Ft Connected Business

In this week's podcast: We look at how gas mains, drains and water pipes could hold the key to boosting fast broadband in Europe, and hear from the CIO of UK local authority, East Sussex County Council, on how tablets and 4G are helping it to cope with budget constraints. Plus: how businesses are updating their supply chain intelligence, to cope with new rules on conflict minerals. Presented and produced by Stephen Pritchard  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this week’s programme, we look in-depth at information security. Data privacy and security continues to move up the agenda, with governments, as well as businesses, increasingly concerned about the threat posed to – and by – information. We speak to Richard Archdeacon, of HP’s enterprise security services division, on how businesses are having to tackle a wider range of threats, and Quentyn Taylor, head of information security for Canon in EMEA, about protecting customer data. And we ask biometric experts Mark Crego and Cyrille Bataller of Accenture whether that security technology is now ready for business.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this week's podcast: We hear from PA Consulting's Nathan Sage, MWD Advisors' Angela Ashenden, and Rob Howard, founder of Telligent, about how social tools and social intelligence are changing the workplace. Presented and produced by Stephen Pritchard  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this week's podcast: In a special programme, we hear from technology commentator Peter Cochrane, Shaun Collins of analysts CCS Insight, Allen Brown, CEO of the Open Group, Chris Watson, of law firm CMS, Matt Peers, CIO at Deloitte and Gartner's Mark Raskino about the key technology events of 2012, and their outlook for the coming year. Presented and produced by Stephen Pritchard  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this week’s podcast: We hear how the frozen foods business – Igloo Foods Group – started from scratch with its IT, following a buy out from its parent company. We speak to Constellation Research’s Ray Wang, about a trend that is attracting a lot of interest in boardrooms: gamification. And we look at the growing cost of data storage, and what business can do about it. Presented and produced by Stephen Pritchard  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this week's podcast: How are companies coping with IT budgets that are, at best, flat? And how can smart technology help funds go further? We speak to Ernst & Young, Gartner and YouGov about ensuring that IT is effective, and pays its way.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this week’s podcast: In a special show focused on the high-octane world of motor racing, we hear how the Lotus F1 team is updating its back office IT, so it can put more resources into racing, and how Sahara Force India updated its website to provide a better service to its fans. Plus, F1 data specialists QuantumBlack on what businesses can learn from the sport. Presented and produced by Stephen Pritchard  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this week's podcast: We examine the role of the chief information officer today. Who is leading IT in the business today, and how is IT providing better tools to business leaders? Our guests are Mark McDonald from Gartner, David Elton from PA Consulting, and Frank Modruson, CIO of Accenture. Presented and produced by Stephen Pritchard  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this week's podcast: We speak to Autodesk CEO Carl Bass about how smartphones, tablets and the cloud are changing the software industry, and to author David Gray about his new book, The Connected Company. Plus, our series on how businesses are using IT continues with a look at a supply chain project at Danone Italy. Presented and produced by Stephen Pritchard  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this week's podcast: What are the strategic priorities for IT in the financial services sector? We speak to Ovum analyst Daniel Mayo, and we hear how Greece's Generali Insurance is cutting down on paperwork. Plus: Cyber Security Month, and Europe's largest ever cyber wargames exercise.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this week's podcast: How is consumer technology changing IT – and how is the change in IT changing how we do business? We speak to Gartner's David Willis, Eversheds' CIO Paul Caris, and investor and technologist Daniel Steeves about the way consumer devices and services are replacing "enterprise" technology for more and more day-to-day tasks.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this week's programme: We hear from Accenture's Jeanne Harris about changing priorities for IT, and how the IT department could be in need of an overhaul. We also speak to Adobe about how businesses are making more use of video online, and we start a new series focusing on companies using IT in innovative ways, with Javier Christie from Australian company Coates Hire. Presented and produced by Stephen Pritchard  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this week’s programme: We hear from business guru and author Erik Brynjolfsson about the need to strike the right balance between technology, jobs and prosperity. And we speak to Accenture’s director for aerospace and defence, Damien Lasou, about the growing role of IT in the aviation industry. Plus: Rene Batsford, head of IT at the sandwich chain Eat, on how his company is using business intelligence to improve stock levels, improve sales, and cut down waste. Presented and produced by Stephen Pritchard  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this week's programme: In just a few weeks’ time, athletes and sports fans will converge on London for the 2012 Olympic Games. The Games will be significant users of technology. But they are also having a significant effect on businesses, both on the demand for their services, and on how they carry out their day-to-day work. We speak to Tim Boden, technical director of London 2012 at BT, Fred Deschamps, head of price optimisation at hotels company Carlson Rezidor, and to Stephen Bailey, an IT expert at PA Consulting, about the impact of the Games.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this week’s programme we look at how businesses are coming to terms with the growing volumes of data they have to collect and keep. And we look at how technology is helping firms to translate those data into new, more accurate predictions and insights. We speak to big data users at Ernst & Young and the Technical University of Denmark, and industry analysts Freeform Dynamics. Presented and produced by Stephen Pritchard  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this week's podcast: We look at how companies can use IT to bring new products to market more quickly, and how a new technical standard, COBIT 5, could help businesses improve their data security. Plus we speak to financial services firm Thomas Murray about how it is using open source software to streamline its marketing. Presented and produced by Stephen Pritchard.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this week's podcast: What do we understand by the cloud, how should companies decide which IT to run there, and how do they go about moving to the cloud? Plus how the UK's Met Office is using the cloud for a citizen-based weather observation project. Presented and produced by Stephen Pritchard  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this week’s podcast: Is Big Data a useful tool for business, or is it just the latest technology trend to be overhyped? The consultants at KPMG think firms may be paying too much attention to poor data. But boards are not paying enough attention to information security, and even when they do spend money, they may not feel safer, argues PA Consulting. Plus: Gartner's Michael Smith on how companies can drive more value from their investments in IT. Presented and produced by Stephen Pritchard  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Are businesses ready to deal with security risks and privacy laws? We ask Chris Watson, partner for telecoms, media and technology, at law firm CMS, to Jay Heiser and French Caldwell of industry analysts Gartner, and Hakan Carlbom, CIO of the Stockholm-based private equity house EQT for their views. Presented and produced by Stephen Pritchard  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this week’s podcast: We look at how companies are aiming to save money, and be more flexible, by renegotiating their outsourcing contracts; at how one company has replaced conventional customer service with web-based social media tools for its users; and what happened when a UK mobile operator - in a test of Olympic readiness - told two and a half thousand staff to work remotely. Presented and produced by Stephen Pritchard  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.