Browse Definitions by Alphabet

smart home hub (home automation hub) - A smart home hub is hardware or software that connects devices on a home automation network and controls communications among them.
smart machines - A smart machine is a device embedded with machine-to-machine and/or cognitive computing technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) or deep learning, all of which it uses to reason, solve problems, make decisions and even take action.
smart manufacturing (SM) - Smart manufacturing (SM) is a technology-driven approach that utilizes Internet-connected machinery to monitor the production process.
smart sensor - A smart sensor is a device that takes input from the physical environment and uses built-in compute resources to perform predefined functions upon detection of specific input and then processes data before passing it on.
smart streetlight - A smart streetlight is a public lighting fixture that incorporates technology, such as cameras, light-sensing photocells and other sensors, to introduce real-time monitoring functionalities.
smart TV - A smart TV is a television that includes an internal processor and onboard storage and enables internet connectivity, similar to a smartphone or personal computer.
smart warehouse - A smart warehouse is a large building in which raw materials and manufactured goods are stored that uses machines and computers to complete common warehouse operations previously performed by humans.
smartphone - A smartphone is a cellular telephone with an integrated computer and other features not originally associated with telephones, such as an operating system (OS), web browsing and the ability to run software applications.
smartphone addiction (cellphone addiction) - Smartphone addiction (cellphone addiction) is a disorder involving compulsive overuse of mobile devices, usually quantified as the number of times users access their devices and/or the total amount of time they are online over a specified period.
smartwatch - A smartwatch is a wearable computing device that closely resembles a wristwatch or other time-keeping device.
SMB (small and medium-sized business or small and midsize business) - SMB is an abbreviation for a small and medium-sized business, sometimes called a small and midsize business.
SMB 3.0 (Server Message Block 3.0) - SMB 3 (Server Message Block 3.
smishing (SMS phishing) - Smishing -- or Short Message Service (SMS) phishing -- is a social engineering tactic cybercriminals use to trick people into divulging sensitive information over text messages.
smoke testing - Smoke testing, also called build verification testing or confidence testing, is a software testing method that is used to determine if a new software build is ready for the next testing phase.
SMP (symmetric multiprocessing) - SMP (symmetric multiprocessing) is the processing of programs by multiple processors that share a common operating system and memory.
SMS spam (cell phone spam or short messaging service spam) - SMS spam (sometimes called cell phone spam) is any junk message delivered to a mobile phone as text messaging through the Short Message Service (SMS).
snake case - Snake case is a naming convention where a developer replaces spaces between words with an underscore.
Snapchat - Snapchat is a mobile app that allows users to send and receive "self-destructing" photos and videos.
Sniglet - Words that should be in the dictionary (but aren't) - A sniglet is a word that should be in the dictionary but isn't.
SNOMED CT (Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine -- Clinical Terms) - SNOMED CT (Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine -- Clinical Terms) is a standardized, multilingual vocabulary of clinical terminology that is used by physicians and other health care providers for the electronic exchange of health information.
snooping - Snooping, in a security context, is unauthorized access to another person's or company's data.
Snort - Snort is an open source network intrusion detection system (NIDS) created by Sourcefire founder and former CTO Martin Roesch.
snowflaking (snowflake schema) - In data warehousing, snowflaking is a form of dimensional modeling in which dimensions are stored in multiple related dimension tables.
soak testing - Soak testing is a type of performance testing that gauges how an application handles a growing number of users or increasingly taxing tasks over an extended period of time.
SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) - SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) is a message protocol that enables the distributed elements of an application to communicate.
SOAP fault - A SOAP fault is an error in a Simple Object Access Protocol communication resulting from an incorrect message format, header-processing problems, incompatibility between applications or other issues.
soap opera effect (motion interpolation) - The soap opera effect is the colloquial name for a visual effect caused by motion interpolation on television sets that some people find undesirable.
SOAR (security orchestration, automation and response) - SOAR (security orchestration, automation and response) is a stack of compatible software programs that enables an organization to collect data about security threats and respond to security events with little or no human assistance.
SOC 1 (System and Organization Controls 1) - System and Organization Controls 1, or SOC 1 (pronounced "sock one"), aims to control objectives within a SOC 1 process area and documents internal controls relevant to an audit of a user entity's financial statements.
SOC 2 (System and Organization Controls 2) - SOC 2 (System and Organization Controls 2), pronounced "sock two," is a voluntary compliance standard for ensuring that service providers properly manage and protect the sensitive data in their care.
