The new company, which has not been named yet, will enable doctors and healthcare facilities to share patient information, streamline and manage new payment models, and shift focus from single-patient care to continuous population management, said Jeffrey R. Immelt, chairman and CEO of GE.

“The global healthcare challenges of access, cost and quality of care delivery are creating a new focus on the performance and accountability of healthcare delivery systems — in every country, at every level of care,” Immelt said in a joint press release issued by GE and Microsoft.  “This venture will demonstrate what is possible when leading companies with complementary capabilities work together to meet a common goal.”

GE and Microsoft are both known for producing a wide range of products and services related to healthcare.  The new joint venture will give users in the healthcare industry the option to mix-and-match some of each company’s most popular and widely-used products, including electronic data-sharing platforms like Microsoft Amalga and GE Healthcare eHealth, as well as Microsoft expreSSO, Microsoft Vergence, and GE Healthcare Qualibria.

“Combining Microsoft’s open, interoperable health platforms and software expertise with GE’s experience and healthcare solutions will create exciting opportunities for patients and healthcare providers alike. Working together, GE and Microsoft can help make healthcare systems more intelligent and cost efficient while improving patient care,” said Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft.

In addition to streamlining communication and making it easier to access patient data, the new company – which is still awaiting regulatory approval before it launches early this year –  is expected to cut down on healthcare-related infections by helping medical professionals more quickly identify patients who are especially at risk.  Additionally, the new venture should make it easier for patients and their doctors to co-manage diseases and chronic conditions by sharing and tracking home testing devices.

What do you think of this announcement?  What’s your take on healthcare and the cloud?  Leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

GE; Microsoft Announce New Developments in Healthcare is a post from Backup Technology's Blog. Contact us today for further information on our Online Backup and Business Continuity services.

The figures echo Google CEO, Eric Schmidt’s belief over the summer that the UK is lagging behind in technology and a national campaign has been set up to get more British people online.  The Race Online 2012 campaign is a strong response to Schmidt’s comments and is hoping to inspire thousands of local digital champions.  Getting online is becoming more and more essential to daily life, particularly with nine out of ten new jobs now requiring online applications.  It has been found that internet users are able to command around ten per cent higher salaries than non-users.

When analysing the statistics, the largest age group online is those aged 16-24, with 98.6% of them using the internet.  But the greatest fall of non-users was amongst those aged 75 and over, numbering 164,000 and yet they are the slowest age group with 72.4% still to get online.

It wouldn’t be surprising that the younger ages are fastest and are of a greater number online and the older ages are longer on the take up.  What is most interesting is the number of adults between 25 and 74 because more than half of adults not online are disabled.  36.3% of disabled adults have not used the internet compared to 10.8% of abled adults.

Research by Ofcom and the BBC show that many still doubt the benefits and have an ‘initial lack of confidence in taking their first steps online’ and further suggested that families and friends play a key role for nearly all recent adopters of the web.  It is on this basis that the Give an Hour campaign, led by digital champion Martha Lane Fox, is encouraging 30 million daily users in the UK to help their friends and families get online.

“A growing gap exists between those who are online and those who are not, as the internet becomes more of an essential utility for consumers,” said Jonathan Stearn of Consumer Focus.

“The Government must provide even more targeted support to those who lose out the most. That means tackling real barriers over cost, access, security fears, and computer skills.”

Growing Number of Britons Online is a post from Backup Technology's Blog. Contact us today for further information on our Online Backup and Business Continuity services.

CEO Simon Chappell and Stewart Parkin, Sales Manager, greeted students at their head office premises for the evening presentation.  Simon started the event by welcoming and introducing students to the company.  He explained the graduate roles available in sales and technical support, as well as details of company case studies with Liverpool Football Club and the British Red Cross.  Information was also shared on company events such as the Backup 500 Challenge, where staff raised more than £1500 for Macmillan Cancer Support and training events in Toronto, Canada with partner Asigra.

