Business Technology

Smartphone users running on outdated software are at risk.

It’s the holiday season in the USA while I type this. I’ve always found this time of year to be just a bit annoying, because the holidays get in the way of work. Workaholic: A recent picture of your correspondent… The winter holidays are just a wee bit different out here than they are in [...]

Google Inc is to start charging small businesses $50 for Gmail, word processing and other apps included in its web-based office productivity software. The fee comes as the internet giant struggles to expand revenue beyond its core advertising services, Reuters reports. In a post on the company’s blog, Google argues this change will allow it [...]

New technology causing loss of productivity is an ongoing bugbear for businesses, and a cause of controversy every time a new technology hits critical mass  First it was the telephone. Decades ago the debate raged as to whether employees should be allowed to make and receive private calls on the office phone. Now it would [...]

A new image-recognition tool is on a mission to revolutionise traditional media and advertising – as well as becoming a lower-case verb Blippar is a revolution for traditional media and advertising offering the power to turn every single piece of printed collateral or physical branding in the real world into an instantaneous, interactive experience. Already [...]

Senior managers face a tricky decision when choosing mobile platforms for their businesses. Should they stick with a tried and trusted recipe, or take a chance on something fresh? They used to say that nobody ever got sacked for buying IBM. Until recently, much the same could be said of Research in Motion (RIM), the [...]

Sue Tabbitt looks at how three very different big-name companies are using Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to protect their business and drive its growth Social media offers a powerful means for companies to engage with customers. Without a clear strategy, they risk being left behind as everything from marketing to dealing with complaints goes social. [...]

Mobile payments offer customers a far richer banking experience and at very low cost, but given the rate at which UK and most global banks are responding, will it be a social media player that corners the market? Anyone still sceptical about the likely impact of mobile payments should look east for evidence of how [...]

Take-up of contactless payments is rising, which could spell the end of checkout staff and create a better understanding of consumers. Will digital money create a new era for retail? Digital money could take shopping back to the past, back to a time when helpful, knowledgeable shop assistants were always on hand with information and [...]

The products may be small but Britain’s microelectronics industry is a huge success story. It’s time for the designers, entrepreneurs and engineers to step into the limelight The recent death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs provoked some extraordinary reactions. “The world has lost a visionary,” said US President Barack Obama. The mayor of New York, [...]