In this week's issue of Computer Weekly, we look at the key technologies that retailers are turning to for IT-enabling customers' Christmas shopping. We examine research revealing the huge cost of application software that fails to meet requirements; and we talk to one of the pioneers of agile software development. Download the new issue now. 

Increasing numbers of enterprises are incorporating project portfolio management in their strategic planning. And just as individuals use financial reports and analyses to consider various investment options, the enterprise uses an analysis called the Business Case to evaluate various project proposals for inclusion in the project portfolio. 

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. 

Design teams across the world collaborate to create and develop prod­ucts. Unfortunately, IT organizations face serious challenges when collaborative teams share large files. This white paper will assess the strengths and weaknesses of the four technologies most commonly used to enhance file sharing for distributed teams. 

The need for strategic information by department and executive managers is driving the transformation of tactical departmental systems into enterprise solutions, regardless of the size of the company employing the solutions. 

Read this resource and discover how you can find the  right cloud solution for your organization's needs. Along the way you'll learn the basics of the cloud, challenges you may need to overcome with a cloud platform, what your peers are saying and what the future may hold for the cloud. 

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

In 2011, Forrester Consulting conducted a study to find out how customer loyalty decision-makers define and execute customer loyalty. Read this study to find Forrester's analysis of how loyalty decision-makers currently use customer data, technology, and analytics to manage customer loyalty programs. 

A company-wide journey to the cloud can be very complex and is accomplished in multiple stages, with many intermediate goals to meet. This white paper discusses how one provider offers the right hardware, software and services to smooth your transition and ensure an optimal cloud experience. 

In this expert e-guide, find out how to optimize SQL Server with the right choices for hardware, storage devices, and virtualization. Inside, find articles on: what not to do when purchasing hardware; if solid-state storage devices are worth the cost; hardware and risk considerations for an inevitable virtualization initiative. 

Find out how 3,637 marketers responded to tough questions about their open, click and conversion rates. Also, find out which tests work best, what's not working, list growth strategies and how email budgets are changing for 2007. Invite your entire team to attend – attendance for this Webcast is free! 

Reporting speed and accuracy are vital today. But it would be wrong to assume that you have to spend more to go faster and do a competent job. This white paper illustrates how some organizations achieved top-tier results in financial reporting and why some did not. 

In August 2011, Forrester Consulting surveyed over 200 leading IT firms in North America and Europe to answer the question, “What are the implications of expanding testing in development, and what does it mean to development quality?”.