|
Application management
Application management outsourcing includes maintenance, management, conversion, enhancement and support of various software applications by an IT service provider.
Back office
Term used to define administrative departments in a company, with little or no interface with end customers. For example, information technology, accounting and human resources departments. In Information Technology, the term “back office” covers the system core (software) that supports the corporate activity not visible to end users.
Backup
The copy of data from a device to another, for later retrieval if required (e.g., in case of corruption of original data). The most popular backup media includes: CD-ROM, DVD, external hard disk, storage units, magnetic tapes and on-line backup (where data is sent over the Internet or local network to another environment, for later storage in highly-secure hardware).
See also: Storage
BSC – Balanced Scorecard
An enterprise performance evaluation model based on four pillars: finance, customers, learning and internal processes.
Business Intelligence (BI)
The term refers to the process of collecting, organizing, analyzing, sharing and monitoring information that supports business decisions. Through BI, corporations can access data and explore database information, analyzing and converting it into consistent input to interpret the corporate directions and plan strategic actions. The information management at the company with this purpose is done by structuring processes and specific software.
Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)
Business process outsourcing uses intensively the information technology. BPO transfers the management and execution of one or more business processes, or of all business roles, to an outside provider.
Call center
Call centers centralize the incoming customer contacts – often by phone, but also including contact over the Internet. The call handling flow can be managed by software, for greater service effectiveness. The call center is one of the primary methods used by companies to interact with their customers and generate business.
Capability Mature Model Integration (CMMI)
It’s a benchmark model that includes the practices required to mature specific Information Technology disciplines, including system engineering, software engineering and process development. Developed by the Software Engineering Institute (SEI), CMMI is a set of best practices oriented to improving software processes at companies.
Cash management
A marketing term that refers to financial services provided to large customers. These services include the automation of clearinghouses (institutions that clear and settle financial operations), electronic transfers, payment validation, and more.
PDCA Cycle
PDCA is the acronym for “Plan, Do, Check, Act”. The PDCA cycle, also known as Shewhart’s Cycle and Deming’s Cycle, was introduced in Japan after World War II, oriented to increase the clarity and agility of the processes involved in enterprise management, particularly management system standards.
Compliance
Acting according to a rule, a request or an order. The primary objectives of compliance rules include prevention and combat to fraud and money laundering; design and monitoring of manuals and internal rules, internal controls and organizational culture.
Contact center
See call center.
Control Objectives for Information and related Technology (CobiT)
A guide used as a reference to IT management. Recommended by Insformation Systems Audit and Control Foudation (Isaca), it includes an executive summary, goal tracking guidelines, audit maps, and management techniques, in addition to other references. Management experts recommend COBIT to optimize investments made in IT.
Customer Premises Equipment (CPE)
Term used to refer to owned or leased endpoint equipment located at the customer’s premises, and connected to the telephone line. Usually refers to devices as telephone sets, DSL or cable modems, PABXs, etc.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
Term coined to define an entire class of tools that automate customer contact functions. CRM processes and systems enable the tracking and knowledge of information about customers, in an integrated fashion, particularly by logging and tracking all interactions between the customer and the company.
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
A set of standards that control the transfer of business documents, including purchase orders and invoices, between computers within a company or between different companies. Due to the specific features of each support, data is translated into an EDI format by a set of rules run by a translator program. Then, data is sent to the recipient, where a new, reverse translation is done. Then, the information is imported into the recipient’s system.
Web Emulation
One of the primary features within a data center. A service through which Web pages can be linked from a mobile device, e.g., a cell phone.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
Integrated enterprise management systems. Information systems integrating all data and processes of an organization in a single system. The integration can be functional (finance, accounting, human resources, marketing and sales systems, etc.) or systemic (transaction processing system, management information system, decision support system, etc.). In general, ERP is a software platform developed to integrate various departments in a company, enabling the automation and storage of all business information.
Full outsourcing
Full outsourcing is when a third-party provider fully manages the customer’s infrastructure. It’s a method recommended for companies that don’t want to lose their focus on core business.
Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL)
A best-practice library developed in the late eighties by Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA), currently under the Office for Government Commerce (OGC), in the United Kingdom. This set of books, including specific disciplines for the management of an IT organization, is intended to foster customer-focused management and the quality of IT services.
Infrastructure (DWDM & STM)
The infrastructure for Dense Wavelenght Division Multiplexing (DWDM), a system used to transport data with multiple wavelengths over a single optic fiber, and for Synchronous Transport Module (STM), the standard used for this transmission over optical networks.
