💻IT: Social Engineering (Definitions)

"Using trickery and charm to extract security information such as passwords from an individual." (Andy Walker, "Absolute Beginner’s Guide To: Security, Spam, Spyware & Viruses", 2005)

"A nontechnological method for gaining unauthorized access to a computer system by tricking people into revealing access information." (Jan L Harrington, "Relational Database Design and Implementation"3rd Ed., 2009)

"Collection of tactics used to manipulate people into performing actions or divulging confidential information." (Linda Volonino & Efraim Turban, "Information Technology for Management 8th Ed", 2011)

"Obtaining or attempting to obtain otherwise secure data with fraud and deceit by tricking an individual into revealing confidential information." (Bill Holtsnider & Brian D Jaffe, "IT Manager's Handbook" 3rd Ed., 2012)

"The art of manipulating people into performing desired actions." (Manish Agrawal, "Information Security and IT Risk Management", 2014)

"Gaining unauthorized access by tricking someone into divulging sensitive information." (Adam Gordon, "Official (ISC)2 Guide to the CISSP CBK" 4th Ed., 2015)

"It describes a type of intrusion that relies heavily on human interaction rather than on specific technical methods. It often involves deceitful approaches to obtain, for example, sensitive information, and break into computer systems." (Hamid R Arabnia et al, "Application of Big Data for National Security", 2015)

"The act of manipulating people into divulging information." (Weiss, "Auditing IT Infrastructures for Compliance, 2nd Ed", 2015)

"The art of obtaining someone's password either by befriending her or tricking her into sharing it." (Faithe Wempen, "Computing Fundamentals: Introduction to Computers", 2015)

"The practice of obtaining confidential information by manipulating users in social communication." (Mike Harwood, "Internet Security: How to Defend Against Attackers on the Web 2nd Ed.", 2015)

"The process of attempting to trick someone into revealing information (for example, a password) that can be used to attack an enterprise or into performing certain actions, such as downloading and executing files that appear to be benign but are actually malicious." (William Stallings, "Effective Cybersecurity: A Guide to Using Best Practices and Standards", 2018)

"The psychological manipulation of people into unwittingly performing actions favorable to an attacker, such as divulging passwords or other confidential information." (O Sami Saydjari, "Engineering Trustworthy Systems: Get Cybersecurity Design Right the First Time", 2018)

💻IT: Network (Definitions)

"Mathematically defined structure of a computing system where the operations are performed at specific locations (nodes) and the flow of information is represented by directed arcs." (Guido Deboeck & Teuvo Kohonen (Eds), "Visual Explorations in Finance with Self-Organizing Maps 2nd Ed.", 2000)

"A system of interconnected computing resources (computers, servers, printers, and so on)." (Sharon Allen & Evan Terry, "Beginning Relational Data Modeling 2nd Ed.", 2005)

"A system of connected computers. A local area network (LAN) is contained within a single company, in a single office. A wide area network (WAN) is generally distributed across a geographical area — even globally. The Internet is a very loosely connected network, meaning that it is usable by anyone and everyone." (Gavin Powell, "Beginning Database Design", 2006)

"A system of interconnected devices that provides a means for data to be transmitted from point to point." (Janice M Roehl-Anderson, "IT Best Practices for Financial Managers", 2010)

"1.Visually, a graph of nodes and connections where more than one entry point for each node is allowed. 2.In architecture, a topological arrangement of hardware and connections to allow communication between nodes and access to shared data and software." (DAMA International, "The DAMA Dictionary of Data Management", 2011)

"The connection of computer systems (nodes) by communications channels and appropriate software. |" (Marcia Kaufman et al, "Big Data For Dummies", 2013)

"The means by which electronic communications occurs between two or more nodes" (Daniel Linstedt & W H Inmon, "Data Architecture: A Primer for the Data Scientist", 2014)

"Two or more computers connected to share data and resources." (Faithe Wempen, "Computing Fundamentals: Introduction to Computers", 2015)

"People working towards a common purpose or with common interests where there is no requirement for members of the network to have a work relationship with others, and there is no requirement for mutuality as there is with a team." (Catherine Burke et al, "Systems Leadership, 2nd Ed,", 2018)

💻IT: False Negative (Definitions)

"Spam that is mistaken for legitimate email." (Andy Walker, "Absolute Beginner’s Guide To: Security, Spam, Spyware & Viruses", 2005)

"Failing to report an event that should have been reported." (W Roy Schulte & K Chandy, "Event Processing: Designing IT Systems for Agile Companies", 2009)

"A subject who is identified as failing to have experienced the event of interest (e.g., exposure, disease) but has truly experienced the event is termed a false negative." (Herbert I Weisberg, "Bias and Causation: Models and Judgment for Valid Comparisons", 2010)

"An incorrect result, which fails to detect a condition or return a result that is actually present." (DAMA International, "The DAMA Dictionary of Data Management", 2011)

"An incorrect result as reported by a detective device, such as an IDS, an antivirus program, or a biometric security device. For example, an antivirus program may not “catch” a virus-infected file, or a fingerprint reader may incorrectly fail the fingerprint of the true user." (Mark Rhodes-Ousley, "Information Security: The Complete Reference, Second Edition, 2nd Ed.", 2013)

"A test result that incorrectly reports that a condition being tested for is absent, when, in fact, it is present (e.g., an intrusion detection subsystem falsely reports no attacks in the attack space of an enterprise system)." (O Sami Saydjari, "Engineering Trustworthy Systems: Get Cybersecurity Design Right the First Time", 2018)

"A condition when using optimistic locking whereby a row that was not updated since it was selected cannot be updated without first being selected again. Optimistic locking support does not allow a false positive to happen, but a false negative might happen. See also false positive." (Sybase, "Open Server Server-Library/C Reference Manual", 2019)

[false-negative result:] "A test result which fails to identify the presence of a defect that is actually present in the test object." (Software Quality Assurance)

💻IT: Software-as-a-Service [SaaS] (Definitions)

"A distribution method for software through a network interface." (DAMA International, "The DAMA Dictionary of Data Management", 2011)

"Applications that are licensed to customers for use as a service on demand." (Gina Abudi & Brandon Toropov, "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Best Practices for Small Business", 2011)

"a software deployment model where a provider licenses an application to customers for use over the Internet, without requiring purchase and installation of the licenses." (Bill Holtsnider & Brian D Jaffe, "IT Manager's Handbook" 3rd Ed., 2012)

"The delivery of computer applications over the Internet." (Marcia Kaufman et al, "Big Data For Dummies", 2013)

"A delivery mechanism in which an application and all of the associated resources are provided to organizations by a vendor, typically through a web browser. Commonly abbreviated as SaaS." (Manish Agrawal, "Information Security and IT Risk Management", 2014)

"Abbreviation for software as a service. It is the capability provided to the consumer to use the provider’s applications running on a cloud infrastructure. The applications are accessible from various client devices through a thin client interface such as a web browser (e.g., web-based email). The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure, including network, servers, operating systems, storage, or even individual application capabilities, with the possible exception of limited user-specific application configuration settings." (James R Kalyvas & Michael R Overly, "Big Data: A Businessand Legal Guide", 2015)

"Software as a Service is the delivery of computer applications over the Internet on a per user per month charge basis." (Judith S Hurwitz, "Cognitive Computing and Big Data Analytics", 2015)

"A model of software deployment or service where customers use applications on demand." (Mike Harwood, "Internet Security: How to Defend Against Attackers on the Web" 2nd Ed., 2015)

"An approach to software licensing and delivery in which software is hosted remotely in the cloud and accessed via an Internet browser." (Jonathan Ferrar et al, "The Power of People: Learn How Successful Organizations Use Workforce Analytics To Improve Business Performance", 2017)

"Cloud application services in which applications are delivered over the Internet by the software provider, typically for a monthly fixed fee. The applications are not installed, nor do they run on the client’s computers; instead, they are accessed by a Web browser. Two important characteristics of SaaS are as follows: Network and Web-based access to commercial software computing services in which the processing is done on a third party server, rather than at each customer’s location. A tenant-based pricing model for hardware, software, administration, and consulting services." (John H Higgins & Bryan L Smith, "10 Steps to a Digital Practice in the Cloud" 2nd Ed., 2017)

"Software as a service refers to the delivery of software-based business tools via the Internet as an alternative to traditional on-premise installations." (Informatica) [source]

"Software-as-a-service (SaaS) is a model of software distribution where customers pay a monthly subscription or licensing fee and a third-party, typically the software vendor, makes the application available over the internet. SaaS is one of the primary commercial applications of cloud computing, along with infrastructure-as-a-service (Iaas) and platform-as-a-service (PaaS)." (Sumo Logic) [source]

💻IT: Platform-as-a-Service [PaaS] (Definitions)

"PaaS is defined as a computing platform delivered as a service." (Martin Oberhofer et al, "The Art of Enterprise Information Architecture", 2010)

"Delivery of an application development platform (hardware and software) from a third party via the Internet without having to buy and manage these resources." (Bill Holtsnider & Brian D Jaffe, "IT Manager's Handbook" 3rd Ed., 2012)

"A cloud service that abstracts the computing services, including the operating software and the development and deployment and management life cycle. It sits on top of Infrastructure as a Service." (Marcia Kaufman et al, "Big Data For Dummies", 2013)

"A cloud service that abstracts the computing services, including the operating software and the development, deployment, and management life cycle. It sits on top of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)." (Judith S Hurwitz, "Cognitive Computing and Big Data Analytics", 2015)

