A year of lost data, lost jobs and a "dead' Jobs

We look back at the highs and lows of 2008

January

The new year starts on an online high as retailers report a record Christmas for internet shopping, while in-store sales fall for many big names.

Europe overtakes the US as the largest market for outsourcing ­ experts predict further growth as the downturn puts pressure on IT budgets.

But the UK tech sector is optimistic ­ e-Skills UK predicts that 140,000 new IT staff will be needed every year for the next five years. We suspect that figure may have fallen somewhat since.

Data-loss watch: The Ministry of Defence loses a laptop containing the details of 600,000 people.

February

Bill Gates’ Farewell Tour hits London as the soon-to-be-former Microsoft chairman travels the world to tell us that, erm, technology will advance even more in the next 10 years. Visionary.

Microsoft makes the biggest product launch in its history with the simultaneous release of Windows Server 2008, Visual Studio 2008 and SQL Server 2008. Let’s hope they find someone better at naming new products once Bill’s gone.

And thousands of couch potatoes turn to the BBC iPlayer service, leading to moans from ISPs about extra traffic. Poor things ­ imagine, broadband customers using the bandwidth they pay for.

Data-loss watch: Skipton Financial Services is found in breach of the Data Protection Act (DPA) for not encrypting the information of 14,000 customers on a stolen laptop.

March

British Airways and BAA give Computing a sneak preview of the new Terminal 5. “The use of IT will speed people through check-in,” they tell us. Three weeks later, passengers queue for hours and thousands of bags are lost as T5 opens. It’s
all working now though.

The government confirms plans for the ever-popular rollout of ID cards.

And we reveal that 95 of 150 local councils missed a key deadline for the Integrated Children’s System to support social workers dealing with vulnerable children.

Data-loss watch: Hurrah! None of your data was lost this month.

April

The credit crunch (remember when we still called it that?) starts to bite as reports emerge of pressure on IT spending in financial services.

School IT managers contact Computing to air their fears over the £4.5bn Building Schools for the Future programme.

And you too can be Gordon Brown’s friend as the government turns to Facebook to improve communications with the public.

Data-loss watch: An army captain’s laptop is taken from under his chair as he eats in McDonald’s.

May

Proposed enhancements to the DPA will make it a criminal offence to lose personal information. Horse bolted, barn door locked.

A National Audit Office report reveals key parts of the £12.7bn NHS National Programme for IT are running four years late.

And five IT suppliers are selected for the identity cards scheme after, erm, five companies submitted bids.

Data-loss watch: The Bank of New York Mellon admits misplacing details of 4.5 million customers, after losing a data tape earlier this year.

June

It’s bye bye Bill, as Mr Gates leaves his day job to concentrate on philanthropy. His departure is a milestone in IT, but little will change at the company he founded.

Experts predict oil prices could hit $200 (£135) a barrel and warn that IT strategies need a major rethink to reduce energy use. Nearly $200 a barrel? Was that really just six months ago?

And Fujitsu is ditched from the increasingly troubled NHS National IT Programme, leaving the southern region of the scheme in limbo.

Data-loss watch: An unencrypted laptop containing medical details of several thousand patients is stolen from the car of a Colchester University Hospital manager.

July

Postmen are to be given handheld computers as Royal Mail considers a deal that would provide devices for 30,000 staff.

Apple launches the second-generation iPhone, targeting business users in the face of growing competition among the likes of BlackBerry, Nokia and Google’s Android.

And SAP users are up in arms as the supplier forces a 30 per cent hike in support costs.

Data-loss watch: The report into the loss of 25 million child benefit records by HM Revenue and Customs last year highlights “serious institutional deficiencies”.

August

Business confidence among IT decision-makers falls to a record low as they brace themselves for price rises, with efficiency and cost cutting their priorities.

And IT director morale is plummeting as fewer and fewer report to the chief executive.

Data-loss watch: Home Office contractor PA Consulting loses the details of 84,000 prisoners while moving a memory stick between PCs.

September

Many banks are announcing widespread layoffs as turmoil engulfs the entire finance industry ­ 6,000 IT jobs are at risk as Dresdner and Commerzbank plan to merge.

Apple chief executive Steve Jobs died ­ or at least according to Bloomberg news service, which mistakenly publishes his obituary.

And it’s birthdays all round ­ the integrated circuit reaches 50, while Google celebrates 10 years. Just wait -­ you know how much trouble teenagers can be.

Data-loss watch: EDS loses a portable hard drive containing the details of 5,000 prison staff.

October

Who will pay for high-speed broadband? To help decide, Gordon Brown appoints a new technology minister ­ former Ofcom chief executive and government spin doctor Stephen Carter.

The Financial Services Authority warns that it may fine board-level executives at retail banks for IT security lapses. Board-level executives at retail banks, meanwhile, are somewhat preoccupied with trying to prevent the collapse of capitalism.

HP is to cut more than 3,000 jobs following its acquisition of EDS. And even Indian outsourcers are feeling the pinch as TCS and Wipro report untypically low profit growth.

Data-loss watch: Deloitte loses a laptop containing the pension details of more than 100,000 employees of BSkyB, Network Rail and British Transport Police.

November

The post-Gates product namers at Microsoft reveal that the next version of Windows will be called ­ wait for it ­ 7. Try counting the other six.

A London NHS Trust piloting the most-delayed part of the NHS IT project reveals a £7.2m deficit because of problems with the Cerner care records system. Reports suggest that no other trust wants to touch the software until it is working elsewhere.

The first ID cards are issued to foreign nationals as calls grow to scrap the costly scheme to reduce government spending in the wake of multibillion-pound bank bailouts and tax handouts.

And for the first time, online spending shows a year-on-year drop.

Data-loss watch: A KPMG report suggest 280 million people worldwide have been affected by data breaches.

December

European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso and prime minister Gordon Brown both say technology investment will be key to economic recovery.

The Information Commissioner unveils a new strategy to urge firms to build privacy controls into new IT systems.

And in under a week, more than 20,000 job cuts are announced by technology firms worldwide.

Data-loss watch: A laptop containing a list of millions of children accused of being naughty or nice is stolen from Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer’s sleigh. Will Santa find it before 25 December? (Only joking kids…).