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Microsoft has announced its most significant update to search engine Bing since its launch in 2009, to include a social sidebar. The new-look search page will begin rolling out over the next couple of weeks and will be split into three sections. This "focuses on bringing you information from the ... 

Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission, has all but confirmed that the controversial anti-piracy bill ACTA may never see the light of day, and is unlikely to be passed as law. Kroes was speaking at Friday's Digital Agenda Internet Freedom Re:publica conference "The European publi ... 

Facebook has filed documents for its upcoming IPO and has set the share price at between $28 and $35 per sharing, valuing the social network at between $85-95bn, slightly lower than the expected $100bn which has been rumoured for months. However, the sum is still the highest ever seen for an inte ... 

LinkedIn has agreed a deal with professional content sharing community SlideShare to acquire the company, in a transaction worth around $118 million. This is subject to adjustments and it's thought that the deal is a combination of 45% cash and 55% stock. The transaction is expected to be complet ... 

RIM has announced that it will offer guaranteed minimum payments of $10,000 (£6,200) to developers who make apps for Blackberry 10 at the annual developer’s conference held recently in Florida. However, apps must have made a minimum of £1000 on their own and must meet RIM’s quality thre ... 

Experts at Gartner have predicted that the IT trade will be unable to keep up with the demand for support, due to the "consumerisation of IT” and the explosion in BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). The sheer volume of smartphones and tablets that will be added to the work place will make it very difficu ... 

The high court has ruled that 5 UK ISPs must block customer access to file-sharing site The Pirate Bay. Internet service providers Sky, Everything Everywhere, O2, TalkTalk and Virgin Media have all been ordered to prevent users accessing the site but BT has asked for a few more weeks to "consider ... 

Mobile network Everything Everywhere (EE) has begun a campaign to pressure the UK government for faster deployment of 4G. The Orange and T-Mobile merger are asking businesses and other networks to join lobbying, as they fear that Britain is beginning to lag behind other countries in the rollout of 4 ... 

Apple has announced a bumper quarter in which it has doubled its net profit, resulting in an increase of 94% year-on-year. This is thanks to record sales of iPhones and iPads and represents a quarterly net profit of $11.6 billion, compared to $6.0 billion a year ago. The company sold 35.1 million i ... 

A US professor is suing Apple claiming that their touchscreen products infringe on a patent he filed in 2005. Slacoljub Milekic claims that he first invented the technology as a testing tool for kids to be able to manipulate images directly on screen in 1997. Milekic is a professor in cognitive sci ... 

Vodafone has agreed a deal to acquire Cable and Wireless Worldwide (CWW) over the weekend. The mobile company have agreed to a sum of £1.044 billion to purchase the company and CWW has announced that they have accepted, subject to shareholder approval. India's Tata Communications last week ... 

The iPad and social media are quickly killing off traditional media such as printed newspapers, magazines, books and even DVDs, studies have shown. In a recent report, Forrester found that a third of all those surveyed said that they use their PCs less often and read fewer books since purchasing a ... 

New research from Forrester suggests that "wearable devices, or "wearables” for short” will hit the consumer market in 2012 and transform our lives in ways "that we are just starting to imagine”. The study found that, with backing from the tech industry's big boys, wearables will move mainstream ... 

Gartner have predicted that Apple's iPad will continue to dominate the tablet market in 2012 and will account for 61.4% of all tablet sales this year, despite the introduction of Windows 8 based tablet devices and the roll out of the Kindle Fire internationally. Worldwide, tablets sales are expec ... 

In a move that has sent shockwaves around the tech world this morning, it emerged that social networking giant Facebook has acquired photo-sharing app Instagram for $1 billion, around twice its most recent investment round valuation. The move isn't really that puzzling, Facebook have struggled to ... 