"Delivery of a computing platform as a service." (Mike Harwood, "Internet Security: How to Defend Against Attackers on the Web" 2nd Ed., 2015)

"The capability provided to the customer to deploy onto the cloud infrastructure customer-created or acquired applications created using programming languages and tools supported by the provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure, including network, servers, operating systems, or storage, but has control over the deployed applications and possibly application hosting environment configurations." (James R Kalyvas & Michael R Overly, "Big Data: A Businessand Legal Guide", 2015)

"A cloud-based service that typically provides a platform on which software can be developed and deployed." (H James Harrington & William S Ruggles, "Project Management for Performance Improvement Teams", 2018)

"A complete application platform for multitenant cloud environments that includes development tools, runtime, and administration and management tools and services, PaaS combines an application platform with managed cloud infrastructure services." (Forrester)

"A services providing all the necessary infrastructure for cloud computing solutions." (Analytics Insight)

💻IT: Standardization (Definitions)

"The imposition of standards which, in turn, are fixed ways of doing things that are widely recognized." (Roy Rada &  Heather Holden, "Online Education, Standardization, and Roles", 2009)

"Formulation, publication, and implementation of guidelines, rules, methods, procedures and specifications for common and repeated use, aimed at achieving optimum degree of order or uniformity in given context, discipline, or field; standards are most frequently developed on international level; there exist national standardization bodies cooperating with international bodies; standards can be either legally binding or de facto standards followed by informal convention or voluntary standards (recommendations)." (Lenka Lhotska et al,"Interoperability of Medical Devices and Information Systems", 2013)

"A framework of agreements to which all relevant parties in an industry or organization must adhere to ensure that all processes associated with the creation of a good or performance of a service are performed within set guideline." (Victor A Afonso & Maria de Lurdes Calisto, "Innovation in Experiential Services: Trends and Challenges", 2015)

"The development of uniform specifications for materials, products, processes, practices, measurement, or performance, usually via consultation with stakeholders and sanction by a recognized body, providing for improvements in productivity, interoperability, cooperation, and accountability." (Gregory A Smith, "Assessment in Academic Libraries", 2015)

"A process of developing and implementing technical standards based on consensus among various stakeholders in the field. Standardization can greatly assist with compatibility and interoperability of otherwise disparate software components, where consistent solutions enable mutual gains for all stakeholders." (Krzysztof Krawiec et al, "Metaheuristic Design Patterns: New Perspectives for Larger-Scale Search Architectures", 2018)

"The process through which a standard is developed." (Kai Jakobs, "ICT Standardization", 2018)

"Is a framework of agreements to which professionals in an organization must accept to ensure that all processes associated with the creation of a product or service are performed within set guidelines, achieving uniformity to certain practices or operations within the selected environment. It can be seen as a professional strategy to strengthen professional trust and provide a sense of certainty for professionals or it can be interpreted as a way to lose professionalization and as an adjustment to organizational demands." (Joana V Guerra, "Digital Professionalism: Challenges and Opportunities to Healthcare Professions", 2019)

"The process of making things of the same kind, including products and services, have the same basic features and the same requirements." (Julia Krause, "Through Harmonization of National Technical Regulations to More Sustainability in Engineering Business", 2019)

💻IT: Best Practices (Definitions)

"A preferred and repeatable action or set of actions completed to fulfill a specific requirement or set of requirements during the phases within a product-development process." (Clyde M Creveling, "Six Sigma for Technical Processes: An Overview for R Executives, Technical Leaders, and Engineering Managers", 2006)

"A process or method that is generally recognized to produce superior results. The application of these should result in a positive, measurable change." (Tilak Mitra et al, "SOA Governance", 2008)

"A technique or methodology that, through past experience and research, has proven to reliably lead to a desired result. A commitment to using the best practices in any field (for example, in the domain of IT Architecture) ensures leveraging past experience and all of the knowledge and technology at one’s disposal to ensure success." (Allen Dreibelbis et al, "Enterprise Master Data Management", 2008)

"An effective way of doing something. It can relate to anything from writing program code to IT governance." (Judith Hurwitz et al, "Service Oriented Architecture For Dummies" 2nd Ed., 2009)

"A best practice is commonly understood to be a well-proven, repeatable, and established technique, method, tool, process, or activity that is more certain in delivering the desired results. This indicates that a best practice typically has been used by a large number of people or organizations and/or over a long time, with significant results that are clearly superior over other practices. Knowledge patterns can be used to formalize the description of a best practice." (Jörg Rech et al, "Knowledge Patterns" [in "Encyclopedia of Knowledge Management" 2nd Ed.], 2011)

"A specific method that improves the performance of a team or an organization and can be replicated or adapted elsewhere. Best practices often take the form of guidelines, principles, or ideas that are endorsed by a person or governing body that attests to the viability of the best practice." (Gina Abudi & Brandon Toropov, "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Best Practices for Small Business", 2011)

"A technique, method, process, discipline, incentive, or reward generally considered to be more effective at delivering a particular outcome than by other means." (Craig S Mullins, "Database Administration", 2012)

"In general, Best Practices refer to the methods, currently recognized within a given industry or discipline, to achieve a stated goal or objective. In the OPM3 context, Best Practices are achieved when an organization demonstrates consistent organizational project management processes evidenced by successful outcomes." (Project Management Institute, "Organizational Project Management Maturity Model (OPM3)" 3rd Ed, 2013)

"An effective way of doing something. It can relate to anything from writing program code to IT governance." (Marcia Kaufman et al, "Big Data For Dummies", 2013)

"Those methods, processes, or procedures that have been proven to be the most effective, based on real-world experience and measured results." (Robert F Smallwood, "Information Governance: Concepts, Strategies, and Best Practices", 2014)

"Best practices are defined as commercial or professional procedures that are accepted or prescribed as being effective most of the time. It can also be considered a heuristic, in that is a rule of thumb that generally succeeds but is not guaranteed to always work in every instance." (Michael Winburn & Aaron Wheeler, "Cloud Storage Security", 2015)

"A 'benchmarking' approach where organisations determine who the leader in a particular practice is and then copy that approach. Useful for achieving efficiencies but may diminish differentiation if not used with caution at the strategic level." (Duncan Angwin & Stephen Cummings, "The Strategy Pathfinder" 3rd Ed., 2017)

"A proven activity or process that has been successfully used by multiple enterprises." (ISACA) 

"A superior method or innovative practice that contributes to the improved performance of an organization, usually recognized as best by other peer organizations." (American Society for Quality)

💻IT: Change Management [CM] (Definitions)

"The disciplined use of a defined process to control project modifications, additions, and deletions." (Timothy J  Kloppenborg et al, "Project Leadership", 2003)

"The process allowing changes to applications to occur in a predictable fashion with minimal or no impact on the service. Change management applies to all phases of a lifecycle." (Allan Hirt et al, "Microsoft SQL Server 2000 High Availability", 2004)

"Process of enabling change in an organization as a result of a system implementation." (Janice M Roehl-Anderson, "IT Best Practices for Financial Managers", 2010)

"(1) A structured approach to transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations from a current state to a desired future state. (2) Controlled way to effect a change, or a proposed change, to a product or service." (Requirements Engineering Qualifications Board, "Standard glossary of terms used in Requirements Engineering", 2011)

"A structured approach to transition individuals, teams, and organizations from a current state to a desired future state, which includes managing change as part of systems development to avoid user resistance to business and system changes." (Linda Volonino & Efraim Turban, "Information Technology for Management" 8th Ed, 2011)

"Involves problem solving in a concerted effort to adapt to changing organizational needs." (Joan C Dessinger, "Fundamentals of Performance Improvement" 3rd Ed, 2012)

"The process of communicating and managing change throughout the organization." (Charles Cooper & Ann Rockley, "Managing Enterprise Content: A Unified Content Strategy, 2nd Ed.", 2012)

"The management of change in operational processes and applications. Change management is critical when IT organizations are managing software infrastructure in conjunction with new development processes. All software elements have to be synchronized so that they work as intended." (Marcia Kaufman et al, "Big Data For Dummies", 2013)

"A program designed to prevent unintended outages from changes. Personnel submit change requests, and appropriate experts review them to identify unintended consequences. Personnel do not make changes until the change goes through the change management process." (Darril Gibson, "Effective Help Desk Specialist Skills", 2014)

"The organization's effort to control and manage the introduction of new changes to the current operating model to ensure gradual and successful adoption." (Jim Davis & Aiman Zeid, "Business Transformation: A Roadmap for Maximizing Organizational Insights", 2014)

"Methods and best practices to assist an organization and its employees in implementing changes to business processes, culture, and systems." (Robert F Smallwood, "Information Governance: Concepts, Strategies, and Best Practices", 2014)

"The process, tools, and techniques to manage the people side of change to achieve a required business outcome." (Jonathan Ferrar et al, "The Power of People: Learn How Successful Organizations Use Workforce Analytics To Improve Business Performance", 2017)

"A business process aimed at deliberately regulating the changing nature of business activities such as projects." (Shon Harris & Fernando Maymi, "CISSP All-in-One Exam Guide, 8th Ed", 2018)

"Process responsible for controlling the lifecycle of all changes" (ITIL)

 "The process, tools, coordination, and planning to manage the people side of change through sentiment awareness and change-management skills that together achieve a required state of business agility." (Forrester)

💻IT: Internet of Things [IoT] (Definitions)

