Information Systems Today 8e by Valacich, Schneider

Information Systems Today 8e by Valacich, Schneider is the 8th edition of the Information Systems Today: Managing the Digital World textbook authored by Joseph Valacich, University of Arizona, and Christoph Schneider, City University of Hong Kong, and published by Pearson Education Limited in 2018.

Acceptable use policies. Computer and/or Internet usage policies for people within an organization, with clearly spelledout penalties for noncompliance.
Access-control software. Software for securing information systems that allows only specific users access to specific computers, applications, or data.
Ad hoc query. A request for information created due to unplanned information needs that is typically not saved for later use.
Adaptive maintenance. Making changes to an information system to make its functionality meet changing business needs or to migrate it to a different operating environment.
Advanced analytics. Tools and techniques used to discover hidden patterns, trends, and relationships in large amounts of data and to build predictive models.
Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET). A wide area network linking various universities and research centers; forerunner of the Internet.
Adware. Free software paid for by advertisements appearing during the use of the software.
Affiliate marketing. A type of marketing that allows individual website owners to earn commission by posting other companies' ads on their web pages.
Agile methodology. An evolutionary systems development approach that focuses on creating small, clientapproved parts of the system as the project progresses rather than delivering one large application at the end of the project.
Algorithm. The step-by-step procedures used to make a calculation or perform some type of computer-based process.
Alpha testing. Testing performed by the development organization to assess whether the entire system meets the design requirements of the users.
Amateurization of journalism. The replacement of professional journalism by amateur bloggers.
American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII). Character encoding method for representing characters of the English alphabet that provides binary codes to represent symbols.
Analog signals. Signals consisting of a continuous wave that can take on an infinite number of values within its frequency range.
Analytical CRM. Systems for analyzing customer behavior and perceptions in order to provide business intelligence.
App. A software program that is designed to perform a particular, well-defined function, typically built for mobile devices.
Applet. A program designed to be executed within another application, such as a web page.
Application software. Software used to perform a specific task that the user needs to accomplish.
Arithmetic logic unit (ALU). A part of the central processing unit (CPU) that performs mathematics and logical operations.
Artificial intelligence (AI). The science of enabling information technologies to simulate human intelligence as well as gain sensing capabilities.
Association. See Relationship.
Association discovery. A data mining technique used to find associations or correlations among sets of items.
Asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL). A variant of DSL offering faster download speeds than upload speeds.
Asymmetric encryption. See Public-key encryption.
Asynchronous. Not coordinated in time.
Attribute. An individual field containing data describing an entity in a database.
Audio. Analog or digital sound data.
Augmented reality. The use of information systems to enhance a person's perception of reality by providing relevant information about the user's surroundings.
Authentication. The process of confirming the identity of a user who is attempting to access a restricted system or website.
Authentication service. A service on a network verifying the identity of a user.
Authorization. Granting access to resources on a system following successful identification and authentication.
Automating. Using information systems to do an activity faster, cheaper, and perhaps with more accuracy and/or consistency.
Backbone. A high-speed central network to which many smaller networks can be connected.
Backdoor. A hidden access point allowing for unauthorized access to a system.
Backup. A copy of critical data on a separate storage medium.
Backup site. A facility allowing businesses to continue functioning in the event a disaster strikes.
Bandwidth. The transmission capacity of a computer or communications channel.
Bar code reader. A specialized scanner used to read bar code data.
Basic input-output system (BIOS). Programs and instructions that are automatically loaded when the computer is turned on.
Batch data. Large amounts of routine data.
Batch processing. The processing of transactions after a certain number of transactions has been collected; the transactions are processed together as a "batch" at some later time.
Best-cost provider strategy. A strategy to offer products or services of reasonably good quality at competitive prices.
Best practices. Procedures and processes used by business organizations that are widely accepted as being among the most effective and/or efficient.
Beta testing. Testing performed by actual system users with actual data in their work environment.
Big Data. Extremely large and complex data sets, typically characterized as being of high volume, variety, and velocity.
Binary code. The digital representation of data using sequences of zeroes and ones.
Biometrics. Body characteristics such as fingerprints, retinal patterns in the eye, or facial characteristics that allow the unique identification of a person.
Bit. A basic unit of data in computing. Short for "binary digit"; the individual ones and zeros that make up a byte.
Blockchain. A decentralized public ledger that is highly resilient against tampering, as transactions are added in blocks, serving as proof of all transactions ever made.
Blog. noun: short for "web log." Chronological online text diary that can focus on anything the user desires. verb: to create and maintain a blog.
Bluetooth. A wireless specification for personal area networking of desktop computers, peripheral devices (such as headsets, keyboards, mice, and printers), mobile phones, tablets, and various other devices.
Bot. Short for "software robot"; a program that works in the background to provide some service when a specific event occurs.
Botnet. A collection of zombie computers used for destructive activities or spamming.
Bounce rate. The percentage of single-page visits; reflecting the percentage of users for whom a particular page is the only page visited on the website during a session.
Break-even analysis. A type of cost–benefit analysis to identify at what point (if ever) tangible benefits equal tangible costs.
Brick-and-mortar business strategy. A business approach exclusively utilizing physical locations, such as department stores, business offices, and manufacturing plants, without an online presence.
Bricks-and-clicks business strategy. See Click-and-mortar business strategy.
Bullwhip effect. Large fluctuations in suppliers' forecasts caused by small fluctuations in demand for the end product and the need to create safety buffers.
Bus network. A network in the shape of an open-ended line.
Business analytics. The use of business intelligence and advanced analytics tools to enhance organizational decision making.
Business continuity plan. A plan describing how a business continues operating after a disaster.
Business intelligence (BI). Tools and techniques for analyzing data of past and current transactions to obtain an understanding of an organization's performance.
Business model. The summary of a business's strategic direction outlining how the objectives will be achieved; a business model specifies how a company will create, deliver, and capture value.
Business process. A set of related activities an organization performs in order to reach its business goals.
Business process management (BPM). A systematic, structured improvement approach by all or part of an organization, including a critical examination and redesign of business processes in order to achieve dramatic improvements in one or more performance measures such as quality, cycle time, or cost.
Business process reengineering (BPR). Legacy term for business process management (BPM).
Business rules. Policies by which a business runs.
Business/IT alignment. The alignment of information systems with a business's strategy.
Business-to-business (B2B). Electronic commerce transactions between business partners, such as suppliers, manufacturers, and distributors.
Business-to-business marketplace. A trading exchange operated by a third-party vendor, not associated with a particular buyer or supplier.
Business-to-consumer (B2C). Electronic commerce transactions between businesses and end consumers.
Buyer agent. An intelligent agent used to find the best price for a particular product a consumer wishes to purchase. Also known as a "shopping bot."
BYOD. Bring your own device; employees using their own devices for work-related purposes.
Byte. A unit of data typically containing 8 bits, or about one typed character.
Bytes per inch (BPI). The numbers of bytes that can be stored on 1 inch of magnetic tape.
Cable modem. A specialized piece of equipment that enables a computer to access Internet service via cable TV lines.
Cache. A small block of special high-speed memory used by processors to store those instructions most recently or most often used (pronounced "cash").
Campus area network. A type of network spanning multiple buildings, such as a university or business campus.
Capabilities. An organization's ability to leverage its resources.
Capital expenditure. Money spent to acquire or improve a long-term asset such as a piece of equipment or a building.
CAPTCHA. Short for "Completely Automated Public Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart." A system designed to prevent automated mechanisms from repeatedly attempting to submit forms or gain access to a system. A CAPTCHA typically requires the user to enter letters or numbers that are presented in the form of a distorted image before submitting an online form.
Card security code. A three-digit code located on the back of a credit card; used in transactions when the physical card is not present.
Carrier sense multiple access/collision avoidance (CSMA/CA). A random access control method in which each workstation "listens" to the traffic on the transmission medium to determine whether another message is being transmitted so as to avoid collisions.
Cascading style sheets (CSS). Style language used to specify the formatting and layout of elements on a web page.
Cathode ray tube (CRT). Display technology similar to a television monitor.
Cell. A geographic area containing a low-powered radio antenna/receiver for transmitting telecommunications signals within that area; monitored and controlled by a central computer.
Cellular phone. Mobile phone using a communications system that divides a geographic region into sections called cells.
Central processing unit (CPU). Component responsible for performing all the operations of the computer. Also called a microprocessor, processor, or chip.
Centralized computing. A computing model utilizing large centralized computers, called mainframes, to process and store data and local input/output devices called "terminals"; no sharing of data and capabilities between mainframes and terminals.
Certificate authority. A trusted middleman between computers that verifies that a website is a trusted site and that provides large-scale public-key encryption.
Change request management. A formal process that ensures that any proposed system changes are documented, reviewed for potential risks, appropriately authorized, prioritized, and carefully managed.
Characters per inch (CPI). The number of characters that can be stored on 1 inch of magnetic tape.
Chatbot. Intelligent agent that simulates human conversations, such as in online help systems.
