Mobile apps prove popular

Over half of business technology professionals say their companies currently deploy, or plan to deploy, mobile apps on smartphones, according to a new survey from InformationWeek Analytics, reports Biz Report.

According to the report, 52% of the 700 or so technology professionals surveyed grasped the potential of mobile apps, and already use or plan to use them - up from 42% from 2009.

Many will develop in-house apps to increase employee efficiency while others see it as a sales and customer service tool, it adds.

Expand Networks, a WAN optimisation for branch office consolidation and virtualisation provider, says Porsche Informatik, a division of Porsche Holding Austria, has implemented its advanced WAN optimisation technology, notes The Vancouver Sun.

The solution is accelerating and prioritising critical business applications between its headquarters in Salzburg, and its subsidiaries, corporate customers and dealerships across 16 European countries.

Successfully enhancing user experience and increasing business productivity, the $550 000 project is set to pay for itself in just 18 months and could deliver up to $700 000 in cost saving over three years.

Cloud computing and business process outsourcing (BPO) will gain momentum during 2011, as the government looks for new ways to cut costs, according to a report by analyst firm Ovum, states eWeek.

The report, entitled '2011 Trends to Watch: Government Technology', predicts that government departments will offer more services via the cloud, and increase their outsourcing, particularly of back-office processes, over the coming year.

However, the main issue currently holding up adoption of cloud and shared services in the public sector is concern about security. There is a high level of distrust around cloud services, as a recent poll of eWeek readers confirmed, and few readers were willing to move all of their business applications to the cloud.