A report today from the BBC has highlighted the growing threat that hackers pose to the internet, as hacktivist group Anonymous recently threatened to ‘take down the internet'. It is thought that the group plan to perform a DdoS attack using a botnet and ‘Operation Blackout', as it has been du ... 

In a report that is reminiscent of the dotcom boom of the '90s, the Financial Times reported that Internet companies have dominated fundraising throughout the EU during January. Those who recall those early days of the tech boom, where everything from computers to dog food was being sold online and ... 

Employees increasingly expect to use devices of their own choosing at work.  This trend, known as consumerisation or “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD), is potentially diverting the attention of staff away from IT projects.   According to a survey of 1,500 IT professionals in Europe and N ... 

IDC’s new survey on Mobile Enterprise claims that in the next three years, more than one billion workers across the globe will be working remotely or as ‘virtual workforce.’ The survey was lead by Stacy Crook a senior research analyst at IDC on mobile enterprise. The survey shows that of the 1.3 bi ... 

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has begun its Direct Connect service in the UK region with a dedicated direct internet service and a London-based data centre. Amazon’s dedicated network will allow organisations to connect directly to its network, from their datacentre or co-location operations without a p ... 

Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) has continued to lose web browser market share as users adopt offerings from rivals - particularly Google's Chrome browser. Experts predict that IE's market share will slip below 50 per cent by March of this year.Use of IE has been declining relatively ... 

Video conferencing technology has reached a point where it is more effective than traditional conference call solutions - offering much better collaboration potential, according to IDC. The research organisation said the market for telepresence and video conferencing solutions has been growing rapid ... 

Many businesses are planning on abandoning traditional phones in favour of integrated mobile technology and video conferencing solutions as they vie to boost remote working capabilities. According to new figures released by BroadSoft, 82 per cent of businesses have at least some employees that are a ... 

The integration of mobile devices - including smartphones and tablets - has become a top priority for businesses, according to IT analyst IDC. The organisation claims that so-called 'bring your own device' initiatives are becoming commonplace across the world of business - not just in IT departments ... 

Modern technologies - such as video conferencing - are helping to boost service mobility in the healthcare industry. According to Verzion Wireless, new communications solutions are helping to improve end-user experience and bolster the efficiency of healthcare management."Healthcare has exponentiall ... 

Video conferencing specialist Polycom has extended its partnership with software giant Microsoft in a deal that will see the latter's Lync software integrated into Polycom VoIP phones. The move is part of the pair's desire to boost video conferencing outside the boardroom.The focus will be on collab ... 

The Australian government is set to use video conferencing to slash the amount of travelling that its members do, so that it can reduce its budget and deficit. Ministers are also planning on dropping or deferring smaller IT projects as they focus on a broader, standardised IT infrastructure overhaul ... 

Unified communications integration specialist SCC believes that a year of impending travel chaos brought about by the 2012 Olympic Games - among other things - will help boost the uptake of video conferencing solutions. The firm claimed that the technology will provide a more reliable and cost effec ... 

In his Autumn Statement, the chancellor George Osborne has outlined plans to invest £5 billion in national infrastructure projects - including a multi-city rollout of high-speed broadband connectivity solutions. Ten cities across the UK will benefit from the fibre optic technology initially - includ ... 

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly considering video conferencing solutions because of the cost savings the technology can offer. According to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), as technology evolves - and gets cheaper - the cost of doing things online, like person-to- ... 

Video conferencing solutions in the NHS have saved consultants and general staff thousands of hours worth of time thanks to a marked reduction in the amount of travelling workers do. According to Simon Carter, a consultant urologist at Imperial College Healthcare Trust, the benefits are considerable ... 

Advancements in technology will lead to a complete overhaul of the working day, with standard nine until five office hours becoming a thing of the past. According to a study by Office Angels, employees in the UK will soon have to work through the night in order to contact firms from other global mar ... 

Sunderland City Council is set to implement a pioneering cloud computing programme, which it hopes will save it millions of pounds over the next five years. The local authority will be working with IBM to set up the new multi-million pound project. The council is initially planning to use the cloud- ... 

