Software applications

Definitions related to software applications, including tech terms about software programs for vertical industries and words and phrases about software development, use and management.

telematics - Telematics is a term that combines the words telecommunications and informatics to describe the use of communications and IT to transmit, store and receive information from devices to remote objects over a network.
Terraform - HashiCorp Terraform is an infrastructure as code (IaC) software tool that allows DevOps teams to automate infrastructure provisioning using reusable, shareable, human-readable configuration files.
test case - A test case is a set of actions performed on a system to determine if it satisfies software requirements and functions correctly.
test harness - In software development, a test harness is a collection of software and test data used by developers to unit test software models during development.
Testing as a Service (TaaS) - Testing as a service (TaaS) is an outsourcing model in which testing activities associated with some of an organization's business activities are performed by a service provider rather than in-house employees.
Top searches of 2008 - What were people searching the WhatIs.
transformative technology - Transformative technology is hardware- and software-based tools designed to enhance human psychological well-being, cognitive function and physical capabilities.
transparency - Transparency is the quality of being easily seen through, while transparency in a business or governance context refers to being open and honest.
transportation management system (TMS) - A transportation management system (TMS) is specialized software for planning, executing and optimizing the shipment of goods.
turnkey solution provider - A turnkey solution provider is a solution provider that offers limited consultation and one or more established product packages that allow only minimal configuration.
UberFLEET - UberFLEET is a smartphone application that allows partners with Uber, a popular rideshare application, to oversee their fleet drivers.
unified communications and collaboration (UCC) - Unified communications and collaboration (UCC) is the collection of technology and software that combines enterprise communication with real-time and asynchronous cooperation capabilities.
US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) - The U.S.
user experience - User experience (UX) design is the process and practice used to design and implement a product that will provide positive and relevant interactions with users.
value chain - A value chain is a concept describing the full chain of a business's activities in creating a product or service -- from initial receipt of materials through its delivery to market.
value-added reseller (VAR) - A value-added reseller (VAR) is a company that resells software, hardware, and other products and services that provide value beyond the original order fulfillment.
value-based healthcare - Value-based healthcare, also known as value-based care, is a payment model that rewards healthcare providers for providing quality care to patients.
vendor neutral archive (VNA) - A vendor neutral archive (VNA) is a technology that stores medical images in a standard format and interface, making them accessible to healthcare professionals regardless of what proprietary system created the images.
virtual appliance - Considered a software equivalent of a hardware device, a virtual appliance (VA) is a preconfigured software solution.
virtual desktop - A virtual desktop is a computer operating system that does not run directly on the endpoint hardware from which a user accesses it.
virtual SAN appliance (VSA) - A virtual SAN appliance (VSA) is a software bundle that allows a storage manager to turn the unused storage capacity in his network's virtual servers into a storage area network (SAN).
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).
VMware - VMware is a virtualization and cloud computing software provider based in Palo Alto, Calif.
VMware ESXi - VMware ESXi, also called VMware ESXi Server, is a bare-metal hypervisor developed by VMware for vSphere.
warehouse management system (WMS) - A warehouse management system (WMS) consists of software and processes that allow organizations to control and administer warehouse operations from the time goods or materials enter a warehouse until they move out.
web analytics - Web analytics is the process of analyzing the behavior of visitors to a website by tracking, reviewing and reporting the data generated by their use of the site and its components, such as its webpages, images and videos.
web application (web app) - A web application (web app) is an application program that is stored on a remote server and delivered over the internet through a browser interface.
web content management system (WCMS) - A web content management system (WCMS) is a type of content management system (CMS) that provides an organization with a way to manage digital information on a website through creating and maintaining content without prior knowledge of web programming or markup languages.
web services - Web services are a type of internet software that use standardized messaging protocols and are made available from an application service provider's web server for a client or other web-based programs to use.
WebLogic - Oracle WebLogic Server is a leading e-commerce online transaction processing (OLTP) platform, developed to connect users in distributed computing production environments and to facilitate the integration of mainframe applications with distributed corporate data and applications.
What are virtual agents and how are they being used? - A virtual agent -- sometimes called an intelligent virtual agent (IVA) -- is a software program or cloud service that uses artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, such as machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP) to provide automated services or guidance to humans.
What is a call center? Everything you need to know - A call center is a centralized department of customer service professionals who handle inbound and outbound calls from current and potential customers.
What is a content management system (CMS)? - A content management system (CMS) is a software application that lets users create, edit, collaborate on, publish and store digital content.
