IT Glossary
Key Terms To Know In The IT Industry

Single-User Operating System

An operating system intended for use on a computer or device that will only have a single user at any time.

You will find this term commonly used in Operating Systems

SIP (Session Initiation Protocol)

A signaling protocol used for initiating, maintaining, managing, and terminating real-time sessions that involve video, voice, messaging, and other communications applications and services.

You will find this term commonly used in Networking, Telecommunications

SIP Trunking

The use of voice over IP (VoIP) to facilitate the connection of a private branch exchange (PBX) to the internet.

You will find this term commonly used in Networking, Telecommunications

Site Reliability Engineering (SRE)

A discipline that incorporates aspects of software engineering and applies them to infrastructure and operations problems to create scalable and highly reliable software systems.

You will find this term commonly used in Software Development, DevOps

Site-to-Site VPN

A type of VPN connection that is created between two separate locations, allowing multiple users in one location to connect to multiple users in another.

You will find this term commonly used in Networking, Security

SLA (Service Level Agreement)

A contract between a service provider and its customer that documents what services the provider will furnish.

You will find this term commonly used in IT Management, General IT

Slack

A proprietary business communication platform developed by Slack Technologies.

You will find this term commonly used in Communication, Collaboration

SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping)

A technique used by robots and autonomous vehicles to build up a map within an unknown environment while at the same time keeping track of their current location.

You will find this term commonly used in AI, Robotics

SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation)

A lawsuit that is intended to censor, intimidate, and silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense until they abandon their criticism or opposition.

You will find this term commonly used in Legal, Digital Rights

SLI (Service Level Indicator)

A specific measure of some aspect of the level of service that is provided, often used in the context of SRE to track the performance of a service.

You will find this term commonly used in General IT, DevOps

Slicing

In networking, particularly with 5G networks, slicing is the ability to partition certain aspects of the network for specific customer or service requirements.

You will find this term commonly used in Networking, Telecommunications

Slicing (in 5G Networks)

The act of creating multiple virtual networks on top of a single physical 5G network infrastructure, each slice designed to meet different requirements.

You will find this term commonly used in Networking, Telecommunications

SLO (Service Level Objective)

A key element of a service level agreement (SLA) between a service provider and a customer, specifying the level of service expected from the service provider.

You will find this term commonly used in General IT, Service Management

Smart Contracts

Self-executing contracts with the terms of the agreement between buyer and seller directly written into code.

You will find this term commonly used in Blockchain, General IT

Smart Grid

An electrical grid which includes a variety of operation and energy measures including smart meters, smart appliances, renewable energy resources, and energy efficient resources.

You will find this term commonly used in Networking, Energy Management

Smartphone

A mobile phone with advanced features such as internet access and applications.

You will find this term commonly used in General IT

SMM (Social Media Marketing)

The use of social media platforms and websites to promote a product or service.

You will find this term commonly used in General IT, Marketing

SMP (Symmetric Multiprocessing)

A method of processing in which several processors are connected to a single operating system and share computational tasks for improved performance.

You will find this term commonly used in General IT, Computing

SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol)

A protocol used for sending email messages between servers.

You will find this term commonly used in Networking, General IT

SMTP Relay

The process of transferring an email from one server to another for delivery.

You will find this term commonly used in Networking, Email Systems

SNMP

Simple Network Management Protocol, used for monitoring and managing network devices.

You will find this term commonly used in Networking

SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol)

An Internet Standard protocol for collecting and organizing information about managed devices on IP networks and for modifying that information to change device behavior.

You will find this term commonly used in Networking, Network Management

SNMP Trap

A message sent by an SNMP-enabled device to a management station, indicating that an event has occurred.

You will find this term commonly used in Networking, Network Management

SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response)

Technologies that enable organizations to collect inputs monitored by the security operations team.

You will find this term commonly used in Security, Cybersecurity

Social Engineering

The use of psychological manipulation to trick individuals into divulging confidential information or performing actions that compromise security.

You will find this term commonly used in Cybersecurity

Social Media

Websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking.

You will find this term commonly used in General IT, Communication

Social Media Analytics

The practice of gathering data from social media websites and analyzing that data using social media analytics tools to make business decisions.

You will find this term commonly used in General IT, Marketing

Software

Programs and applications that run on a computer system, including operating systems, utilities, and applications.

You will find this term commonly used in General IT, Programming

Software Architect

Makes high-level design choices and dictates technical standards, including software coding standards, tools, and platforms.

You will find this term commonly used in Software Development, Architecture

Software Architecture

The high-level structure of a software system, including its components and their interactions.

You will find this term commonly used in General IT, Development

Software as a Product

Software developed for sale or distribution to end-users as a standalone product, as opposed to software developed for internal use within an organization.

You will find this term commonly used in General IT, Business

Software as a Service (SaaS)

A software delivery model where applications are hosted by a third-party provider and accessed over the internet.

You will find this term commonly used in General IT

Software as a Solution (SaaS)

See "SaaS (Software as a Service)"

You will find this term commonly used in Cloud Computing, General IT

Software Asset Management (SAM)

The process of managing and optimizing the purchase, deployment, maintenance, and disposal of software assets within an organization.

You will find this term commonly used in General IT, Networking

Software Bug

An error or flaw in a computer program that produces unexpected or incorrect results.

You will find this term commonly used in General IT

Software Composition Analysis (SCA)

The process of automatically identifying and assessing the risk of open source software within a codebase or application.

You will find this term commonly used in Software Development, Security

Software Configuration

The process of setting up software options to meet specific requirements, which may involve customizing how the software looks or operates.

You will find this term commonly used in Software Development, IT Management

Software Configuration Management

The process of managing changes to software systems, including version control, build management, and release management.

You will find this term commonly used in Project Management, General IT

Software Defined Networking (SDN)

Software-defined networking (SDN) is a network architecture approach that separates the control plane from the data plane, enabling centralized management and programmability of network infrastructure through software-based controllers.

You will find this term commonly used in Networking, Virtualization, Network Management

Software Defined Storage

Software-defined storage (SDS) is a storage architecture that separates storage hardware from software management and control, enabling centralized and automated management of storage resources across heterogeneous environments.

You will find this term commonly used in Storage, Virtualization, Cloud Computing

Software Defined Storage (SDS)

A storage architecture that separates storage hardware from software management, enabling flexibility, scalability, and automation.

You will find this term commonly used in Storage, General IT

Software Deployment

The process of installing, configuring, and making software available for use.

You will find this term commonly used in General IT, Development

Software Design Pattern

A general, reusable solution to a commonly occurring problem within a given context in software design.

You will find this term commonly used in Software Development, Programming

Software Development

The process of creating software programs or applications.

You will find this term commonly used in General IT

Software Development Kit (SDK)

A software development kit (SDK) is a set of tools, libraries, and documentation provided by software vendors or platforms to facilitate the development of applications for specific operating systems, frameworks, or platforms.

You will find this term commonly used in Software Development, Tools, Platform Integration

Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

The Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is a process framework used in software development to plan, design, build, test, deploy, and maintain software systems, ensuring quality, efficiency, and adherence to project requirements.

You will find this term commonly used in Software Development, Project Management

Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC)

The process of planning, creating, testing, and deploying software applications or systems.

You will find this term commonly used in General IT

Software Development Methodology

A software development methodology is a framework or process model used in software engineering to structure, plan, and control the development of software systems, defining principles, phases, and practices to guide the development process.