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Glossary of Terms


.NET.NET (dot net) is an umbrella term that applies to a collection of products and technologies from Microsoft. Most have in common a dependence on the Microsoft .NET Framework, a component of the Windows operating system.
ADThe Active Directory service provides user and computer accounts and distribution and security groups in the Microsoft Windows operating system. The operating system integrates user, computer, and group security with the Windows security subsystem as a whole. The Windows operating system uses a user to authenticate the identity of the user and to authorise or deny access to domain resources.
AJAXAsynchronous JavaScript and XML - AJAX is not a technology in intself, but a term that refers to the use of a group of technologies. This technique makes web pages feel more responsive by exchanging small amounts of data with the server behind the scenes, so that the entire web page does not have ro reload each time the user requests a change.
AXAxapta - one of the ERP software packages available from the Dynamics Range.
BACSBankers Automated Clearing Services is a United Kingdom scheme for the electronic processing of financial transactions.
B2BBusiness to Business.
B2CBusiness to Consumer.
BIBusiness Intelligence provides a complete tool set to integrate, analyse, report, and mine data to enable an organisations' infrastructure.
BRLBusiness Ready Licensing - a pricing model introduced in August 2006 by Microsoft to substitute modular-based pricing.
CALA Client Access Licence is Microsoft's name for various "keys" which must be purchased and enabled to allow various functionality on Windows based servers.
CRMCustomer Relationship Management: includes the methodologies, technology and capabilities that help an enterprise manage customer relationships. The general purpose of a CRM software system is to enable organisations to better manage their customers through the introduction of reliable systems, processes and workflow engines.
CSVComma-Separated Value.
C#C# (C Sharp) is intended to be a simple, modern, general-purpose, object-oriented programming language.
DexterityC++ optimised for Business Applications.
DHCPDynamic Host Configuration Protocol - set of rules used by a communications device (eg computer, router or networking adapter) to allow it to request and obtain an Internet address from a server which has a list of addresses available for assignment.
DNSDomain Name System - stores and associates many types of information with domain names, but most importantly, it translates domain names (computer hostnames) to IP addresses.
DynamicsIn 2005 Microsoft rebranded Microsoft Business Solutions to Microsoft Dynamics. The new brand focuses on people and process-centric design. The products in this range include AX (formerly Axapta), NAV (formerly Navision), GP (formerly Great Plains), SL (formerly Solomon), RMS (Retail Management Services) and as of December 2005 CRM (Customer Relationship Management).
EMEAEurope, Middle East and Africa. The region classification for a division of an international company that operates in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
EPOSElectronic Point Of Sale. Capturing data at the time and place of sale. Point of sale systems use computers or specialized terminals that are combined with cash registers, bar code readers, optical scanners and magnetic stripe readers for accurately and instantly capturing the transaction.
ERP Enterprise Resource Planning. When "ERP" is discussed today, it is rarely in the context of planning how resources are to be expended. Rather, it refers to an enterprise view of the business' in other words, a view of a company and all its parts as connected whole, rather than small silos of activity. ERP relates to the software infrastructure that holds the entire company together internally, on the one hand, and supports the external business processes the company engages in, on the other. - ERP applications address a business process. - ERP applications are modular. - ERP applications are integrated. - ERP applications include a company's reach beyond its walls - to its suppliers, customers, and partners. - The entire ERP suite will address all areas (or the great majority) of a company's business functions.
FIFOFirst in First Out.
GPformerly Great Plains.
GUIGraphical User Interface.
HRMHuman Resource Management.
HTTPHyper Text Transfer Protocol is a communications protocol used to transfer or convey information on intranets and the World Wide Web.
HTTPSHyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure - adds an SSL encryption/authentication layer to HTTP.
IPOInitial Public Offering - the first sale of a corporation's common shares to public investors.
IPsecInternet Protocol security - a set of protocols to secure IP communications.
ISAInternet Security & Acceleration (Server) - integrated edge security gateway that helps protect the IT environment from Internet-based threats while providing users with fast and secure remote access to applications and data.
ISPInternet Service Provider.
ISVIndependent Software Vendor is a business term for companies specializing in making or selling specialized software products that offer higher productivity to organisations than more generalised software such as basic spreadsheet or database packages.
