IT standards and organizations

Terms related to information technology (IT) standards, including definitions about IT organizations and words and phrases about policies and compliance.
  • Presidential Policy Directive 21 (PPD-21) - Presidential Policy Directive 21 (PPD-21) is an infrastructure protection and resilience directive in the United States that aims to strengthen and secure the country's critical infrastructure.
  • Project planning: What it is and 5 steps to create a plan - Project planning is a project management discipline that addresses how to complete a project in a certain time frame, usually with clearly defined stages, milestones and designated resources.
  • public-private partnership (PPP) - A public-private partnership (PPP) is a funding model for public infrastructure projects and initiatives such as a new telecommunications system, public transportation system, airport or power plant.
  • quality control (QC) - Quality control (QC) is a procedure or set of procedures intended to ensure that a manufactured product or performed service adheres to a defined set of quality criteria or meets the requirements of the client or customer.
  • Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) - Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) is an application-level network communication system that transfers real-time data from multimedia to an endpoint device by communicating directly with the server streaming the data.
  • Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) - Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) is a network standard designed for transmitting audio or video data that is optimized for consistent delivery of live data.
  • registration authority (RA) - A registration authority (RA) is an authority in a network that verifies user requests for a digital certificate and tells the certificate authority (CA) to issue it.
  • Request for Offer (RFO) - A Request for Offer (RFO) is a document an organization issues to solicit bids or proposals from potential suppliers for goods or services.
  • Resource Description Framework (RDF) - The Resource Description Framework (RDF) is a general framework for representing interconnected data on the web.
  • Reverse Address Resolution Protocol (RARP) - Reverse Address Resolution Protocol (RARP) is a protocol a physical machine in a local area network (LAN) can use to request its IP address.
  • route summarization (route aggregation) - Route summarization -- also known as route aggregation -- is a method to minimize the number of routing tables in an Internet Protocol (IP) network.
  • Routing Information Protocol (RIP) - Routing Information Protocol (RIP) is a distance vector protocol that uses hop count as its primary metric.
  • SAE International - SAE International is a professional association and standards development organization for the engineering industry, with a special focus on transport sectors such as automotive, aerospace and commercial vehicles.
  • Sarbanes-Oxley Act - The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is a federal law that established sweeping auditing and financial regulations for public companies.
  • second (s or sec) - The second (s or sec) is the International System of Units (SI) unit of time measurement.
  • Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) - The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is the U.
  • security clearance - A security clearance is an authorization that allows access to information that would otherwise be forbidden.
  • SequenceFile - A SequenceFile is a flat, binary file type that serves as a container for data to be used in Hadoop distributed compute projects.
  • serial digital interface (SDI) - Serial digital interface (SDI) is a standard for digital video and audio transmission over coaxial or fiber optic cabling.
  • Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) - Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is a signaling protocol used for initiating, maintaining, modifying and terminating real-time sessions that involve video, voice, messaging and other communications applications and services between two or more endpoints on IP networks.
  • seven wastes - The seven wastes are categories of unproductive manufacturing practices identified by Taiichi Ohno, the father of the Toyota Production System (TPS).
  • short message service center (SMSC) - The short message service center (SMSC) is the portion of a mobile phone network that handles text message operations.
  • sliding window (windowing) - The sliding window (windowing) technique is used by Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) to manage the flow of packets between two computers or network hosts.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) - SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) is a message protocol that enables the distributed elements of an application to communicate.
  • solid - A solid is a state of matter that retains its shape and density when not confined.
  • SpaceX - SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corporation) is a space transportation and aerospace manufacturer founded in 2002 by Elon Musk.
  • Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) - Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) is a Layer 2 network protocol used to prevent looping within a network topology.
  • 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.
  • square meter (meter squared) - The square meter, also called the meter squared, is the International System of Units (SI) unit of area.
  • SRTP (Secure Real-Time Transport Protocol or Secure RTP) - SRTP (Secure Real-Time Transport Protocol or Secure RTP) is an extension to RTP (Real-Time Transport Protocol) that incorporates enhanced security features.
  • SSADM (Structured Systems Analysis and Design Method) - SSADM (Structured Systems Analysis and Design Method) is a widely used computer application development method in the United Kingdom, where its use is often specified as a requirement for government computing projects.
  • standard temperature and pressure (STP) - Standard temperature and pressure (STP) refers to the nominal conditions in the atmosphere at sea level.
  • standardization - Standardization is the process of developing, promoting and possibly mandating standards-based and compatible technologies and processes within an industry.
  • static IP address - A static IP address is a 32 bit number that is assigned to a computer to be its address on the internet.
