The ITPro Podcast

Banking is changing; the financial services industry is no more immune to digital transformation than any other sector, and new technologies like cloud platforms, APIs and continuous integration have allowed new challengers to emerge and old incumbents to revitalise their practices. One company that’s helping transform money management is Yolt, an ING-backed startup that has recently added current accounts and contactless cards to its offering. In this week’s episode, we speak to Yolt CTO Roderick Simons to discuss the engineering challenges of this expansion, how the API economy has accelerated Yolt’s business, and why the future of banking is in the cloud.For more information on the topics in today's episode, head to https://bit.ly/ITPP-Yolt.

The 2020 US presidential election has been one of the most divisive in recent memory, but after a seemingly endless wait for results, last Saturday saw Joe Biden predicted as the winner, and 46th president of the United States. Although current president Donald Trump still has three months left in the White House, the focus is now on the incoming leader and what his policy stances may be.But how will a Biden administration approach the tech sector, and all the myriad social issues that intersect with it? Will the president-elect support calls from the likes of Senators Warren and Sanders to break up big tech companies? Will he reinstate Obama-era net neutrality laws repealed by the FCC under Trump? To discuss all these questions and more, we’re joined this week by IT Pro’s US managing editor Justin Cupler.For links to all the topics we've spoken about this week, visit https://bit.ly/ITPP-Biden.

If you’ve spent any time around the PC gaming community in the last thirty years, then you’re almost certainly familiar with Nvidia’s Geforce graphics cards. What you may not now, however, is that the company is also strongly focused on solving next-generation computing challenges - and has been since it was first founded.In this episode, we take a look at Nvidia’s history, its business model and its strategy, including why it’s focusing on AI development, what it plans to do with recently-acquired ARM, and why CEO Jensen Huang should be on next year’s Bake Off. For links to everything to everything we covered in this week's episode, head to http://bit.ly/ITPP-Nvidia

In this special bonus episode, we talk to Raspberry Pi founder Eben Upton about the Raspberry Pi 400, the company's newest device, including what makes the Pi 400 so special, how long it's been in development, and how the company is planning to break into the business market.

Data is a vital commodity in modern business, but there’s a growing movement based on openly sharing it for mutual benefit. This trend has neatly intersected with the ongoing coronavirus crisis, in the form of the track and trace efforts which are being used to measure and limit the spread of the virus - but how exactly is open data being used to fight the pandemic, and what lessons can we learn about the use of open data in a business setting?In this week’s episode, we’re joined by Amanda Brock, CEO of industry body Open UK, to find out more about how open data is contributing to relief efforts, the pitfalls of poorly-planned strategies, and how organisations can collaborate on data initiatives.For links to everything we've spoken about this week, check out http://bit.ly/ITPP-opendata.

Passwords are the foundations of our digital identity, which makes them rich targets for cyber criminals. With the right password, a hacker can accomplish all sorts of nefarious tasks, including theft, fraud and impersonation. So how exactly do hackers manage to make off with our passwords, and what can be done to stop them?In this episode, we discuss the methods - both simple and complex - that cyber criminals can employ to pilfer our credentials, including data breaches, watering hole attacks and social engineering, as well as how you can safeguard yourself against falling victim.To find out more about the topic covered in this episode, head to https://bit.ly/ITPP-passwords.

How do you keep track of canine genetic information, breeding data and a quarter of a billion communications records, all spread across different systems? That’s the challenge being grappled with by Guide Dogs for the Blind, a charity organisation dedicated to helping improve the lives of people who are blind or partially sighted. Like many organisations, Guide Dogs is in the process of unifying its data assets in order to make them as efficient and valuable as possible, and in this week’s episode, we speak to CIO Gerard McGovern about how the project is going. We look at the importance of data warehousing, the benefits of accessible data, and how data can help identify a good dog.For more information on the topics we've spoken about in this week's show, head to http://bit.ly/ITPP-doggo.