SOC 3 (System and Organization Controls 3) - A System and Organization Controls 3 (SOC 3) report outlines information related to a service organization's internal controls for security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality and privacy.
social analysis - Social analysis is the practice of systematically examining a social problem, issue or trend, often with the aim of prompting changes in the situation being analyzed.
social commerce - Social commerce is a rapidly growing branch of e-commerce that uses social networks and digital media to facilitate transactions between businesses and customers.
social comparison - Social comparison can lead to issues caused by the fear of missing out (FOMO), including anxiety, depression and a lack of self-esteem.
social contract - A social contract is an agreement to adhere to acceptable behaviors and meet obligations in a particular environment, such as a nation, a business or a social media site.
social CRM - Social CRM, or social customer relationship management, is customer relationship management and engagement fostered by communication with customers through social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook.
social currency - Social currency is the personal assets and attributes of an individual that help them succeed in interactive social channels.
social engineering penetration testing - Social engineering penetration testing is the practice of deliberately conducting typical social engineering scams on employees to ascertain the organization's level of vulnerability to this type of exploit.
social listening (social media listening) - Social listening, also referred to as social media listening, is the process of identifying and assessing what is being said about a company, individual, product or brand on the internet.
social media influence - Social media influence is a marketing term that describes an individual's ability to affect other people's thinking in a social online community.
social media policy - A social media policy is a corporate code of conduct that provides guidelines for employees who post content on the internet either as part of their job or as a private person.
social media recruitment (social media recruiting) - Social media recruitment, or social media recruiting, is the process of using social media platforms to identify, engage and vet people the organization may want to hire.
social network - A social network is a website or app that lets people connect with each other on a common platform.
social robot - A social robot is an artificial intelligence (AI) system that is designed to interact with humans and other robots.
SODOTO (See One, Do One, Teach One) - SODOTO (See One, Do One, Teach One) is a methodology of teaching and learning skills and best practices through direct observation of a task, hands-on practical experience performing the task and teaching the task to another person.
soft computing - Soft computing is the use of approximate calculations to provide approximate solutions to complex computational problems.
soft copy - A soft copy (sometimes spelled 'softcopy') is an electronic copy (or e-copy) of some type of data, such as a file viewed on a computer's display or transmitted as an email attachment.
soft reset - A soft reset is a restart of a device, such as a smartphone, tablet, laptop or personal computer (PC).
soft skills - A soft skill is a personal attribute that supports situational awareness and enhances an individual's ability to get a job done.
soft token - A soft token is a software-based security token that generates a single-use login personal identification number (PIN).
software - Software is a set of instructions, data or programs used to operate computers and execute specific tasks.
software agent - A software agent is a persistent, goal-oriented computer program that reacts to its environment and runs without continuous direct supervision to perform some function for an end user or another program.
Software as a Medical Device (SaMD) - Software as a Medical Device (SaMD) is software that performs a medical task without being part of a hardware device.
software asset management (SAM) - Software asset management (SAM) is the administration of processes, policies and procedures that support the procurement, deployment, use, maintenance and disposal of software applications within an organization.
software audit - A software audit is an internal or external review of a software program to check its quality, progress or adherence to plans, standards and regulations.
software bill of materials (SBOM) - A software bill of materials (SBOM) is an inventory of all constituent components and software dependencies involved in the development and delivery of an application.
software development kit (SDK) - A software development toolkit (SDK) is a set of software tools and programs provided by hardware and software vendors that developers can use to build applications for specific platforms.
software engineering - Software engineering is the process of developing, testing and deploying computer applications to solve real-world problems by adhering to a set of engineering principles and best practices.
software package - A software package is a group of programs bundled together into a product suite.
software patch - A software patch or fix is a quick-repair job for a piece of programming designed to resolve functionality issues, improve security or add new features.