Classification. A data mining technique used for grouping instances into predefined categories.
Click-and-mortar business strategy. A business approach utilizing both physical locations and virtual locations. Also referred to as "bricks-and-clicks."
Clickbait. An incomplete or tantalizing headline for a story that encourages users to click on it to learn a key detail or to find out the answer to a question.
Click fraud. The abuse of pay-per-click advertising models by repeatedly clicking on a link to inflate revenue to the host or increase costs for the advertiser.
Click-only business strategy. A business approach that exclusively utilizes an online presence. Companies using this strategy are also referred to as virtual companies.
Click-through rate. The number of visitors who click on an ad (i.e., clicks) divided by the number of times it was displayed (i.e., impressions).
Click-wrap license. A type of software license primarily used for downloaded software that requires computer users to accept the license terms by clicking a button before installing the software.
Clickstream data. A recording of the users' path through a website.
Client. Any computer or software application that requests and uses services provided by a server.
Client-server network. A network in which servers and clients have defined roles.
Climate change. Large-scale and long-term regional and global changes in temperatures and weather patterns.
Clock speed. The speed of the system clock, typically measured in hertz (Hz) or multiples thereof.
Clock tick. A single pulse of the system clock.
Cloud-based collaboration tools. Tools residing in the cloud that enable teams to collaborate on documents or projects.
Cloud computing. A computing model enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.
Cloud security. Security concerned with storing and processing data in the cloud; the need to secure data at rest, data in transit, and data in use.
Clustering. Data mining technique grouping related records on the basis of having similar attributes.
Cold backup site. A backup facility consisting of an empty warehouse with all the necessary connections for power and communications but nothing else.
Collaboration. Two or more people, teams, or organizations working together to achieve a common goal.
Collaborative computing. A synergistic form of distributed computing in which two or more networked computers are used to accomplish common processing tasks.
Collaborative CRM. Systems for providing effective and efficient communication with the customer from the entire organization.
Collaborative economy. See Sharing economy.
Collective intelligence. A concept based on the notion that distributed groups of people with a divergent range of information and expertise can outperform the capabilities of individual experts.
Collocation facility. A facility in which businesses can rent space for servers or other information systems equipment.
Combination primary key. A unique identifier consisting of two or more attributes.
Competitive advantage. A firm's ability to do something better, faster, cheaper, or uniquely as compared with rival firms in the market.
Competitive intelligence. Information about competitors, used to enhance a business's strategic position.
Compiler. A software program that translates an entire program's source code into machine language that can be read and executed directly by the computer.
Computer-aided software engineering (CASE). The use of software tools that provide automated support for some portion of the systems development process.
Computer-assisted audit tool. Software used to test information systems controls.
Computer cluster. A set of computers that work together as a single system.
Computer crime. The use of a computer to commit an illegal act.
Computer ethics. A broad range of issues and standards of conduct that have emerged through the use and proliferation of information systems.
Computer fluency. The ability to independently learn new technologies as they emerge and assess their impact on one's work and life.
Computer forensics. The use of formal investigative techniques to evaluate digital information for judicial review.
Computer literacy. The knowledge of how to operate a computer.
Computer networking. The sharing of data or services between computers using wireless or cable transmission media.
Consumer-to-business (C2B). Electronic commerce transactions in which consumers sell goods or services to businesses.
Consumer-to-consumer (C2C). Electronic commerce transactions taking place solely between consumers.
Consumerization of IT. The trend of technological innovations first being introduced in the consumer marketplace before being used by organizations.
Content delivery network. A network of servers in various geographical locations that store copies of particular websites so as to reduce latency.
Content management system (CMS). An information system enabling users to publish, edit, version track, and retrieve digital information (or content).
Continuous planning process. A strategic business planning process involving continuous monitoring and adjusting of business processes to enable rapid reaction to changing business conditions.
Control objectives for information and related technology (COBIT). A set of best practices that help organizations to both maximize the benefits from their information systems infrastructure and establish appropriate controls.
Control unit. Part of the central processing unit (CPU) that works closely with the arithmetic logic unit (ALU) by fetching and decoding instructions as well as retrieving and storing data.
Conversion rate. The percentage of visitors to a website who perform the desired action.
Cookie. A small text file (typically containing certain data collected from/about a user or data related to the user's browsing session) passed by a web server to a web browser to be stored on a user's computer; this message is then sent back to the server each time the user's browser requests a page from that server.
Copyright. A form of intellectual property, referring to creations of the mind such as music, literature, or software.
Core activities. The activities within a value chain that process inputs and produce outputs, including inbound logistics, operations and manufacturing, outbound logistics, marketing and sales, and customer service.
Corrective controls. Policies and procedures used to mitigate the impact of any problem after it has arisen, such as restoring compromised data.
Corrective maintenance. Making changes to an information system to repair flaws in its design, coding, or implementation.
Cost–benefit analysis. Techniques that contrast the total expected tangible costs versus the tangible benefits of an investment.
Cracker. An individual who breaks into computer systems with the intention of doing damage or committing a crime.
Cross-channel retailing. Offering the customer different touchpoints, such that transactions take place across multiple environments.
Crowdfunding. The securing of business financing from individuals in the marketplace—the "crowd"—to fund an initiative.
Crowdsourcing. The use of everyday people as cheap labor force, enabled by information technology.
Cryptocurrency. Virtual currency that is not issued by any central bank and uses encryption technologies to secure transactions and generate new units of the currency.
Custom software. Software programs that are designed and developed for a company's specific needs as opposed to being bought off the shelf.
Customer engagement center. A part of operational CRM that provides a central point of contact for an organization's customers, employing multiple communication channels to support the communication preferences of customers.
Customer portal. An enterprise portal designed to automate the business processes that occur before, during, and after sales between a supplier and multiple customers.
Customer relationship management (CRM) system. An information system used to create and maintain lasting relationships with customers by concentrating on the downstream information flows.
Customer service and support. A part of operational CRM that automates service and information requests, complaints, and product returns.
Customization. Modifying software so that it better suits user needs.
Cyberbullying. The use of a computer to deliberately cause emotional distress in someone, often by manipulating, discrediting, or humiliating the victim.
Cyberharassment. The use of a computer to communicate obscene, vulgar, or threatening content about someone with the intent of harming or harassing that person.
Cybersquatting. The dubious practice of registering a domain name, then trying to sell the name to the person, company, or organization most likely to want it.
Cyberstalking. Intentionally following, threatening, and/or intimidating someone using electronic means and causing that person to fear for his or her safety.
Cyberterrorism. The use of computer and networking technologies against persons or property to intimidate or coerce governments, individuals, or any segment of society to attain political, religious, or ideological goals.
Cyberwar. An organized attempt by a country's military to disrupt or destroy the information and communications systems of another country.
Dark web. Web content—typically used for various nefarious purposes (such as trading drugs, stolen credit card information, or illegal porn)—that is not indexed by traditional search engines and that is typically only accessible using specialized browsers that anonymize the user and hide traces.
Data. Raw symbols, such as characters and numbers, that have no meaning in and of themselves, and are of little value until processed.
Data cleansing. The process of detecting, correcting (e.g., standardizing the format), or removing corrupt or inaccurate data retrieved from different systems.
Data dictionary. A document prepared by database designers to describe the characteristics of all items in a database.
Data-driven organization. Organization that makes decisions that can be backed up with verifiable data.
Data flows. Data moving through an organization or within an information system.
Data mart. A data warehouse that is limited in scope and customized for the decision support applications of a particular end-user group.
Data mining. Methods used by companies to discover "hidden" predictive relationships in data to better understand their customers, products, markets, or any other phase of their business for which data have been captured.
Data mining agent. An intelligent agent that continuously analyzes large data warehouses to detect changes deemed important by a user, sending a notification when such changes occur.
Data model. A map or diagram that represents the entities of a database and their relationships.
Data privacy statement. A statement on a website containing information about what data are gathered, what they are used for, who will have access to the data, whether provision of the data is required or voluntary, and how confidentiality will be ensured.
Data quality. The suitability of data for its intended use, consisting of completeness, accuracy, timeliness, validity, and consistency.
Data reduction. A preparatory step to running data mining algorithms, performed by rolling up a data cube to the smallest level of aggregation needed, reducing the dimensionality, or dividing continuous measures into discrete intervals.
Data science. The advanced analytics field of study and practice.
Data type. The type (e.g., text, number, or date) of an attribute in a database.
Data warehouse. A repository containing data from multiple large databases and other sources that is suitable for direct querying, analysis, or processing.
Database. A collection of related data organized in a way to facilitate data searches.
Database management system (DBMS). A software application used to create, store, organize, and retrieve data from a single database or several databases.
Decision support system (DSS). A special-purpose information system designed to support organizational decision making.
Dedicated grid. A grid computing architecture consisting of homogeneous computers that are dedicated to performing the grid's computing tasks.
Deep web. The parts of the web that cannot be indexed by conventional search engines.
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The U.S. governmental agency that began to study ways to interconnect networks of various kinds, leading to the development of the ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network).
