In this week's Computer Weekly, we hear from Visa Europe CIO Steve Chambers on the technology behind the credit card transactions that retailers rely on. We examine the challenges facing the government's G-Cloud project; and we ask how Microsoft will cope when customers no longer want to purchase software licences. Download the new issue now. 

In 30 minutes, we'll introduce you to QuickBase, the leading, hosted workgroup application platform. 

In just a half hour, we can show you how the web-based QuickBase from Intuit offers a refreshingly powerful, flexible and affordable solution for busy teams to better manage projects, information and processes. 

This report, the second in a series of studies looking at the impact emerging online applications have on B2B technology marketing, finds that blogs and Real Simple Syndication (RSS) are catching on more quickly than previously thought. 

This perspective paper covers the forces that are driving the m-commerce market, the benefits available, and the kinds of business models and partnerships that are seeking to achieve that credible scale over time. 

This paper shows the industry-wide acceptance of SIP and the recent advances of the open source software projects related to Voice over IP (VoIP). Read why the author firmly believes that the VoIP open source is still in its infancy, but its acceptance and product maturity will grow rapidly over the next few years. 

Although pay levels are unlikely ever again torise as fast as they did at the end of the 1990s when fears about the “millennium bug” stoked thefires of an already over-heated job market – or to fall as fast as they did when the bug failed to bite– employers are acutely aware of the need to keep a close eye on short- and long-term pay trends. 

The automation of traditional paper based processes with technology can lead to unnecessary complexity. This leads to increased costs and other challenges which can be avoided if solutions are simple and fit closely to the business task in hand. 

Retaining talented staff will be one of the biggest headaches for the IT department this year, despite the continuing economic downturn, leading CIOs heard. IT staff are feeling financially squeezed after several years of below-inflation pay rises, and many realise their only prospect of securing a higher salar y is to change employer. 

Until recently, organizations implementing cloud technologies have been forced to weigh the security advantages of private  cloud against the elasticity and pay-as-you-go model of public clouds. Now, with a new private in-house cloud service offering from CSC, organizations will be able to enjoy the best of both worlds. 

Companies should consider investments in time and attendance applications as a low-risk, low-cost way to reduce payroll costs and improve productivity.  Companies that already have time and attendance applications should consider maximizing the breadth of their deployment or extending it to other workforce-related functions. 

ROBERT WALTERS SURVEYED APPROXIMATELY 200 PROFESSIONALS WORKING IN THE IT SECTOR.  THE RESULTS SHOW THAT A HIGH PROPORTION HAVE VERY MODEST SALARYAND BONUS EXPECTATIONS.