ISO 9001:2000
ISO 9001:2000 is a quality management system designed by the International Organization for Standardization, containing specific requirements. This document is approximately 30 pages long, and defines, in addition to the previous ISOs, the need for establishing and implementing a quality policy and a quality guide for the companies’ processes.
See also: ISO/IEC 17799
See also: ISO/IEC 27001
ISO/IEC 17799
An information security standard reviewed in 2005 by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). The standard is a set of recommendations for information security management practices, ideal for IT managers who want to create, implement and keep a system. ISO/IEC 17799 purports to preserve the information confidentiality, integrity and availability.
See also: ISO 9001:2000
See also: ISO/IEC 27001
ISO/IEC 27001
An information security management system standard issued in October 2005 by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commision (IEC). The standard was issued in October 2005, superseding BS 7799-2 for the certification of information security management systems. It purports to be used in conjunction with ISO 17799, which lists security control goals and recommends a set of specifications on the issue.
See also: ISO 9001:2000
See also: ISO/IEC 17799
Million Instructions per Second (MIPS)
É uma das medidas de desempenho de processadores mais conhecidas. Since each processor runs instructions differently and each one has different instructions, each MIPS measurement can vary according to the system used.
Network-Attached Storage (NAS)
A device dedicated to file sharing between different network clients. NAS allows attaching the storage to the network without the need of the server power-down. NAS is different from traditional file server in that it provides only the data storage and access functionalities. Unlike Storage Area Network (SAN), which provides storage only, NAS makes storage available and handles system files as well.
See also: Storage Area Network (SAN)
Level 5
The top data center security level, according to criteria defined by EMC2. It means a high reliability degree, with ensured 99.999 percent availability, i.e., operation continuity on a 24/7 basis.
Office automation
Usual office tasks, including document management, sending and receiving messages via electronic mail (e-mail), and information storage and retrieval (databases) – using computer software specifically designed and developed for this purpose.
SNA (Systems Network Architecture) Port
A port through which the user has access to SNA, IBM’s proprietary architecture, to link a large number of secondary nodes (endpoints, printers, PCs) to a small number of primary nodes (mainframes). The architecture involves logical structure, format, protocol and operating sequence standards for networked processing using IBM hardware.
TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) Port
TCP/IP is a sum of networking protocols used for communication between computers. All protocols are packet-based, i.e, all data sent is divided into small pieces and transmitted over the network.
Seis Sigma
See Six Sigma.
Service Desk
The term has become popular among IT professionals since ITIL’s boom as a market trend. The Service Desk department’s primary role is ensure the proper operation of the IT departments, providing central support, issue management, governance and user training, in addition to other roles.
See also: ITIL
Service Level Agreement (SLA)
The portion of an agreement between one or more entities, where the expected service level is formally defined. An SLA can address items such as service quality, billing criteria, provisioning, service process, and reports issued to the customer. It should include objective, measurable parameters to which the service provider is expected to adhere. Noncompliance with the SLA entails penalties set forth in the agreement against the service provider.
Distributed systems
Distributed systems (a.k.a. distributed computing) refer to parallel, decentralized computing performed by one or multiple computers linked by a network, with the purpose of completing a shared task. Distributed systems add computing power in order to process each task collaboratively in a cohesive, transparent fashion, as if a single computer was performing the task.
Six Sigma
Six Sigma is defined as a business improvement methodology, or a management strategy for change. First developed at Motorola during the early 1980s, the primary goal is to eliminate defects and inefficiencies found in processes, products and services.
Statement on Audit Standards number70 (SAS 70)
Certification that adheres to the IT governance requirements provided for in Sarbanes-Oxley Act – a regulation enacted to ensure the creation of reliable audit mechanisms for corporations.
Storage
File system, storage. In IT, storage refers to the computer components, or specific devices, that store information for certain periods of time. There are two basic storage levels: Primary, usually characterized by a high-speed memory where the computer keeps the information more actively used at that moment (e.g. running programs); and Secondary, through which the computer stores information not required at a given moment. See also: Backup.
Storage Area Network (SAN)
A network designed to group computer storage devices. SANs are usually designed to support intensive data traffic from storage. The most usual SAN technology is fiber optics network. See also: Network-Attached Storage (NAS)
Information Technology (TI)
Integration and management of hardware and software resources oriented to data capture, processing, storage and communication, aimed to automate information production and management.
VoIP
Voice over Internet Protocol, a technology that enables calls via broadband Internet connection instead of a telephone line.
|