KPIKey Performance Indicators: are used in Business Intelligence to assess the present state of business and to prescribe the course of action.
L2TPLayer 2 Tunnelling Protocol - used to support virtual private networks (VPN).
LIFOLast in First Out.
MBSMicrosoft Business Solutions, now including the rebranded Dynamics range and Microsoft Retail Management System.
MOSSMicrosoft Office SharePoint Server is a single, unified suite of enterprise-scale applications that satisfies diverse business-critical needs, such as managing content and business processes, simplifying how people work together across boundaries, and enabling better informed decision-making. Office SharePoint Server 2007 supports all of the intranets, extranets, and Web applications across an enterprise within one integrated platform, instead of relying on separate fragmented systems.
MUIMulti-lingual user interface.
NATNetwork Address Translation - involves re-writing the source and/or destination addresses of IP packets as they pass through a router or firewall
NAVSoloman - one of the ERP software packages available from the Dynamics Range.
OTCOver The Counter trading is to trade financial instruments such as stocks, bonds, commodities or derivatives directly between two parties
OLAPOn-line Analytical Processing - a business reporting system which includes ia data-mining and enables multi-dimensional analytical queries to be reported on.
PDAPersonal Digital Assistants - handheld computers that were originally designed as personal organisers, but now have far greater versatility and functionality and now include pocket computers or palmtop computers.
PDFPortable Document Format was created by Adobe Systems in 1993 as a multi-platoform file format for text and images.
PIMPersonal Information Management - a software designed to facilitate the recording, tracking, and management of certain types of personal information, including calendars, e-mails, contact records, tasks, notes.
Pivot reportAlternatively known as PivotTable - a trademark of the Microsoft Corporation. A pivot table is a powerful data summarisation tool in Microsoft Excel and other electronic spreadsheet programs. Among other functions, it automatically sorts, counts, and totals data stored in a spreadsheet and creates a second table displaying the organised data. Its name describes the drag and drop "rotation" or pivoting of the summary table as selected variables or rows and columns are moved. New totals or other calculations are automatically updated. Pivot tables are useful to quickly create crosstabs.
POPurchase Order.
POPPurchase Order Processing.
R&DResearch and Development.
RFIDA Radio Frequency Identification tag is an object that can be attatched or incorporated into a product for the purpose of identification using radio waves.
RMSRetail Management System from Microsoft's Dynamics range.
ROIReturn On Investment - Used to measure the efficiency with which financial resources available to a company are employed by management.
RPCRemote Procedure Call - protocol to allow a computer program running on one computer to cause a sub-routine in another address space, commonly on another computer, to be executed without the programmer explicitly coding the details for this interaction.
RSSPrograms known as feed readers or aggregators can check a list of feeds on behalf of a user and display any updated articles that they find.
SharePointAn Umbrella term for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) & Windows SharePoint Services (WSS).
SLSoloman - one of the ERP software packages available from the Dynamics Range.
SOAService Orientated Architecture.
SOPSales Order Processing.
SQLStructured Query Language is a computer language used to create, retrieve, update and delete data from relational database management systems. SQL has been standardized by both ANSI and ISO.
SSLSecure Socket Layer is used to encrypt communcations across a network for privacy and security.
TAPTechnology Adoption Programme
TCOTotal Cost Of Ownership, a very popular buzzword representing how much it actually costs to own the complete system.
VATValue Added Tax is a tax on the final consumption of certain goods and services
VBAVisual Basic for Applications.
VPNVirtual Private Network.
VoIPVoice over Internet Protocol, also called VoIP, IP Telephony, Internet telephony, Broadband telephony, Broadband Phone and Voice over Broadband is the routing of voice conversations over the Internet or through any other IP-based network.
WWFThe Workflow engine is a component in the Windows Workflow Foundation which makes workflow an integral Windows platform capability, promising to dramatically increase the availability and simplicity of workflow-enabled applications. The workflow engine is used to enforce the workflow definition and execute workflow events.
WSSWindows SharePoint Services.
WWWWorld Wide Web.
XMLExtensible Markup Language - an industry standard file format.


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