"A term used to describe the community or collection of people and items that use the Internet to communicate with other." (Kenneth A Shaw, "Integrated Management of Processes and Information", 2013)

"The embedding of objects with sensors, coupled with the ability of objects to communicate, driving an explosion in the growth of big data." (Brenda L Dietrich et al, "Analytics Across the Enterprise", 2014)

"The Internet of Things entails the aim of all physical or uniquely identifiable objects being connected through wired and wireless networks. In this notion, every object would be virtually represented. Connecting objects in this way offers a whole new universe of possibilities. Real-time analysis of big data streams could enhance productivity and safety of systems (for example, roadways and cars being part of the Internet of Things could help to manage traffic flow). It can also make everyday life more convenient and sustainable (such as connecting all household devices to save electricity)." (Martin Hoegl et al, "Using Thematic Thinking to Achieve Business Success, Growth, and Innovation", 2014)

"IOT refers to a network of machines that have sensors and are interconnected enabling them to collect and exchange data. This interconnection enables devices to be controlled remotely resulting in process efficiencies and lower costs." (Saumya Chaki, "Enterprise Information Management in Practice", 2015)

"An interconnected network of physical devices, vehicles, buildings, and other items embedded with sensors that gather and share data." (Jonathan Ferrar et al, "The Power of People: Learn How Successful Organizations Use Workforce Analytics To Improve Business Performance", 2017)

"Ordinary devices that are connected to the Internet at any time, anywhere, via sensors." (Jason Williamson, "Getting a Big Data Job For Dummies", 2015)

"Also referred to as IoT. Term that describes the connectivity of objects to the Internet and the ability for these objects to send and receive data from each other." (Brittany Bullard, "Style and Statistics", 2016)

"computing or 'smart' devices often with ­sensor capability and the ability to collect, share, and transfer data using the Internet." (Daniel J. Power & Ciara Heavin, "Data-Based Decision Making and Digital Transformation", 2018)

"The wide-scale deployment of small, low-power computing devices into everyday devices, such as thermostats, refrigerators, clothing, and even into people themselves to continuously monitor health." (O Sami Saydjari, "Engineering Trustworthy Systems: Get Cybersecurity Design Right the First Time", 2018)

"A network of physical objects that have, like cell phones and laptops, internet connectivity enabling automatic communication between them and any other machine connected to the internet without human intervention." (Sue Milton, "Data Privacy vs. Data Security", 2021)

"Integration of various processes such as identifying, sensing, networking, and computation." (Revathi Rajendran et al, "Convergence of AI, ML, and DL for Enabling Smart Intelligence: Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Internet of Things", 2021)

"It is an interdisciplinary field who is associated with the electronics and computer science. Electronics deals with the development of new sensors or hardware for IoT device and computer science deals with the development of software, protocols and cloud based solution to store the data generated form these IoT devices."  (Ajay Sharma, "Smart Agriculture Services Using Deep Learning, Big Data, and IoT", 2021)

"IoT is a network of real-world objects which consists of sensors, software, and other technologies to exchange data with the other systems over the internet." (Hari K Kondaveeti et al, "Deep Learning Applications in Agriculture: The Role of Deep Learning in Smart Agriculture", 2021)

"This refers to a system of inter-connected computing and smart devices, that are provided with unique identifiers and the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human interaction." (Wissam Abbass et al, "Internet of Things Application for Intelligent Cities: Security Risk Assessment Challenges", 2021)

"describes the network where sensing elements such as sensors, cameras, and devices are increasingly linked together via the internet to connect, communicate and exchange information." (Accenture)

"ordinary devices that are connected to the internet at any time anywhere via sensors." (Analytics Insight)

"Technologies that enable objects and infrastructure to interact with monitoring, analytics, and control systems over internet-style networks." (Forrester)

💻IT: Cloud (Definitions)

"A set of computers, typically maintained in a data center, that can be allocated dynamically and accessed remotely. Unlike a cluster, cloud computers are typically managed by a third party and may host multiple applications from different, unrelated users." (Michael McCool et al, "Structured Parallel Programming", 2012)

"A network that delivers requested virtual resources as a service." (IBM, "Informix Servers 12.1", 2014)

"A secure computing environment accessed via the Internet." (Faithe Wempen, "Computing Fundamentals: Introduction to Computers", 2015)

"Products and services managed by a third-party company and made available through the Internet." (David K Pham, "From Business Strategy to Information Technology Roadmap", 2016)

"It has the ability to offer and to assist any kind of useful information without any limitations for users." (Shigeki Sugiyama. "Human Behavior and Another Kind in Consciousness: Emerging Research and Opportunities", 2019)

"Remote server and distributed computing environment used to store data and provision computing related services as and when needed on a pay-as-you-go basis." (Wissam Abbass et al, "Internet of Things Application for Intelligent Cities: Security Risk Assessment Challenges", 2021)

"The virtual world in which information technology tools and services are available for hire, use and storage via the internet, Wi-Fi and physical attributes ranging from IT components to data storage." (Sue Milton, "Data Privacy vs. Data Security", 2021)

"uses a network of remote servers hosted on the internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than requiring a local server or a personal computer." (Accenture)

💻IT: Efficiency (Definitions)

"A measure of the degree to which a system or component performs designated functions with respect to the resources it consumes to perform those functions." (Richard D Stutzke, "Estimating Software-Intensive Systems: Projects, Products, and Processes", 2005)

"a measure of the cost per time or cost per effort." (Bruce P Douglass, "Real-Time Agility: The Harmony/ESW Method for Real-Time and Embedded Systems Development", 2009)

"A quasimetric used throughout this book to describe how well memory and other resources of the processor and platform are utilized by a concurrent implementation." (Clay Breshears, "The Art of Concurrency", 2009)

"Efficiency measures the return on investment in using additional hardware to operate in parallel." (Michael McCool et al, "Structured Parallel Programming", 2012)

"A set of software characteristics (for example, execution speed, response time) relating to performance of the software and use of resources (for example, memory) under stated conditions (normally increasing load)." (Tilo Linz et al, "Software Testing Foundations" 4th Ed., 2014)

"In relation to performance/operational auditing, the use of financial, human, physical, and information resources such that output is maximized for any given set of resource inputs, or input is minimized for any given quantity and quality of output." (Sally-Anne Pitt, "Internal Audit Quality", 2014)

"Efficiency is the degree to which a resource is utilized for the intended task." (Hari K Kondaveeti et al, "Deep Learning Applications in Agriculture: The Role of Deep Learning in Smart Agriculture", 2021)

"a measure of whether the right amount of resources has been used à to deliver a process, service or activity" (ITIL)

"Resources expended in relation to the accuracy and completeness with which users achieve goals." (NISTIR 8040)

"The capability of the software product to provide appropriate performance, relative to the amount of resources used under stated conditions." (ISO 9126)

💻IT: Blockchain (Definitions)

"A block chain is a perfect place to store value, identities, agreements, property rights, credentials, etc. Once you put something like a Bit coin into it, it will stay there forever. It is decentralized, disinter mediated, cheap, and censorship-resistant." (Kirti R Bhatele et al, "The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Cyber Security", 2019)

"A system made-up of blocks that are used to record transactions in a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency network such as bitcoins." (Murad Al Shibli, "Hybrid Artificially Intelligent Multi-Layer Blockchain and Bitcoin Cryptology", 2020)

"A chain of blocks containing data that is bundled together. This database is shared across a network of computers (so-called distributed ledger network). Each data block links to the previous block in the blockchain through a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a timestamp, and transaction data. The blockchain only allows data to be written, and once that data has been accepted by the network, it cannot be changed." (Jurij Urbančič et al, "Expansion of Technology Utilization Through Tourism 4.0 in Slovenia", 2020)

"A system in which a record of transactions made in Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency is maintained across several computers that are linked in a peer-to-peer network. Amany M Alshawi, "Decentralized Cryptocurrency Security and Financial Implications: The Bitcoin Paradigm", 2020)

"An encrypted ledger that protects transaction data from modification." (David T A Wesley, "Regulating the Internet, Encyclopedia of Criminal Activities and the Deep Web", 2020)

"Blockchain is a decentralized, immutable, secure data repository or digital ledger where the data is chronologically recorded. The initial block named as Genesis. It is a chain of immutable data blocks what has anonymous individuals as nodes who can transact securely using cryptology. Blockchain technology is subset of distributed ledger technology." (Umit Cali & Claudio Lima, "Energy Informatics Using the Distributed Ledger Technology and Advanced Data Analytics", 2020)

"Blockchain is a meta-technology interconnected with other technologies and consists of several architectural layers: a database, a software application, a number of computers connected to each other, peoples’ access to the system and a software ecosystem that enables development. The blockchain runs on the existing stack of Internet protocols, adding an entire new tier to the Internet to ensure economic transactions, both instant digital currency payments and complicated financial contracts." (Aslı Taşbaşı et al, "An Analysis of Risk Transfer and Trust Nexus in International Trade With Reference to Turkish Data", 2020) 

"Is a growing list of records, called blocks, which are linked using cryptography. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block a timestamp, and transaction data. (Vardan Mkrttchian, "Perspective Tools to Improve Machine Learning Applications for Cyber Security", 2020)

"This is viewed as a mechanism to provide further protection and enhance the security of data by using its properties of immutability, auditability and encryption whilst providing transparency amongst parties who may not know each other, so operating in a trustless environment." (Hamid Jahankhani & Ionuț O Popescu, "Millennials vs. Cyborgs and Blockchain Role in Trust and Privacy", 2020)