Stewart Parkin, Sales Manager shared with students his career in IT.  Also, an alumnus of the University of Leeds, he graduated with a degree in Computing in 2008 and he has since progressed with Backup Technology to gain many of his own clients, including a number of household names. With the ever increasing competitiveness for graduate jobs, Stewart advised to students ‘It is tougher these days to get a graduate job, but it is important to carry on as you are, meeting companies and learning as much as you can before you applying for roles.’  The talks were followed by networking and a personal buffet, in the company’s new breakout room.

It was the first time for the Careers Centre to hold a presentation off campus and in a company’s headquarters.  It was also the first time that Backup Technology had hosted a careers presentation at their head office. As a growing small business, the small number of students meant that CEO Simon Chappell could share and provide more for these interested students.

‘It was fantastic to get to meet the students and it was a privilege to have them come to our building.  The market is getting tougher for them and we wanted to provide the opportunity for the keenest of students to find out what we’re looking for in new employees’ said Simon.

Second year Computer Science student, Donald Whyte, was one of the five students that attended and he commented

‘It was nice being brought into the actual company’s office and meeting the CEO, and I think I learnt more about the organisation and what it would be like to work there because of that. That personal touch made Backup Technology feel more like a place where we would actually be valued, rather than a large organisation which would use trained employees to deliver presentations to hundreds of students’ he said.

If you are final year student or recent graduate and interested in applying for one of our roles in sales or technical support, please email cv@backup-technology.co.uk

Backup Technology shares advice for a career in IT is a post from Backup Technology's Blog. Contact us today for further information on our Online Backup and Business Continuity services.

Adrian Walsh, Director of RoadSafe says: “It’s a frightening thought that people are checking their smartphones whilst driving. Many studies from across the world prove that drivers using phones are slower to respond than those who are just over the drink-drive limit. It is dangerous to use a phone – even hands free when driving.”

These are shocking figures considering that drivers are four times more likely to crash using their mobile phone behind the wheel.  The problem is even more prevalent amongst university and college students, a US survey found that some students are so addicted that they at least 44% check their Facebook before brushing their teeth in the morning.  Although there is a lot of emphasis placed on personal social media activities, social media for business use is also part of the problem.

One fifth of those surveyed confessed to be unable to go fifteen minutes without checking their smartphones for a range of reasons including emails, Facebook posts and Tweets.  The increased efficiency of a smartphone is also an increased distraction.  Clients, colleagues and suppliers now expect answers and issues to be handled almost immediately.

Gareth Kloet, Head of Car Insurance at Confused.com says: “Our research shows that although people are aware of the consequences involved, they struggle to tear themselves away from their mobile phones and social media. Using these devices, while driving, is incredibly dangerous.”

In support of how dangerous social media is whilst driving, a dramatic fall in traffic accidents this week has been directly linked to the three-day disruption in BlackBerry services. Traffic accidents fell 20 per cent from average rates on the days BlackBerry users were unable to use its messaging service. In Abu Dhabi, the number of accidents this week fell 40 per cent and there were no fatal accidents, when usually on average, there is a fatal accident every two days.

“Absolutely nothing has happened in the past week in terms of killings on the road and we’re really glad about that,” Brig Gen Al Harethi, director of the Abu Dhabi Police traffic department said. “People are slowly starting to realise the dangers of using their phone while driving. The roads became much safer when BlackBerry stopped working.”

So how are we to receive the innovation from US car manufacturer General Motors (GM), ‘a new social media interactive program for the car’?  An upgrading of the OnStar service will allow drivers to verbally dictate messages to update their Facebook status via the OnStar Facebook application.  The service allows subscribers to listen to their most recent news feeds with just a push of a button and removing the needs to fiddle with a mobile device.  It could just be like listening to some kind of interactive Facebook Radio.

