IT Glossary
Key Terms To Know In The IT Industry
Off-Page SEO
Strategies for search engine optimization that occur outside of the website itself, such as backlinks, social media marketing, and influencer marketing.
You will find this term commonly used in Online Marketing, SEO
Off-Premises Software
Software that is hosted offsite, typically in the cloud, as opposed to on-premises software that is installed and runs on computers in the premises of the person or organization using the software.
You will find this term commonly used in Cloud Computing, Software as a Service (SaaS)
Off-the-Record Messaging (OTR)
A cryptographic protocol that provides encryption for instant messaging conversations. OTR uses a combination of AES symmetric-key algorithm, the Diffie–Hellman key exchange, and the SHA-1 hash function.
You will find this term commonly used in Security, Communications
Off-the-Shelf Software
Software products that are ready-made and available to a wide audience with similar needs, as opposed to custom software developed for a specific user or organization.
You will find this term commonly used in Software Development, Business Management
Office Automation
The use of computer systems to execute a variety of office operations, such as word processing, email, and file management.
You will find this term commonly used in General IT
Office Productivity Suite
A collection of software applications that provides tools for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, and sometimes database management, essential for everyday business operations.
You will find this term commonly used in Software Applications, Business Productivity
Offline Access
The ability to access and use software or data without an active internet connection.
You will find this term commonly used in Mobility, Software Development, General IT
Offline Browsing
The ability to download web content when online to view it later without an internet connection, useful in scenarios where internet access is intermittent or expensive.
You will find this term commonly used in Web Development, User Experience
Offline Processing
Processing of transactions or data analysis done at a time separate from when the data was collected, often batch processed during off-peak hours.
You will find this term commonly used in Data Processing, Batch Processing
Offline Storage
Storage devices or media that are not directly connected to a computer or network, used for long-term data retention.
You will find this term commonly used in Data Storage, Backup, General IT
Offscreen Rendering
The process of rendering an image or executing a computation in a buffer that is not directly displayed on the screen, used for complex rendering tasks or for preparing content before it becomes visible.
You will find this term commonly used in Graphics, Software Development
Offshoring
The practice of relocating business processes or services to another country, often to reduce costs or access specialized skills.
You will find this term commonly used in Business Strategy, Outsourcing, General IT
Offsite Backup
The process of storing backup copies of data in a location separate from the primary data center or premises.
You will find this term commonly used in Data Storage, Disaster Recovery, General IT
Offsite Disaster Recovery
The strategy of storing critical data and systems in a geographical location separate from the main site to ensure business continuity in case of a disaster.
You will find this term commonly used in Security, Business Continuity
Ohm's Law
In the context of IT, often applied to the power management and design of electronic circuits, stating that the current through a conductor between two points is directly proportional to the voltage across the two points.
You will find this term commonly used in Hardware, Electronics
Ohm's Law in Computing
While traditionally a principle in physics and electrical engineering describing the relationship between voltage, current, and resistance, in computing, it's applied in designing and managing electronic devices and power systems.
You will find this term commonly used in Hardware Design, Electronics
OLAP (Online Analytical Processing)
A category of software tools that provides analysis of data stored in a database. OLAP tools enable users to analyze different dimensions of multidimensional data.
You will find this term commonly used in Data Analysis, Business Intelligence
OLAP Cube
A multidimensional database that is optimized for data warehouse and online analytical processing (OLAP) applications, allowing for complex analytical and ad-hoc queries with a rapid execution time.
You will find this term commonly used in Data Analysis, Business Intelligence
Old-Gen (Old Generation)
In garbage collected programming environments, the part of the heap dedicated to objects that have survived several rounds of garbage collection, indicating they have a longer lifetime.
You will find this term commonly used in Programming, Memory Management
OLE for Process Control (OPC)
A series of standards and specifications for industrial telecommunication that facilitates the exchange of data between multi-vendor devices and control applications.
You will find this term commonly used in Industrial IT, Automation
OLTP (Online Transaction Processing)
A class of systems that facilitate and manage transaction-oriented applications, typically for data entry and retrieval transaction processing.
You will find this term commonly used in Database Management, E-commerce
OLTP (Online Transaction Processing) Systems
Systems designed for managing transaction-oriented applications. They are characterized by a large number of short online transactions (INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE).
You will find this term commonly used in Database Systems, E-commerce
Omni-Channel
Refers to a multi-channel approach to customer service where all the channels are tightly integrated, keeping customer experience at the center of the integration.
You will find this term commonly used in Online Marketing, Customer Service
Omni-Channel Marketing
A marketing approach that seeks to provide customers with a seamless shopping experience, whether they are shopping online from a desktop or mobile device, by telephone, or in a brick-and-mortar store.
You will find this term commonly used in Marketing, Digital Strategy
On-Board Diagnostics (OBD)
A vehicle's self-diagnostic and reporting capability, which gives access to the status of various vehicle subsystems and can be used for a wide range of applications from vehicle repair to telematics.
