IT management
Learn about the core elements of IT management, including operations, tech support and personal computing, as well as terms related to IT careers, certifications and project management.
Certifications
This glossary contains definitions related to IT Certifications.
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What are CPE (continuing professional education) credits?
Continuing professional education, or CPE, credit is a term referring to the points professionals receive for participating in specialized training in IT and other fields.
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What is a cloud architect and how do you become one?
A cloud architect is an IT professional who is responsible for overseeing a company's cloud computing strategy.
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What is VMware Certified Professional (VCP)?
VMware Certified Professional (VCP) is a certification level designed to demonstrate technical competency with VMware vSphere and related technologies.
IT career paths
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What is infrastructure (IT infrastructure)?
Infrastructure is the foundation or framework that supports a system or organization.
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What is a data center administrator (DCA)?
A data center administrator (DCA) is an experienced IT professional who is responsible for overseeing data center operations.
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What is a cloud architect and how do you become one?
A cloud architect is an IT professional who is responsible for overseeing a company's cloud computing strategy.
IT Operations
Terms related to the processes and services implemented and managed by an organization’s information technology (IT) department. Topics covered include systems management, configuration management, API management and DevOps, as well as real-time performance monitoring and management.
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What is Jira?
Jira is an application lifecycle management (ALM) and Agile project management tool from Atlassian.
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managed service provider (MSP)
A managed service provider (MSP) is a third-party company that remotely manages a customer's information technology (IT) infrastructure and end-user systems.
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What is an ODM (original design manufacturer)?
An ODM (original design manufacturer) is a company that takes the original specifications of another company or individual and builds the design to the product specifications.
Personal computing
Terms related to personal computers, including definitions about computers sold as consumer products and words and phrases about laptops, tablets and smartphones.
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What is mixed reality?
Mixed reality refers to advanced technology that combines both virtual reality (VR), a fully immersive computer-generated experience, and augmented reality (AR), which integrates digital elements into the physical world.
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What is image metadata and how is it used?
Image metadata is text information pertaining to an image file that is embedded into the file or saved to a separate file that is associated with the image file.
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What is a command prompt?
A command prompt is the input field in a text-based user interface screen for an operating system (OS) or program.
Project management
Terms related to project management, including definitions about project management methodologies and tools.
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What is a product owner?
A product owner is a role on a Scrum team that is responsible for the project's outcome.
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What is SAP Project System (SAP PS)?
SAP Project System is a module in the SAP ERP system that enables tightly controlled project management from planning to completion.
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What is a functional specification document?
A functional specification is a formal document used to describe a product's intended capabilities, appearance and interactions with users in detail for software developers.
Technical support
Terms related to computer fundamentals, including computer hardware definitions and words and phrases about software, operating systems, peripherals and troubleshooting.
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What is Jira?
Jira is an application lifecycle management (ALM) and Agile project management tool from Atlassian.
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What is a 3-tier application architecture?
A three-tier application architecture is a modular client-server architecture that consists of a presentation tier, an application tier and a data tier.
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What is black box testing?
Black box testing assesses a system solely from the outside, without the operator or tester knowing what's happening within the system to generate responses to test actions.