Sources:  http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/10/17/facebook-addicts-risking-their-lives-logging-on-while-driving-115875-23494944/

http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/blackberry-cuts-made-roads-safer-police-say

Dangers of Social Media & Driving is a post from Backup Technology's Blog. Contact us today for further information on our Online Backup and Business Continuity services.

At the Techmesh & IT Expo in Leeds this week, Ajaz Ahmed, founder of Legal365.com commented on this idea when looking at the Sunday Times Tech Track 100. He identified that the top four listings were not even IT or technology related and in fact, top of the listing was high interest loan company, Wonga.com. The UK technology market is saturated by British companies replicating rather than innovating new ideas. For example, yet another television campaign has been launched for a regional discount website called Wowcher.

According to Schmidt, the UK has failed to capitalise on its record of innovation in science and engineering. Schmidt in particular referred to a comment by Lord Sugar, star of the hit BBC programme The Apprentice, who recently claimed on the show that “engineers are no good at business”. Executive Chairman of world’s most successful search engine Google and an Electrical Engineering graduate, Schmidt disagrees. This same engineering technology veteran helped the founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin build Google search engine.

Schmidt told MediaGuardian at the festival: “You need to bring art and science back together.” He believes that Britain should look to the “glory days” of the Victorian era for reminders of how the two disciplines can work together. Schmidt’s comments echoed sentiments expressed by the late Steve Jobs, the chief executive of Apple. “The Macintosh turned out so well because the people working on it were musicians, artists, poets and historians – who also happened to be excellent co/mputer scientists.”

So, the techies should not be disregarded for being boring, nor the creatives be pushed aside for being outrageous and neither should be labelled for lacking business skills. Together, their qualities have the potential to create global enterprises. Like Google, for example.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/aug/26/eric-schmidt-chairman-google-education

UK Lagging Behind In Technology – What Can We Do? is a post from Backup Technology's Blog. Contact us today for further information on our Online Backup and Business Continuity services.

This latest attack that occurred between 7^th and 10^th October isn’t on the same scale as to previous security breaches. On their website, Sony stated “less than one tenth of one percent of users across the three networks may have been affected in the latest incident.”

Chief information security officer Philip Reitinger stated that “We are currently reviewing those accounts for unauthorized access, and will provide more updates as we have them. He later added that “Only a small fraction of these 93,000 accounts showed additional activity prior to being locked.”

Sony has started the procedure of informing those affected by sending an email which instructs them to reset their password in order to reduce the possibility of such a breach occurring again. It has been speculated that the information leading to the data breach may have been taken from other companies but so far Sony has refused to comment on this as their investigation continues.

This latest case is one that Sony really could have done without as they attempt to regain the trust of millions of people after a string of security breaches. The most prominent breach occurred in April when hackers stole details of 77 million gamers which resulted in the PSN being shut down by Sony for 40 days.

Sony Suffer New Security Breach is a post from Backup Technology's Blog. Contact us today for further information on our Online Backup and Business Continuity services.

Surrey and Sussex chief executive Michael Wilson said “All staff should always use encrypted memory sticks when transferring patient data. It is regrettable that this didn’t happen on this occasion and the member of staff has been taken through the Trust’s disciplinary procedures and has received further training.”

An unexplained issue regarding this data loss is that the hospital has a policy in place that demands that all data being kept on removable data drives should be encrypted. This case shows a clear sign of negligence and raises concerns over how much data is being transported without being encrypted beforehand

The Check Point UK managing director, Terry Greer-King stated “The incident shows that security policies do need to be enforced by solutions that automate data encryption and bar the use of unauthorised devices, so that users have to adhere to those policies.”

This isn’t the first time and most probably will not be the last time that data from hospitals is lost, compromising sensitive and confidential data belonging to hundreds of patients. Only last year, an unencrypted USB stick belonging to the East & North Hertfordshire NHS Trust which contained details of patients conditions and treatments was carelessly lost on a train by a junior doctor.