Demographic changes. Changes in the structure of populations, such as related to age, birth rates, and migration.
Denial-of-service attack (DoS attack). An attack by crackers—often using zombie computers—that makes a network resource (e.g., website) unavailable to users or available with only a poor degree of service.
Density. The storage capacity of magnetic tape; typically expressed in characters per inch (CPI) or bytes per inch (BPI).
Desktop videoconferencing. The use of integrated computer, telephone, video recording, and playback technologies—by two or more people—to remotely interact with each other using their desktop computers.
Desktop virtualization. The practice of providing workers with a virtual desktop environment (hosted on a central computer), helping to reduce costs for software licensing or maintenance and to comply with stringent privacy and data protection laws.
Destructive agent. A malicious agent designed by spammers and other Internet attackers to farm e-mail addresses off websites or deposit spyware on machines.
Detective controls. Processes and procedures used to discover security events, such as unauthorized access attempts, and to limit damage.
Developmental testing. Testing performed by programmers to ensure that each module of a new program is error free.
Device driver. A computer program that allows a computer to communicate with various different peripherals and other hardware devices.
Differentiation strategy. A strategy in which an organization differentiates itself by providing better products or services than its competitors.
Digital dashboard. A display delivering summary information to managers and executives to provide warnings, action notices, and summaries of business conditions.
Digital divide. The gap between those individuals in our society who are computer literate and have access to information resources such as the Internet and those who do not.
Digital infrastructure. See Information systems infrastructure.
Digital rights management (DRM). A technological solution that allows publishers to control their digital media (music, movies, and so on) to discourage, limit, or prevent illegal copying and distribution.
Digital signals. Signals consisting of discrete 'on' and 'off' values that computers use to transmit data.
Digital subscriber line (DSL). A high-speed data transmission method that uses special modulation schemes to fit more data onto traditional copper telephone wires.
Digital video disc. A DVD used for storing movies.
Digitize. To convert analog inputs into digital data.
Dimension. A way to summarize data, such as region, time, or product line.
Directory service. A repository (or "address book") containing information about users, user groups, resources, access rights, and so on, on a network.
Disaster recovery plan. An organizational plan that spells out detailed procedures for recovering from systems-related disasters, such as virus infections and other disasters that might strike critical information systems.
Discount rate. The rate of return used by an organization to compute the present value of future cash flows.
Discussion forum. An electronic bulletin board that allows for threaded discussions among participants.
Disintermediation. The phenomenon of cutting out the "middleman" in transactions and reaching customers more directly and efficiently.
Disruptive innovation. See Radical innovation.
Disruptive innovation cycle. A model suggesting that the extent to which modern organizations use information technologies and systems in timely, innovative ways is the key to success.
Distinctive competency. Any unique strength possessed by an organization (e.g., innovation, agility, quality, or low cost) that helps to pursue an organizational strategy.
Distributed computing. Using separate computers to work independently on subsets of tasks and then pooling the individual results by communicating over a network.
Domain name. The part of a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that identifies a source or host entity on the Internet.
Domain Name System (DNS). A collection of databases used to associate Internet host names with their IP addresses.
Downstream information flow. An information flow that relates to the information that is produced by a company and sent along to another organization, such as a distributor.
Doxing. Researching and broadcasting personally identifiable information about an individual.
Drill down. To analyze data at more detailed levels of a specific dimension.
Drill-down report. A report that provides details behind the summary values on a key-indicator or exception report.
Drive-by hacking. A computer attack in which an attacker accesses a wireless computer network, intercepts data, uses network services, and/or sends attack instructions without entering the office or organization that owns the network.
Dumpster diving. Scouring wastebaskets for potentially useful information.
Dynamic pricing model. Pricing model under which customers specify the product or service they are looking for and how much they are willing to pay for it, and the provider either accepts or rejects the customers' bids.
E-auction. An electronic auction.
E-business. An organization that uses information technologies or systems to support nearly every part of its business.
Economic opportunities. Opportunities that a firm finds for making more money and/or making money in new ways.
Effectiveness. The extent to which goals or tasks are accomplished well.
Efficiency. The extent to which goals are accomplished faster, at lower cost, or with relatively little time and effort.
E-finance. The use of information systems to provide financial services and markets.
E-government. The use of information systems to provide citizens, organizations, and other governmental agencies with information about and access to public services.
Electronic bill pay. The use of online banking for bill paying.
Electronic commerce (EC). The exchange of goods and services via the Internet among and between customers, firms, employees, business partners, suppliers, and so on.
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). The digital, or electronic, transmission of business documents and related data between organizations via dedicated telecommunications networks.
Electronic meeting system. A collection of personal computers networked together with sophisticated software tools to help group members solve problems and make decisions through interactive electronic idea generation, evaluation, and voting.
Embedded system. A microprocessor-based system optimized to perform a limited, well-defined set of tasks.
Employee portal. An intranet portal used for communication and collaboration between an organization and its employees.
Employee self-service. Intranet-based applications that allow employees to manage human-resources-related tasks.
Enabling technology. An information technology that enables a firm to accomplish a task or goal or to gain or sustain a competitive advantage in some way.
Encryption. The process of encoding messages or files so that only intended recipients can decipher and understand them.
End-to-end encryption. A system of communication where only the participants of the conversation can read the messages.
Enterprise license. A type of software license that is usually negotiated and covers all users within an organization. Also known as a "volume license."
Enterprise marketing management. CRM tools used to integrate and analyze marketing campaigns.
Enterprise resource planning system (ERP system). An information system that integrates business activities across departmental boundaries, including planning, manufacturing, sales, marketing, and so on.
Enterprise system. An information system that spans the entire organization and can be used to integrate business processes, activities, and data across all functional areas of a firm.
Enterprise WAN. A WAN connecting disparate networks of a single organization into a single network.
Enterprise-wide information systems. See Enterprise system.
Entity. Something data are collected about, such as people or classes.
Entity-relationship diagram (ERD). A diagram used to display the structure of data and show associations between entities.
ERP core components. The components of an ERP that support the internal activities of an organization for producing products and services.
ERP extended components. The components of an ERP that support the primary external activities of an organization for dealing with suppliers and customers.
E-tailing. Electronic retailing; the online sales of goods and services.
Ethernet. The most widely used local area network protocol.
Exception report. A report providing users with information about situations that are out of the normal operating range.
Executable. A program in machine language that can be read and executed directly by a computer.
Executive level. The top level of the organization, where executives focus on long-term strategic issues facing the organization.
Exit rate. The percentage of visitors who leave the website (terminate the session) after viewing a particular page.
Explicit knowledge asset. A knowledge asset that can be documented, archived, and codified.
Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL). An XMLbased specification for publishing financial information.
Extensible Markup Language (XML). A data presentation standard that allows designers to create customized markup tags that enable data to be more easily shared between applications and organizations.
External acquisition. The process of purchasing an existing information system from an external organization or vendor.
Externally focused system. An information system that coordinates business activities with customers, suppliers, business partners, and others who operate outside an organization's boundaries.
Extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL). The process of consolidating, cleansing, and manipulating data before loading the data into a data warehouse.
Extranet. A private part of the Internet—cordoned off from ordinary users—that enables two or more firms to use the Internet to do business together.
eXtreme programming (XP). A software development methodology that utilizes fast software releases to customers, small development teams (usually pairs), and extensive code reviews and testing.
Fact. See Measure.
Fiber to the home. See Fiber to the premises.
Fiber to the premises. High-speed network connectivity to homes and offices that is implemented using fiber-optic cable. Also known as "fiber to the home."
Financial flow. The movement of financial assets throughout the supply chain.
Fintech. Technologies that support activities in the financial sector.
Firewall. Hardware or software designed to keep unauthorized users out of network systems.
First-call resolution. Addressing the customers' issues during the first call.
First-mover advantage. Temporary competitive advantage derived from being the first to enter a market.
Flash drive. A portable, removable data storage device using flash memory.
Flash memory. A memory-chip-based nonvolatile computer storage technology.
Folksonomy. A categorization system created by Internet users (as opposed to experts).
Foreign key. An attribute that appears as a non–primary key attribute in one entity and as a primary key attribute (or part of a primary key) in another entity.
Form. A business document that contains some predefined data and may include some areas where additional data are to be filled in, typically for adding or modifying data related to a single record.
Freemium. Revenue model where limited versions of digital products or services are offered for free, but a premium is charged for special features.
Functional area information system. A cross-organizationallevel information system designed to support a specific functional area.
Functional convenience. A web page's characteristics that make the interaction with the site easier or more convenient.
Fuzzy logic. A type of logic used in intelligent systems that allows rules to be represented using approximations or subjective values in order to handle situations where information about a problem is incomplete.
Geographic information system (GIS). A system for creating, storing, analyzing, and managing geographically referenced data.
Geotag. noun: geospatial metadata (such as latitude, longitude, or altitude), typically assigned to digital media. verb: to add geotags to digital media.
Gig economy. An economy in which workers are not employed by a company, but are only hired for short-term, temporary jobs.