"A blockchain is a data structure that represents the record of each accounting move. Each account transaction is signed digitally to protect its authenticity, and no one can intervene in this transaction." (Ebru E Saygili & Tuncay Ercan, "An Overview of International Fintech Instruments Using Innovation Diffusion Theory Adoption Strategies", 2021)

"A system in which a record of transactions made in bitcoin or another cryptocurrency are maintained across several computers that are linked in a peer-to-peer network." (Silvije Orsag et al, "Finance in the World of Artificial Intelligence and Digitalization", 2021)

"It is a decentralized computation and information sharing platform that enables multiple authoritative domains, who don’t trust each other, to cooperate, coordinate and collaborate in a rational decision-making process." (Vinod Kumar & Gotam Singh Lalotra, "Blockchain-Enabled Secure Internet of Things", 2021)

"A concept consisting of the methods, technologies, and tool sets to support a distributed, tamper-evident, and reliable way to ensure transaction integrity, irrefutability, and non-repudiation. Blockchains are write-once, append-only data stores that include validation, consensus, storage, replication, and security for transactions or other records." (Forrester)

[hybrid blockchain:] "A network with a combination of characteristics of public and private blockchains where a blockchain may incorporate select privacy, security and auditability elements required by the implementation." (AICPA)

[private blockchain:] "A restricted access network controlled by an entity or group which is similar to a traditional centralized network." (AICPA)

"A technology that records a list of records, referred to as blocks, that are linked using cryptography. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a timestamp and transaction data." (AICPA)

[public blockchain:] "An open network where participants can view, read and write data, and no one participant has control (e.g., Bitcoin, Ethereum)." (AICPA)

💻IT: Virtualization (Definitions)

"Creation of a virtual, as opposed to a real, instance of an entity, such as an operating system, server, storage, or network." (David G Hill, "Data Protection: Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance", 2009)

"The process of partitioning a computer so that multiple operating system instances can run at the same time on a single physical computer." (John Goodson & Robert A Steward, "The Data Access Handbook", 2009)

"A concept that separates business applications and data from hardware resources, allowing companies to pool hardware resources, rather than dedicate servers to application and assign those resources to applications as needed." (Linda Volonino & Efraim Turban, "Information Technology for Management" 8th Ed, 2011)

"A technique that creates logical representations of computing resources that are independent of the underlying physical computing resources." (Carlos Coronel et al, "Database Systems: Design, Implementation, and Management" 9th Ed., 2011)

"A method for managing hardware assets used at the same time by different users or processes, or both, that makes the part assigned to each user or process appear to act as if it was running on a separate piece of equipment." (Kenneth A Shaw, "Integrated Management of Processes and Information", 2013)

"Virtual memory is the use of a disk to store active areas of memory to make the available memory appear larger. In a virtual environment, one computer runs software that allows it to emulate another machine. This kind of emulation is commonly known as virtualization." (Marcia Kaufman et al, "Big Data For Dummies", 2013)

"A technique common in computing, consisting in the creation of virtual (rather than actual) instance of any element, so it can be managed and used independently. Virtualization has been one of the key tools for resource sharing and software development, and now it is beginning to be applied to the network disciplines." (Diego R López & Pedro A. Aranda, "Network Functions Virtualization: Going beyond the Carrier Cloud", 2015)

"Creation of a simulated environment (hardware platform, operating system, storage, etc.) that allows for central control and scalability." (Adam Gordon, "Official (ISC)2 Guide to the CISSP CBK 4th Ed.", 2015)

"The creation of a virtual version of actual services, applications, or resources." (Mike Harwood, "Internet Security: How to Defend Against Attackers on the Web" 2nd Ed., 2015)

"The process of creating a virtual version of a resource, such as an operating system, hardware platform, or storage device." (Andrew Pham et al, "From Business Strategy to Information Technology Roadmap", 2016)

"A base component of the cloud that consists of software that emulates physical infrastructure." (Richard Ehrhardt, "Cloud Build Methodology", 2017)

"The process of presenting an abstraction of hardware resources to give the appearance of dedicated access and control to hardware resources, while, in reality, those resources are being shared." (O Sami Saydjari, "Engineering Trustworthy Systems: Get Cybersecurity Design Right the First Time", 2018)

💻IT: Information Technology Information Library [ITIL] (Definitions)

"A series of documents used to aid the implementation of a framework for IT service management (ITSM). This framework defines how service management is applied in specific organizations. Being a framework, it is completely customizable for an application within any type of business or organization that has a reliance on IT infrastructure." (Tilak Mitra et al, "SOA Governance", 2008)

"A framework and set of standards for IT governance based on best practices." (Judith Hurwitz et al, "Service Oriented Architecture For Dummies" 2nd Ed., 2009)

"A framework of supplier independent best practice management procedures for delivery of high quality IT services." (DAMA International, "The DAMA Dictionary of Data Management", 2011)

"a set of guidelines for developing and managing IT operations and services." (Bill Holtsnider & Brian D Jaffe, "IT Manager's Handbook" 3rd Ed., 2012)

"A framework and set of standards for IT governance based on best practices." (Marcia Kaufman et al, "Big Data For Dummies", 2013)

"A group of books written and released by the United Kingdom’s Office of Government and Commerce (OGC). ITIL documents best practices organizations can implement to provide consistent IT services. The library includes five books." (Darril Gibson, "Effective Help Desk Specialist Skills", 2014)

"A set of process-oriented best practices and guidance originally developed in the United Kingdom to standardize delivery of informational technology service management." (Robert F Smallwood, "Information Governance: Concepts, Strategies, and Best Practices", 2014)

"Best practices for information technology services management processes developed by the United Kingdom’s Office of Government Commerce." (Adam Gordon, "Official (ISC)2 Guide to the CISSP CBK" 4th Ed., 2015)

"The IT Infrastructure Library; a set of best practice publications for IT service management." (by Brian Johnson & Leon-Paul de Rouw, "Collaborative Business Design", 2017)

"The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) presents pre-defined processes for IT service management. The fourth edition of ITIL depicts two key elements ITIL Service-Value-System (SVS) and a four dimensions model." (Anna Wiedemann et al, "Transforming Disciplined IT Functions: Guidelines for DevOps Integration", 2021)

"set of best practices guidance" (ITIL)

💻IT: Configuration Management [CM] (Definitions)

 "A discipline applying technical and administrative direction and surveillance to: identify and document the functional and physical characteristics of a configuration item, control changes to those characteristics, record and report change processing and implementation status, and verify compliance with specified requirements. (IEEE 610, 1990)

"The process of identifying and defining the configuration items in a system, controlling the release and change of these items throughout the system life cycle, recording and reporting the status of configuration items and change requests, and verifying the completeness and correctness of configuration items." (Richard D Stutzke, "Estimating Software-Intensive Systems: Projects, Products, and Processes", 2005)

"Process for the definition and management of configurations, allowing change control and change monitoring over a defined period. Configuration management allows access to individual configurations or configuration items (i.e., work products). Differences between individual configurations are readily identifiable. A configuration can be used to form a baseline; see also Baseline." (Lars Dittmann et al, "Automotive SPICE in Practice", 2008)

"A generic term that is often used to describe the whole of the activities concerned with the creation, maintenance, and control of databases and their environments." (DAMA International, "The DAMA Dictionary of Data Management", 2011)

"The management of configurations, normally involving holding configuration data in a database so that the data can be managed and changed where necessary." (Marcia Kaufman et al, "Big Data For Dummies", 2013)

"Managing the items produced by the project such as requirements documents, designs, and, of course, source code. This may include controlling changes to those items so that changes don’t happen willy-nilly." (Rod Stephens, "Beginning Software Engineering", 2015)

"The detailed recording, management, and updating of the details of an information system." (Weiss, "Auditing IT Infrastructures for Compliance, 2nd Ed", 2015)

"An operational process aimed at ensuring that systems and controls are configured correctly and are responsive to the current threat and operational environments." (Shon Harris & Fernando Maymi, "CISSP All-in-One Exam Guide" 8th Ed, 2018)

"The process of controlling modifications to a system’s hardware, software, and documentation, which provides sufficient assurance that the system is protected against the introduction of improper modification before, doing, and after system implementation." (William Stallings, "Effective Cybersecurity: A Guide to Using Best Practices and Standards", 2018)

"The process of managing versions of configuration items and their coherent consistent sets, in order to control their modification and release, and to ensure their consistency, completeness, and accuracy." (Bruce P Douglass, "Real-Time Agility: The Harmony/ESW Method for Real-Time and Embedded Systems Development", 2009)

"Process responsible for maintaining information about CIs required to deliver an IT service, including their relationships" (ITIL)

💻IT: Quality of Service [QoS] (Definitions)

"The guaranteed performance of a network connection." (Tom Petrocelli, "Data Protection and Information Lifecycle Management", 2005)

"QoS (Quality of Service) is a metric for quantifying desired or delivered degree of service reliability, priority, and other measures of interest for its quality." (Bo Leuf, "The Semantic Web: Crafting infrastructure for agency", 2006)

"a criterion of performance of a service or element, such as the worst-case execution time for an operation." (Bruce P Douglass, "Real-Time Agility: The Harmony/ESW Method for Real-Time and Embedded Systems Development", 2009)

"The QoS describes the non-functional aspects of a service such as performance." (Martin Oberhofer et al, "The Art of Enterprise Information Architecture", 2010)

