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. 

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. 

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. 

This seven-page Buyer’s Guide to Cloud Computing by Computer Weekly journalists details the kinds of cloud offering that CIOs and senior IT professionals will need to take into account as they plan future outsourcing, hosting and application strategies. 

This week’s Computer Weekly, we talk exclusively to Tesco CIO Mike McNamara about why the UK's biggest retailer is spending £150m on its online business. And, with the London 2012 Olympics only weeks away; we look at how IT testing is progressing. 

In this week’s Computer Weekly, Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude talks about releasing government datasets to the public and why open data will drive the next industrial revolution. We also review the latest test version of Windows 8 and see how it shapes up for tablet computers and business users and much more. 

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 Computer Weekly buyer’s guide to IT tools shows how you can use software and systems to improve the running of your IT department. 

This Computer Weekly buyer’s guide to server virtualisation looks at the potential barriers to successful virtualisation and how they can be overcome. 

As CIOs face increasing demands from end-users for access to mobile technologies, organisations are realising that mobile technologies can create profitable business opportunities. 

With IT spending recovering, the datacentre has never been more important to business strategy. 

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