Global network. A network spanning multiple countries that may include the networks of several organizations. The Internet is an example of a global network.
Globalization. The integration of economies throughout the world, enabled by innovation and technological progress.
Government-to-business (G2B). Electronic commerce that involves a country's government and businesses.
Government-to-citizen (G2C). Online interactions between federal, state, and local governments and their constituents.
Government-to-government (G2G). Electronic interactions that take place between countries or between different levels of government within a country.
Graphical user interface (GUI). A computer interface that enables the user to select or manipulate pictures, icons, and menus to send instructions to the computer.
Green computing. Attempts to use computing resources more efficiently to reduce environmental impacts, as well as the use of information systems to reduce negative environmental impacts.
Grid computing. A computing architecture that combines the computing power of a large number of smaller, independent, networked computers (often regular desktop PCs) into a cohesive system in order to solve large-scale computing problems.
Group buying. Special volume discounts negotiated with local businesses and offered to people in the form of "daily deals"; if enough people agree to purchase the product or service, everyone can purchase the product at the discounted price.
Groupware. Software that enables people to collaborate more effectively.
Hacker. An individual who gains unauthorized access to computer systems.
Hacktivist. A cybercriminal pursuing political, religious, or ideological goals.
Hard drive (hard disk drive). A magnetic storage device used for secondary storage.
Hardware. Physical computer equipment, such as the computer monitor, central processing unit, or keyboard.
Hashtag. A tag preceded by a pound sign added to messages to indicate the topic and relate the message to other messages about the same topic.
Head crash. A hard drive failure occurring when the read/write head touches the disk, resulting in the loss of the data and/or irreparable damage to the disk.
Healthcare IS. The use of IS to support everything from patient diagnosis and treatment to analyzing patient and disease data to running doctors' offices and hospitals.
Home automation. See Smart home technologies.
Honeypot. A computer, piece of data, or network site that is designed to be enticing to crackers so as to detect, deflect, or counteract illegal activity.
Hot backup site. A fully equipped backup facility, having everything from hardware, software, and current data to office equipment.
HTML editor. See Web page builder.
HTML tag. Markup that is inserted into the source document of a web page to specify the content and structure of a document.
Human–computer interface (HCI). The point of contact between an information system and its users.
Hyperlink. A reference or link on a web page to another document that contains related information.
Hypertext. Text in a web document that is linked to other text or content.
Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). The standard method of specifying the structure and content of web pages.
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). The standard regulating how servers process user requests for web pages.
Identification. A user's claim or declaration of being someone.
Identity theft. Stealing another person's Social Security number, credit card number, and other personal information for the purpose of using the victim's credit rating to borrow money, buy merchandise, or run up debts that are never repaid.
Impression based model. Pricing model under which pricing is based on the number of times the page containing an ad is displayed, typically expressed in cost per thousand impressions (i.e., cost per mille, or CPM).
In-app purchases. Extra features or content users can buy within an app.
Industrial espionage. A company's (or country's) covert activities, such as the theft of trade secrets, bribery, blackmail, and technological surveillance to gain an advantage over rivals.
Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). The use of IoT technologies in manufacturing.
Information. Data that have been formatted and/or organized in some way so as to be useful to people.
Information flow. The movement of information along the supply chain.
Information privacy. An ethical issue that is concerned with what information an individual should have to reveal to others through the course of employment or through other transactions such as online shopping.
Information system (IS). The combination of people and information technology that create, collect, process, store, and distribute useful data.
Information systems architecture. The formal definition of an organization's technologies, systems, and processes that support the organization's specific business processes and strategy.
Information systems audit. An assessment of the state of an organization's information systems controls to determine necessary changes and to help ensure the information systems' availability, confidentiality, and integrity.
Information systems controls. Processes and procedures helping to ensure the availability, integrity, and confidentiality of data and information systems.
Information systems infrastructure. The hardware, software, networks, data, facilities, human resources, and services used by organizations to support their decision making, business processes, and competitive strategy.
Information systems planning. A formal process for identifying and assessing all possible information systems development projects of an organization.
Information systems risk assessment. Assessment performed to obtain an understanding of the risks to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data and systems.
Information systems security. Precautions taken to keep all aspects of information systems safe from destruction, manipulation, or unauthorized use or access.
Information technology (IT). The hardware, software, and networking components of an information system.
Informational system. A system designed to support decision making based on stable point-in-time or historical data.
Infrastructure. The interconnection of various structural elements to support an overall entity, such as an organization, city, or country.
Infrastructure as a service (IaaS). A cloud computing model in which only the basic capabilities of processing, storage, and networking are provided.
In-memory computing. Processing of analytical and transactional tasks where the data are stored in a computer's main memory, rather than on a comparatively slow hard drive, removing the bottlenecks associated with reading and writing data.
Innovation. The creation of new products, processes, or services that return value to the organization.
Input technologies. Hardware that is used to enter data into a computer.
Insider threat. A trusted adversary or malicious insider who operates within an organization's boundaries.
Instant messaging. Online chat emulating real-time written conversations.
Intangible benefit. A benefit of using a particular system or technology that is difficult to quantify.
Intangible cost. A cost of using a particular system or technology that is difficult to quantify.
Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN). A standard for worldwide digital telecommunications that uses existing twisted-pair telephone wires to provide high-speed data service.
Intellectual property (IP). Creations of the mind that have commercial value.
Intelligent agent. A program that works in the background to provide some service when a specific event occurs.
Intelligent system. A system comprised of sensors, software, and computers embedded in machines and devices that emulates and enhances human capabilities.
Interactive voice response (IVR). A system using speech recognition technology to guide callers through online surveys or menu options.
Interexchange carrier (IXC). A company selling long-distance services with circuits that carry signals between the major telephone exchanges.
Internally focused system. An information system that supports functional areas, business processes, and decision making within an organization.
Internet. A large worldwide collection of networks that use a common protocol to communicate with each other.
Internet backbone. The collection of primary network connections and telecommunications lines making up the Internet.
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). A nonprofit corporation that is responsible for managing IP addresses, domain names, and the root server system.
Internet exchange point. An access point for ISPs and an exchange point for Internet traffic.
Internet hoax. A false message circulated online about any topic of public interest, typically asking the recipient to perform a certain action.
Internet host. A computer working as a server on the Internet.
Internet of Things (IoT). A network of a broad range of physical objects that can automatically share data over the Internet.
Internet over satellite. A technology that allows users to access the Internet via satellites that are placed in a geostationary orbit.
Internet service provider (ISP). An organization that enables individuals and organizations to connect to the Internet.
Internet Tax Freedom Act. An act mandating a moratorium on electronic commerce taxation in order to stimulate electronic commerce.
Internet troll. A person who creates discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people by posting inflammatory content on social media sites with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an emotional response, often for the troll's own amusement.
Internetworking. Connecting host computers and their networks to form even larger networks.
InterNIC. A government–industry collaboration that manages directory and database services, domain registration services, and other information services on the Internet.
Interorganizational system. An information system that communicates across organizational boundaries.
Interpreter. A software program that translates a program's source code into machine language one statement at a time.
Intranet. An internal, private network using web technologies to facilitate the secured transmission of proprietary information within an organization, thereby restricting access to authorized users within the organization.
IP. The part of TCP/IP that is responsible for addressing and correct routing of packages from source to destination.
IP address. A numerical address assigned to every computer and router connected to the Internet that serves as the destination address of that computer or device and enables the network to route messages to the proper destination.
IP convergence. The use of the Internet protocol for transporting voice, video, fax, and data traffic.
IP datagram. A data packet that conforms to the Internet protocol specification.
IPv6. The latest version of the Internet protocol.
Jailbreaking. Modifying a mobile phone's operating system to remove manufacturer or carrier restrictions.
Java. An object-oriented programming language that is used for developing applications that can run on multiple computing platforms.
JavaScript. A scripting language that allows developers to add dynamic content to websites.
Joint application design (JAD). A special type of a group meeting in which all (or most) users meet with a systems analyst to jointly define and agree on system requirements or designs.
Just-in-time (JIT). A method to optimize ordering quantities so that parts or raw materials arrive just when they are needed for production.
Key generator. Software used to generate fake license or registration keys to circumvent a program's protection mechanism.
Key-indicator report. A report that provides a summary of critical information on a recurring schedule.
Key performance indicator (KPI). A metric deemed critical to assessing progress toward a certain organizational goal.
Keylogger. Software programs used to capture users' keystrokes.
Knowledge. A body of governing procedures such as guidelines or rules that are used to organize or manipulate data to make the data suitable for a given task.
Knowledge assets. The set of skills, routines, practices, principles, formulas, methods, heuristics, and intuitions (both explicit and tacit) used by organizations to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and profitability.
Knowledge management. The processes an organization uses to gain the greatest value from its knowledge assets.
Knowledge management system. A collection of technologybased tools that includes communications technologies and information storage and retrieval systems to enable the generation, storage, sharing, and management of tacit and explicit knowledge assets.