This latest case isn’t good reading for those involved in the NHS as The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) released figures in 2010 showing that the NHS recorded the highest number of data loss incidents of any UK sector.

It is very clear that the NHS Trusts have been treated very leniently regarding incidents of data loss and have managed to avoid the punishments and sanctions that private companies face if such incidents occur.

Grant Taylor, a VP with encryption and security specialist, Cryptzone stated “Had this been a private company, rather than an NHS Trust, the organisation would have been publicly censured and a large fine levied under the Data Protection Act.”

Data loss affects 800 hospital patients is a post from Backup Technology's Blog. Contact us today for further information on our Online Backup and Business Continuity services.

Practice leader Darryl Salmons urged Chief Information Officers (CIOs) more space needs to be freed up for innovation and new ideas.  To do this, UK businesses need to simplify and standardise their IT systems.  Without the right IT governance in place, employees struggle to implement any innovative ideas.

Innovation may feature highly on the CIO agenda, but according to Kurt Salmon ‘…the execution often falls short of the ambition. Reasons for this range from the mundane, such as there being insufficient time or capacity to devote to it, to the more fundamental, such as organisational or cultural barriers, or insufficiently defined processes and governance for capturing ideas and seeing them through to fruition.’

This indicates that the real challenge for businesses is to build innovation into their organisations whilst taking care of their daily workloads.  Innovation maybe high on the CIO’s agenda, but other issues may take priority such as budget costs, productivity and security leading Kurt Salmon to conlucde that ‘innovation through IT remains more of an aspiration than a habit’.

From this perspective, Salmons advised businesses focus on the following four key principles to help prioritise their projects: simplification; standardisation; modularisation; interoperability.

Outdated IT Prevents UK Innovation is a post from Backup Technology's Blog. Contact us today for further information on our Online Backup and Business Continuity services.

Work is carried out alongside Facebook’s in-house team which work full time to identify flaws in their code.

The minimum a person can be rewarded is $500 however their has been reports of people receiving up to $5,000 for a  “really good report” according to a Facebook representative.

Joe Sullivan Facebook’s chief security officer commented that the “program has been great because it has made out site more secure – by surfacing issues large and small, introducing us to novel attack vectors and helping us improve lots of corners in our code.”

The program is designed to improve security across an extremely complex technological environment and is a unique way to engage with the security research community.

Facebook has an obligations to keep security on it’s platform under the strictest  scrutiny possible and has done so with relative success up until now.

“People on our site agree that our protections, coupled with common sense, provide a rigorous level of security.”

Facebook’s Bug Bounty is a post from Backup Technology's Blog. Contact us today for further information on our Online Backup and Business Continuity services.

The project ensures that the government stays compliant with regulations such as the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) which states that only US citizens may access data regarding weapons, as well as other items which have been banned from export on the US munitions list.

An Amazon spokesman said “because Amazon Web Services’ GovCloud is physically and logically accessible by US persons only, government agencies can now manage more heavily regulated data in AWS while remaining compliant with strict federal requirements.”

Amazon have tactically worked alongside the US federal government in order to help achieve their target of shutting down approximately 40% of the 2,000 plus data centres they have, saving approximately $3 billion.

Other big players are however in the mix to gain responsibility of government data including Google, IBM and Microsoft. Overall $20 billion in revenue has been identified that can be utilised to move a quarter of the federal IT infrastructure to the Cloud, saving $5 billion annually.

Amazon’s new offering complies with all the other portions of its public cloud but additionally allows compliance with other regulations governing federal data such as the Federal Information Security Management Act and Portability Act. In addition the new invocation supports many existing security certifications including FISMA, SAS-70, ISO 27001, FIPS 140-2 compliant end points, and PCI DSS Level 1.

Amazon Role Out G-Cloud is a post from Backup Technology's Blog. Contact us today for further information on our Online Backup and Business Continuity services.