IT management
Learn about the core elements of IT management, including operations, tech support and personal computing, as well as terms related to IT careers, certifications and project management.

Certifications
This glossary contains definitions related to IT Certifications.
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CompTIA Project+
CompTIA Project+ is the Computing Technology Industry Association's certification program designed to demonstrate a person has a validated understanding of and skills in project management.
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Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)
Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) is an information security certification developed by the International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium, also known as (ISC)².
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cloud architect
A cloud architect is an IT professional who is responsible for overseeing a company's cloud computing strategy.
IT career paths
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software engineering
Software engineering is the process of developing, testing and deploying computer applications to solve real-world problems by adhering to a set of engineering principles and best practices.
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hard skills
Hard skills are specific abilities, capabilities and skill sets that an individual can possess and demonstrate in a measured way.
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cloud engineer
A cloud engineer is an IT professional responsible for any technological duties associated with cloud computing, including design, planning, management, maintenance and support.
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.
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service level indicator
A service level indicator (SLI) is a metric that indicates what measure of performance a customer is receiving at a given time.
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Virtual Machine Disk format (VMDK)
VMware Virtual Machine Disk format (VMDK) is a format specification for virtual machine (VM) disk image files.
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IT service management (ITSM)
IT service management (ITSM) is a general term that describes a strategic approach to design, deliver, manage and improve the way businesses use IT.
Personal computing
Terms related to personal computers, including definitions about computers sold as consumer products and words and phrases about laptops, tablets and smartphones.
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vishing (voice or VoIP phishing)
Vishing (voice or VoIP phishing) is a type of cyber attack that uses voice and telephony technologies to trick targeted individuals into revealing sensitive data to unauthorized entities.
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Apple AirDrop
Apple AirDrop is a native feature in iOS and macOS that lets users share data from one device to another on the same Wi-Fi network.
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Apple Bonjour
Apple Bonjour is a group of networking technologies designed to help devices and applications discover each other on the same network.
Project management
Terms related to project management, including definitions about project management methodologies and tools.
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triage in IT
Triage is a term referring to the assignment of priority levels to tasks or individuals to determine the most effective order in which to deal with them.
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triple bottom line (TBL)
The triple bottom line (TBL) is a sustainability-based accounting framework that includes social, environmental and financial factors as bottom-line categories.
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project charter
A project charter is a formal short document that states a project exists and provides project managers with written authority to begin work.
Technical support
Terms related to computer fundamentals, including computer hardware definitions and words and phrases about software, operating systems, peripherals and troubleshooting.
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Sarbanes-Oxley Act
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is a federal law that established sweeping auditing and financial regulations for public companies.
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PC card
A PC card, also known as a PCMCIA card, is a credit card-sized memory or input/output (I/O) device that fits into a PC, usually a laptop.
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RISC (reduced instruction set computer)
RISC (reduced instruction set computer) is a microprocessor that is designed to perform a smaller number of computer instruction types, so it can operate at a higher speed, performing more millions of instructions per second, or MIPS.