Knowledge portal. A specific portal used to share knowledge collected in a repository with employees (often using an intranet), with customers and suppliers (often using an extranet), or the general public (often using the Internet).
Knowledge society. A society in which education is the cornerstone of society and there is an increase in the importance of knowledge workers.
Knowledge worker. A professional who is relatively well educated and who creates, modifies, and/or synthesizes knowledge as a fundamental part of his or her job.
Layer. A transparent sheet that can be made visible or invisible and provides specific information or content. In a GIS, layers contain information about roads, utilities, ZIP code boundaries, floodplains, and so on.
Legacy system. Older standalone computer systems within an organization with older versions of applications that are either fast approaching or beyond the end of their useful life within the organization.
Liquid crystal display (LCD). A technology used for thin and lightweight displays in many modern notebook and desktop computers.
Local area network (LAN). A computer network that spans a relatively small area, allowing all computer users to connect with each other to exchange data and share peripheral devices, such as printers.
Location analytics. The combination of geospatial data with business intelligence and advanced analytics tools to enhance organizational decision making
Location-based services. Highly personalized mobile services based on a user's location.
Logic bomb. A type of computer virus that lies in wait for unsuspecting computer users to perform a triggering operation before executing its instructions.
Long tail. The large parts of consumer demand that are outside the relatively small number of mainstream tastes.
Low-cost leadership strategy. A strategy to offer the best prices in the industry on goods or services.
Machine learning. The branch of artificial intelligence that allows systems to learn by identifying meaningful patterns when processing massive amounts of data.
Magnetic ink character recognition (MICR). Scanning technology used by the banking industry to read data, account numbers, bank codes, and check numbers on preprinted checks.
Mainframe. A very large computer typically used as the main, central computing system by major corporations and governmental agencies.
Make-to-order process. The set of processes associated with producing goods based on customers' orders.
Make-to-stock process. The set of processes associated with producing goods based on demand forecasts.
Making the business case. The process of identifying, quantifying, and presenting the value provided by an information system.
Malware. Malicious software, such as viruses, worms, or Trojan horses.
Management information system (MIS). An information system designed to support the management of organizational functions at the managerial level of the organization.
Managerial level. The middle level of the organization, where functional managers focus on monitoring and controlling operational-level activities and providing information to higher levels of the organization.
Mashup. A new application or website that uses data from one or more service providers.
Mass customization. Tailoring products and services to meet the particular needs of individual customers on a large scale.
Master data. The data that are deemed most important in the operation of a business; typically the "actors" in an organization's transactions.
Master data management. Consolidating master data so as to facilitate arriving at a single version of the truth.
M-commerce (mobile commerce). Any electronic transaction or information interaction conducted using a wireless, mobile device and mobile networks that leads to a transfer of real or perceived value in exchange for information, services, or goods.
Measure. The values and numbers a user wants to analyze. Also referred to as "facts."
Measured service. A pricing model in a utility computing model where providers monitor usage and customers pay only for what they use, and the metering depends on type of resource.
Media access control. The rules that govern how a given node or workstation gains access to a network to send or receive data.
Menu-driven pricing model. Pricing model under which companies set and present non-negotiable prices for products to consumers.
Mesh network. A network that consists of computers and other devices that are either fully or partially connected to each other.
Metadata. Data about data, describing data in terms of who, where, when, why, and so on.
Metropolitan area network. A computer network of limited geographic scope—typically a citywide area—that combines LAN and high-speed fiber-optic technologies.
Microblog. noun: social networking service (such as Twitter), allowing to post relatively short "status updates." verb: to post short status updates on a microblog.
Microprocessor. See Central processing unit.
Microsoft.NET. A programming platform that is used to develop applications that are highly interoperable across a variety of platforms and devices.
Mirror. To store data synchronously on independent systems to achieve redundancy for purposes of reliability and/or performance.
Mobile banking. Conducting financial transactions using mobile devices.
Mobile device management (MDM). Administration of an organization's mobile devices to enforce authorization policies, prevent the downloading or installing of non-approved apps, or remotely lock the phones or wipe data.
Mobile wireless. The transfer of data to a moving computer or handheld device.
Model. A conceptual, mathematical, logical, or analytical formula used to represent or project business events or trends.
Modem. Short for "modulator-demodulator"; a device or program that enables a computer to transmit data over telephone or cable television lines.
Module. A component of a software application that can be selected and implemented as needed.
Monitoring and sensing agent. An intelligent agent that keeps track of key data, such as data provided by various sensors, meters, cameras, and the like, and notifies the user when conditions change.
Moore's law. The prediction that computer processing performance would double every 24 months.
Motherboard. A large printed plastic or fiberglass circuit board that holds or connects to all the computer's electronic components.
Multichannel retailing. Offering the customer different (independent) touchpoints, such as a retail store and a catalogue.
Multi-core processor. A single chip central processing unit (CPU) that has more than one set of arithmetic logic units (ALU) and control units.
National Science Foundation (NSF). A U.S. government agency responsible for promoting science and engineering; the NSF initiated the development of the National Science Foundation Network (NSFNET), which became a major component of the Internet.
National Science Foundation Network (NSFNET). A network developed by the United States in 1986 that became a major component of the Internet.
Net neutrality. The principle that all Internet traffic should be treated the same.
Net-present-value analysis. A type of cost–benefit analysis of the cash flow streams associated with an investment.
Network. A group of computers and associated peripheral devices connected by a communication channel capable of sharing data and other resources among users.
Network effect. The notion that the value of a network (or tool or application based on a network) is dependent on the number of other users.
Network interface card. An expansion board that plugs into a computer so that it can be connected to a network; also called network adapter.
Network topology. The shape of a network; the four common network topologies are star, ring, bus, and mesh.
Neural network. An information system that attempts to approximate the functioning of the human brain.
Non-capital expenditure. Money spent on repairs, supplies, payroll, and other operating expenses.
Non-recurring cost. A one-time cost that is not expected to continue after a system is implemented.
Nonvolatile memory. Memory that does not lose its data after power is shut off.
Normalization. A technique for making complex relational databases more efficient and more easily handled by a database management system.
NoSQL. "Not only SQL"; a variety of database technologies enabling highly scalable databases that do not conform to RDBMS schemas.
Object-oriented language. A programming language that groups together data and their corresponding instructions into manipulable objects.
Off-the-shelf software. Software designed and used to support general business processes that does not require any specific tailoring to meet an organization's needs.
Office automation system. A collection of software and hardware for developing documents, scheduling resources, and communicating.
OLAP cube. A data structure allowing for multiple dimensions to be added to a traditional two-dimensional table for detailed analysis.
OLAP server. The chief component of an OLAP system that understands how data are organized in the database and has special functions for analyzing the data.
Omni-channel retailing. Providing seamless, simultaneous retail interactions using different channels, such that a customer does not interact with a single channel but with the brand as a whole.
Online analytical processing (OLAP). The process of quickly conducting complex analyses of data stored in a database, typically using graphical software tools.
Online banking. The use of the Internet to conduct financial transactions.
Online brokerage. The use of the Internet to obtain information about stock quotes and manage financial portfolios.
Online predator. A cybercriminal using the Internet to target vulnerable people, usually the young or old, for sexual or financial purposes.
Online transaction processing (OLTP). Immediate automated responses to the requests from multiple concurrent transactions of customers.
Open innovation. The process of integrating external stakeholders into an organization's innovation process.
Open source software. Software for which the source code is freely available for use and/or modification.
Open Systems Interconnection model (OSI model). A networking model that represents a group of specific communication tasks as successive layers.
Operating system. Software that coordinates the interaction between hardware devices, peripherals, application software, and users.
Operational CRM. Systems for automating the fundamental business processes -- marketing, sales, and support -- for interacting with the customer.
Operational expenditure. See Non-capital expenditure.
Operational level. The bottom level of an organization, where the routine, day-to-day business processes and interactions with customers occur.
Operational system. A system that is used to interact with customers and run a business in real time.
Opt in. To signal agreement to the collection/further use of one's data (e.g., by checking a box).
Opt out. To signal that data cannot be collected/used in other ways (e.g., by checking a box).
Optical character recognition (OCR). Scanning technology used to read and digitize typewritten, computer-printed, or handwritten characters.
Optical disk. A storage disk coated with a metallic substance that is written to (or read from) when a laser beam passes over the surface of the disk.
Optical mark recognition (OMR). Scanning technology used to scan questionnaires and test answer forms ("bubble sheets") where answer choices are marked by filling in circles using a pencil or pen.
Order-to-cash process. The set of processes associated with selling a product or service.
Organic light-emitting diode (OLED). A display technology using less power than LCD technology.
Organizational learning. The ability of an organization to learn from past behavior and data, improving as a result.
Organizational strategy. A firm's plan to accomplish its mission and goals as well as to gain or sustain competitive advantage over rivals.
Output technologies. Hardware devices that deliver information in a usable form.
Outsourcing. The moving of routine jobs and/or tasks to people in another firm.
Packaged software. A software program written by a thirdparty vendor for the needs of many different users and organizations.
