Every industry has its own buzzwords du jour. Educators are talking about “cooperative learning.” Executives are promoting “rightshoring.” Those in pharmaceuticals are pursuing “continuous manufacturing.” Similarly, IT has its own set of buzzwords that are totally befuddling if you are not “in the know.”
We’ve chosen four buzzwords that are especially relevant in I.T. today, and defined them below so you can sound really smart when you “bust them out.”
1. “Hybrid Integration”
The technology that is available to businesses has evolved significantly and, as a result, has diversified the types of applications, services, programs and IT tools that exist in the enterprise. One of the consequences of this is that many times on-premise solutions need to integrate with cloud-based applications. The term, “hybrid integration” refers to connecting an on-premise application to a cloud-based application, effectively allowing systems that reside on-premise and in the cloud to communicate seamlessly.
2. “Digital Transformation”
Digital transformation refers to the process of making your company a digital enterprise. Essentially, that means finding ways to leverage technology to better engage customers online and offline. A report by Altimeter Group notes that 88 percent “of executives and digital strategists stated that their company is undergoing a formal digital transformation effort in 2014.” This isn’t a particularly new term, but it is stealing the limelight in many businesses’ IT departments.
3. “BYOD”
BYOD is an acronym for “bring your own device.” It’s interesting because the rise of accessible, high-grade consumer applications and devices allows employees to play a bigger role in deciding the types of technologies used at work. Sure, this facilitates an “anytime, anywhere, any device” mentality that can be great for productivity, but without the proper security measures in place, BYOD can be a huge risk. Think about how many times you, or someone you’ve known, hopped in a cab only to realize a few hours later your/their smartphone is nowhere to be found. If corporate data is on that phone, your business is at risk.
4. “Bimodal IT”
This term was coined by an analyst firm that starts with a “G” (as in “Giant”). It stands for the joining of two different IT methodologies: Traditional IT and Modern IT. Traditional IT represents a controlled and structured set of protocols. Previously, IT professionals had the time to plan initiatives and rollout solutions as necessary, all within very specific security measures.
Modern IT is a direct result of our evolved technologies. This approach takes into consideration that business users are well-versed in basic IT functions and can handle simple tasks – like file sharing and integration – themselves. Modern IT moves at a much faster clip, allowing businesses to adapt instantaneously to changes in the market, giving them a competitive leg up.
This new bimodal approach takes the best of the traditional and systematic methods and marries those to the best of today’s flexible and adaptive solutions. The result is an approach that is fast and nimble enough to allow organizations to respond to the rapidly increasing pace of business, while at the same time maintaining security standards.
There you have it! With these buzzwords in your personal lexicon, you’re on your way to being well-versed in IT vernacular. Are there any other IT buzzwords you’re hearing that you’d like to have us define?