  • statistical mean, median, mode and range - The terms mean, median, mode, and range describe properties of statistical distributions.
  • Stefan-Boltzmann constant - The Stefan-Boltzmann constant, symbolized by the lowercase Greek letter sigma (σ), is a physical constant expressing the relationship between the heat radiation emitted by a black body and its absolute temperature.
  • Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) - Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) is a connection-oriented network protocol for transmitting multiple streams of data simultaneously between two endpoints that have established a connection in a network.
  • SWIFT FIN message - SWIFT FIN is a message type (MT) that transmits financial information from one financial institution to another.
  • syslog - Syslog is an IETF RFC 5424 standard protocol for computer logging and collection that is popular in Unix-like systems including servers, networking equipment and IoT devices.
  • systems thinking - Systems thinking is a holistic approach to analysis that focuses on the way that a system's constituent parts interrelate and how systems work over time and within the context of larger systems.
  • Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) - Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) is a digital modulation technique used in digital cellular telephone and mobile radio communication.
  • time-to-live (TTL) - Time-to-live (TTL) is a value for the period of time that a packet, or data, should exist on a computer or network before being discarded.
  • Top searches of 2008 - What were people searching the WhatIs.
  • Total Quality Management (TQM) - Total Quality Management (TQM) is a management framework based on the belief that an organization can build long-term success by having all its members -- from low-level workers to its highest-ranking executives -- focus on improving quality and, thus, delivering customer satisfaction.
  • transparency - Transparency is the quality of being easily seen through, while transparency in a business or governance context refers to being open and honest.
  • transport layer - The transport layer is Layer 4 of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) communications model.
  • UDDI (Universal Description, Discovery and Integration) - UDDI, or Universal Description, Discovery and Integration, is an Extensible Language Markup (XML)-based standard to describe, publish and find information about web services.
  • Unicode - Unicode is a universal character encoding standard that is maintained by the Unicode Consortium, a standards organization founded in 1991 for the internationalization of software and services.
  • Universal Naming Convention (UNC) - The Universal Naming Convention (UNC) is a standard for naming resources -- such as files and devices -- that are shared by computers on a network.
  • Universal Process Notation (UPN) - Universal Process Notation is a method for illustrating the steps in a business process.
  • USB 3.0 (SuperSpeed USB) - USB 3.0 is a Universal Serial Bus (USB) data transfer standard that is backwards compatible with USB 2.
  • Uuencode (Uuencode/Uudecode) - Uuencode (also called Uuencode/Uudecode) is a popular utility for encoding and decoding files exchanged between users or systems in a network.
  • velocity - Velocity is a vector expression of the displacement that an object or particle undergoes with respect to time.
  • vertical market - A vertical market is made up of companies that offer goods and services to meet the needs of customers in a specific industry or niche market.
  • VistA EHR - VistA EHR, more formally known as the VistA Computerized Patient Record System, is an open source electronic health record (EHR) system developed by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
  • volt-ampere (VA) - A volt-ampere (VA) is a measurement of power in a direct current (DC) electrical circuit.
  • W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) - The W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) is an international organization that creates standards for the World Wide Web.
  • watt-hour (Wh) - The watt-hour, which is symbolized Wh, is a unit of energy equivalent to one watt of power expended for one hour of time.
  • well-known port numbers - The well-known port numbers are the port numbers that are reserved for assignment by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) for use by the application end points that communicate using the Internet's Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) or the User Datagram Protocol (UDP).
  • What are Common Criteria (CC) for Information Technology Security Evaluation? - Common Criteria (CC) is an international standard (ISO/IEC 15408) for evaluating information technology security products.
  • What are COTS, MOTS, GOTS and NOTS? - COTS, MOTS, GOTS and NOTS are abbreviations that describe prepackaged software or -- less commonly -- hardware purchase alternatives.
  • What is a balanced scorecard and how does the methodology work? - The balanced scorecard is a management system aimed at translating an organization's strategic goals into a set of organizational performance objectives that, in turn, are measured, monitored, and changed, if necessary, to ensure that organizational goals are met.
  • What is a farad (F)? - A farad (F) is the standard unit of electrical capacitance (C) in the International System of Units.
  • What is a framework? - In general, a framework is a real or conceptual structure intended to serve as a support or guide for the building of something that expands the structure into something useful.
  • What is a remote desktop and how does it work? - A remote desktop is a program or an operating system feature that allows a user to connect to a computer in another location, see that computer's desktop and interact with it as if it were local.