Packet sniffer. Software program to capture and analyze network traffic.
Packet switching. The process of breaking information into small chunks called data packets and then transferring those packets from computer to computer via the Internet, based on the concept of turn taking.
Paid inclusion. The inclusion of a website in a search engine's listing after payment of a fee.
Patch management system. An online system that utilizes web services to automatically check for software updates, downloading and installing these "patches" as they are made available.
Patent. A type of intellectual property typically referring to process, machine, or material inventions.
Patriot hacker. Independent citizens or supporters of a country that perpetrate computer attacks on perceived or real enemies.
Pay-per-click model. A payment model used in online advertising where the advertiser pays the website owner a fee for visitors clicking on a certain link.
Peer. Any computer that may both request and provide services.
Peer production. The creation of goods or services by selforganizing communities.
Peer-to-peer (P2P) networks (P2P networks). Networks that enable any computer or device on the network to provide and request services.
Perfective maintenance. Making enhancements to improve processing performance, to improve usability, or to add desired but not necessarily required system features.
Peripheral. An auxiliary device, such as mouse or keyboard, that is connected to a computer.
Personal area network. A wireless network used to exchange data between computing devices using short-range radio communication, typically within an area of 10 meters.
Personal computer (PC). A stationary computer used for personal computing and small business computing.
Phishing. Attempts to trick financial account and credit card holders into giving away their login credentials, usually by sending spam messages to literally millions of e-mail accounts. Also known as "spoofing."
Plain old telephone service (POTS). Standard analog telephone lines; also called "public switched telephone network (PSTN)."
Planned obsolescence. The design of a product so that it lasts for only a certain predetermined life span.
Platform. A business model that enables others—both other businesses and users—to co-create value, such that some users create value and other users consume.
Platform as a service (PaaS). A cloud computing model in which the customer can run his or her own applications that are typically designed using tools provided by the service provider; the customer has limited or no control over the underlying infrastructure.
Podcast. See Webcast.
Port. A hardware interface by which a computer communicates with a peripheral device or another system.
Portal. An access point (or front door) through which a business partner accesses secured, proprietary information from an organization (typically using extranets).
Power supply. A device that converts electricity from the wall socket to a lower voltage appropriate for computer components and regulates the voltage to eliminate surges common in most electrical systems.
Predictive modelling. Analytics techniques focusing on identifying trends or predicting business outcomes.
Preventive controls. Processes and procedures used to prevent any potentially negative event from occurring, such as by preventing outside intruders from accessing a facility.
Preventive maintenance. Making changes to a system to reduce the chance of future system failure.
Primary key. A field included in a database table that contains a unique value for each instance of an entity to ensure that it is stored or retrieved accurately.
Primary storage. Temporary storage for data used in current calculations.
Printer. An output device that produces a paper copy of alphanumeric data or other content from a computer.
Private cloud. Cloud infrastructure that is internal to an organization.
Processing logic. The steps by which data are transformed or moved, as well as a description of the events that trigger these steps.
Processing technologies. Computer hardware that transforms inputs into outputs.
Procure-to-pay process. The set of processes associated with procuring goods from external vendors.
Product flow. The movement of goods from the supplier to production, from production to distribution, and from distribution to the consumer.
Productivity paradox. The observation that productivity increases at a rate that is lower than expected when new technologies are introduced.
Project manager. The person most responsible for ensuring that a project is successfully completed.
Propagation delay. The delay in the transmission of a satellite signal because of the distance the signal must travel.
Protocols. Procedures that different computers follow when they transmit and receive data.
Prototyping. An iterative systems development process in which requirements are converted into a working system that is continually revised through close interaction between analysts and users.
Proxy variable. An alternative measurement of outcomes; used when it is difficult to determine and measure direct effects.
Pseudocode. A way to express processing logic independent of the actual programming language being used.
Public cloud. Cloud infrastructure offered on a commercial basis by a cloud service provider.
Public key encryption. A symmetric encryption method that uses a pair of keys—a public and a private key—such that a message is encoded using the recipient's public key and can only be decoded using the recipient's private key.
Public switched telephone network (PSTN). See Plain old telephone service (POTS).
QR code. A two-dimensional barcode with a high storage capacity.
Quantified self. The logging of all aspects of one's daily life to improve overall health and performance.
Query. A method used to retrieve data from a database.
Radical innovation. An innovation that uses markedly new or different technology to access new customer segments and/or provide significantly greater benefits to existing customers, and eventually marginalizes or replaces existing products or services.
Radio frequency identification (RFID). The use of electromagnetic energy to transmit information between a reader (transceiver) and a processing device; used to replace bar codes and bar code readers.
Random-access memory (RAM). A type of volatile primary storage that can be accessed randomly by the CPU.
Ransomware. Malicious software that holds a user's computer hostage by locking or taking control of the user's computer, or encrypting files or documents.
Read-only memory (ROM). A type of nonvolatile primary storage that is used to store programs and instructions that are automatically loaded when the computer is turned on.
Read/write head. A device that inscribes data to or retrieves data from a hard drive or tape.
Record. A collection of related attributes about a single entity.
Recovery point objective. An objective specifying how timely backup data should be preserved.
Recovery time objective. An objective specifying the maximum time allowed to recover from a catastrophic event.
Recurring cost. An ongoing cost that occurs throughout the life cycle of systems development, implementation, and maintenance.
Redundant array of independent disks (RAID). A secondary storage technology that makes redundant copies of data on two or more hard drives.
Register. Relatively small temporary storage location where data must reside while being processed or manipulated.
Reintermediation. The design of a business model that reintroduces middlemen in order to reduce the chaos brought on by disintermediation.
Relational database management system (RDBMS). A database management system based on the relational database model.
Relational database model. The most common DBMS approach; entities are presented as two-dimensional tables, with records as rows and attributes as columns.
Relationship. An association between entities in a database to enable data retrieval.
Report. A compilation of data from a database that is organized and displayed to the user.
Report generator. A software tool that helps users build reports quickly and describe the data in a useful format.
Representational delight. A web page's characteristics that stimulate a user's senses.
Request for proposal (RFP). A communication tool indicating buyer requirements for a proposed system and requesting information or soliciting bids from potential vendors.
Requirements collection. The process of gathering and organizing information from users, managers, customers, business processes, and documents to understand how a proposed information system should function.
Resource scarcity. Limited availability of fossil fuels and other natural resources.
Resources. An organization's specific assets that are utilized to create cost or product differentiation from its competitors.
Revenue model. Part of a business model that describes how the organization will earn revenue, generate profits, and produce a superior return on invested capital.
Reverse engineering. Disassembling a piece of software in order to understand its functioning.
Reverse logistics. Processes in place to efficiently receive products from the point of consumption, so that valuable materials can be recycled or hazardous materials can be properly disposed of.
RFID tag. The processing device used in an RFID system that uniquely identifies an object.
Ring network. A network that is configured in the shape of a closed loop or circle, with each node connecting to the next node.
Risk acceptance. A computer system security policy in which no countermeasures are adopted and any damages that occur are simply absorbed.
Risk avoidance. A computer system security policy in which alternate means are used to perform a task that would cause risk, or the task is not performed at all.
Risk reduction. The process of taking active countermeasures to protect information systems.
Risk transference. A computer system security policy in which someone else absorbs the risk, as with insurance.
Robotics. The use of robots to perform manual tasks.
Roll up. To analyze data at less detailed levels of a certain dimension.
Router. An intelligent device used to connect and route data traffic across two or more individual networks.
RSS. Really Simple Syndication (or Rich Site Summary). A set of standards for sharing updated web content, such as news and sports scores, across sites.
Sales beacon. Bluetooth device that can detect proximate smartphones and send marketing messages or personalized coupons.
Sales force automation (SFA). CRM systems to support the day-to-day sales activities of an organization.
Sarbanes–Oxley Act. A U.S. government regulation mandating companies to demonstrate compliance with accounting standards and establishing controls and corporate governance.
Scalability. The ability to adapt to increases or decreases in demand for processing or data storage.
Scheduled report. A report produced at predefined intervals— daily, weekly, or monthly—to support the routine informational needs of managerial-level decision making.
Scripting language. A programming language for integrating interactive components into a web page.
Search advertising. Advertising that is listed in the sponsored search results for a specific search term.
Search engine optimization (SEO). Methods for improving a site's ranking in search engine results.
Secondary key. An attribute that can be used to identify two or more records within a table that share a common value.
Secondary storage. Large-capacity storage devices, such as
[[hard drives, solid-state drives, or magnetic tapes, for permanently storing data.
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). A popular public-key encryption method used on the Internet.
Semantic web. A set of design principles that will enable computers to index websites, topics, and subjects, enabling computers to understand the content of web pages and search engines to provide richer and more accurate results.
Semistructured data. Data (such as clickstreams and sensor data) that do not fit neatly into relational database structures.
Semistructured decision. A decision where problems and solutions are not clear-cut and often require judgment and expertise.
Sensor. Device that can detect, record, and report changes in the physical environment.
