Browse Definitions by Alphabet

ControlUp - ControlUp is a monitoring software company that sells tools IT professionals can use to manage, monitor and analyze virtual desktop and application performance.
converged infrastructure - Converged infrastructure, sometimes called 'converged architecture,' is an approach to data center management that packages compute, networking, servers, storage and virtualization tools into a prequalified set of IT hardware.
converged network adapter (CNA) - A converged network adapter (CNA) is a single network interface device that provides the functionality of both a Fibre Channel (FC) host bus adapter (HBA) and a TCP/IP Ethernet network interface card (NIC).
conversational marketing - Conversational marketing is marketing that engages customers through dialogue.
conversion rate optimization - In online marketing, conversion rate optimization (CRO) is a strategic approach to increasing the percentage of website visitors who follow a desired call to action.
cookie poisoning - Cookie poisoning is a type of cyber attack in which a bad actor hijacks, forges, alters or manipulates a cookie to gain unauthorized access to a user's account, open a new account in the user's name or steal the user's information for purposes such as identity theft.
coopetition (co-opetition) - Coopetition is a business strategy that uses insights gained from game theory to understand when it is better for competitors to work together.
COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act ) - The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA) is a federal law that imposes specific requirements on operators of websites and online services to protect the privacy of children under 13.
copy data management (CDM) - Copy data management (CDM) is an approach to reducing storage consumption that involves eliminating the unnecessary duplication of production data.
copypasta - Copypasta is a chunk of text that is repeatedly copied and pasted until it proliferates across the Web, gaining meme status.
core banking system - A core banking system is the software that banks use to manage their most critical processes, such as customer accounts, transactions and risk management.
Core competencies: What they are and how they lead to success - For any organization, its core competencies refer to the capabilities, knowledge, skills and resources that constitute its 'defining strengths.
corporate culture - Corporate culture is the collection of values, beliefs, ethics and attitudes that characterize an organization and guide its practices.
corporate culture model - A corporate culture model is the organizing principle behind the values, beliefs and attitudes that characterize a company and guide its practices.
corporate division - A corporate division, also known as a business division, is a discrete part of a company that may operate under the same name and legal responsibility or as a separate corporate and legal entity under another business name.
corportal (corporate portal) - Corportals, short for corporate portals, are sometimes referred to as enterprise information portals and are used by corporations to build their internal web presence by leveraging a company's information resources.
correlation - Correlation is a statistical measure that indicates the extent to which two or more variables fluctuate in relation to each other.
correlation coefficient - A correlation coefficient is a statistical measure of the degree to which changes to the value of one variable predict change to the value of another.
COSO cube - The COSO cube is a diagram that shows the relationship among all parts of an internal control system.
cost containment - Cost containment is a process of judiciously reducing costs in a business or limiting them to a constant level.
cost per engagement (CPE) - Cost per engagement (CPE) is an advertising pricing model in which digital marketing teams and advertisers only pay for ads when users interact with their campaign in some way.
cost price - Cost price is the total amount of money that it costs a manufacturer to produce a given product or provide a given service.
coulomb (C) - A coulomb (C) is the standard unit of electric charge in the International System of Units (SI).
Counter Mode with Cipher Block Chaining Message Authentication Code Protocol (CCMP) - Counter Mode with Cipher Block Chaining Message Authentication Code Protocol (CCMP) is an encryption protocol based on the U.
counterintelligence - Counterintelligence (CI) is the information gathered and actions taken to identify and protect against an adversary’s knowledge collection activities or attempts to cause harm through sabotage or other actions.
CPRI (Common Public Radio Interface) - CPRI (Common Public Radio Interface) is a specification for wireless communication networks that defines the key criteria for interfacing transport, connectivity and control communications between baseband units (BBUs) and remote radio units (RRUs), which are also called remote radio heads (RRHs).
CQRS (command query responsibility segregation) - CQRS (command query responsibility segregation) is a programming design and architectural pattern that treats retrieving data and changing data differently.
CRC-4 (Cyclic Redundancy Check 4) - CRC-4 (Cyclic Redundancy Check 4) is a form of cyclic redundancy checking -- a method of checking for errors in transmitted data -- that is used on E1 trunk lines.
credential theft - Credential theft is a type of cybercrime that involves stealing a victim's proof of identity.
crisis management - Crisis management is the application of strategies designed to help an organization deal with a sudden and significant negative event, while maintaining business continuity.
crisis management plan (CMP) - A crisis management plan (CMP) outlines how an organization should respond to a critical situation that if left unaddressed, could negatively affect its profitability, reputation or ability to operate.
critical infrastructure - Critical infrastructure is the collection of systems, networks and public works that a government considers essential to its functioning and safety of its citizens.
critical path method (CPM) - The critical path method (CPM) is a step-by-step project management technique for process planning that defines critical and non-critical tasks with the goal of preventing project schedule problems and process bottlenecks.