As tech continues to dominate our lives, more and more people are looking to software development as a career choice, and an increasing number are entering the workforce as self-taught coders. Tools like Codecademy and FreeCodeCamp have allowed more people than ever to pick up skills in JavaScript and Python, as well as more esoteric languages like C++, Ruby and R.But with so many different flavours to choose from, how can aspiring coders identify which programming languages are worth their time to learn? In this week’s episode, we talk to Jess Cregg, a self-taught developer who has gone from working in comms to being an associate solutions engineer at Twilio, to find out how she made the jump, and what languages prospective devs should start off with.To find out more about the topics we've covered in this week's episode, check out http://bit.ly/ITPP-Lang/

For some IT leaders, operating across multiple public cloud platforms is a conscious strategic decision that they’ve made - but sometimes it’s something that can happen completely by accident, either through pressing business imperative or via shadow IT. So what happens when you unexpectedly find yourself in a multi-cloud world without a plan in place to manage it?It’s a problem that many CIOs are grappling with, particularly in light of the current crisis, and in this episode of the IT Pro Podcast, we sit down with VMware’s director of modern apps and cloud native platforms Ed Hoppitt to discuss how organisations can end up in this situation, as well as what can be done to manage the challenges of it.Head to http://bit.ly/ITPP-Madness for links to everything we've spoken about in today's show.

COVID-19 has been challenging for every sector, but the technology industry has been particularly pivotal during this crisis. The adoption of SaaS tools and cloud collaboration platforms has enabled businesses to transition relatively seamlessly to working from home - something which would have been almost unthinkable ten years ago.However, there have also been some distinctly less successful moments, such as the government’s faltering approach to developing a track-and-trace app in order to try and halt the spread of the virus. In this week’s episode of the IT Pro Podcast, we’re joined by staff writer and occasional guest host Keumars Afifi-Sabet to discuss the highs and lows of COVID-19’s effect on the technology sector.Click over to http://bit.ly/ITPP-COVIDTRIAL for links to everything we've talked about in this week's episode.

If you ever need proof that we’re living in the future, just look at virtual reality; a technology that was considered science fiction less than two decades ago is now available to all for a comparatively affordable price. Despite its rapid development, however, it has yet to find its place outside of niche gaming and tech enthusiast communities. Manufacturers like Lenovo and HTC have tried to bring VR into the business world, but enthusiasm is still seemingly limited. While applications like training, prototyping and collaboration have all shown a degree of usefulness, it appears that VR still lacks a ‘killer app’. In this episode, we look at the development of enterprise virtual reality technology, and whether it’s ever going to crack the big time.For links to everything we've spoken about in this episode, head to http://bit.ly/ITPP-VR.

When it comes to data breaches, one of the most common warnings is that in addition to the potential fines, business disruption and data loss that can occur as the result of a successful hack, the damage to a victim’s reputation can be as bad, if not worse. The commonly-accepted wisdom is that, should you leave yourself open to a cyber attack, customers and partners alike will lose trust in your ability to safeguard their data, and will abandon you in droves.However, there are numerous examples over the last few years of companies who have suffered extremely serious data breaches - often through lax cyber security practices - and appear to have suffered little to no long-term consequences. Whether it’s Ashley Madison, Equifax, Marriott or British Airways, there are plenty of organisations for whom this oft-mentioned reputational damage doesn’t seem to have been very damaging after all.So what effect does a data breach have on a company’s reputation? How does it compare to the operational impacts of a breach? And should companies be concerned about reputational damage in the first place? In this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Rois Ni Thuama, head of cyber governance at Red Sift, to discuss the topic.Head to http://bit.ly/ITPP-Myth to learn more about everything we've spoken about in this week's episode.

Unsurprisingly, the issue of Brexit has been somewhat pushed out of the public consciousness by the ongoing coronavirus crisis - but that doesn’t mean it’s gone away. In less than four months, the transition period will end, and on 31 December, Britain will officially leave the EU. This will have wide-reaching implications in a number of areas, but there are still significant questions to be answered around how it will affect the IT security of UK companies.Issues like the availability of security talent, the integrity of supply chains, intelligence-sharing and more are all going to be impacted when the transition period ends. But what changes can businesses expect to see, and what can they do to prepare themselves for them? In this episode, Adam is joined once again by special guest co-host Keumars Afifi-Sabet to discuss.Head to http://bit.ly/ITPP-BrexitSec for links to everything we've spoken about in this week's episode.