Sentiment analysis. The analysis of semistructured and unstructured data to learn about people's thoughts, feelings, and emotions.
Sequence discovery. A data mining technique used to discover associations over time.
Server. Any computer on the network that enables access to files, databases, communications, and other services available to users of the network.
Service. An individual software component designed to perform a specific task.
Service-level agreement (SLA). A contract specifying the level of service provided in terms of performance (e.g., as measured by uptime), warranties, disaster recovery, and so on.
Service-oriented architecture (SOA). A software architecture in which business processes are broken down into individual components (or services) that are designed to achieve the desired results for the service consumer (which can be either an application, another service, or a person).
Sharing economy. An economic system in which assets or services are shared between private individuals, either free or for a fee, typically by means of the Internet.
Shifts in global economic power. Changes in countries' purchasing power and control over natural resources.
Shopping bot. See Buyer agent.
Shoulder surfing. Looking over one's shoulder while the person is keying in login credentials.
Showrooming. Shoppers coming into a store to evaluate the look and feel of a product and then purchasing it online or at a competitor's store.
Shrink-wrap license. A type of software license that is used primarily for consumer products; the contract is activated when the shrink wrap on the packaging has been removed.
Slicing and dicing. Analyzing data on subsets of certain dimensions.
Smart card. A special credit card-sized card containing a microprocessor chip, memory circuits, and often a magnetic stripe.
Smart home technologies. Technologies enabling the remote monitoring and controlling of lighting, heating, or home appliances.
Social bookmarking. The sharing and categorization of Internet content by Internet users.
Social cataloging. The creation of categorizations by Internet users.
Social commerce. Leveraging visitors' social networks in e-commerce interactions to build lasting relationships, advertise products, or otherwise create value.
Social CRM. The use of social media for customer relationship management.
Social engineering. Misrepresenting oneself to trick others into revealing information.
Social intranet. A type of intranet that incorporates social components, allowing every user to create content and to easily connect with other content creators.
Social media. Web-based applications embodying core web 2.0 values such as collaboration and social sharing, allowing people to communicate, interact, and collaborate in various ways.
Social media monitoring. The process of identifying and assessing the volume and sentiment of what is being said in social media about a company, individual, product, or brand.
Social network analysis. A technique that maps people's contacts to discover connections or missing links (sometimes called structural holes) within the organization.
Social networking. Connecting to colleagues, family members, or friends for business or entertainment purposes.
Social online community. A community within a social network.
Social search. A search functionality that attempts to increase the relevance of search results by including content from social networks, blogs, or microblogging services.
Social software. See Social media.
Software. A program (or set of programs) that instructs the computer to perform certain processing functions.
Software as a service (SaaS). A cloud computing model in which a service provider offers applications via a cloud infrastructure.
Software asset management (SAM). A set of activities performed to better manage an organization's software infrastructure by helping to consolidate and standardize software titles, decide when to retire unused software, or decide when to upgrade or replace software.
Software bug. An error or flaw in a computer program or system that causes it to produce an incorrect or unexpected result or to behave in unintended ways.
Software piracy. A type of computer crime where individuals make illegal copies of software protected by copyright laws.
Solid-state drive (SSD). A secondary storage technology using flash memory to store data.
SoLoMo. The integration of social, local, and mobile services.
Source code. A computer program's code written in a programming language.
Spam. Electronic junk mail.
Spam filter. A hardware or software device used to fight spam and other e-mail threats, such as directory harvest attacks, phishing attacks, viruses, and more.
Spear phishing. A sophisticated fraudulent e-mail attack that targets a specific person or organization by personalizing the message in order to make the message appear as if it is from a trusted source, such as an individual within the recipient's company, a government entity, or a well-known company.
Speech recognition. The process of converting spoken words into commands and data.
Sponsored search. See Search advertising.
Spyware. Software that covertly gathers information about a user through an Internet connection without the user's knowledge.
Standalone application. A system that focuses on the specific needs of an individual department and is not designed to communicate with other systems in the organization.
Star network. A network with several workstations connected to a central hub.
Startup. Technology-based new venture with high potential for scalability and growth.
Stickiness. A website's ability to attract and keep visitors.
Strategic. A way of thinking in which plans are made to accomplish specific long-term goals.
Strategic necessity. Something an organization must do in order to survive.
Strategic planning. The process of forming a vision of where the organization needs to head, converting that vision into measurable objectives and performance targets, and crafting a plan to achieve the desired results.
Streaming audio. Audio data streams, transmitted via specific protocols, that are available for immediate playback on the recipient's computer.
Streaming media. An umbrella term for streaming audio and streaming video.
Streaming video. Video data streams, transmitted via specific protocols, that are available for immediate playback on the recipient's computer.
Structural firmness. A web page's characteristics related to security and performance.
Structured data. Data (such as transaction data) that fit neatly into spreadsheets or databases.
Structured decision. A decision where the procedures to follow for a given situation can be specified in advance.
Structured Query Language (SQL). The most common language used to interface with databases.
Stuxnet. A computer worm designed to find and infect a particular piece of industrial hardware; used in an attack against Iranian nuclear plants.
Supercomputer. The most expensive and most powerful category of computers. It is primarily used to assist in solving massive research and scientific problems.
Supplier portal. A subset of an organization's extranet designed to automate the business processes that occur before, during, and after sales transactions between a single buyer and multiple suppliers. Also referred to as a "sourcing portal" or "procurement portal."
Supply chain. The collection of companies and processes involved in moving a product from the suppliers of raw materials, to the suppliers of intermediate components, to final production, and ultimately to the customer.
Supply chain analytics. The use of key performance indicators to monitor performance of the entire supply chain, including sourcing, planning, production, and distribution.
Supply chain effectiveness. The extent to which a company's supply chain activities meet the requirements of the partners, customers, suppliers, or vendors involved.
Supply chain efficiency. The extent to which a company optimizes the use of resources in its supply chain activities.
Supply chain execution. The execution of supply chain planning, involving the management of product flows, information flows, and financial flows.
Supply chain management system (SCM system). Information system focusing on improving upstream information flows with two main objectives—to accelerate product development and to reduce costs associated with procuring raw materials, components, and services from suppliers.
Supply chain planning. The process of developing various resource plans to support the efficient and effective production of goods and services.
Supply chain visibility. The ability to track products as they move through the supply chain and to foresee external events.
Supply network. The network of multiple (sometimes interrelated) producers of supplies that a company uses.
Support activities. Business activities that enable the primary activities to take place. Support activities include administrative activities, infrastructure, human resources, technology development, and procurement.
Sustainable development. Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Switch. A device used to connect multiple computers, servers, or printers to create a network.
Symmetric digital subscriber line (SDSL). A variant of DSL that supports the same data rates for upstream and downstream traffic.
Symmetric encryption. An encryption method that uses the same key to encode and decode a message, thus requiring a secure channel to share the key between the sending and receiving party.
Synchronous. Coordinated in time.
System clock. An electronic circuit inside a computer that generates pulses at a rapid rate for setting the pace of processing events.
System conversion. The process of decommissioning the current system and installing a new system in an organization.
System software. The collection of programs that controls the basic operations of computer hardware.
Systems analysis. The second phase of the systems development life cycle, in which the current ways of doing business are studied and alternative replacement systems are proposed.
Systems analysis and design. The process of designing, building, and maintaining information systems.
Systems analyst. The primary person responsible for performing systems analysis and design activities.
Systems benchmarking. The use of standardized performance tests to compare different systems.
Systems design. The third phase of the systems development life cycle, in which details of the chosen approach are developed.
Systems development controls. Systems development processes and procedures used to ensure that necessary security features are implemented and enabled and that proper change management processes are followed.
Systems development life cycle (SDLC). A model describing the life of an information system from conception to retirement.
Systems implementation. The fourth phase of the systems development life cycle in which the information system is programmed, tested, installed, and supported.
Systems integration. Linking together different computing systems and software applications physically or functionally to act as a coordinated whole.
Systems maintenance. The process of systematically repairing and/or improving an information system.
Systems planning and selection. The first phase of the systems development life cycle, in which potential projects are identified, selected, and planned.
T1 line. A dedicated digital transmission line that can carry 1.544 Mbps of data.
T3 line. A dedicated digital transmission line that can carry about 45 Mbps of data.
Table. A collection of related records in a database where each row is a record and each column is an attribute.
Tacit knowledge assets. Knowledge assets that reflect the processes and procedures located in employees' minds.
Tag. noun: metadata assigned to digital media or other content. verb: to add metadata to digital content.
Tag cloud. A way to visualize user-generated tags or content on a site, where the size of a word represents its importance or frequency.
Tangible benefit. A benefit of using a particular system or technology that is quantifiable.
Tangible cost. A cost of using a particular system of technology that is quantifiable.
Tape. A removable, high-capacity, secondary storage medium allowing only for sequential access; typically used for archiving data.
TCP. Part of TCP/IP that is responsible for breaking down a message into smaller packets, creating a connection between two computers, and ensuring that data are reliably transmitted and arrive in the correct sequence.
