IT service management & procurement

Terms related to the activities and procedures necessary to acquire information technology (IT) products and services.
  • accountability - Accountability is an assurance that an individual or an organization is evaluated on its performance or behavior related to something for which it is responsible.
  • Avaya - Avaya is an American technology company that specializes in business communications services, such as unified communications (UC) and contact center (CC).
  • channel partner rules of engagement (ROE) - Channel partner rules of engagement are a component of the sales relationship between an IT vendor and its channel partner community.
  • chaos engineering - Chaos engineering is the process of testing a distributed computing system to ensure that it can withstand unexpected disruptions.
  • 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.
  • Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) - The Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) is a component of the United States Department of Defense (DoD) that works with defense contractors to ensure government services and supplies are delivered on time, come at the expected cost and satisfy all performance requirements.
  • Dell Technologies Partner Program - The Dell Technologies Partner Program is an international channel partner program that provides partners with business development, sales and marketing resources.
  • digital workspace - A digital workspace is an integrated technology framework that centralizes the management of an enterprise's applications, data and endpoints, allowing employees to collaborate and work remotely.
  • e-procurement (supplier exchange) - Electronic procurement, also known as e-procurement or supplier exchange, is the process of requisitioning, ordering and purchasing goods and services online.
  • fiat money (fiat currency) - A fiat money is a type of currency that is declared legal tender by a government but has no intrinsic or fixed value and is not backed by any tangible asset, such as gold or silver.
  • fiscal year - A fiscal year is the twelve-month period that an organization uses for budgeting, forecasting and reporting.
  • insourcing - Insourcing is a business practice in which work that would otherwise have been contracted out is performed in house.
  • ISV (independent software vendor) - An ISV (independent software vendor) makes and sells software products that run on one or more computer hardware or operating system (OS) platforms.
  • IT asset disposition (ITAD) - IT asset disposition (ITAD) is an industry term and practice built around reusing, recycling, repairing or disposing of unwanted IT equipment in a safe and environmentally responsible way.
  • IT4IT - IT4IT is a reference architecture for information technology (IT) management.
  • letter of intent (LOI) - A letter of intent (LOI) is a written, nonbinding document that outlines an agreement in principle between two or more parties before a legal agreement is finalized.
  • limitation of liability clause - A limitation of liability clause is the section in a service-level agreement (SLA) that specifies the amounts and types of damages that each party will be obliged to provide to the other in particular circumstances.
  • memorandum of understanding (MOU) - A memorandum of understanding (MOU) is a formal agreement that outlines plans for a common line of action between two or more parties.
  • multisourcing (multi-sourcing) - Multisourcing (multi-sourcing) is an approach to outsourcing in which IT operations and technology infrastructure are contracted to a number of vendors, usually in combination with some internally provided elements of information technology.
  • net price - The net price is the value at which a product or service is sold after all taxes and other costs are added and all discounts subtracted.
  • nonrepudiation - Nonrepudiation ensures that no party can deny that it sent or received a message via encryption and/or digital signatures or approved some information.
  • OEM (original equipment manufacturer) - OEM, or original equipment manufacturer, is a broad term that describes a web of relationships among IT hardware vendors, hardware component makers, software vendors and channel partners such as resellers and distributors.
  • operational-level agreement (OLA) - An operational-level agreement (OLA) is a contract that defines how various IT groups within a company plan to deliver a service or set of services.
  • procure to pay (P2P) - Procure to pay is the process of requisitioning, purchasing, receiving, paying for and accounting for goods and services.
  • Request for Offer (RFO) - A Request for Offer (RFO) is a document an organization issues to solicit bids or proposals from potential suppliers for goods or services.
  • request for proposal (RFP) - A request for proposal (RFP) is a document that an organization, often a government agency or large enterprise, posts to elicit a response -- a formal bid -- from potential vendors for a desired IT solution.
  • requisition - A requisition, in procurement, is a request for goods or services made by an employee to the person or department in a company that is responsible for purchasing.
  • RFI (request for information) - An RFI (request for information) is a formal process for gathering information from potential suppliers of a good or service.
  • RFx - RFx (request for x) encompasses the entire formal request process and can include request for bid (RFB), request for information (RFI), request for proposal (RFP), request for quotation (RFQ) and request for tender (RFT).
  • SAP Planned Delivery Time - SAP Planned Delivery Time (PDT) is a tool within the SAP ERP software used to update manufacturing planning data, namely the scheduled delivery of procured goods and materials so that production plans reflect the most current data.
  • service assurance (SA) - Service assurance (SA) is a procedure or set of procedures intended to optimize performance and provide management guidance in communications networks, media services and end-user applications.
  • 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.
  • sidecar proxy - A sidecar proxy is an application design pattern which abstracts certain features, such as inter-service communications, monitoring and security, away from the main architecture to ease the tracking and maintenance of an application.
  • statement of work (SOW) - A statement of work (SOW), in project management, is a document in which a contracting officer or chief procurement officer (CPO) specifies the objectives and deliverables for a particular project or service contract.
  • TCO (total cost of ownership) - Total cost of ownership (TCO) is an estimation of the expenses associated with purchasing, deploying, using and retiring a product or piece of equipment.
  • tier 1 vendor - A tier 1 vendor is one of the largest and most well known in its field -- often enjoying national or international recognition and acceptance.
  • value-added reseller (VAR) - A value-added reseller (VAR) is a company that resells software, hardware, and other products and services that provide value beyond the original order fulfillment.
  • vendor - A vendor is an individual or company that sells goods or services to somone else in the economic production chain.