While you may not be familiar with the tech industry’s latest acronym, DARQ, you’ve probably heard of its constituent components: distributed ledger, artificial intelligence, extended reality and quantum computing technology. Three of those four could be set to have a significant impact on the future of security, with possibilities including unbreakable encryption algorithms, AI-enhanced cyber attacks and much more.In this week’s episode of the IT Pro Podcast, we’re joined by RSA CTO Dr. Zulfikar Ramzan to dig into the future of these technologies, and the effect they could have on cyber safety. We discuss why blockchain is the betamax of distributed ledgers, the cost of a quantum attack, and why your next compliance officer might just be a robot. For links to everything we've talked about in this week's episode, head to http://bit.ly/ITPP-DARQ.

AI is increasingly creeping into modern business, as organisations seek to improve efficiencies and speed up their processes. It’s very easy to get this wrong, however, as the UK government recently found out. An AI algorithm designed to issue students’ final grades for A-Levels and GSCEs has caused uproar over the last few weeks as complaints of unfair and inconsistent results led to widespread protests.The Department for Education was eventually forced to backtrack, announcing that the algorithm-generated results would be scrapped in favour of grades based on teachers’ predictions. But why did this AI system get it so badly wrong, and what can businesses learn from this debacle about deploying AI within their own organisations? In this episode of the IT Pro Podcast, we look at what AI can and can’t do, whether it should be placed in charge of important decisions, and why it’s not a good idea to take your hands off the wheel. For the next four weeks, we’ll also be testing out a new format – instead of having a news roundup, each week we’ll be focusing solely on an in-depth discussion of that episode’s topic. Let us know what you think!For links to all the things we've talked about in this episode, head to http://bit.ly/ITPP-snake.

Many people jokingly (and some non-so-jokingly) refer to the dangers posed by so-called ‘killer robots’. The truth is, these people are right - we are at risk from dangerous AI. It just might not come in the form you’d expect.Businesses have been increasingly turning to AI to automate tedious, manual tasks and make them more efficient, but it turns out that hackers have been doing the same thing too. New developments in AI are allowing cyber criminals to launch larger, faster and more effective campaigns than ever before, and this week, we spoke to Darktrace director of threat hunting Max Heinemeyer to find out how and why.We also discuss Microsoft’s very first foldable phone, the departure of one of the world’s oldest laptop companies, and why police use of facial recognition may be on the way out.To find links to everything we've talked about in this week's episode, head to https://bit.ly/ITPP-AIhack.

The perils of running a startup are often talked about, whether it’s trying to secure funding, marshalling the tech you need or establishing your go-to-market strategy - but no company can remain a startup forever. Eventually, every startup needs to try and grow beyond its current stage, undertaking the difficult journey to scale its operation without falling apart at the seams.In many ways, the scale-up stage is the ‘tricky second album’ of corporate operations, and is fraught with new and distinct pitfalls than those faced by founders in the early days of a company’s lifecycle. This week, we’re joined by startup adviser and SmartDebit CIO and director Gavin Scruby, to discuss how companies can effectively meet the challenges of becoming a scale-up.In this week’s news section, we look at what the theft of secret documents from former trade secretary Liam Fox says about data security practises, whether the new iMac represents good value for money, and the conviction of Uber’s self-driving maven Anthony Levandowski. Head to https://bit.ly/ITPP-scaleup for links to everything we've talked about in this week's show.

Once-in-a-lifetime events are, as the name would suggest, very few and far between. Those that are completely unforeseen are even fewer. Unlike the 2008 economic crisis or the dot-com bubble before it, the COVID-19 pandemic is one of those occasions when everyone was taken by surprise and the economic and social implications have already been significant, with more aftershocks predicted.For businesses, this is an extremely tough time and it’s hard to see a light at the end of the tunnel, particularly as things as fundamental as how and where we live and work are being disrupted on a seemingly permanent basis.Data analytics, however, may hold the answer not only to how businesses can survive these turbulent times, but even reinvent themselves and thrive. This week, Adam and Jane are joined by Libby Duane, co-founder and CCO of Alteryx, to discuss this and how organisations can make better use of data analytics in the longer term.In the news this week, some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley have been getting a grilling from the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust panel, Intel has said goodbye to its chief engineering officer following further delays to its next generation of 7nm chips, while 11 UK Councils are being awarded £800,000 to build on digital services created during the pandemic.For links to all the content we've spoken about in this episode, head to https://bit.ly/ITPP-analytics

