The ITPro Podcast

When you consider the roles that hold influence over business decisions and operations, which come to mind? Doubtless, the CEO and CFO, as well as the COO if you have one. The CMO may also be there – but what about the CIO or CTO? The advent of cloud computing, bring your own device (BYOD), and increasing cyber security threats were all supposed to coincide with CIOs finally having their seat at t...

The potential for cyber attacks will always rank as one of the top concerns for professionals. Over the decades, cyber attacks have gone from a headache for the IT department to something that can bring down an organization. While it's now a bit trite to say it's not a case of if a business is attacked but when, with groups like LAPSUS$, LockBit, and Cl0p regularly targeting companies of all sizes...

Generative AI continues to dominate conversations around tech worldwide. Powerful tools such as large language models have already demonstrated clear value, with a range of business use cases and tons of potential to become even more sophisticated as time goes on. Amongst this progress, however, warnings have been raised. Regulators the world over are carefully assessing the risks posed by AI syst...

In 2023, you might expect that people would be entering the workforce with a basic understanding of computer skills. But this isn't always the case. Although it's more important than ever that people know how to use devices effectively and safely in order to get on in the workplace, some have still not learned the vital digital skills they need. Lloyds Bank’s 2023 Essential Digital Skills for Work...

AI is driving rapid change in the tech sector. New advancements in the field have brought tools like ChatGPT, Bard, and StableDiffusion to the public, while also offering the potential to solve knotty problems in areas such as medical research and climate change. But from the designing phase, right through to training and implementation, AI models must be made with ethical boundaries in mind. With...

Quantum computing is an inevitable technology, with the private sector and nation-states racing to be the first to unlock its potential. While it can be used for all kinds of good, quantum computing could also be used to unravel critical systems. One of the most common ways to protect data is to encrypt it using an RSA algorithm. In simple terms, it relies on the fact that while you can easily mul...

Gender diversity in the tech sector is slowly improving, but data shows that heterosexual and cisgender tech leaders fare better LGBTQ+ peers when it comes to feeling included in their work cultures and raising crucial funding rounds. In its LGBTQ+ Founder report, Proud Ventures found that 18% of founders think their gender identity could have a negative impact on their fundraising, and 79% of LGB...

The move to the cloud has unlocked a huge number of benefits for businesses, but companies still differ over the extent to which they have adopted a multi-cloud approach versus locking in with just one provider. While some cloud customers may be looking to expand beyond the confines of their public cloud provider in a way that makes sense for them, others have already embraced a multi-cloud approa...

Data has become one of the most valuable assets in the world, playing a larger role than ever in our digital economy. Research firm Capgemini predicts that the value of the data created in the EU alone could top €550 billion by 2025. Newham Council in London has launched a bold initiative to put itself at the heart of the capital’s data ecosystem with the creation of a dedicated data campus. This...

Communications service providers can harness a range of benefits by building out 5G networks using cloud-native elements such as microservices and containers. These include reducing capital expenditure, making networks more scalable and flexible, and improving network stability. Moving mobile network services to the cloud, however, is not without its complications. Those with large legacy security...

Generative AI is dominating conversations across the tech sphere right now, and even making its way into discussions in day-to-day life. But for the average IT team, large language models can still seem intimidating, and training or tweaking requires significant computing power and skill. Additionally, concerns around explainability and approachability are still a barrier to some regulated industr...

ChatGPT has taken the world by storm, as a tangible and relatable use of advanced AI. With people inside and outside the tech scene getting equally excited about its capabilities, many businesses have asked themselves if they could – or should – adopt the chatbot into their stack. But while businesses are eager to take advantage of OpenAI’s powerful models, some have advised careful consideration...

Cyber attacks can be one of the most damaging things that can happen to an organization. Whether it’s a data breach or ransomware, falling victim to an attack can be extremely costly and disruptive, so knowing how to react to an attack is as important as knowing how to prevent one. Despite this, businesses continue to struggle with keeping employees engaged with cyber security training. With adult...

As businesses increase their digital estate, insider theft poses an increasingly large risk. Whether it’s through malicious parties gaining access to crucial systems and data or employees stealing information to which they should never have had access, firms should be considering these scenarios carefully. This has been exacerbated by the economic climate, with layoffs and a greater reliance on th...

This classic episode of the ITPro Podcast was first published on 12 March 2021. Recent improvements in fields like robotics, prosthetics and artificial intelligence have brought that dream closer than ever to being a reality - but what does human augmentation really mean? Where do we draw the line between tools and augmentations? And what function - if any - can they serve in a practical business...

Tech Nation – a key player in the UK tech startup scene for over a decade – has shuttered its doors. But Barclays Eagle Labs will continue where its predecessor left off, with millions of promised funding in addition to the government’s £12 million digital growth grant hoped to spur investment. While questions around visa commitments have yet to be answered, firms outside of southeast England coul...

Artificial intelligence (AI) has moved from being a sci-fi staple to a tool that’s in widespread use. Headlines today are dominated with news of generative AI services such as ChatGPT and Bard, the latest and greatest in large language models from firms OpenAI and Google. These promise users a crack at incredibly capable text generation and interpretation based on vast training models, using nothi...

It’s been over a year since Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, and for those in the tech sector cyber warfare has defined the conflict. Ukrainian organisations, both public and private, have been subject to attacks including wiper malware, spear phishing, and data breaches. National cyber security agencies, as well as teams of security experts from throughout the field, remain on high alert...

Metaverse tech has already attracted billions of pounds in investment, and despite its detractors looks set to play a major role in the future of communications and productivity tech. It was also one of the main themes at this year’s Mobile World Congress, where the concept of a CMO - that’s ‘chief metaverse officer’ - was discussed in detail. Companies like Journey, Nike, and Telefónica already h...

Open source software can be found in a huge number of businesses' stacks. Whether it’s to save on expensive software, to fix a problem that a devoted hobbyist has a solution for, or because of its lively developer community, open source solutions run throughout the tech sector. However, in recent years security concerns have damaged the perception of open source software and vulnerabilities like L...

The conversation around UK connectivity is often dominated by the rollout of 5G, or the race for widespread gigabit broadband. But many rural communities and businesses struggle with a lack of even basic connectivity such as reliable cellular service. This has severe consequences for rural businesses, holding back their growth while accelerating brain drain as younger people gravitate towards urba...

Throughout the pandemic, companies across the world rushed to establish cloud services that could prop up the need for remote working. But in recent months, word of a “cloud slowdown” has been building, with some of the biggest vendors experiencing a drop in the growth of their cloud sales. In the third quarter of 2022, AWS reported the slowest growth in its history, while Google’s growth was down...

Old technology stacks can be found throughout the sector, especially in companies that have been around for more than a few years. While most firms have undergone digital transformation of some kind, shedding legacy tech is no easy job and can lead people to take the path of least resistance, using a mix of old and new tech across their IT estate. This can lead to big issues down the line. A recen...

IT departments, which have long faced difficulties trying to recruit skilled talent, are now facing an additional challenge as many businesses put a freeze on hiring in the face of economic instability and look to use existing resources as efficiently as possible. With this goal in mind, it’s important to enable employees to be productive, while not leaving them overworked. Improperly organised wo...

Application programming interfaces, or APIs, have become an integral part of maintaining an online business, and are often indispensable for cross-functionality and user experience. However, the increased use of APIs has led to a rise in attacks against them. This can in turn cause breaches of company data or even full account takeovers. Improperly-managed APIs are a key attack surface and firms w...