"QoS (Quality of Service) Networking technology that enables network administrators to manage bandwidth and give priority to desired types of application traffic as it traverses the network." (Mark Rhodes-Ousley, "Information Security: The Complete Reference" 2nd Ed., 2013)

"A negotiated contract between a user and a network provider that renders some degree of reliable capacity in the shared network." (Gartner)

"Quality of service (QoS) is the description or measurement of the overall performance of a service, especially in terms of the user’s experience. Typically it is used in reference to telephony or computer networks, or to online and cloud-hosted services." (Barracuda) [source]

"The measurable end-to-end performance properties of a network service, which can be guaranteed in advance by a Service Level Agreement between a user and a service provider, so as to satisfy specific customer application requirements. Note: These properties may include throughput (bandwidth), transit delay (latency), error rates, priority, security, packet loss, packet jitter, etc." (CNSSI 4009-2015)

💻IT: Platform (Definitions)

"A specific software implementation technology and/or specific hardware that constitutes the execution environment of a system." (Anneke Kleppe et al, "MDA Explained: The Model Driven Architecture™: Practice and Promise", 2003)

"In the automotive industry, a platform describes a technical basis on which to build models that appear outwardly different. In electronic development, a platform is understood as a hardware, software, or system construction kit that allows the easy creation of derivates via modification, parameterization, or derivation. All essential features, however, are preserved." (Lars Dittmann et al, "Automotive SPICE in Practice", 2008)

"The underlying foundations, technology frameworks, base architectures, and interfaces upon which products are built." (Steven Haines, "The Product Manager's Desk Reference", 2008)

"A combination of technology infrastructure products and components on which various application programs can be designed to run." (David Lyle & John G Schmidt, "Lean Integration", 2010)

"A type of computer hardware that is compatible with certain operating systems." (Faithe Wempen, "Computing Fundamentals: Introduction to Computers", 2015)

"A product, technology, or system that provides a foundation for a number of complementary products (or applications). In business, platforms that form an interface between two‐sided markets (comprising application suppliers and final users) occupy an especially important role in several technology‐based sectors." (Robert M Grant, "Contemporary Strategy Analysis" 10th Ed., 2018)

💻IT: Authentication (Definitions)

"The process by which an entity proves to another entity that it is acting on behalf of a specific identity. The J2EE platform requires three types of authentication: basic, form-based, and mutual, and supports digest authentication." (Kim Haase et al, "The J2EE™ Tutorial", 2002)

"The process by which the identity of a user or process is verified." (Tom Petrocelli, "Data Protection and Information Lifecycle Management", 2005)

"A human or machine process that verifies that an individual, computer, or information object is who or what it purports to be." (J P Getty Trust, "Introduction to Metadata" 2nd Ed., 2008)

"A method of proving someone’s identity, especially if that someone is an authorized user of processes or resources." (Tomasz Ciszkowski & Zbigniew Kotulski, "Secure Routing with Reputation in MANET", 2008)

"Provides capabilities to authenticate users. These services may support multiple authentication mechanisms, such as user name/password, hardware token-based, biometric-based, and others." (Allen Dreibelbis et al, "Enterprise Master Data Management", 2008)

"(1) A legal evidentiary standard that, in the case of electronically stored information, ensures that the data and its associated metadata is accurate, complete, and has not been altered. Without authentication, data cannot be used as evidence. (2) A security function that defines the rules and responsibilities of individuals, applications, and devices for creating, reading, updating, and deleting data." (David G Hill, "Data Protection: Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance", 2009)

"The process by which the identity of a person or computer process is verified." (Judith Hurwitz et al, "Service Oriented Architecture For Dummies" 2nd Ed., 2009)

"A process designed to verify that an individual or a party are who they claim they are." (Alex Berson & Lawrence Dubov, "Master Data Management and Data Governance", 2010)

"The process of verifying the legitimate users of a resource. Often used synonymously with Identification and Authentication." (Mark S Merkow & Lakshmikanth Raghavan, "Secure and Resilient Software Development", 2010)

"(1) In data security, the process of verifying whether a person or software agent requesting a resource has the authority or permission to access that resource. (2) In data quality, the process of verifying data as complying with what the data represents." (DAMA International, "The DAMA Dictionary of Data Management", 2011)

"The process by which the identity of a person or computer process is verified." (Marcia Kaufman et al, "Big Data For Dummies", 2013)

"Verification of who a person or information resource claims to be that sufficiently convinces the authenticator that the identity claim is true. This is followed by an evaluation of whether that entity should be granted access to resources." (Mark Rhodes-Ousley, "Information Security: The Complete Reference" 2nd Ed., 2013)

"the process that a user goes through to prove that he or she is the owner of the identity that is being used." (Manish Agrawal, "Information Security and IT Risk Management", 2014)

"The process of establishing the validity of a person’s identity." (Mike Harwood, "Internet Security: How to Defend Against Attackers on the Web" 2nd Ed., 2015)

"The process of providing additional credentials that match the user ID or user name." (Weiss, "Auditing IT Infrastructures for Compliance" 2nd Ed., 2015)

"The process of verifying the credentials of a particular user of a computer or software system" (Nell Dale & John Lewis, "Computer Science Illuminated" 6th Ed., 2015)

"Verification of the identity of a user, process, or device, often as a prerequisite to allowing access to resources in an information system." (James R Kalyvas & Michael R Overly, "Big Data: A Businessand Legal Guide", 2015)

"A process by which an entity proves its identity to another party (e.g., authentication required by a user to log in or log on)." (O Sami Saydjari, "Engineering Trustworthy Systems: Get Cybersecurity Design Right the First Time", 2018)

"Verification of the identity of a user, process, or device, often as a prerequisite to allowing access to resources in an information system." (William Stallings, "Effective Cybersecurity: A Guide to Using Best Practices and Standards", 2018)

"Authentication is about validating the access request. When a user or a process tries to log into an application, system, or a database, it is important to verify its identity. One way to verify identity is through a username and password; a security token is another option. When the authentication takes place, all data exchange is typically encrypted to prevent theft during the authentication process." (Piethein Strengholt, "Data Management at Scale", 2020)

"A process that provides assurance of the source and integrity of information in communications sessions, messages, documents or stored data." (NIST SP 800-57 Part 1 Rev. 4)

"A process that provides assurance of the source and integrity of information in communications sessions, messages, documents or stored data or that provides assurance of the identity of an entity interacting with a system." (NIST SP 800-57 Part 2 Rev.1)

"A process that establishes the origin of information, or determines an entity’s identity. In a general information security context: Verifying the identity of a user, process, or device, often as a prerequisite to allowing access to resources in an information system." (NIST SP 800-57 Part 2)

"A process that establishes the source of information, provides assurance of an entity’s identity or provides assurance of the integrity of communications sessions, messages, documents or stored data." (NIST SP 800-57 Part 1 Rev. 3)

"An authentication service is a mechanism, analogous to the use of passwords on time-sharing systems, for the secure authentication of the identity of network clients by servers and vice versa, without presuming the operating system integrity of either (e.g., Kerberos)." (Gartner)

"A security measure designed to protect a communications system against acceptance of fraudulent transmission or simulation by establishing the validity of a transmission, message, originator, or a means of verifying an individual's eligibility to receive specific categories of information." (CNSSI 4009-2015)

"Authentication is the process of verifying the claimed identity of a session requestor." (NIST SP 800-13)

"Provides assurance of the authenticity and, therefore, the integrity of data." (NIST SP 800-67 Rev. 2)

"Security measures designed to establish the validity of a transmission, message, or originator, or a means of verifying an individual’s authorization to receive specific categories of information." (NIST SP 800-59)

"The corroboration that a person is the one claimed." (NIST SP 800-66 Rev. 1)

"The process of establishing confidence in the claimed identity of a user or system." (NISTIR 7682)

"The process of proving the claimed identity of an individual user, machine, software component or any other entity.  Typical authentication mechanisms include conventional password schemes, biometrics devices, cryptographic methods, and onetime passwords (usually implemented with token based cards.)" (NISTIR 5153)

"The process of verifying the authorization of a user, process, or device, usually as a prerequisite for granting access to resources in an IT system." (NIST SP 800-47)

"The process of verifying the integrity of data that has been stored, transmitted, or otherwise exposed to possible unauthorized access." (NISTIR 4734)

"Verifying the identity of a user, process, or device, often as a prerequisite to allowing access to resources in an information system." (FIPS 200)

"Verifying the identity of a user, process, or device, often as a prerequisite to allowing access to resources in a system." (NIST SP 800-12 Rev. 1)

"Verifying the identity of a user, process, or device, often as a prerequisite to allowing access to a system’s resources." (NIST SP 1800-17c)

💻IT: Virtual Machine [VM] (Definitions)

"An imaginary computer that runs compiled Java programs. Your computer or Web browser must emulate a virtual machine to run a Java applet or application." (Greg Perry, "Sams Teach Yourself Beginning Programming in 24 Hours" 2nd Ed., 2001)

"The combination of hardware and software (OS, DBMS, etc.) that provides the underlying environment that supports the operation of a software product." (Richard D Stutzke, "Estimating Software-Intensive Systems: Projects, Products, and Processes", 2005)

"Everything under the control of a guest operating system that is managed by a Hypervisor." (David G Hill, "Data Protection: Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance", 2009)