Security is an unusual field; while it’s one of the fastest-moving areas of IT in some ways, in other aspects it hasn’t changed in decades. For example, phishing, business email compromise and physical infiltration tactics have remained largely unchanged over the years.That might seem odd, compared to the rate of change in other areas, but it’s because these techniques rely on exploiting fundamental quirks of human nature – quirks that allow hackers to manipulate us for their own ends. But what buttons do these attack methods push in our heads and is there any way for us to fight back? In this episode, we talk to Stephen Burke, CEO and founder of Cyber Risk Aware, to learn more.In the news this week, we discuss Minecraft’s migration to Azure, Salesforce silencing Einstein, and the government accidentally breaking data protection rules with its Track and Trace programme.Visit https://bit.ly/ITPP-psych for links to everything we've spoken about in this week's show.

COVID-19 is creating a new normal for all of us; not only have face masks and social distancing suddenly become front-of-mind concerns, many businesses are grappling with remote working - and all of the challenges it brings - for the first time.For IT professionals, even familiar challenges have taken on added levels of complexity. In the domain of cyber security, access management and passwords have become a major focus, particularly as use of cloud and SaaS tools balloon and with many users working from unsecured personal devices.In this IT Pro Podcast Special Edition, brought to you in association with Specops, we discuss how security and IT professionals can face these new – and old – challenges head on.Download Specops Password Auditor free: https://specopssoft.com/product/specops-password-auditor/Download Specops Password Notification free: https://specopssoft.com/product/specops-password-notification/Download Specops Password Policy (free trial): https://specopssoft.com/product/specops-password-policy/

Hacking is one of the glitzier parts of IT, and Hollywood frequently bombards us with images of black-clad hackers hunched malevolently over glowing screens. Sadly, real-world hacking isn’t quite as glamorous as it’s often made out to be - but that doesn’t mean it’s not a fascinating and lively career.In this week’s episode, we sit down with professional pen-tester and Cyberis director Gemma Moore to find out what the life of a hacker for hire is really like, the common security holes that intruders exploit, and why laziness is a hacker’s greatest weapon.Elsewhere, we discuss the Twitterpocalypse which saw verified users barred from tweeting, and the landmark decision by the government to remove Huawei from the UK’s 5G networks, as well as what it could mean for UK businesses.Head to https://bit.ly/ITPP-hackers for links to everything we've spoken about in this week's episode.

How do you weather a storm like coronavirus when you’ve got a small staff, minimal cashflow and a fledgling business? That’s the question being faced by many of Britain’s startups, as they batten down the hatches and try to ride out the current turbulence.This week, we speak to Andrew Roughan, managing director of Plexal - a London-based startup hub - about why startups are well-positioned to cope with the crisis, how co-working spaces can safely reopen and why the government needs to provide more support to struggling startups.We also take a look at the latest developments in the ongoing spat between Huawei and the UK government, the new Thunderbolt 4 standard, and SUSE’s acquisition of Rancher Labs.Click here for links to everything we've talked about in this week's episode: https://bit.ly/ITPP-startup

It’s no secret that there’s a recession looming on the horizon as a result of COVID-19, and increasing numbers of people are finding themselves out of work. There may be an up-side to this seemingly bleak scenario, however: It could be the perfect environment for creating an unprecedented startup boom.As part of this discussion, we dig into the historical links between economic turbulence and startup success, how the tech tools used to deal with coronavirus can accelerate new businesses, and why the surge in demand for tech skills has made it easier than ever to start a new company.In this week’s news section; the Computer Misuse Act may be starting to show its age, Matt Hancock looks to retire the humble pager, and Microsoft promises free up-skilling for all.For more information and links to everything that we've talked about in this week's episode head to https://bit.ly/ITPP-recession.

