IT Career Management

Certifications

This glossary contains definitions related to IT Certifications.

• CPE credit

  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.

• CompTIA Network+

  The CompTIA Network+ is an IT certification exam that confirms an individual possesses the skills in networking required to develop a career in IT infrastructure.

• IT4IT Foundation certification

  IT4IT Foundation is a certification for the IT4IT reference architecture.

Cloud Computing

Terms related to cloud computing, including definitions about on-demand, distributed computing and words and phrases about software-as-a-service, infrastructure-as-a-service and storage-as-a-service.

• NoSQL (Not Only SQL database)

  NoSQL is an approach to database management that can accommodate a wide variety of data models, including key-value, document, columnar and graph formats.

• Kubernetes

  Kubernetes, also referred to as K8s, is an open source system used to manage Linux Containers across private, public and hybrid cloud environments.

• API gateway

  An API gateway is a software pattern that sits in front of an application programming interface (API) or group of microservices, to facilitate requests and delivery of data and services.

DevOps

This glossary contains definitions related to the DevOps movement. Some definitions explain the meaning of words used to describe how a DevOps culture breaks down silos between software development and operations teams. Other definitions are related to the software tools that DevOps engineers use to lower costs, achieve higher productivity and automate tasks.

• high availability (HA)

  High availability (HA) is the ability of a system to operate continuously without failing for a designated period of time.

• What is container management and why is it important?

  Container management refers to a set of practices that govern and maintain containerization software. Container management tools automate the creation, deployment, destruction and scaling of application or systems containers.

• Kubernetes

  Kubernetes, also referred to as K8s, is an open source system used to manage Linux Containers across private, public and hybrid cloud environments.

IT Career Paths

• machine learning engineer (ML engineer)

  A machine learning engineer (ML engineer) is a person who focuses on researching, building and designing self-running AI systems that automate predictive models.

• big data engineer

  A big data engineer is an information technology (IT) professional who is responsible for designing, building, testing and maintaining complex data processing systems that work with large data sets.

• data engineer

  A data engineer is an IT worker whose primary job is to prepare data for analytical or operational uses.

IT Operations

Terms related to the processes and services implemented and managed by an organization’s information technology (IT) department. Topics covered include systems management, configuration management, API management and DevOps, as well as real-time performance monitoring and management.

• What is container management and why is it important?

  Container management refers to a set of practices that govern and maintain containerization software. Container management tools automate the creation, deployment, destruction and scaling of application or systems containers.

• Kubernetes

  Kubernetes, also referred to as K8s, is an open source system used to manage Linux Containers across private, public and hybrid cloud environments.

• workload

  In computing, a workload, typically, is any program or application that runs on any computer.

Marketing and CX

Terms related to business software, including definitions about billing and words and phrases about supply chain, CRM, POS, ERP, accounting, payroll and inventory.

• robotic process automation (RPA)

  Robotic process automation (RPA) is a technology that mimics the way humans interact with software to perform high-volume, repeatable tasks.

• Google Analytics

  Google Analytics is a free web analytics service that provides statistics and analytical tools for search engine optimization (SEO) and marketing purposes.

• low-code and no-code development platforms

  Low-code/no-code development platforms are types of visual software development environments that allow enterprise developers and citizen developers to drag and drop application components, connect them together and create mobile or web apps.

Network Admin

Terms related to managing computer networks, including definitions about LANS or WANS and words and phrases about network design, troubleshooting, security and backups.

• Network layer

  Located at Layer 3 of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) communications model, the primary function of the network layer is to move data into and through other networks.

• virtualization sprawl (VM sprawl)

  Virtualization sprawl is a phenomenon that occurs when the number of virtual machines (VMs) on a network reaches a point where administrators can no longer manage them effectively.

• OSI model (Open Systems Interconnection)

  OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) is a reference model for how applications communicate over a network.

Project Management

Terms related to project management, including definitions about project management methodologies and tools.

• red teaming

  Red teaming is the practice of rigorously challenging plans, policies, systems and assumptions by adopting an adversarial approach.

• intelligent workflow

  Intelligent workflow is an orchestration method that integrates analytics, AI, machine learning and automation.

• positioning statement

  A positioning statement is an expression of how a given product, service or brand fills a particular consumer need in a way that its competitors don’t.

Security Admin

Terms related to security management, including definitions about intrusion detection systems (IDS) and words and phrases about asset management, security policies, security monitoring, authorization and authentication.

• session key

  A session key is an encryption and decryption key that is randomly generated to ensure the security of a communications session between a user and another computer or between two computers.

• multifactor authentication (MFA)

  Multifactor authentication (MFA) is a security technology that requires more than one method of authentication from independent categories of credentials to verify a user's identity for a login or other transaction.

• insider threat

  An insider threat is a category of risk posed by those who have access to an organization's physical or digital assets.

Software Developer

Definitions related to software development, including tech terms about programming and words and phrases about Scrum, Agile and waterfall methodologies.

• kill switch

  A kill switch in an IT context is a mechanism used to shut down or disable a device or program.

• robotic process automation (RPA)

  Robotic process automation (RPA) is a technology that mimics the way humans interact with software to perform high-volume, repeatable tasks.

• API lifecycle management

  API lifecycle management is a part of API management that supports the design, development and maintenance of APIs, including their transitioning from design and testing to a production environment.

Technical Support

Terms related to computer fundamentals, including computer hardware definitions and words and phrases about software, operating systems, peripherals and troubleshooting.

• raw data (source data or atomic data)

  Raw data (sometimes called source data, atomic data or primary data) is data that has not been processed for use.

• computer forensics (cyber forensics)

  Computer forensics is the application of investigation and analysis techniques to gather and preserve evidence from a particular computing device in a way that is suitable for presentation in a court of law.

• blue screen of death (BSOD)

  Officially called the stop screen, or stop error, the blue screen of death (BSOD) is a most unwanted error, second only to malware or ransomware in indicating that a user is in for a very bad day.