"System that offers the expected functionality associated with a device, but is actually implemented on top of a lower level system. The typical example is the Java Virtual Machine, which specifies a mode of operation for a virtual processor that is subsequently emulated on a different processor architecture." (Max Domeika, "Software Development for Embedded Multi-core Systems", 2011)

"software that allows you to take a single physical device (e.g., one PC) and run multiple instances of operating systems on it." (Bill Holtsnider & Brian D Jaffe, "IT Manager's Handbook" 3rd Ed., 2012)

"A computer operating system and associated storage and input/output resources that are completely provided by software. This is done by a hypervisor that allocates hardware resources by translating between the actual hardware and the software that attempts to access it. See also hypervisor." (Mark Rhodes-Ousley, "Information Security: The Complete Reference" 2nd Ed., 2013)

"Software programs that look and run like a physical computer." (Weiss, "Auditing IT Infrastructures for Compliance" 2nd Ed, 2015)

"The illusion created by a timesharing system that each user has a dedicated machine" (Nell Dale & John Lewis, "Computer Science Illuminated" 6th Ed., 2015)

"This term is ambiguous. (a) It sometimes refers to the combination of the system hardware resources and the low-level operating system (called a hypervisor) that is responsible for creating the illusion to operating systems running on it that they have exclusive use of the system. (b) A virtual machine can also refer to a guest operating system running on top of a hypervisor." (O Sami Saydjari, "Engineering Trustworthy Systems: Get Cybersecurity Design Right the First Time", 2018)

"A virtual machine is a software representation of a computer." (Alex Thomas, "Natural Language Processing with Spark NLP", 2020)

"An IBM mainframe operating system that can host other IBM operating systems such as MVS or VSE, so that an application running under an operating system seems to have its own complete system of software and hardware resources." (Microfocus

"The software implementation of a physical computer that runs an operating system. Multiple virtual machines can run simultaneously on the same hardware. In Azure, virtual machines are available in a variety of sizes." (Microsoft, "Azure Glossary")

💻IT: Search Engine Optimization [SEO] (Definitions)

"The set of techniques and methodologies devoted to improving organic search rankings (not paid search) for a Web site." (Mike Moran & Bill Hunt , "Search Engine Marketing, Inc", 2005)

"The process and strategy of presenting a business on the web to improve the ability of potential customers finding it through natural searches on search engines such as Google, Yahoo!, and Bing." (Gina Abudi & Brandon Toropov, "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Best Practices for Small Business", 2011)

"The process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a Web site from search engines via unpaid search results." (Linda Volonino & Efraim Turban, "Information Technology for Management 8th Ed", 2011)

"techniques to help ensure that a web site appears as close to the first position on a web search results page as possible." (Bill Holtsnider & Brian D Jaffe, "IT Manager's Handbook" 3rd Ed., 2012)

"Search engine optimization, the set of techniques and methodologies devoted to improving organic search rankings (not paid search) for a Web site." (Mike Moran & Bill Hunt , "Search Engine Marketing, Inc", 2005)

"The process of writing web content so as to increase a page's ranking in online search results." (Faithe Wempen, "Computing Fundamentals: Introduction to Computers", 2015)

"its main function is to increase website visibility. The main search engines use algorithms to rank a website’s position and hence its overall position in the search results. In some instances it can be as simple as structuring the words on a website in a way the search engine operates. " (BCS Learning & Development Limited, "CEdMA Europe", 2019)

💻IT: Asset (Definitions)

[process asset:] "Anything that the organization considers useful in attaining the goals of a process area." (Sandy Shrum et al, "CMMI: Guidelines for Process Integration and Product Improvement", 2003)

[organizational process assets:] "Artifacts that relate to describing, implementing, and improving processes (e.g., policies, measurements, process descriptions, and process implementation support tools). The term process assets is used to indicate that these artifacts are developed or acquired to meet the business objectives of the organization, and they represent investments by the organization that are expected to provide current and future business value." (Sandy Shrum et al, "CMMI: Guidelines for Process Integration and Product Improvement", 2003)

[process asset:] "Artifacts that relate to describing, implementing, and improving processes (e.g., policies, process descriptions, guidance, examples, aids, checklists, project closeout reports, metrics data, and training materials). The artifacts meet the organization’s business objectives, and represent investments expected to provide current and future business value." (Richard D Stutzke, "Estimating Software-Intensive Systems: Projects, Products, and Processes", 2005)

[organizational process assets:] "Any or all process-related assets, from any or all of the organizations involved in the project that are or can be used to influence the project's success. These process assets include formal and informal plans, policies, procedures, and guidelines. The process assets also include the organizations’ knowledge bases such as lessons learned and historical information." (Project Management Institute, "Practice Standard for Project Estimating", 2010)

[organizational process assets:] "Any or all process related assets, from any or all of the organizations involved in the project that are or can be used to influence the project's success. These process assets include formal and informal plans, policies, procedures, and guidelines. The process assets also include the organizations' knowledge bases such as lessons learned and historical information." (Cynthia Stackpole, "PMP Certification All-in-One For Dummies", 2011)

[IT assets:] "Tangible deliverables created during the course of an IT project that can be used in other similar projects. Examples include design, software code, or a testing scenario." (Janice M Roehl-Anderson, "IT Best Practices for Financial Managers", 2010)

[organizational process assets:] "Plans, processes, policies, procedures, and knowledge bases specific to and used by the performing organization. " (Project Management Institute, "The Standard for Portfolio Management" 3rd Ed., 2012)

[organizational process assets:] "Plans, processes, policies, procedures, and knowledge bases that are specific to and used by the performing organization." (For Dummies, "PMP Certification All-in-One For Dummie", 2nd Ed., 2013)

[Software assets:] "software tools needed to manipulate the organization's information to accomplish the organization's mission." ( Manish Agrawal, "Information Security and IT Risk Management", 2014)

"Data contained in an information system; or a service provided by a system; or a system capability, such as processing power or communication bandwidth; or an item of system equipment (that is, a system component - hardware, firmware, software, or documentation); or a facility that houses system operations and equipment." (William Stallings, "Effective Cybersecurity: A Guide to Using Best Practices and Standards", 2018)

"Any item that has value to the organisation." (ISO/IEC 27000:2012)

💻IT: Web 2.0 (Definitions)

"A phrase used loosely by the Web development community to refer to a perceived “second generation” of Web technologies and applications. Wikis, folksonomies, gaming, podcasting, blogging, and so on, are all considered Web 2.0 applications." (J P Getty Trust, "Introduction to Metadata" 2nd Ed., 2008)

"A trend in the use of World Wide Web technology and web design that aims to facilitate creativity, information sharing, and, most notably, collaboration among users." (Tilak Mitra et al, "SOA Governance", 2008)

"describes a second generation of the World Wide Web that is focused on the ability for people to collaborate and share information online. Web 2.0 basically refers to the transition from static HTML web pages to a more dynamic Web that is more organized and is based on serving web applications to users." (Gina C O'Connor & V K Narayanan, "Encyclopedia of Technology and Innovation Management", 2010)

"The name attributed to two-way Internet capability for users to both upload and download content." (Ruth C Clark & Richard E Mayer, "e-Learning and the Science of Instruction", 2011)

"The second generation of Internet-based services that let people collaborate and create information online in perceived new ways - such as social networking sites, wikis, and blogs." (Linda Volonino & Efraim Turban, "Information Technology for Management" 8th Ed, 2011)

"a second generation of Internet-based tools and applications that facilitate communication, collaboration, connectivity, sharing, etc." (Bill Holtsnider & Brian D Jaffe, "IT Manager's Handbook" 3rd Ed. , 2012)

"Web advancements between 2003 and 2010, where social networking activities and tools greatly improved. Also referred to as the Social Web." (Mike Harwood, "Internet Security: How to Defend Against Attackers on the Web" 2nd Ed., 2015)

"The name attributed to two-way Internet capability for users to both upload and download content." (Ruth C Clark & Richard E Mayer, "e-Learning and the Science of Instruction", 2016)

"The evolution of the Web from a collection of hyperlinked content pages to a platform for human collaboration and system development and delivery." (Gartner)

"was a phrase first coined in 2004 to describe the second stage of the World Wide Web’s development. These developments include the evolution from static web pages to dynamic, interactive and user-generated content and the growth of social media. Examples of web 2.0 range from online banking to remote email access." (Accenture)

💻IT: Service Level Agreement [SLA] (Definitions)

"A signed agreement of system service requirements between two parties (such as your company and an ASP or between your department and end users) that defines the guidelines, response times, actions, and so on, that will be adhered to for the life of the agreement." (Allan Hirt et al, "Microsoft SQL Server 2000 High Availability", 2004)

"A contract with a service provider, be it an internal IT organization, application service provider, or outsourcer, that specifies discrete reliability and availability requirements for an outsourced system. An SLA might also include other requirements such as support of certain technology standards or data volumes. An outsourcer’s failure to adhere to the terms laid out in an SLA could result in financial penalties." (Evan Levy & Jill Dyché, "Customer Data Integration", 2006)

"A formal negotiated agreement between two parties. It is a contract that exists between customers and their service provider, or between service providers. It records the common understanding about services, priorities, responsibilities, guarantees, and so on, with the main purpose to agree on the level of service." (Tilak Mitra et al, "SOA Governance", 2008)

"An agreement between a customer and a product or service provider that defines conditions under which the provider will offer support or additional services to the customer, and what level of services will be offered under each of those conditions." (Steven Haines, "The Product Manager's Desk Reference", 2008)