Since lockdowns came into effect, businesses across the country have been scrambling to institute remote working infrastructure to support employees - but while speed has understandably been a focus, security should not be neglected. In this IT Pro Podcast Special Edition, brought to you in association with RSA Security, we look at how businesses can use the current situation as an opportunity to establish a culture of safe, secure and sustainable remote working within their organisation. We spoke to Just Eat CISO Kevin Fielder and RSA’s director of digital risk solutions Angel Grant to examine the cultural, technological and mindset shifts required to support this move, as well as how embracing sustainable remote working can be a true business accelerator, rather than a box-ticking exercise. For more information on how you can prepare your business for secure long-term remote working, download our special report: https://bit.ly/WP-COVID

We’ve heard a lot about cloud computing, edge computing and various other kinds of computing, but confidential computing is less well known. As an emerging encryption model, it promises to offer greater protection to data as it's being used, supplementing at-rest and in-transit encryption.Protecting against attacks like memory dumps and malicious root user compromise, the development of confidential computing is being spearheaded by the Confidential Computing Consortium, an open-source industry group working to address the problem. In this week’s episode, we talk to Dr Richard Searle, senior security architect at Fortanix and general member’s representative to the governing board of the consortium, about what the technology aims to do.In this week’s news, we discuss Apple’s decision to make its own Mac chips and other announcements from its annual WWDC conference, HPE’s new software portfolio, and the case of a disgruntled ex-director who deleted all the files in her former employers’ Dropbox account.For links to everything we've talked about this week, head to https://bit.tl/ITPP-CCC

As the final day of IT Pro Live dawns, we turn our gaze to the future, exploring how businesses can build a resilient technology stack that will last them into the next decade, as well as looking at some of the emerging technologies and methodologies which could transform business in years to come. Register: https://live.itpro.com/itprolive2020/en/page/ticketsWatch: https://live.itpro.com/itprolive2020/en/page/agenda

As we move on to day four of IT Pro Live, our focus turns to the topic of innovation - a goal often strived for, but frequently stymied by the need to keep regular business operations ticking over at the same time. We'll hear from data experts, IT practitioners and even the founder of Raspberry Pi about how they're keeping innovation alive while still meeting the needs of the business. To register for your tickets, head to https://live.itpro.com/itprolive2020/en/page/tickets, and head to https://live.itpro.com/itprolive2020/en/page/agenda to watch the day's sessions.

Day three of our special IT Pro Live bonus miniseries focuses on security. Featuring speakers such as ex-hacker Greg van der Gaast, RSA Security CTO Zulfikar Ramzan and digital propaganda expert Dr. Samuel Woolley, day three of IT Pro Live is packed to the gills with all of the security insights you need to keep your business safe. Head to live.itpro.com to get your free tickets.

For the second day of IT Pro Live, we're talking all about cloud - including panels on building a minimum viable product, a Q&A with Salesforce on customer engagement amid COVID-19, and a keynote from OpenUK's Amanda Brock. Head to live.itpro.com to sign up for your free ticket.

In the first of five special bonus mini-episodes, we give you a sneak peek about what's coming up during day one of our first ever virtual conference. To register for your free ticket, head to live.itpro.com

For the last few years, vendors and analysts alike have been touting the transformational benefits of 5G, proclaiming that it will unlock new innovations like smart cities and autonomous cars. Here in the present, however, these benefits haven’t quite materialised.Not only that, but many are now vehemently opposed to 5G, claiming (among other things) that it’s linked to the spread of COVID-19, even going so far as to vandalise cell towers. To get the truth on what 5G actually offers, and when we can expect to see the benefits from it, we spoke to Paul Beastall, director of technology strategy at Cambridge Consultants and advisory board member of trade body UK5G.Also in this episode, we look at native Windows applications finally coming to Chromebooks, the CIA’s lacklustre security, and the first step towards password-free banking.For links to everything we've talked about, head to https://bit.ly/ITPP-5G.

Whether it’s the new oil, the new gold, or the new depleted uranium, most businesses agree that data is becoming more and more critical to continued success. Organisations across the world are investing in their data competency, and throughout this process, the office of the CDO has been thrust to the fore.But what exactly does a CDO do? What impact can they have on business? And how much of a priority should it be for businesses to appoint one? To answer these questions, and more, we talked to Caroline Carruthers, author, data expert and one half of data consultancy Carruthers and Jackson. Caroline is also delivering keynote speech at our upcoming virtual conference, IT Pro Live.Also in this episode, we discuss Amazon and IBM’s decisions to limit their sale of facial recognition technology to police forces, what IBM’s cloud outage means for smaller companies, and whether a recent healthcare data leak could put an early end to video consultations.Visit http://bit.ly/ITPP-CDO for links to everything we've spoken about in this episode.

