It isn’t just big data that’s catching firms off guard and filling datacentres ever more rapidly (Companies caught off guard by big data in 2011, says Oracle): while over a third say that they will need to expand their datacentre in the next two years, the same proportion say they have virtualised less than 30 per cent of their infrastructure. This points to an obvious missed opportunity for many businesses: virtualisation gives the flexibility and the efficiency organisations need to squeeze every last inch of space and capability out of their datacentre architecture.

Ratmir Timashev, CEO, Veeam

Having had a quick look at the gov.uk beta site, my first impression is that it’s been very well designed (Maude hails gov.uk beta as another milestone in government IT transformation). Clean, simple, and usable – the graphic designers have been kept on a tight leash!

Also impressive is that mobile usage has been thought about up-front – the same pages work equally well on a phone as on a desktop, with only a minor (but important) adjustment to layout showing that the site does actually notice when you’re using a small screen.

Obviously can’t comment on services that will be delivered yet, there’s not enough there, but it’s a good start, and I hope they keep it up.

Rick Jones

The Royal Society is having a laugh (Royal Society says UK in dire need of specialist ICT teachers). Skilled IT professionals earn more than teachers, so in this profession at least, “those who can do, those that can’t, teach”.

John Carter

When it comes to IT, the Environment Agency has a poor record in managing this kind of a contract (Environment Agency to spend up to £25m on outsourced contact centre). With so many lives and homes at risk from flooding, this outsourcing is a disaster just waiting to happen.

Anne Alkham

Mmmm. Alleged £31bn waste. Alleged £3.75bn savings. Francis Maude would be in line for a big fat bonus if he worked in the City (Maude cites ICT record as he refutes Whitehall waste allegations)  

What about the small things, like putting Microsoft and Oracle back in their boxes? How about refusing to pay more than 12 per cent per annum on “maintenance” for any government purchase of an off-the-shelf package rather than the current 20 per cent?

Should procurement and project/programme management be part of a new Michael Gove-inspired IT curriculum in schools?

Jaw Dropped