Apple's iPhone has become the smartphone of choice for businesses pursuing mobile working initiatives. According to iPass, for the first time, remote workers using iPhones outnumber those using BlackBerrys. The firm polled 2,300 of its customers and found that the popularity of Apple's devices ... 

Network operator O2 has launched a new mobile working service aimed at boosting flexibility at small and medium-sized enterprises. The service includes help for businesses tasked with the management of cultural change during the adoption of flexible IT infrastructure. O2 hopes its Joined Up People o ... 

Businesses want to extend their unified communications solutions - including video conferencing technologies - to the mobile workforce. According to Andreas Weinhold, vice president of Europe, the Middle East and Africa at LifeSize, the liberation of video conferencing from its traditional boardroom ... 

Mobile telecoms operator O2 has switched on the first 4G LTE network in London in a trial that is expected to last nine months and lead to a major boost in connectivity in the capital. The technology will be accessible to consumers, businesses and venue owners in an area of London encompassing Hyde ... 

More than three-quarters of British teachers would like access to video conferencing technology so they can have digital meetings with pupils, their parents and colleagues when face-to-face meetings are not possible. According to video conferencing specialist Polycom, the driving force behind demand ... 

Telecoms firm BT has launched a new cloud computing-based unified voice network that will keep the various London 2012 Olympics sites connected. The installation is just one part of the company's commitment to delivering converged communications - including video and data transmission - during the p ... 

Tech-research expert Bell Labs is working on a new video conferencing robot that could add physical presence to boardroom meetings using a screen and webcam attached to a set of robotic shoulders. The new technology uses low-cost components so that it can be adopted by enterprises in various sectors ... 

Workforce mobility was at the top of the agenda at the recent CTIA Enterprise and Applications 2011 October conference - showing that flexible working is here to stay. According to Strategy Analytics Wireless Enterprise Stategies (SAWES), topics of particular interest were the management of workplac ... 

Video conferencing has begun encompassing everything you would expect from a standard, face-to-face board room meeting and Polycom has even managed to integrate digital whiteboards in to its offering. The firm hopes that this final addition will make its unified communications technology a well-roun ... 

Cisco is set to launch a free video conferencing solution for ad-hoc meeting participants so that companies can set up discussions with any of their clients. The move, Cisco hopes, will open up the telepresence market and ensure that even those without a video conferencing deal will be able to use t ... 

Polycom has acquired video collaboration specialist ViVu as it attempts to improve video conferencing deployment by boosting scalability. The firms will work together on embedding key applications into Polycom's unified communications offering - boosting its service adaptability. Central to the ... 

New research has shown that 78 per cent of businesses are either using or planning to use video conferencing in their companies' meeting rooms - outpacing the uptake of desktop video conferencing. The technology is quickly becoming a mainstream solution among businesses and it seems that the nex ... 

Video conferencing expert Polycom has dipped its toe into the tablet marketplace as business communications solutions go increasingly mobile. The move comes as analysts predict huge growth in the unified communications marketplace. Speaking to Information Week, Polycom's vice president of mobil ... 

Microsoft's $8.5 billion (£5.4 billion) takeover of voice over internet protocol (VoIP) specialist Skype has been approved by the European Commission (EC). The body has claimed that the acquisition would not restrict competition in the online communications technology marketplace because t ... 

Mobility is one of the most important considerations for businesses adopting unified communications solutions, it has been claimed. New figures from Nemertes Research have shown that telecommuting is on the increase and that businesses are willing to spend more on mobility in the workplace. Nemerte ... 

Home working has become a phenomenon as the benefits of having a virtual workforce are realised by businesses around the globe. According to new figures from WorkSimple, the majority of business leaders at Fortune 500 think that their mobile workforces will increase in size in the coming months ... 