Software Process Improvement and Capability Determination (SPICE) - Software Process Improvement and Capability Determination (SPICE) is an international framework to assess software development processes.
software redundant array of independent disk (software RAID) - Software RAID, also known as virtual RAID, is a form of RAID (software redundant array of independent disk) performed on an internal server.
software testing - Software testing is the process of assessing the functionality of a software program.
software toolchain - A software toolchain is a set of software development tools used simultaneously to complete complex software development tasks or to deliver a software product.
software-defined networking (SDN) - Software-defined networking (SDN) is an architecture that abstracts different, distinguishable layers of a network to make networks agile and flexible.
software-defined networking monitoring application (SDN monitoring application) - An SDN monitoring application is a software program that oversees the traffic in a software-defined network (SDN) as a component of network management.
software-defined perimeter (SDP) - A software-defined perimeter, or SDP, is a security technique that controls access to resources based on identity and forms a virtual boundary around networked resources.
software-defined storage (SDS) - Software-defined storage (SDS) is a software program that manages data storage resources and functionality and has no dependencies on the underlying physical storage hardware.
solar cooling - Solar cooling is a system that converts heat from the sun into cooling that can be used for refrigeration and air conditioning.
solar power - Solar power is a renewable form of energy harvested from the sun for the purpose of producing electricity or thermal energy (heat).
solid - A solid is a state of matter that retains its shape and density when not confined.
solid-state - Solid-state is a common descriptor used to refer to electronic components, devices and systems based entirely on semiconductor materials such as silicon, germanium or gallium arsenide.
solid-state drive (SSD) capacity - Solid-state drive (SSD) capacity is the maximum amount of data that can be stored on a solid-state drive.
solid-state storage - Solid-state storage is a type of computer storage media that stores data electronically and has no moving parts.
solid-state storage garbage collection - Solid-state storage garbage collection, or SSD garbage collection, is an automated process by which a solid-state drive (SSD) improves write performance.
solution provider - A solution provider is a vendor, service provider or value-added reseller (VAR) that comprehensively handles the project needs of their client from concept to installation through support.
solution selling - Solution selling refers to the philosophy or practice of uncovering a customer's pain points and then providing products and services that address the underlying business problem.
sound card - A sound card is a computer component responsible for generating and recording audio.
sound wave - A sound wave is the pattern of disturbance caused by the movement of energy traveling through a medium (such as air, water or any other liquid or solid matter) as it propagates away from the source of the sound.
source code - Source code is the fundamental component of a computer program that is created by a programmer, often written in the form of functions, descriptions, definitions, calls, methods and other operational statements.
space - Space is a term that can refer to various phenomena in science, mathematics and computing and generally encompasses the concept of an area or region.
SpaceX - SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corporation) is a space transportation and aerospace manufacturer founded in 2002 by Elon Musk.
spam filter - A spam filter is a program used to detect unsolicited, unwanted and virus-infected emails and prevent those messages from getting to a user's inbox.
spambot - A spambot is an automated system that sends unwanted, unsolicited messages to users, known as spam.
Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) - Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) is a Layer 2 network protocol used to prevent looping within a network topology.
spatial computing - Spatial computing broadly characterizes the processes and tools used to capture, process and interact with three-dimensional (3D) data.
spatial data - Spatial data is any type of data that directly or indirectly references a specific geographical area or location.
spatial intelligence - Spatial intelligence is the concept of being able to successfully perceive and derive insight from visual data.
spear phishing - Spear phishing is a malicious email spoofing attack that targets a specific organization or individual, seeking unauthorized access to sensitive information.
specific gravity - Specific gravity, more formally known as relative density, is a measure of the density of a substance in comparison to the density of water.
spectrum analyzer - A spectrum analyzer is a device that measures and displays signal amplitude (strength) as it varies by frequency within its frequency range (spectrum).
spectrum efficiency - Spectrum efficiency describes the amount of data transmitted over a given spectrum or bandwidth with minimum transmission errors.
speculative execution - Speculative execution is an optimization technique in which a processor (CPU) performs a series of tasks before it is prompted to in order to have the information ready if it is required at any point.
speculative risk - Speculative risk is a type of risk the risk-taker takes on voluntarily and will result in some degree of profit or loss.
speech analytics - Speech analytics is the process of analyzing voice recordings or live customer calls to contact centers with speech recognition software to find useful information and provide quality assurance.
speech disfluency - A speech disfluency is any disruption in the flow of spoken language that is caused by the speaker.
SPI model - The SPI model is an abbreviation of the most common cloud computing service models: software as a service (SaaS), platform as a service (PaaS) and infrastructure as a service (IaaS).
SPIF (sales performance incentive fund) - A SPIF(sales performance incentive fund) is a financial incentive that encourages a sales representative to sell a specific item or group of items.
spike testing - Spike testing is a type of performance testing in which an application receives a sudden and extreme increase or decrease in load.
Spine-leaf (spine-leaf architecture) - Spine-leaf, or leaf-spine, is a two-layer network topology composed of spine and leaf switches.