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By silicon.com, 24 April 2007 11:36

NEWS

Ever wondered what CIOs are reading on silicon.com? Our CIO Essentials feature puts you in the picture. Each week a leading IT chief picks his or her top stories from the past week and explains why they matter.

This week we hear from Alan Brown, director of information management and technology (IM&T) at the West London Mental Health Trust.

UK consumers demand data breach disclosure
There seem to be more and more examples of data breaches being reported in the media. Is this because it is happening more often or because it is being found out and reported more often? Either way, I think the openness proposed is welcome. It will affect some people's faith in IT but we need to be open about the issues to ensure that data protection is taken seriously.

Leader: In or out of house?
I particularly liked this leader - I felt it summed up tons of debate in a very succinct way. 'To outsource or not to outsource, that is the question. Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to be at the mercy of external suppliers, or to take the risk of cocking it up oneself.' The cynic in me says that the pendulum forever swings one way and then back again. If that is so, then the answer is to split it in half and have both sides at the same time - have some good suppliers and partners to help you in your weak areas and have your staff understand the business. 'Tis noble to ensure that the focus is on business delivery rather than meeting a contract which says that as long as the service desk answer the phone within three rings then all is okay.

UK faces broadband deadline threat
The move from dial-up to broadband gave people always-on connection and fast download speeds and it has been very popular, with large numbers of the population now on broadband. Will the move to next generation broadband be as popular? How many people need a 20MB download speed? The move to free or bundled broadband with TV and telephone lines is another factor. I think that the technology may soon give way to commercial considerations - Virgin Media falling out with Sky will have affected some people's decision on broadband provider.

Atos Origin NHS contract not in best of health
Being director of IM&T in the NHS I read all articles on NHS IT with a mixture of interest and apprehension - is this going to be a 'programme hits problems' article or an 'NHS Trust reaps benefits' article. In this case it is more the former than the latter. Having worked with Atos Origin in the past I have a lot of confidence in them as a supplier and that the problems will be resolved to everyone's satisfaction. Hopefully the next article on the National Programme will be to report some good news.

Are corporate networks wide open to abuse?
A third of poll respondents say they do not enforce their acceptable usage policy for email and the internet. More awareness of the losses that have occurred may mean people take it more seriously. We know about passwords written on post-it notes under keyboards and laptops left on car seats but what about passing around that joke email - with malware attached. The induction of new staff should include the importance of confidentiality and all existing staff should be given regular reminders.

If you are a UK-based IT director or CIO and would like to take part in the CIO Essentials series by choosing your top five stories of the week, send us an email here at silicon.com.