You will find this term commonly used in Automotive IT
On-Boarding Software
Software designed to facilitate and streamline the process of integrating new employees into an organization, including the provisioning of user accounts, access to corporate systems, and training resources.
You will find this term commonly used in Human Resources, IT Management
On-Chip Debugging
The use of dedicated debugging circuitry that is integrated into microprocessors to facilitate debugging.
You will find this term commonly used in Hardware Development, Embedded Systems
On-Chip Memory
Memory that is physically integrated on the microprocessor chip. This includes caches (L1, L2, or L3) and sometimes small amounts of RAM. It provides faster access to data compared to off-chip memory.
You will find this term commonly used in Hardware, Computer Architecture
On-Demand Computing
The provisioning of computing resources and services on an as-needed basis, often via cloud computing platforms.
You will find this term commonly used in Cloud Computing, Scalability, General IT
On-Demand Delivery
Delivery services that provide goods or services to customers immediately upon request, often facilitated by technology platforms.
You will find this term commonly used in Logistics, E-Commerce, General IT
On-Demand Economy
An economic model where goods and services are provided to consumers immediately upon request, often facilitated by digital platforms.
You will find this term commonly used in E-Commerce, Service Industry, General IT
On-Demand Services
Services that are provided to users or customers immediately upon request, typically facilitated by technology platforms.
You will find this term commonly used in Service Delivery, Cloud Computing, General IT
On-Device Machine Learning
Running machine learning models directly on a device (such as a smartphone or IoT device), enabling data processing and inference on the device itself, rather than relying on cloud-based services.
You will find this term commonly used in AI, Mobile Development
On-Premises
Software or systems that are installed and run locally on an organization's own hardware infrastructure, rather than on cloud servers.
You will find this term commonly used in Infrastructure, Systems Administration, General IT
On-Premises Deployment
Software or systems that are installed and run locally on an organization's own hardware infrastructure, rather than on cloud servers.
You will find this term commonly used in Infrastructure, Systems Administration, General IT
Onboarding
The process of integrating a new employee with a company and its culture, as well as getting a new hire the tools and information needed to become a productive member of the team. In IT, it often involves granting new users access to company systems and software.
You will find this term commonly used in Human Resources, General IT
One-Time Password (OTP)
A password that is valid for only one login session or transaction, typically generated dynamically and sent to the user's device.
You will find this term commonly used in Security, Authentication, General IT
One-to-Many Communication
In networking, a communication model where data is sent from one sender to multiple recipients. Common in broadcasting and multicast messaging.
You will find this term commonly used in Networking, Communication Protocols
One-to-One Marketing
A marketing strategy that relies on gathering detailed information about an individual's preferences, behaviors, and interests to tailor marketing messages specifically to them.
You will find this term commonly used in Marketing, CRM
One-Way Encryption
A method of encryption where data can be encrypted but not easily decrypted without a key, commonly used for storing sensitive information like passwords.
You will find this term commonly used in Security, Cryptography
One-Way Hash Function
A function that takes an input (or 'message') and returns a fixed-size string of bytes. The output is typically a 'digest' that is unique to each unique input. It is computationally infeasible to reverse the operation or find two different inputs that produce the same output.
You will find this term commonly used in Security, Cryptography
Onion Routing
A technique for anonymous communication over a computer network, in which messages are encapsulated in layers of encryption, analogous to layers of an onion.
You will find this term commonly used in Security, Networking
Online Analytical Processing (OLAP)
A category of software tools that provides analysis of data stored in a database. OLAP tools enable users to analyze different dimensions of multidimensional data.
You will find this term commonly used in Data Analysis, Business Intelligence
Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) Cube
A data structure that allows fast analysis of data according to the multiple dimensions that define a business problem. A multidimensional cube for reporting and data analysis.
You will find this term commonly used in Data Analysis, Business Intelligence
Online Auction
A virtual marketplace where buyers place bids and compete to purchase items or services over the internet.
You will find this term commonly used in E-Commerce, Auctions, General IT
Online Backup
The process of backing up data to a remote, cloud-based server over the internet.
You will find this term commonly used in Data Storage, Security, General IT
Online Behavioral Advertising (OBA)
A form of advertising that uses information collected on an individual's web-browsing behavior, such as the pages they have visited or the searches they have made, to select which advertisements to display to that individual.
You will find this term commonly used in Online Marketing, Privacy
Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP)
A protocol for maintaining the security of a server and other network resources by checking the revocation status of an X.509 digital certificate.
You will find this term commonly used in Security, Networking
Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) Stapling
A method to check the revocation status of an X.509 digital certificate that allows the presenter of a certificate to bear the cost of providing OCSP responses by appending a time-stamped OCSP response to the initial TLS handshake.
You will find this term commonly used in Security, Web Development
Online Certificate Status Protocol Checker (OCSP Checker)
A tool or service that uses the OCSP for checking the revocation status of an X.509 digital certificate.
You will find this term commonly used in Security, Networking
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