When it comes to gender gaps, most people are familiar with the problem of recruiting women into technology, science, engineering and manufacturing roles, to say nothing of pay disparity and lack of representation at senior management levels.A less well known problem, however, is the gender data gap. Biased data sets fed into artificial intelligence and machine learning systems can disadvantage women in areas ranging from recruitment to healthcare and even financial services. This week, we’re joined by Constanza Di Gennaro, COO of BioBeats to discuss what the gender data gap is, its impact and what we can do to close it.We also discuss Google’s new deal to provide cloud services to the UK government, Zoom’s growing revenue streams and continued security concerns, and plans to protect UK startups from takeovers by foreign companies.Head to https://bit.ly/ITPP-datagap for links to everything we've talked about in this week's episode.

Despite initial hype, GDPR hasn’t been as much of a tectonic shift as some predicted. So, with two years of enforcement now behind it, what kind of impact has the regulation had? Has it succeeded in changing companies’ behaviours? Is it fit for purpose in a world of remote working and quarantines? In this episode, we talk to barrister and data protection expert Dyann Heward-Mills to find out more about how businesses have adapted to the rules, and whether or not they’ve made a lasting impression. Elsewhere, we look at the causes behind the UK’s disappointing 5G infrastructure, HP’s new remote working devices, and Microsoft’s latest bug bonanza.For links to everything that we've mentioned in this episode, head to https://bit.ly/ITPP-GDPR.

In this week’s episode of the IT Pro Podcast, we’re taking a deep dive into some of the most interesting announcements from Microsoft Build 2020, digging into what they mean both for Microsoft’s customers and for its overall strategy. For more information on everything Microsoft revealed made at its virtual show, check out our guide to every Build 2020 announcement.For more information on everything we've talked about this week, head to https://bit.ly/ITPP-Build.

The trend towards remote working has been building up steam for some time now, but it’s been vastly accelerated by the worldwide lockdowns enacted to control coronavirus. As many workers dig in for several more months of working from home, we examine the toll it’s taking on our mental health and how staff and businesses can help support each other.We discuss everything from the importance of a properly-equipped workspace and the tools necessary for proper collaboration, to the under-appreciated role of a tea break and a nice chat in maintaining mental wellbeing.We also take a look at how tech giants’ flexible working policies are coping in the face of continued lockdowns, the UK House of Commons’ digital transformation push, and what happens when hackers hit a star-studded law firm.Head to https://bit.ly/ITPP-sane for links to everything we've talked about in this week's episode.

Many will doubtless be familiar with London’s Natural History Museum as a fun and educational place to visit, but it’s also an important research institution. Alongside its role as a tourist attraction, it also does vital work in the biological sciences field, doing things like species categorisation and climate science research.All of that research involves a huge amount of very precise data, and managing it all is no easy task. In this week’s episode, we speak to Alison Davies, CIO of the Natural History Museum, about the role of data literacy in education, her background in scientific research, and how a giant squid makes her office so interesting to work in.In this week’s headlines, we look at Microsoft’s $100,000 IoT bug bounty, why the UK’s internet still lags behind other countries, and the hacker behind the love bug.For links to everything we've talked about this week, head to https://bit.ly/ITPP-Dino.

Skills and training are a crucial element of running any business, but it’s especially critical when it comes to IT. It’s a running battle to just keep up with what’s needed to operate a company’s current tools, let alone developing proficiencies that will allow you to start expanding into new areas. In this week’s episode, we talk to Brad Mallard, CTO of Fujitsu Global, to find out how one of the world’s largest technology services providers trains and educates its staff. We discuss the e-learning tools that have helped make skills training fun and accessible, the gamification of professional development, up-skilling those already in the business and why learning COBOL gives young engineers a license to print money.We also discuss the hackers who had a sudden attack of conscience, the latest blow in the video conferencing arms race, and whether or not the current crisis caught network security specialists with their pants down.Visit https://bit.ly/ITPP-COBOL for links to everything we've talked about in this episode.