Telecommunications network. A group of two or more computer systems linked together with communications equipment.
Terminal. A local input device used to enter data into mainframes in centralized computing systems.
Text mining. Analytical techniques for extracting information from textual documents.
Text recognition software. Software designed to convert handwritten text into computer-based characters.
Thin client. A microcomputer with minimal memory, storage, and processing capabilities, used for remotely accessing virtual desktops.
Threat. An undesirable event that can cause harm.
3D printing. Technology for creating physical three-dimensional objects from digital models.
Time bomb. A type of computer virus that lies in wait for a specific date before executing its instructions.
Top-level domain. A URL's suffix (i.e., .com, .edu, or .org) representing the highest level of Internet domain names in the domain name system.
Total cost of ownership (TCO). The cost of owning and operating a system, including the total cost of acquisition, as well as all costs associated with its ongoing use and maintenance.
Touch screen. A touch-sensitive computer display used as an input device.
Transaction. Any event, such as the exchange of goods or services for money, that occurs as part of daily business of which an organization must keep a record.
Transaction processing system (TPS). An information system designed to process day-to-day business-event data at the operational level of the organization.
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). The protocol of the Internet, which allows different interconnected networks to communicate using the same language.
Transmission media. The physical pathways to send data and information between two or more entities on a network.
Trending. A word phrase or topic that is tagged at a greater rate than others.
Trojan horse. A program that appears to be a legitimate, benign program, but carries a destructive payload. Trojan horses typically do not replicate themselves.
Tunneling. A technology used by VPNs to encapsulate, encrypt, and securely transmit data over the public Internet infrastructure, enabling business partners to exchange confidential data in a secured, private manner between organizational networks.
Two-factor authentication. The use of two types of credentials to confirm one's identity.
Unauthorized access. An information systems security breach where an unauthorized individual sees, manipulates, or otherwise handles data.
Unauthorized data modification. The intentional change of electronic data by unauthorized users.
Unicode. Character encoding method for representing characters and scripts beyond the Latin alphabet, including Chinese, Cyrillic, Hebrew, and Arabic.
Uniform Resource Locator (URL). The unique Internet address for a website and specific web pages within sites.
Unstructured data. Data (such as audio and video data, comments on social networks, and so on) that do not have any identifiable structure.
Unstructured decision. A decision where few or no procedures to follow for a given situation can be specified in advance.
Upstream information flow. An information flow consisting of information received from another organization, such as from a supplier.
Urbanization. The movement of rural populations to urban areas.
Usability. A system's quality of being easy to use and aesthetically pleasing.
User agent. An intelligent agent that automatically performs specific tasks for a user, such as automatically sending a report at the first of the month, assembling customized news, or filling out a web form with routine information.
User-generated content. Content (such as text or media) that is generated by users (typically on social media sites).
Utilities. See Utility programs.
Utility computing. A form of on-demand computing where resources in terms of processing, data storage, or networking are rented on an as-needed basis. The organization only pays for the services used.
Utility program. Software designed to manage computer resources and files.
Value-added network. Private, third-party-managed WANs typically used for B2B communications, offering services such as secure e-mail and translation of EDI standards to facilitate secure communication between a business and its suppliers and/or customers.
Value chain. The set of primary and support activities in an organization where value is added to a product or service.
Value chain analysis. The process of analyzing an organization's activities to determine where value is added to products and/or services and the costs that are incurred for doing so.
Value creation. The outcome of an organization's activities that increase the worth of products or services for the customer.
Value proposition. The utility that the product/service has to offer to customers.
Value system. A collection of interlocking company value chains.
Vanilla version. The features and modules that a packaged software system comes with out of the box.
Vendor-managed inventory (VMI). A business model in which the suppliers to a manufacturer (or retailer) manage the manufacturer's (or retailer's) inventory levels based on negotiated service levels.
Vertical market. A market comprised of firms within a specific industry sector.
Video. Still and moving images that can be recorded, manipulated, and displayed on a computer.
Videoconferencing over IP. The use of Internet technologies for videoconferences.
Viral marketing. A type of marketing that resembles offline word-of-mouth communication in which advertising messages are spread similar to how real viruses are transmitted through offline social networks.
Virtual company. See Click-only business strategy.
Virtual meeting. A meeting taking place using an online environment.
Virtual private network (VPN). A network connection that is constructed dynamically within an existing network—often called a "secure tunnel"—in order to securely connect remote users or nodes to an organization's network.
Virtual team. A work team that is composed of members who may be from different organizations and different locations that forms and disbands as needed.
Virtual reality (VR) headset. Head-mounted device enabling immersive three-dimensional experiences.
Virus. A destructive program that disrupts the normal functioning of computer systems.
Virus prevention. A set of activities designed to detect and prevent computer viruses.
Visual analytics. The combination of various analysis techniques and interactive visualizations to solve complex problems.
Visual data discovery. See Visual analytics.
Visual programming language. A programming language that has a graphical user interface (GUI) for the programmer and is designed for programming applications that will have a GUI.
Visualization. The display of complex data relationships using a variety of graphical methods.
Voice over IP (VoIP). The use of Internet technologies for placing telephone calls.
Voice-to-text software. An application that uses a microphone to monitor a person's speech and then converts the speech into text.
Volatile memory. Memory that loses its contents when the power is turned off.
Volume license. See Enterprise license.
Vulnerability. A weaknesses in an organization's systems or security policies that can be exploited to cause damage.
Vulnerability scanners. Software programs that automatically test targeted systems for weaknesses.
Warez. A slang term for stolen proprietary software that is sold or shared for free over the Internet.
Watermark. A digital or physical mark that is difficult to reproduce; used to prevent counterfeiting or to trace illegal copies to the original purchaser.
Wearable technologies. Clothing or accessories, such as smart watches or fitness trackers, that incorporate information technologies.
Web 2.0. A term used to describe dynamic web applications that allow people to collaborate and share information online.
Web analytics. The analysis of web use's behavior in order to improve a site's performance.
Web browser. A software application that can be used to access and display web pages including text, graphics, and multimedia content.
Web content mining. Extracting textual information from web documents.
Web crawler. An intelligent agent that continuously browses the web for specific content (e.g., used by search engines). Also known as a "web spider."
Web page. A hypertext document stored on a web server that contains not only content, but also references or links to other documents that contain related content.
Web page builder. A program for assisting in the creation and maintenance of web pages.
Web server. A computer used to host websites.
Website. A collection of interlinked web pages typically belonging to the same person or business organization.
Web spider. See Web crawler.
Web usage mining. An analysis of a website's usage patterns, such as navigational paths or time spent.
Web vandalism. The act of defacing websites.
Webcam. A small camera that is used to transmit real-time video images within desktop videoconferencing systems.
Webcast. noun]]. a digital media stream that can be distributed to and played by digital media players. verb]]. to create and publish webcasts.
Weighted multicriteria analysis. A method for deciding among different information systems investments or alternative designs for a given system in which requirements and constraints are weighted on the basis of their importance.
What-if analysis. An analysis of the effects hypothetical changes to data have on the results.
Wide area network (WAN). A computer network that spans a relatively large geographic area; typically used to connect two or more LANs.
Wi-Fi network (wireless fidelity). Wireless LAN, based on the 802.11 family of standards.
Wiki. A website allowing people to create, edit, or delete content, as well as discuss article content or suggested changes with other members of the community. A wiki is linked to a database keeping a history of all prior versions and changes; therefore, a wiki allows viewing prior versions of the pages as well as reverting any changes made to the content.
WikiLeaks. An information disclosure portal where volunteers submit and analyze classified and restricted material provided by whistleblowers.
Wireless access point. A networking device that transmits and receives wireless (Wi-Fi) signals to allow wireless devices to connect to the network.
Wireless broadband. Wireless transmission technology with speeds similar to DSL and cable that requires line of sight between the sender and receiver.
Wireless controller. A networking device that manages multiple access points and can be used to manage transmission power and channel allocation to establish desired coverage throughout a building and minimize interference between individual access points.
Wireless LAN control. Methods of configuring a WLAN so that only authorized users can gain access.
Wireless local area network (WLAN). A local area network that uses a wireless transmission protocol.
Workstation. A high-performance computer that is designed for medical, engineering, or animation and graphics design uses, and is optimized for visualization and rendering of three-dimensional models.
World Wide Web (WWW). A system of Internet servers that support documents formatted in HTML, which supports links to other documents as well as graphics, audio, and video files.
Worm. A destructive computer code that is designed to copy and send itself throughout networked computers.
XaaS. "X as a service"; type of business model centered around not selling products, but providing these as services.
XML tag. Markup that is inserted into a document in order to specify how data contained in the document or a portion of the document should be interpreted and used.
Zero-day. An undisclosed hardware or software vulnerability that crackers can exploit to adversely affect computer programs, data, other computers, or networks.
Zombie computer. A virus-infected computer that can be used to launch attacks on websites.

Information Systems Today 8e by Valacich, Schneider

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