Firms may find that using video conferencing solutions is increasingly viable as faster broadband and better cloud computing options become available, according to an expert from Cisco. OJ Winge, senior vice-president of the telepresence business at Cisco Systems, told the Financial Times that some ... 

NHS hospitals in Cumbria and Lancashire are set to use video conferencing solutions to provide more efficient treatment to stroke patients in the region. A telecart will be located at the bedsides of patients or in the stroke unit at the hospitals involved in the scheme, reports ComputerWeekly.com. ... 

Utilising video conferencing solutions may enable employees to communicate with clients and customers in a more effective and personable way, it has been suggested. Keith Warburton, editor of Vcinsight.com, claimed the importance of face-to-face meetings should not be underestimated, as when people ... 

Companies that invest in videoconferencing solutions may be able to increase the efficiency of their organisation and provide staff with a better working environment, an expert has stated. Editor of videoconferencing publication vcinsight.com Keith Warburton observed that the savings on travel are ... 

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) considering updating their telepresence technology to a cloud-based video conferencing solution have been advised to ensure that their chosen system will work well even with a poor network connection. Speaking to TMCnet, principal analyst at VoIP Evolution R ... 

Plymouth City Council has opted for a unified communications (UC) system to enable it to maintain its current level of service despite having recently downgraded the amount of office space it has. Neville Cannon, assistant director of ICT at the local authority, revealed that the office space occup ... 

A law firm recently started using desktop video conferencing technology rather than telepresence rooms to enable employees to meet with clients online while in their offices, where they may have readier access to vital information and documents. Maureen Durack, director of management information se ... 

Organisations considering implementing video conferencing solutions within their company need to "begin with goals" and roll it out as part of a larger unified communications strategy, an expert has stated. Analyst and senior partner at Wainhouse Research Andrew Davis told SearchCIO-Midma ... 

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can extract a fairly sophisticated level of functionality from modern voice over internet protocol (VoIP) technology. According to leading UK trade organisation the Federation of Communication Services (FCS), the days of VoIP as a communications solution fo ... 

Ayrshire Council, which has recently adopted a unified communications solution that incorporates video conferencing, has dubbed the technology a "smart investment". Speaking to Business7.co.uk, Claire Monaghan, the local authority's head of policy, performance and communication, said ... 

Software specialist Sophos has embarked on a UK channel partner recruitment drive as it attempts to expand its reach in the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) market. The firm already has almost 200 partners in the UK, but is hoping to add more - starting with the addition of no less than ten ... 

York has developed a dark fibre network connecting the city's schools and libraries that promises to boost distance learning using video conferencing technology. The city is also planning on extending the services offered by its new IT infrastructure to other public areas - including local park ... 

Video conferencing can help reduce business travel and is the "next best thing" to meeting face-to-face with clients and colleagues, an expert from Citrix Online has asserted. Commenting on a Daily Telegraph article about the potential business benefits of a new high speed railway in the ... 

Transport minister Norman Baker has urged workers in London to consider making greater use of video conferencing solutions during the Olympic Games next year. He asserted that the sporting event would be a "once-in-a-generation test for both our transport system and our adaptability". T ... 

Channel partners play an important role in instilling confidence in prospective customers considering adopting technology such as cloud computing, an expert has stated. Speaking to Computer Reseller News (CRN), president of EMC India & Saarc Manoj Chugh said it is vital that the position of ch ... 

Bristol Royal Children's Hospital will be using video conferencing solutions to provide medical expertise to two other hospitals in the region in a bid to reduce travel and disruption for vulnerable patients and increase the efficiency of the services offered. Andy Tometzki, consultant paediatr ... 

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is looking to reduce its expenditure on hotels and travel by promoting the use of video conferencing solutions among its staff. Figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request by IT firm Tableau Software revealed that the organisation paid more than £98 ... 