AI is all around us. It’s in everything from cars, to our kitchens, to the applications that power global commerce. Over the past several years, AI development has proceeded at a staggering pace, as companies race to make their machine learning algorithms more and more capable.But all of this development throws up some tough ethical questions: how do you ensure AI is being trained without implicit bias? How can it be used to augment, rather than replicate, human workers? And how, fundamentally, can we ensure it’s being developed in an ethical and responsible fashion? In this week’s podcast, we talk to AI expert and ContactEngine CEO, Professor Mark K. Smith, to try and answer some of these questions.In other news, we discuss the potential motives behind the spike in phishing attacks against the WHO, the pitfalls of not muting your microphone on Zoom, and Microsoft’s new devices offering a slice of normality.For more information on everything we've talked about this week, please visit https://bit.ly/ITPP-Ethical.Thanks to Razer for providing some of its Seiren X microphones for use during the lockdown.

The cloud is eating enterprise IT, and while on-premise applications are going to be around for a long time to come, the importance of being able to successfully take advantage of cloud technologies should not be understated. However, it’s one thing to simply port an existing application to the cloud, but developing software to be run in cloud environments is a different matter altogether.In this week’s episode, Adam and guest host Keumars Afifi-Sabet talk to Red Hat senior solutions architect Erica Langhi, to find out how organisations need to adjust their thinking when developing for the cloud, which tools and processes are best-suited to the task, and how new technologies like containers and microservices are making the job easier than ever.Elsewhere, we also discuss the ‘Fujiwhara’ of patches that IT professionals have been hit with this week, the public spat between Slack and Microsoft Teams, and the ongoing clash over the government’s controversial digital services tax.For links to everything we've mentioned in this week's episode, head to https://bit.ly/ITPP-cloudapps.

It’s no secret that containers have been taking the software development world by storm in recent years, with companies including VMware, Red Hat and more talking up their benefits for developing cloud applications quickly and at scale. But why exactly is there so much buzz around them? What are they good for? And how difficult is it for companies to establish a container competency?In this week’s episode, we talk to Canonical’s vice-president of worldwide field engineering Nicholas Dimotakis to find out why software developers around the world have been jumping on board the container train, and what benefits it can bring for enterprises who want to scale their applications.Elsewhere, we talk about why beleaguered videoconferencing service Zoom has hired Facebook’s former CSO, Nvidia’s role in fighting coronavirus, and how social media has led to some people setting 5G masts on fire.For links to everything we've talked about in this show, head to https://bit.ly/ITPP-containers.

For many businesses and independent IT professionals, IR35 was set to dominate this year; the expanded tax legislation was going to crack down on the use of limited companies by contractors in order to exploit tax loopholes, while simultaneously forcing organisations to pay the national insurance contributions of many of its temporary freelancers.The ongoing coronavirus crisis has now kicked those plans into touch, with the enforcement of the new legislation pushed back until next year - but what impact will this delaying have on IT contractors and those that employ them, and how should they be preparing for when it does finally come into force in 2021?In this week’s episode of the IT Pro Podcast, Adam and guest host Keumars Afifi-Sabet talk to James Poyser, InniAccounts CEO and founder of IF35 comparison site Offpayroll.org.uk, to find out exactly what the changes mean, and how those affected should respond.Visit bit.ly/ITPP-IR35 for links to everything we've talked about in this week's episode.

With a global pandemic currently playing out and curfews, quarantine and restrictions in place almost everywhere, it’s easy to forget that other big news stories are playing out too. This week, Adam and Jane are joined by IT Pro’s US editor, Justin Cupler, to discuss what will still be one of the most important events of the year: the 2020 US presidential election.While Donald Trump has had a tumultuous relationship with the country’s tech sector, the two Democratic candidates – Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden – both have plans that won’t necessarily please the giants of Silicon Valley either.Elsewhere, the COVID-19 outbreak continues to affect almost every aspect of life and business. Microsoft and Google have both announced they’re putting non-critical software updates on hold, while networks struggle to adjust to a sudden shift to mass remote working. Cybercriminals, meanwhile, have taken the ‘opportunity’ to target the World Health Organisation, as well as hospitals in Spain and the Czech Republic, attempting to disrupt research into the novel coronavirus and in the process extort money.Visit https://bit.ly/ITPP-Trump for links to everything we've talked about in this week's show.

