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News
posted 5 Oct 2004
IT workers talk after council’s remarks
Swansea City Council has entered into talks with the union representing striking IT workers shortly after a marked deterioration in labour relations between the two sides saw the council take a verbal swipe at the union.
The council agreed to meet with UNISON on 17 September 2004 under the direction of an arbitrator to try and resolve the dispute, which centres on the proposed outsourcing of the city’s IT services to the private sector. They were scheduled to meet again on 24 September. The latest development came as UNISON began balloting 5,000 members at the council on further industrial action in support of the IT staff. Results were due to be announced at the end of September.
IT employees have been on strike since 16 August 2004. Staff voiced concerns about their future status if they are transferred to one of the bidders short listed for the venture, ITNET and Capgemini.
Prior to the sides agreeing to meet, Gerald Clement, deputy leader of the council, accused the union of “playing with people’s lives”.
“Unison is holding the council and the people of Swansea to ransom,” he said. “If Unison goes on all-out strike are they happy for people not to be buried, weddings to be postponed, rubbish left in the streets, children not to be educated and the most vulnerable and needy left without vital support?”
Clement’s statement came after about 500 people joined a UNISON march in Swansea on September 8 to show support for striking staff. Clements reacted to that development by accusing UNISON of trying to hijack public services, acting in self interest and having a hidden agenda.
BP allows internet access to corporate systems
In a reversal of traditional IT security, oil and gas giant BP says almost ten per cent of its employees will be using the public internet, rather than a corporate intranet, to access business applications by the end of 2004.
The move is a drastic switch from the more common practice of giving users secure access to an internal system via a private link or a secure virtual-private network.
Paul Dorey, director of global security for BP, told ComputerWeekly.com the internet is the most cost-effective and reliable way to provide network access.
“We operate in 135 countries and the telco infrastructure is not consistent,” he said. “We have found that the internet is more consistent than other networks.”
BP says its staff will be able to use an internet browser to connect to corporate applications, similar to the way people connect to internet banking services. Eventually BP hopes to have 60 per cent of employees and business partners connecting to the company via the internet.
Avocado producers to link through intranet
A dedicated intranet will soon allow avocado producers to link with packers and importers to more effectively develop strategies to control and market the massive increase of the fruit in the US market.
AvoHQ.com is due to launch on 1 November 2004, under the control of the Hass Avocado Board, a division of the California Avocado Commission. Hass is the dominant variety of the fruit produced in the US.
The intranet is being created at a time when US producers are facing the chance of increased competition at home from Mexican growers, whom the US Department of Agriculture may allow to sell their fruit year-round in all states.
Avocado grower Jerome Stehly told the North County Times the intranet will help avoid the flooding of the avocado market. “If we know there are all these trucks coming across the border from Mexico, or all these boats are coming from Chile, then we know when to pick and when not to pick our avocados,” he said.
Oracle eyes content-management tools
Software and database powerhouse Oracle is said to be planning a move into the content-management market later this year, an analyst has predicted.
Alan Pelz-Sharpe of IT-research company Ovum told CNET News.com the company would release the product at its Oracle OpenWorld conference in December. Code-named Tsunami, it will combine enterprise-content-management functions into Oracle’s main suite of business products.
Pelz-Sharpe based his predictions on interviews with Oracle customers and employees, one of whom confirmed the company’s general plans with only vague details.
“We have leveraged our expertise in the management of unstructured data to deliver a significant upgrade to our content-management capabilities,” Oracle vice president Greg Doherty said.
UK launches e-government guide
The UK’s e-government unit has produced the Interactive Guide to Connected Government (IGCG) to assist public authorities in adopting standard infrastructure and a suggested list of generic e-government components.
The IGCG is part of the government’s commitment to expand and explain its solutions and services to UK Government organisations.
It provides overviews of the central e-government infrastructure components available in the UK, describes the process of planning and implementing them and outlines charging mechanisms.
Albania gets government intranet network
The Albanian government has started to share and collect information more efficiently after launching an intranet with the help of the European Commission and the United Nations Development Program.
The system, created for a cost of $310,000, will link ministries in the south-eastern European nation and enable secure e-mail communication and improved access to official databases.
Previously, government ministries and institutions had internet links and individual websites but these were unlinked as a whole, making it complicated to share information.
New portal for French scholars
Academics at the Institute for Scientific and Technical Information, the technology and science arm of the French National Centre for Scientific Research, now have access to materials through a new portal, BiblioSHS.
The portal, which is supplied by information-solution vendor Ovid, will allow users to access abstracts of articles ranging from political science, geography, art and philosophy. BiblioSHS enables users to stay current on these topics by accessing full text results of peer-reviewed content wherever it resides.
www.ovid.com
IBM buys Venetica
In a bid to boost the capabilities of its DB2 Information Integrator content-management component, IBM has purchased content-management vendor Venetica.
Venetica sells enterprise content-integration software that aids access to unstructured data, such as business documents, still images, digital media and web pages – much like IBM's DB2 product.
Venetica's operations will be combined with IBM's information-integration group as part of its information-management software business.
Intranet access for call centres could save £500m per year
Local authorities in the UK could save £500m per year by giving call-centre agents access to intranet-based information, a research report has revealed.
The report, conducted by business-intelligence software vendor APR Smartlogik, suggests such access would bring call-handling efficiency into line with the private sector average. In local authority call centres, the average call length is 4.51 minutes with cost per call at 94p, compared with the commercial average of 3.3 minutes and a cost of 63p.
Although e-government initiatives focus on migrating citizen enquiries online, roughly half of the UK electorate does not have a home internet connection and continue to use services like call centres to communicate with councils.
Xerox picks up HSBC and Boeing
Banking group HSBC and aerospace giant Boeing have both signed multi-million dollar contracts with Xerox.
Xerox won a US$23m contract for document services with the Brazilian and UK divisions of HSBC. At Boeing offices across the US, Xerox will implement a document-management solution designed to reduce costs through a combination of office multifunction systems and a managed-services approach. They will provide Boeing with on-site service and support while operating the technology. Financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed.
www.xerox.com
IM compliance event nears
Following the success of its first similar event, Ark Group will soon launch IM Compliance Connect II.
The event is designed for information managers and other senior decision makers currently involved in compliance projects for their organisation. Taking place in London on 9-10 November, the event will guide delegates through business-strategy processes, the practicalities of implementation and the best technology solutions to create a specific business model to meet compliance requirements.
The format of the event is a combination of case-study presentations, networking, practitioner-led workshops and one-to-one meetings with solution providers.
Practitioners attending include Barclays Group, Royal Mail, Walker Morris Solicitors, BT Group, Credit Suisse First Boston, Standard Life Investments and Luton Borough Council.