"An agreement between a service provider and a service recipient that formally defines the levels of service that are to be provided." (David G Hill, "Data Protection: Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance", 2009)

"A formal negotiated agreement between two parties that usually records the common understanding about priorities, responsibilities, and warranties, with the main purpose of agreeing on the quality of the service. For example, an SLA may specify the levels of availability, serviceability, performance, operation, or other attributes of the service (such as billing and even penalties in the case of violations of the SLA)." (David Lyle & John G Schmidt, "Lean Integration", 2010)

"A written legal contract between a service provider and client wherein the service provider guarantees a minimum level of service." (Linda Volonino & Efraim Turban, "Information Technology for Management" 8th Ed., 2011)

"A contracted guarantee of service delivery for a program, transaction, service, or workload." (Craig S Mullins, "Database Administration", 2012)

"The part of a contract between two parties that outlines the delivery of services within defined timeframes." (DAMA International, "The DAMA Dictionary of Data Management", 2011)

"A statement to customers or the user community about the service the IT department will provide. It can refer to a variety of metrics, such as performance, up-time, resolution time, and so on." (Bill Holtsnider & Brian D Jaffe, "IT Manager's Handbook" 3rd Ed., 2012)

"An agreement between an IT service provider and a customer to provide a specific level of reliability for a service. It stipulates performance expectations such as minimum uptime and maximum downtime levels. Many SLAs include monetary penalties if the IT service provider does not provide the service as promised." (Darril Gibson, "Effective Help Desk Specialist Skills", 2014)

"The service or maintenance contract that states the explicit levels of support, response time windows or ranges, escalation procedures in the event of a persistent problem, and possible penalties for nonconformance in the event the vendor does not meet its contractual obligations." (Robert F Smallwood, "Information Governance: Concepts, Strategies, and Best Practices", 2014)

"A contract for formally defined services. Particular aspects of the service (scope, quality, responsibilities) are agreed between the service provider and the service user. A common feature of an SLA is a contracted delivery time of the service or performance." (Thomas C Wilson, "Value and Capital Management", 2015)

"A portion of a service contract that promises specific levels of service." (Weiss, "Auditing IT Infrastructures for Compliance" 2nd Ed, 2015)

"A contract between a service provider (either internal or external) and the end user that defines the level of service expected from the service provider." (Project Management Institute, "A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)", 2017)

💻IT: Extranet (Definitions)

"A secure Internet site available only to a company’s internal staff and approved third-party partners. Extranets are flourishing in B2B environments where suppliers can have ready access to updated information from their business customers, and vice versa." (Evan Levy & Jill Dyché, "Customer Data Integration", 2006)

"Semi-public TCP/IP network used by several collaborating partners." (Martin J Eppler, "Managing Information Quality 2nd Ed.", 2006)

"Enterprise network using Web technologies for collaboration of internal users and selected external business partners." (Paulraj Ponniah, "Data Warehousing Fundamentals for IT Professionals", 2010)

"An internal network or intranet opened to selected business partners. Suppliers, distributors, and other authorized users can connect to a company’s network over the Internet or through private networks." (DAMA International, "The DAMA Dictionary of Data Management", 2011)

"Private, company-owned network that uses IP technology to securely share part of a business's information or operations with suppliers, vendors, partners, customers, or other businesses." (Linda Volonino & Efraim Turban, "Information Technology for Management 8th Ed", 2011)

"A network that is outside the control of the company. Extranets are usually connections to outside companies, service providers, customers, and business partners." (Mark Rhodes-Ousley, "Information Security: The Complete Reference" 2nd Ed., 2013)

"A special network set up by a business for its customers, staff, and business partners to access from outside the office network; may be used to share marketing assets and other non-sensitive items." (Faithe Wempen, "Computing Fundamentals: Introduction to Computers", 2015)

"An extension of the corporate intranet over the Internet so that vendors, business partners, customers, and others can have access to the intranet." (James R Kalyvas & Michael R Overly, "Big Data: A Businessand Legal Guide", 2015)

💻IT: Intranet (Definitions)

"This is a network technology similar to the Internet that has been constructed by a company for its own benefit. Usually access to a company's intranet is limited to its employees, customers, and vendors." (Dale Furtwengler, "Ten Minute Guide to Performance Appraisals", 2000)

"A private network that uses web technology to distribute information. Usually used to make information available inside a company among employees." (Andy Walker, "Absolute Beginner’s Guide To: Security, Spam, Spyware & Viruses", 2005)

"An organization’s internal system of connected networks built on Internet-standard protocols and usually connected to the Internet via a firewall." (Sharon Allen & Evan Terry, "Beginning Relational Data Modeling 2nd Ed.", 2005)

"Internal company networks designed to provide a secure forum for sharing information, often in a web-browser type interface." (Martin J Eppler, "Managing Information Quality 2nd Ed.", 2006)

"The enterprise network using Web technologies for collaboration of internal users." (Paulraj Ponniah, "Data Warehousing Fundamentals for IT Professionals", 2010)

"A subset of the Internet used internally by an organization. Unlike the larger Internet, intranets are private and accessible only from within the organization. The use of Internet technologies over a private network." (DAMA International, "The DAMA Dictionary of Data Management", 2011)

"Network designed to serve the internal informational needs of a company, using Internet tools." (Linda Volonino & Efraim Turban, "Information Technology for Management" 8th Ed., 2011)

"a private web site available only to those within a company or organization." (Bill Holtsnider & Brian D Jaffe, "IT Manager's Handbook" 3rd Ed., 2012)

"A computer network designed to be used within a business or company. An intranet is so named because it uses much of the same technology as the Internet. Web browsers, email, newsgroups, HTML documents, and websites are all found on intranets.  In addition, the method for transmitting information on these networks is TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol). See Internet." (James R Kalyvas & Michael R Overly, "Big Data: A Businessand Legal Guide", 2015)

"A special network that only staff within the company network can access. For security reasons an intranet can only be accessed onsite and not remotely." (Faithe Wempen, "Computing Fundamentals: Introduction to Computers", 2015)

 "A trusted digital source of corporate communication and content designed to educate and empower employees and improve their workplace experiences." (Forrester)

💻IT: IT Governance (Definitions)

"Framework for the leadership, organizational structures and business processes, standards and compliance to these standards, which ensure that the organization’s IT supports and enables the achievement of its strategies and objectives." (Alan Calder, "IT Governance: Guidelines for Directors", 2005)

"The processes, policies, relationships, and mechanisms that ensure that information technology delivers business value while balancing risk and investment decisions. IT governance ensures accountability and provides rigor for managing IT capabilities in the context of a larger corporate governance framework." (Evan Levy & Jill Dyché, "Customer Data Integration", 2006)

"Addresses the application of governance to an IT organization and its people, processes, and information to guide the way those assets support the needs of the business. It may be characterized by assigning decision rights and measures to processes." (Tilak Mitra et al, "SOA Governance", 2008)

"IT governance is the system and structure for defining policy and monitoring and controlling the policy implementation, and managing and coordinating the procedures and resources aimed at ensuring the efficient and effective execution of services." (Anton Joha & Marijn Janssen, "The Strategic Determinants of Shared Services", 2008)

"The discipline of managing IT as a service to the business, aligning IT objectives with business goals." (Allen Dreibelbis et al, "Enterprise Master Data Management", 2008)

"An integral part of enterprise governance and consists of the leadership and organizational structures and processes that ensure the enterprise’s IT sustains and extends the organization’s strategies and objectives." (Edephonce N Nfuka & Lazar Rusu, IT Governance in the Public Sector in a Developing Country, 2009)

"(1) Locus of IT decision-making authority (narrow definition). (2) The distribution of IT decision-making rights and responsibilities among different stakeholders in the organization, and the rules and procedures for making and monitoring decisions on strategic IT concerns (comprehensive definition)." (Ryan R Peterson, "Trends in Information Technology Governance", 2009)

"Structure of relationships and processes to direct and control the IT enterprise to achieve IT’s goals by adding value while balancing risk versus return over IT and its processes." (IT Governance Institute, "IT Governance Implementation Guide, Using COBIT and Val IT", 2010)

"The discipline of tracking, managing, and steering an IS/IT landscape. Architectural governance is concerned with change processes (design governance). Operational governance looks at the operational performance of systems against contracted performance levels, the definition of operational performance levels, and the implementation of systems that ensure the effective operation of systems." (David Lyle & John G Schmidt, "Lean Integration", 2010)

"Formally established statements that direct the policies regarding IT alignment with organizational goals and allocation of resources." (Linda Volonino & Efraim Turban, "Information Technology for Management 8th Ed", 2011)

"Supervision monitoring and control of an organization's IT assets." (Linda Volonino & Efraim Turban, "Information Technology for Management" 8th Ed, 2011)

"The processes and relationships that lead to reasoned decision making in IT." (Steven Romero, "Eliminating ‘Us and Them’", 2011)

"The function of ensuring that the enterprise's IT activities match and support the organization's strategies and objectives. Governance is very often associated with budgeting, project management, and compliance activities." (Bill Holtsnider & Brian D Jaffe, "IT Manager's Handbook" 3rd Ed, 2012)

"Controls and process to improve the effectiveness of information technology; also, the primary way that stakeholders can ensure that investments in IT create business value and contribute toward meeting business objectives." (Robert F Smallwood, "Information Governance: Concepts, Strategies, and Best Practices", 2014)

"Processes used to ensure that IT resources are aligned with the goals of the organization. Organizations often use frameworks to help them with IT governance." (Darril Gibson, "Effective Help Desk Specialist Skills", 2014)