Centrix Software has unveiled plans to expand its channel partner programme in the UK, taking its total number of partners up to 42. The firm revealed that it hopes to take advantage of the growing demand for Windows 7 and that it is searching the Microsoft channel for new partners. Lewis Gee, vi ... 

Gwent Police is implementing video conferencing technology in a bid to reduce its impact on the environment and cut its outgoings as the cost of fuel remains high. Figures obtained by South Wales East assembly member Lindsay Whittle revealed that there has been a steady rise in expenditure on fuel ... 

Law firm Minter Ellison has unveiled plans to implement video conferencing technology in its offices, which it says will improve client experience and develop integration of employees in different locations. It is hoped the solution will help its 1,000 legal staff and 290 partners - located across ... 

Among the main benefits firms using channel partners might see are that they can help to manage end-user relationships effectively and improve sales figures, experts have suggested. Speaking at the CRN Cloud Computing Forum, vice-president of the business partner organisation and mid-market in the ... 

Companies employing staff with different first languages may find that video conferencing eases communication between workers, according to an engineering consultancy firm. Beca Group's chief information officer Robin Johansen explained that his firm struggled with telephone conferencing when c ... 

Banks and other financial institutions may be able to offer better levels of customer service by utilising technology such as video conferencing, an expert in the sector has stated. Cable&Wireless Worldwide director of banking and financial services Michele Metcalfe observed that customer servi ... 

Chief sales officer at unified communications firm Alteva Louis Hayner has revealed that its channel partner programme has significantly improved the productivity of its sales force. Speaking to IP Communications magazine, he observed that working with the channel enables salespeople at the firm to ... 

LiNKS Sign Language and Interpreting Services is preparing to use video conferencing to improve the flexibility of its interpretation offerings to businesses, hospitals, schools and other organisations. The firm selected technology specialist Nefsis to provide the delivery platform for its video re ... 

IT giant Microsoft is the top provider of unified communications services, according to new figures from ABI Research. The firm's Vendor Matrix report placed Microsoft at the top of the rankings, ahead of rivals Cisco and IBM. Subha Rama, senior analyst at the research company, commented: &qu ... 

A doctor in the US has asserted that video conferencing can be utilised to enable those in his profession to provide care for patients situated far from their practices. Dr Ray Dorsey said on National Public Radio that he utilises the technology to communicate with patients living hundreds of miles ... 

Video conferencing technology has been installed at the University of Minnesota Amplatz Children's Hospital to improve the communication options available to staff and patients. The systems were put in place by Video Guidance and will also be used by children to communicate with their parents ... 

Communications technology firm Cisco held its first channel partner summit in Kuwait last week, where it gave out awards to the top performing companies. Among the firms celebrated at the gathering were Diya United Company and Kuwait Digital Computer Company, which were named top unified communica ... 

The US House of Representatives' Committee on Administration (HRCA) has announced that members of Congress will be permitted to use video conferencing in a bid to save money and promote better communication. Lawmakers who cannot travel to the office will still be able to make meetings as they w ... 

Video conferencing solutions developer Blue Jeans Network (BJN) claims it has solved the issue of ensuring interoperability in the cloud. The firm believes it has a hassle-free solution to businesses concerned about the implications of adopting video conferencing for either business-to-business or ... 

Europe is investing more than £20 million in 13 high bandwidth connectivity research projects across the continent in an attempt to make ultra-fast broadband a reality by 2020. The research will relate directly to fibre optic broadband technologies and the delivery of 1Gbps download speeds di ... 

Larger enterprises are readily adopting unified communications solutions, but for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) the technology still represents an "emerging market". New research from CompTIA, shows that unified communications technology is far more likely to be adopted by fir ... 

Microsoft's extensive channel partner "ecosystem" puts it ahead of Google when it comes to pushing cloud-based services - like its recently-released Office 365. According to Intermedia president Michael Gold, the launch of Office 365 is a huge moment for Microsoft, but the products su ... 