Getting the opportunity to reshape a company’s tech platform from the ground up is an exciting prospect, but it’s also one that brings with it no small amount of challenge. There are many aspects to consider, including infrastructure choices, scalability, maintenance and more, but pull it off and you can revolutionise an organisation’s operational capacity.That’s exactly the task that Marc Pell was faced with when he started at insurance company TempCover six and a half years ago. Fast-forward to today, and he’s leading its technical vision as CTO. In this week’s episode, he joins us to explain how he went about reinventing the company’s tech stack and the opportunities it has offered.Elsewhere, we look at how COVID-19 has kick-started a remote working revolution, the pending closure of high street institution Carphone Warehouse, and Microsoft’s latest developer-friendly acquisition.For links to all the articles we've talked about in this week's episode, head to https://bit.ly/ITPP-Platform.

Digital transformation has become a top priority for companies, but many organisations – particularly larger ones – are finding it’s easier said than done. For big, established businesses breaking down the silos that have developed within their company often proves difficult, while smaller organisations struggle to establish processes that work in a smooth and effective way for the future of the business. This is the problem that Solis Digital aims to solve. Co-founded by former professional footballer Jordan Watson, the boutique digital transformation consultancy helps companies use custom apps to drive business efficiency and has worked on projects with organisations including Rolls Royce, the FA and Team GB. We sat down with Watson to find out how these organisations are benefiting from digital transformation, and the challenges they’re facing in the process.We also look at what impact this year’s recently-announced budget will have on the tech sector, the accidentally-announced security flaw in Microsoft’s SMB software, and the launch of several new Kubernetes management tools from VMware.For links to everything we've talked about in this episode, visit http://bit.ly/ITPP-TeamGB.

The coronavirus outbreak has been all over the news in recent weeks, with health warnings, office shutdowns and skyrocketing sales of antibacterials creating an air of borderline panic. But aside from general health concerns, does the tech industry in particular have anything to fear from the COVID-19 crisis? In this week’s episode, we look at the potential impact the virus could have – both positive and negative – on logistics and supply chain management, remote working, events and more. We also discuss what Oracle’s latest round of layoffs says about its cloud strategy, how Cathay Pacific’s data breach fine relates to the state of airline security, and Xerox’s tender offer to acquire HP’s outstanding shares.(Editor’s note: This week’s episode was recorded prior to the news that HP is planning a ‘poison pill’ maneuver to combat Xerox’s plan.)Visit http://bit.ly/ITPP-COVID to find links to everything we've talked about in this week's episode.

Cloud computing is often touted as one of the most efficient ways to run an IT operation within businesses – especially those on the small and medium end of the scale. But it doesn’t come without its own pitfalls, and finding the right platform and partners to help you manage your cloud journey can be more difficult than it first seems.In this week’s episode of The IT Pro Podcast, Jane and Adam are joined by Alex Hilton, chief executive of the Cloud Industry Forum, to talk about how SMBs can navigate the cloud landscape, what level of skills they need and how to avoid mounting costs.We also discuss a lawsuit filed against Oracle for alleged cloud coercion, Keith Block’s sudden departure from Salesforce, and Katherine Johnson, the NASA mathematician who died this week at the age of 101.Visit bit.ly/ITPP-offices to find links to everything we've talked about in this week's episode.

We’ve spoken a lot about workplace transformation over the last few years, whether it’s ‘the office of the future’, new collaboration technologies and SaaS tools enabling different ways of working, or new ultraportable devices enabling more mobility at work. But with so much technology allowing us to work productively from anywhere, do we even need offices at all any more?In this episode, we look at the pros and cons of physical workspaces, examining the technology that helps us circumvent them and debating whether they still perform a necessary function for businesses.Visit bit.ly/ITPP-offices to find links to everything we've talked about in this week's episode.

It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that there’s still a substantial gulf within most organisations between security and the rest of the business, but discussing the problem with other cyber security practitioners is, in many respects, preaching to the choir. In this episode of the IT Pro Podcast, we speak to Kevin Fielder, CISO at Just Eat, about how infosec professionals can break out of the security bubble and start spreading this message to other departments.Check out http://bit.ly/ITPP-bubble for links to all the resources mentioned in this episode.

The issue of Brexit has been looming over the UK for more than three years - but now that it's finally a reality, how can businesses prepare themselves for the changes that lie ahead?We talk to former CIO, experienced IT industry veteran and Gartner VP analyst Stewart Buchanan to find out how much certainty organisations currently have, as well as the best way they can insulate themselves from potential disruption and secure their future productivity.For links to everything we've talked about in this week's show, head to http://bit.ly/ITPP-Brexit.