenges faced by IT departments and suppliers on software licensing, and offers advice to organisations on dealing with software licensing. 

Economies of scale, flexibility and costreduction – cloud advocates have made sure that we are familiar with these potential benefits, even if we have yet to agree on an exact definition of cloud computing. But doubters argue that none of these benefits will actually be available unless some fundamental security issues can be overcome.