  • What is a Request for Comments (RFC)? - A Request for Comments (RFC) is a formal document created by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) that outlines technical specifications, organizational notes and standards relevant to internet and networking technologies, including protocols such as routing, addressing and transport technologies.
  • What is a think tank? - A think tank is an organization that gathers a group of interdisciplinary scholars to perform research around particular policies, issues or ideas.
  • What is an electronic health record (EHR)? - An electronic health record (EHR) is an individual's official health document that's shared among multiple facilities and agencies.
  • What is an entrepreneur (entrepreneurship)? - An entrepreneur is an individual who identifies a need in the marketplace and works to fulfill it.
  • What is ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange)? - ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) is the most common character encoding format for text data in computers and on the internet.
  • What is Border Gateway Protocol (BGP)? - BGP (Border Gateway Protocol) is the protocol that enables the internet's global routing system.
  • What is Clinical Document Architecture (CDA)? - Clinical Document Architecture (CDA) is a popular, flexible markup standard developed by Health Level Seven International (HL7).
  • What is Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code? - Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) is a medical code set that enables physicians and other healthcare providers to describe and report the medical, surgical, and diagnostic procedures and services they perform to government and private payers, researchers and other interested parties.
  • What is cybersecurity? - Cybersecurity is the practice of protecting internet-connected systems such as hardware, software and data from cyberthreats.
  • What is Data Encryption Standard (DES)? - Data Encryption Standard (DES) is an outdated symmetric key method of data encryption.
  • What is Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP)? - Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) is a protocol for wireless networks that expands the authentication methods used by Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP), a protocol often used when connecting a computer to the internet.
  • What is FTP? - File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a network protocol for transmitting files between computers over TCP/IP connections.
  • What is HITECH (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health) Act of 2009? - The HITECH (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health) Act of 2009 is legislation that was created to stimulate the adoption of electronic health records (EHR) and the supporting technology in the United States.
  • What is HTTP and how does it work? Hypertext Transfer Protocol - HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is the set of rules for transferring files -- such as text, images, sound, video and other multimedia files -- over the web.
  • What is ICD-9-CM (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification)? - The International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification, also known simply as ICD-9-CM, is the U.
  • What is ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol)? - ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) is a network layer error-reporting protocol that's used to communicate data transmission problems.
  • What is ICT (information and communications technology)? - ICT (information and communications technology) is the infrastructure and components that enable modern computing.
  • What is IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol)? - IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) is a standard retrieval protocol for receiving email.
  • What is incremental innovation? - Incremental innovation is a series of small improvements or upgrades made to a company's existing products, services, processes or methods.
  • What is IPsec (Internet Protocol Security)? - IPsec (Internet Protocol Security) is a suite of protocols and algorithms for securing data transmitted over the internet or any public network.
  • What is IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6)? - Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is a set of specifications from the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) that is responsible for identifying network devices and routing traffic across the internet.
  • What is IT automation? A complete guide for IT teams - IT automation is the use of instructions to create a clear, consistent and repeatable process that replaces an IT professional's manual work in data centers and cloud deployments.
  • What is ITIL? A guide to the IT Infrastructure Library - ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) is a framework designed to standardize the selection, planning, delivery, maintenance and overall lifecycle of IT services within a business.
  • What is LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol)? - LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) is a software protocol used for locating data about organizations, individuals and other resources, such as files and devices, on public and corporate networks.
  • What is matter? - Matter is a substance made up of various types of particles that occupies physical space and has inertia.
  • What is Microsoft? - Microsoft is the world's largest vendor of computer software and a leading provider of cloud computing services, video games, computer and gaming hardware, search and other online services.
  • What is PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard)? - The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a widely accepted set of policies and procedures intended to optimize the security of credit, debit and cash card transactions and protect cardholders against misuse of their personal information.
  • What is quality assurance (QA)? - Quality assurance (QA) is any systematic process of determining whether a product or service meets specified requirements.
  • What is RAID (redundant array of independent disks)? - RAID (redundant array of independent disks) is a way of storing the same data in different places on multiple hard disks or solid-state drives (SSDs) to protect data in the case of a drive failure.
  • What is remote desktop protocol (RDP)? - Remote desktop protocol (RDP) is a secure network communications protocol developed by Microsoft.
  • What is Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)? - Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is an application-layer protocol for monitoring and managing network devices on a local area network or wide area network.
  • What is Six Sigma and how does it work? - Six Sigma is a business methodology for quality improvement that measures how many defects there are in a current process and seeks to systematically eliminate them.
  • What is SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol)? - SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is a TCP/IP protocol used in sending and receiving emails over a network such as the internet.