Google is set to take on Skype by incorporating video conferencing software directly into its Chrome browser. The open source video and chat solution will allow web users to have real-time video contact with friends and work colleagues, without the need to load third-party video conferencing soluti ... 

A cloud-based video conferencing solution for Apple's iPad is set to be introduced by unified communications specialist Polycom. The firm is expected to start trialling the new technology in Australia first. Polycom hopes to release its new video conferencing app for the iPad - as well as for the iP ... 

A cloud-based video conferencing solution for Apple's iPad is set to be introduced by unified communications specialist Polycom. The firm is expected to start trialling the new technology in Australia first. Polycom hopes to release its new video conferencing app for the iPad - as well as for ... 

Internet security specialist Kaspersky Lab is attempting to boost its sales in the US market by bolstering its channel partner recruitment programme. The software developer has announced a new distribution partnership with Ingram Micro - the world's largest technology distributor. Kaspersky h ... 

Video conferencing and unified communications specialist Skype has embedded its services more deeply into Facebook with the release of its latest update. While Skype 5.5 is only in beta, its adoption among the social networking website's users is expected to be widespread - particularly as the ... 

The cost of adopting video conferencing - and other unified communications solutions - is often overestimated by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). According to Pranabesh Nath, from Frost & Sullivan's Asia-Pacific ICT practice, dramatic improvements have been made to video conferenc ... 

The case for video conferencing in the healthcare sector is stronger than ever now that reliability and bandwidth concerns have been addressed. According to IT expert Tom Racca, chief executive officer of US-based BurstPoint Networks, unified communications - and particularly video conferencing - i ... 

Dell expects the drastic overhaul of its channel partner programme to take about a year as resellers are brought up to speed with the firm's latest acquisitions. The company outlined plans to overhaul its channel partner recruitment and training programmes in May, but the firm's global chan ... 

BT has stepped up the roll-out of its high bandwidth connectivity fibre optic broadband and expects to have five million people connected to the service by the end of June. The renewed vigour with which BT is installing fibre optic internet technology is part of the company's plan to have ten m ... 

Skype has struck a partnership with US telecoms giant Comcast that will see subscribers offered video conferencing capabilities in their homes via their television sets. The new video conferencing solution will be made available to all Comcast's broadband customers and the firms are expected to ... 

BT has teamed up with video conferencing expert ZTE Corporation on a new research project that will explore the potential for innovation in the fixed-line and mobile communications sector. The companies are hoping that the research will bolster their aims of delivering effective unified communicati ... 

Dell's channel partners are being kept up to speed with the latest developments in the storage industry at the inaugural Dell Storage Forum. The event, which is being held in the US, is the company's first dedicated annual storage conference. It combines the much-lauded Dell Compellent C-Dr ... 

Video conferencing vendor Polycom is leading the charge for the creation of a new Open Visual Communications Consortium (OVCC), which will allow for better interoperability in the growing unified communications industry. The organisation hopes that by boosting interoperability, uptake of video confe ... 

The Red Hat EMEA Partner Summit is expected to get off to a flying start in Dublin on Sunday (June 5th) as guest speakers from around the world offer practical advice and share their experiences. It is the fourth invite-only summit of its kind held by Red Hat and will include speakers from a variet ... 

As demand for desktop virtualization and ultra-portable computing rises, Microsoft has set its sights on a complete redesign of its Windows operating system so that users can swap between standard desktop PCs and tablets more easily. During a press conference in Taiwan, the company demonstrated an ... 

A desktop virtualization specialist has boosted its channel partner recruitment drive - appointing five new organisations - as it attempts to address rising demand for the technology in the UK. RES Software said that its new re-seller line-up would ensure the company can take a much more responsive ... 

A standard set of unified communications guidelines needs to be put in place if companies are to achieve seamless integration. According to one industry insider, the growing importance of multi-channel communications has meant the IT industry has had to tackle the problem of integration head on. ...