What is a decision support system (DSS)? - A decision support system (DSS) is a computer program used to improve a company's decision-making capabilities.
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 private cloud? - Private cloud is a type of cloud computing that delivers similar advantages to public cloud, including scalability and self-service, but through a proprietary architecture.
What is a reactive systems architecture? - A computer systems paradigm that takes advantage of the responsiveness, flexibility and resiliency of reactive programming, so that various components can take continue to function and even thrive if any component is compromised.
What is a restricted API? - A restricted API is an application program interface whose access, or use, is intentionally limited by web site developers for security purposes or business reasons.
What is a software license? - A software license is a document that provides legally binding guidelines for the use and distribution of software.
What is a software stack? - A software stack is a collection of independent components that work together to support the execution of an application.
What is a voice user interface (VUI)? - A voice user interface (VUI) is a type of interface that relies on speech recognition technology to enable users to interact with an application or device through voice commands.
What is Agile software development? - Agile is a type of software development methodology that anticipates the need for flexibility and applies a level of pragmatism to the delivery of the finished product.
What is AI? Artificial Intelligence explained - Artificial intelligence is the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems.
What is an abandoned call? - An abandoned call is a call or other type of contact initiated to a call center or contact center that is ended before any conversation occurs.
What is an API (application programming interface)? - An application programming interface (API) is code that enables two software programs to communicate.
What is an application architecture? - An application architecture is a structural map of how a software application is assembled and how applications interact with each other to meet business or user requirements.
What is an application? - An application, also referred to as an application program or application software, is a computer software package that performs a specific function directly for an end user or, in some cases, for another application.
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 information system (IS)? - An information system (IS) is an interconnected set of components used to collect, store, process and transmit data and digital information.
What is Apache JMeter? - Apache JMeter is open source software for load testing applications and measuring their performance.
What is APM? Application performance monitoring guide - Application performance monitoring (APM) is the collection of tools and processes designed to help IT professionals ensure that enterprise applications meet the performance, reliability and valuable user experience (UX) required by employees, partners and customers.
What is blue/green deployment? - A blue/green deployment is a change management strategy for releasing software code.
What is business intelligence (BI)? A detailed guide - Business intelligence (BI) is a technology-driven process for analyzing data and delivering actionable information that helps executives, managers and workers make informed business decisions.
What is business intelligence architecture (BI architecture)? - A business intelligence architecture is a framework for the various technologies an organization deploys to run business intelligence and analytics applications.
What is Change Healthcare? - Change Healthcare is a healthcare technology provider specializing in revenue cycle management, payment management and health information exchange solutions.
What is cloud application performance management (cloud APM)? - Cloud application performance management (cloud APM) is the process of monitoring resources that support software application performance in public cloud, private cloud and hybrid cloud environments.
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 customer segmentation? - Customer segmentation is the practice of dividing a customer base into groups of individuals that have similar characteristics relevant to marketing, such as age, gender, interests and spending habits.
What is data aggregation? - Data aggregation is any process whereby data is gathered and expressed in a summary form.
What is digital health (digital healthcare)? - Digital health, also known as digital healthcare, is the use of digital technologies in healthcare.
What is employee self-service (ESS)? - Employee self-service (ESS) is a widely used human resources technology that enables employees to perform many job-related functions that were once largely paper-based, or otherwise maintained by management, administrative or HR staff.
What is enterprise content management? Guide to ECM - Enterprise content management is a set of defined processes, strategies and tools that enables a business to obtain, organize, store and deliver critical information to its employees, business stakeholders and customers.
What is Enterprise Service Bus (ESB)? - An enterprise service bus (ESB) is a software platform used to distribute work among connected components of an application.
What is functional testing and how does it work? - Functional testing is a process used to evaluate software during development to ensure that it meets the application's intended requirements and specifications.
What is GraalVM? - GraalVM is a tool for developers to write and execute Java code.
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 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.
What is integration testing (I&T)? - Integration testing -- also known as integration and testing or I&T -- is a type of software testing in which the different units, modules or components of a software application are tested as a combined entity.
What is IT/OT convergence? Everything you need to know - IT/OT convergence is the integration of information technology (IT) systems with operational technology (OT) systems.
What is Jira? - Jira is an application lifecycle management (ALM) and Agile project management tool from Atlassian.
What is language modeling? - Language modeling, or LM, is the use of various statistical and probabilistic techniques to determine the probability of a given sequence of words occurring in a sentence.
