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. 

The Corporate Executive Board IT Budget Benchmarking Survey assess IT spending,  staffing, and outsourcing levels at more than 175 organizations globally, representing roughly US$38 billion in IT spend. Download for the latest IT budget trends. 

In order to combat the ever-evolving challenges of today’s networks, it’s time to head back to school in our exclusive Network Evolution University – Featuring three distinct classes and nine progressive learning lessons that explore all there is to know about next generation networks and how to overcome the challenges they present. 

The value of the IT market for smart cities globally is approximately $35bn, according to this in depth analysis from Ovum. 

Active Administrator™ is a comprehensive and proactive Active Directory management solution. Active Administrator provides four powerful integrated AD management features within one console, including centralized event auditing and reporting, back-up and recovery, Group Policy offline editing and rollback, and simplified delegation of AD rights. 

This  guide from the Open Group, offers advice on assessing how cloud fits into your IT organisation 

This week’s Computer Weekly contains an exclusive interview with JP Morgan COO India Gary-Martin about juggling multiple legacy IT systems while keeping the merchant bank compliant. We also look at how near-field communications technology promises to revolutionise consumer spending and we ask whether 2012 could be the year that APM becomes vital? 

Cleantech is emerging as a suitable alternative source of energy or a means of reducing  consumption of expensive resources, this report from Grant Thornton reveals. 

Ovum analyses data growth, big data, disk shortages, public cloud storage, flash memory, and other storage trends. 

When it was time to refresh the headquarters' IT infrastructure, the Earth Rangers IT group knew that any new computer systems had to meet their own high environmental standards. In this case study, you'll learn why they decided to create a virtualized server infrastructure using solutions from Dell and VMware and the benefits achieved. 

The Economist Intelligence Unit reviews changing expectations for technology and assesses their implications for  CIOs, the IT function and the business. 

Each year, the Storage magazine and SearchStorage.com editorial teams – as well as a group of independent storage experts and IT pros – select the enterprise data storage Products of the Year in five categories. The February cover story announces the winners and why these new and enhanced products stand out from the pack. 

This exclusive research reveals what IT professionals really think about technology, their employers, and their careers