"The framework of rules and practices by which an organization structures its technology decision-making process in order to ensure alignment of the organization's business strategy with its operations." (David K Pham, "From Business Strategy to Information Technology Roadmap", 2016)

"Set of methods and techniques for reaching full alignment between business strategy and IT strategy." (Dalia S Vugec, "IT Strategic Grid: A Longitudinal Multiple Case Study", 2019)

"The processes that ensure the effective and efficient use of IT in enabling an organization to achieve its goals." (Lili Aunimo et al, "Big Data Governance in Agile and Data-Driven Software Development: A Market Entry Case in the Educational Game Industry", 2019)

"The structures, processes, and mechanisms by which the current and future use of ICT is directed and controlled." (Konstantinos Tsilionis & Yves Wautelet, "Aligning Strategic-Driven Governance of Business IT Services With Their Agile Development: A Conceptual Modeling-Based Approach", 2021)

"IT governance (ITG) is defined as the processes that ensure the effective and efficient use of IT in enabling an organization to achieve its goals." (Gartner)

"The system by which the current and future use of IT is directed and controlled, Corporate Governance of IT involves evaluating and directing the use of IT to support the organisation and monitoring this use to achieve plans." (ISO/IEC 38500)

💻IT: Localization (Definitions)

"The process of making a program suitable for execution within a particular geographic region, typically by translating messages to the local language and handling things such as local time zones, currency symbols, date formats, and so on. Sometimes localization is used just to refer to the language translation and the term internationalization to the rest of the process." (Stephen G Kochan, "Programming in Objective-C", 2003)

"The process of customizing a globalized application for a specific culture." (Rod Stephens, "Stephens' Visual Basic® Programming 24-Hour Trainer", 2011)

"The process of making a program support a specific locale." (Rod Stephens, "Start Here! Fundamentals of Microsoft® .NET Programming", 2011)

"The process of adapting a product and/or content (including text and non-text elements) to meet the language, cultural, and political expectations and/or requirements of a specific local market (locale)." (SQL Server 2012 Glossary, "Microsoft", 2012)

"The process of customizing and adapting a global application for a particular culture and locale." (Joan C Dessinger, "Fundamentals of Performance Improvement" 3rd Ed., 2012)

"The process of setting up an application to run in a particular national language environment. An application that is localized typically generates messages in a local language and character set and uses local datetime formats." (Sybase, "Open Server Server-Library/C Reference Manual", 2019)

 "A view that joins horizontally partitioned data from a set of member tables across a single server, making the data appear as if from one table." (Microsoft Technet)

💻IT: Cloud Computing (Definitions)

"The service delivery of any IT resource as a networked resource." (David G Hill, "Data Protection: Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance", 2009)

"A technology where the data and the application are stored remotely and made available to the user over the Internet on demand." (Janice M Roehl-Anderson, "IT Best Practices for Financial Managers", 2010)

"A business model where programs, data storage, collaboration services, and other key business tools are stored on a centralized server that users access remotely, often through a browser." (Rod Stephens, "Start Here! Fundamentals of Microsoft .NET Programming", 2011)

"Technology that is rented or leased on a regular, or as-needed basis." (Linda Volonino & Efraim Turban, "Information Technology for Management" 8th Ed, 2011)

"Using programs and data stored on servers connected to computers via the Internet rather than storing software and data on individual computers." (Gina Abudi & Brandon Toropov, "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Best Practices for Small Business", 2011)

"The delivery of computing as a service. Cloud computing applications rely on a network (typically the Internet) to provide users with shared resources, software, and data." (Craig S Mullins, "Database Administration", 2012)

"Using Internet-based resources (e.g., applications, servers, etc.) as opposed to buying and installing in-house." (Bill Holtsnider & Brian D Jaffe, "IT Manager's Handbook, 3rd Ed", 2012)

"A business strategy where part or all of an organization’s information processing and storage is done by online service providers." (Kenneth A Shaw, "Integrated Management of Processes and Information", 2013)

"A computing model that makes IT resources such as servers, middleware, and applications available as services to business organizations in a self-service manner." (Marcia Kaufman et al, "Big Data For Dummies", 2013)

"Computing resources provided over the Internet using a combination of virtual machines (VMs), virtual storage, and virtual networks." (Mark Rhodes-Ousley, "Information Security: The Complete Reference, Second Edition, 2nd Ed.", 2013)

"A model for network access in which large, scalable resources are provided via the Internet as a shared service to requesting users. Access, computing, and storage services can be obtained by users without the need to understand or control the location and configuration of the system. Users consume resources as a service, and pay only for the resources that are used." (Jim Davis & Aiman Zeid, "Business Transformation: A Roadmap for Maximizing Organizational Insights", 2014)

"The delivery of software and other computer resources as a service over the Internet, rather than as a stand-alone product." (Manish Agrawal, "Information Security and IT Risk Management", 2014)

"The provision of computational resources on demand via a network. Cloud computing can be compared to the supply of electricity and gas or the provision of telephone, television, and postal services. All of these services are presented to users in a simple way that is easy to understand without users' needing to know how the services are provided. This simplified view is called an abstraction. Similarly, cloud computing offers computer application developers and users an abstract view of services, which simplifies and ignores much of the details and inner workings. A provider's offering of abstracted Internet services is often called the cloud." (Robert F Smallwood, "Information Governance: Concepts, Strategies, and Best Practices", 2014)

"A computational paradigm that aims at supporting large-scale, high-performance computing in distributed environments via innovative metaphors such as resource virtualization and de-location." (Alfredo Cuzzocrea & Mohamed M Gaber, "Data Science and Distributed Intelligence", 2015)

"A computing model that makes IT resources such as servers, middleware, and applications available as services to business organizations in a self-service manner." (Judith S Hurwitz, "Cognitive Computing and Big Data Analytics", 2015)

"A delivery model for information technology resources and services that uses the Internet to provide immediately scalable and rapidly provisioned resources as services using a subscription or utility-based fee structure." (James R Kalyvas & Michael R Overly, "Big Data: A Businessand Legal Guide", 2015)

"A service that provides storage space and other resources on the Internet" (Nell Dale & John Lewis, "Computer Science Illuminated, 6th Ed.", 2015)

"Delivering hosted services over the Internet, which includes providing infrastructures, platforms, and software as services." (Mike Harwood, "Internet Security: How to Defend Against Attackers on the Web 2nd Ed.", 2015)

"The delivery of computer processing capabilities as a service rather than as a product, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to end users as a utility. Offerings are usually bundled as an infrastructure, platform, or software." (Adam Gordon, "Official (ISC)2 Guide to the CISSP CBK" 4th Ed., 2015)

"A general term for anything that involves delivering hosted services over the Internet. These services are broadly divided into: Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), and Analytics-as-a-Service (AaaS)."  (Suren Behari, "Data Science and Big Data Analytics in Financial Services: A Case Study", 2016)

"A type of Internet-based technology in which different services (such as servers, storage, and applications) are delivered to an organization’s or an individual’s computers and devices through the Internet." (Jonathan Ferrar et al, "The Power of People: Learn How Successful Organizations Use Workforce Analytics To Improve Business Performance", 2017)

"A form of distributed computing whereby many computers and applications share the same resources to work together, often across geographically separated areas, to provide a coherent service." (O Sami Saydjari, "Engineering Trustworthy Systems: Get Cybersecurity Design Right the First Time", 2018)

"Cloud computing is a general term for the delivery of hosted services over the Internet. Cloud computing enables companies to consume compute resources as a utility - just like electricity - rather than having to build and maintain computing infrastructures in-house." (Thomas Ochs & Ute A Riemann, "IT Strategy Follows Digitalization", 2018)

"Cloud computing refers to the provision of computational resources on demand via a network. Cloud computing can be compared to the supply of a utility like electricity, water, or gas, or the provision of telephone or television services. All of these services are presented to the users in a simple way that is easy to understand without the users’ needing to know how the services are provided. This simplified view is called an abstraction. Similarly, cloud computing offers computer application developers and users an abstract view of services, which simplifies and ignores many of the details and inner workings. A provider’s offering of abstracted Internet services is often called The Cloud." (Robert F Smallwood, "Information Governance for Healthcare Professionals", 2018)

"The delivery of computing services and resources such as the servers, storage, databases, networking, software, and analytic through the internet." (Babangida Zubairu, "Security Risks of Biomedical Data Processing in Cloud Computing Environment", 2018)

"The use of shared remote computing devices for the purpose of providing improved efficiencies, performance, reliability, scalability, and security." (Shon Harris & Fernando Maymi, "CISSP All-in-One Exam Guide" 8th Ed., 2018)

"A computing model that makes information technology resources such as servers, middleware, and applications available over the internet as services to business organizations in a self-service manner." (K Hariharanath, "BIG Data: An Enabler in Developing Business Models in Cloud Computing Environments", 2019)

"Cloud computing refers to the practice of using a network of remote servers, hosted on the Internet to manage, store and process data instead of using a local server or a personal computer." (Jurij Urbančič et al, "Expansion of Technology Utilization Through Tourism 4.0 in Slovenia", 2020)

"A standardized technology delivery capability (services, software, or infrastructure) delivered via internet-standard technologies in a pay-per-use, self-service way." (Forrester)

"Cloud computing is a style of computing in which scalable and elastic IT-enabled capabilities are delivered as a service using internet technologies." (Gartner)