CRM (customer relationship management) analytics - CRM (customer relationship management) analytics comprises all of the programming that analyzes data about customers and presents it to an organization to help facilitate and streamline better business decisions.
crontab - Crontab is a Unix command that creates a table or list of commands, each of which is to be executed by the operating system (OS) at a specified time and on a regular schedule.
cross-browser testing - Cross-browser testing, also called browser testing, is a quality assurance (QA) process that checks whether a web-based application, site or page functions as intended for end users across multiple browsers and devices.
cross-functional team - A cross-functional team is a workgroup made up of employees from different functional areas within an organization who collaborate to reach a stated objective.
cross-platform mobile development - Cross-platform mobile development is an approach to developing software applications that are compatible with multiple mobile operating systems (OSes) or platforms.
cross-site scripting (XSS) - Cross-site scripting (XSS) is a type of injection attack in which a threat actor inserts data, such as a malicious script, into content from otherwise trusted websites.
crosstalk - Crosstalk is a disturbance caused by the electric or magnetic fields of one telecommunication signal affecting a signal in an adjacent circuit.
cruft - Cruft is the elements of a program, system or product that are either useless, poorly designed or both.
cryptanalysis - Cryptanalysis is the study of ciphertext, ciphers and cryptosystems to understand how they work and to find and improve techniques for defeating or weakening them.
crypto wallet (cryptocurrency wallet) - A crypto wallet (cryptocurrency wallet) is software or hardware that enables users to store and use cryptocurrency.
cryptocurrency - Cryptocurrency is a digital form of currency that uses cryptography to secure the processes involved in generating units, conducting transactions and verifying the exchange of currency ownership.
cryptogram - A cryptogram is a word puzzle featuring encrypted text that the user decrypts to reveal a message of some sort.
cryptographic checksum - Generated by a cryptographic algorithm, a cryptographic checksum is a mathematical value assigned to a file sent through a network for verifying that the data contained in that file is unchanged.
cryptographic nonce - A nonce is a random or semi-random number that is generated for a specific use.
Cryptography quiz questions and answers: Test your smarts - Put your encryption knowledge to the test, and perhaps even learn a new word or concept in the process with these cryptography quiz questions.
cryptojacking - Cryptojacking is a cybercrime in which another party's computing resources are hijacked to mine cryptocurrency.
cryptosystem - A cryptosystem is a structure or scheme consisting of a set of algorithms that converts plaintext to ciphertext to encode or decode messages securely.
CSMA/CA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Avoidance) - CSMA/CA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Avoidance) is a protocol for carrier transmission in 802.
CSO (Chief Security Officer) - A Chief Security Officer (CSO) is a C-suite executive responsible for a company's physical and digital security.
CSR (Certificate Signing Request) - A Certificate Signing Request (CSR) is a specially formatted encrypted message sent from a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) digital certificate applicant to a certificate authority (CA).
CSS (cascading style sheets) - This definition explains the meaning of cascading style sheets (CSS) and how using them with HTML pages is a user interface (UI) development best practice that complies with the separation of concerns design pattern.
CSSLP (Certified Secure Software Lifecycle Professional) - CSSLP (Certified Secure Software Lifecycle Professional) is a certification from ISC2 that focuses on application security within the software development lifecycle (SDLC).
CSU/DSU (Channel Service Unit/Data Service Unit) - A CSU/DSU (Channel Service Unit/Data Service Unit) is a hardware device about the size of a modem.
Ctrl-Alt-Delete - On a personal computer with the Microsoft Windows operating system, Control+Alt+Delete is the combination of the Ctrl key, the Alt key, and Del key that a user can press at the same time to terminate an application task or to reboot the operating system.
curation - Curation is a field of endeavor involved with assembling, managing and presenting some type of collection.
curiosity artificial intelligence (curiosity AI) - Curiosity artificial intelligence (curiosity AI) is the simulation of human curiosity in artificial intelligence.
currency - Currency is anything that is generally accepted to have value as a medium of exchange so that it can be traded for goods and services.
current - Current is a flow of electrical charge carriers, usually electrons or electron-deficient atoms.
cursor - A cursor is the position indicator on a computer display screen where a user can enter text.