What is machine translation? - Machine translation technology enables the conversion of text or speech from one language to another using computer algorithms.
What is Microsoft Copilot? In-depth guide to versions and uses - Microsoft Copilot is an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chat service that integrates with many other Microsoft applications and services to support user efficiency and productivity.
What is Microsoft SharePoint and its important features? - Microsoft SharePoint is a document management and collaboration platform that helps organizations oversee, control and work with archives, documents, reports and other content that is vital to their business processes.
What is named entity recognition (NER)? - Named entity recognition (NER) is a natural language processing (NLP) method that extracts information from text.
What is no-code? Everything you need to know - No-code is a software development approach that requires few, if any, programming skills to quickly build an application, website or module that links into an existing system.
What is Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN)? - Oracle PartnerNetwork, also known as OPN, is a channel partner program that provides resources and benefits for value-added resellers (VARs), independent software vendors (ISVs) and other businesses that want to collaborate with Oracle.
What is Oracle? - Oracle is one of the largest vendors in the enterprise IT market and the shorthand name of its flagship product, a relational database management system (RDBMS) that's formally called Oracle Database.
What is PaaS? Platform as a service definition and guide - Platform as a service (PaaS) is a cloud computing model where a third-party provider delivers hardware and software tools to users over the internet.
What is patch management? Lifecycle, benefits and best practices - Patch management is the subset of systems management that involves identifying, acquiring, testing and installing patches, or code changes, that are intended to fix bugs, close security holes or add features.
What is pay for performance (P4P)? - Pay for performance (P4P) in healthcare is a payment model where hospitals, physicians and other healthcare workers are given financial incentives for meeting performance objectives.
What is PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act)? - PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act, sometimes seen as Plan, Do, Check, Adjust) is a repetitive four-stage model for continuous improvement in business process management.
What is PHI (protected or personal health information)? - Protected health information (PHI), also referred to as 'personal health information,' is the demographic information, medical histories, test and laboratory results, physical and mental health conditions, insurance information and other data that a healthcare professional collects to identify an individual and determine appropriate care.
What is picture archiving and communication system (PACS)? - Picture archiving and communication system (PACS) is a medical imaging technology used primarily in healthcare organizations to securely store and digitally transmit electronic images and clinically relevant reports.
What is predictive analytics? An enterprise guide - Predictive analytics is a form of advanced analytics that uses current and historical data to forecast activity, behavior and trends.
What is professional services automation (PSA)? - Professional services automation (PSA) is a type of software application suite that provides a service business with the functionality it needs to manage core business processes.
What is shift-right testing? - Shift-right testing is a method of continuously testing software while it is in a post-production environment.
What is Software as a Service (SaaS)? - Software as a service (SaaS) is a software distribution model in which a third-party provider hosts applications and makes them available to customers over the Internet.
What is software resilience testing? - Software resilience testing is a method of software testing that focuses on ensuring that applications perform well in real-life or chaotic conditions.
What is speech recognition? - Speech recognition, or speech-to-text, is the ability of a machine or program to identify words spoken aloud and convert them into readable text.
What is supervised learning? - Supervised learning is a subcategory of machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) where a computer algorithm is trained on input data that has been labeled for a particular output.
What is telephony? - Telephony is technology associated with interactive communication between two or more physically distant parties using the electronic transmission of data.
What is user acceptance testing (UAT)? - User acceptance testing (UAT), also called application testing or end-user testing, is a phase of software development in which the software is tested in the real world by its intended audience.
What is virtual reality? How it's used and how it will evolve - Virtual reality, or VR, is a simulated three-dimensional (3D) environment that lets users explore and interact with a virtual surrounding in a way that approximates reality, as it's perceived through the users' senses.
What is webhook? - A webhook is a software architecture approach that allows applications and services to submit a web-based notification to other applications whenever a specific event occurs.
wiki - A wiki is a web-based collaborative platform that enables users to store, create and modify content in an organized manner.
Windows Management Instrumentation Command-line (WMIC) utility - The Windows Management Instrumentation Command-line (WMIC) utility is a command-line interface for working with Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), a framework for managing data and operations on a Windows computer.
Windows Process Activation Service (WPAS) - Windows Process Activation Service (WAS) is a tool for managing worker processes that contain applications that host Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) services.
Windows Sharepoint Services (WSS) - Windows Sharepoint Services (WSS) is a portal-based platform for creating, managing and sharing documents and customized Web services.
WinZip - WinZip is a software product used to archive, compress and encrypt files in a variety of archive formats for more efficient storage and distribution.