Customer acquisition cost (CAC): How to calculate and reduce it - Customer acquisition cost (CAC) is the cost associated with convincing a consumer to buy your product or service, including research, marketing and advertising costs.
customer analytics (customer data analytics) - Customer analytics, also called customer data analytics, is the systematic examination of a company's customer information and behavior to identify, attract and retain the most profitable customers.
customer churn (customer attrition) - Customer churn, also called customer attrition, is the number of paying customers who fail to become repeat customers.
customer data integration (CDI) - Customer data integration (CDI) is the process of defining, consolidating and managing customer information across an organization's business units and systems to achieve a "single version of the truth" for customer data.
customer data management (CDM) - Customer data management (CDM) is a set of administrative processes that allow data about customers and customer interactions from different source systems to be aggregated and normalized.
customer data platform (CDP) - A customer data platform (CDP) is a type of software application that provides a unified platform of customer information that can be collected, viewed or accessed by other systems.
customer demographics - Customer demographics are categories of consumer populations that are relevant to a business' purposes, such as marketing and product design.
customer engagement - Customer engagement is the way a company creates a relationship with its customer base to foster brand loyalty and awareness.
customer journey orchestration - Customer journey orchestration is the coordination of customer experiences in real time, in an omnichannel environment, to better understand customer needs and encourage further interaction with a brand.
customer lifecycle - In customer relationship management (CRM), customer lifecycle is a term used to describe the progression of steps a customer goes through when considering, purchasing, using and maintaining loyalty to a product or service.
customer premises equipment (CPE) - Customer premises equipment (CPE) is telecommunications and information technology equipment kept at the customer's physical location rather than on the service provider's premises.
customer proprietary network information (CPNI) - Customer proprietary network information (CPNI) in the United States is information that telecommunications services -- such as local, long-distance and wireless telephone companies -- acquire about their subscribers.
customer retention - Customer retention is a metric that measures customer loyalty, or an organization's ability to retain customers over time.
customer satisfaction (CSAT) - Customer satisfaction (CSAT) is a measure of the degree to which a product or service meets customer expectations.
customer service charter - A customer service charter is a document that outlines how an organization promises to work with its customers along with providing insights into how an organization operates.
customer success - Customer success is a strategy to ensure a company's products are meeting the needs of the customer.
customer touchpoint - A customer touchpoint is any direct or indirect contact a customer has with a brand.
customer-managed relationship (CMR) - A customer-managed relationship (CMR) is a relationship in which a business uses a methodology, software, apps and perhaps internet capability to encourage the customer to control access to information and ordering.
cyber espionage - Cyber espionage (cyberespionage) is a type of cyber attack that malicious hackers carry out against a business or government entity.
cyberbullying - Cyberbullying is a type of bullying in which one or more individuals use digital technologies to intentionally and repeatedly cause harm to another person.
cyberpicketing - Cyberpicketing is the use of the Internet to protest a corporation or other institution's wages, work conditions, products, environmental policy, or other issues.
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) - Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is the division of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that is tasked with defending the infrastructure of the internet and improving its resilience and security.
cybersecurity asset management (CSAM) - Cybersecurity asset management (CSAM) is the process created to continuously discover, inventory, monitor, manage and track an organization's assets to determine what those assets do and identify and automatically remediate any gaps in its cybersecurity protections.
cyberterrorism - Cyberterrorism is usually defined as any premeditated, politically motivated attack against information systems, programs, and data that threatens violence or results in violence.
cyberwarfare - The generally accepted definition of cyberwarfare is a series of cyber attacks against a nation-state, causing it significant harm.
Cygwin - Cygwin is a collection of open source tools that allows Unix or Linux applications to be compiled and run on a Microsoft Windows operating system (OS) from within a Linux-like interface.
CYOD (choose your own device) - CYOD (choose your own device) is an employee provisioning model in which an organization allows people to select the mobile devices they would like, usually from a limited number of options.
IT consultant - A consultant is an experienced individual in a given field who provides expert advice for a fee.
What are Common Criteria (CC) for Information Technology Security Evaluation? - Common Criteria (CC) is an international standard (ISO/IEC 15408) for evaluating information technology security products.
What are COTS, MOTS, GOTS and NOTS? - COTS, MOTS, GOTS and NOTS are abbreviations that describe prepackaged software or -- less commonly -- hardware purchase alternatives.
What are CPE (continuing professional education) credits? - Continuing professional education, or CPE, credit is a term referring to the points professionals receive for participating in specialized training in IT and other fields.
What are customer service and support? - Customer service is the support organizations offer to customers before, during and after purchasing a product or service.
What are the COSO frameworks? - The COSO frameworks are documents that provide guidance on establishing internal controls and enterprise risk management (ERM) programs in organizations.
What is a call center? Everything you need to know - A call center is a centralized department of customer service professionals who handle inbound and outbound calls from current and potential customers.
What is a capacitor (capacitance)? - A capacitor is a passive electronic component that stores electrical charge.
What is a center of excellence (CoE)? - A center of excellence (CoE) is a team of skilled knowledge workers whose mission is to provide the organization they work for with best practices around a particular area of interest.
What is a CEO (chief executive officer)? - A chief executive officer (CEO) is the highest-ranking position in an organization and responsible for implementing plans and policies related to a company's financial strength, operational efficiency and strategic management.
What is a certificate authority (CA)? - A certificate authority (CA) is a trusted entity that issues digital certificates to authenticate content sent from web servers.