itm100

Data

Unprocessed facts and figures without any added interpretation or analysis.

Information

Data that has been processed, organized, or structured to provide meaning.

Database

A structured collection of data that can be easily accessed and managed.

Relational Database Management System (RDBMS)

A type of database management system that stores data in a structured format using rows and columns.

Data Quality

The measure of the condition of data based on factors such as accuracy, completeness, consistency, and timeliness.

Transactional Data

Data that supports day-to-day operations and reflects real-time transactions.

Analytical Data

Data that is used for analysis, summarization, and decision-making purposes.

Data Cleansing

The process of correcting or removing inaccurate records from a database.

Business Intelligence (BI)

Technologies and strategies used by enterprises for data analysis of business information.

Data Warehouse

A centralized repository that stores integrated data from multiple sources for analysis and reporting.

Metadata

Data that provides information about other data, including its content, quality, and condition.

Data Governance

The overall management of the availability, usability, integrity, and security of the data employed in an organization.

Blockchain

A distributed ledger technology that maintains a permanent and tamper-proof record of transactional data.

ETL (Extraction, Transformation, Loading)

A process that involves extracting data from various sources, transforming it into a suitable format, and loading it into a data warehouse.

Data Integrity

The accuracy and consistency of data over its entire lifecycle.

Data Mining

The practice of examining large databases to generate new information and discover patterns.

Information technology (IT)

Any computer-based tool that people use to work with information and support the information and information-processing needs of an organization.

Hardware

Consists of the physical devices associated with a computer system.

Software

The set of instructions that the hardware executes to carry out specific tasks.

Computer

An electronic device operating under the control of instructions stored in its own memory that can accept, manipulate, and store data.

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

The actual hardware that interprets and executes the program (software) instructions and coordinates how all the other hardware devices work together.

Primary Storage

The computer's main memory, which consists of the random access memory (RAM), cache memory, and the read-only memory (ROM) that is directly accessible to the CPU.

Secondary Storage

Equipment designed to store large volumes of data for long-term storage (e.g., diskette, CD, DVD, memory stick).

Input Device

Equipment used to capture information and commands (e.g., mouse, keyboard, scanner).

Output Device

Equipment used to see, hear, or otherwise accept the results of information processing requests (e.g., monitor, printer, microphone).

Communication Device

Equipment used to send information and receive it from one location to another (e.g., modem, wireless card).

Control unit

Interprets software instructions and literally tells the other hardware devices what to do, based on the software instructions.

Arithmetic-logic unit (ALU)

Performs all arithmetic operations (e.g., addition and subtraction) and all logic operations (e.g., sorting and comparing numbers).

Megahertz (MHz)

The number of millions of CPU cycles per second.

Gigahertz (GHz)

The number of billions of CPU cycles per second.

Binary digit (bit)

The smallest unit of information that a computer can process.

Byte

A group of eight bits representing one natural language character.

Complex instruction set computer (CISC) chip

Type of CPU that can recognize as many as 100 or more instructions, enough to carry out most computations directly.

Reduced instruction set computer (RISC) chip

Limit the number of instructions the CPU can execute to increase processing speed.

Virtualization

A protected memory space created by the CPU allowing the computer to create virtual machines.

Random access memory (RAM)

The computer's primary working memory, in which program instructions and data are stored so that they can be accessed directly by the CPU via the processor's high-speed external data bus.

Read-only memory (ROM)

The portion of a computer's primary storage that does not lose its contents when one switches off the power (Non-volatile).

Flash memory

An electronic non-volatile computer memory storage medium that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed.

Megabyte (MB)

Roughly 1 million bytes.

Gigabyte (GB)

Roughly 1 billion bytes.

Terabyte (TB)

Roughly 1 trillion bytes.

Kilobyte (KB)

1,024 bytes.

Petabyte (PB)

1,024 TB (1015 bytes).

Exabyte (EB)

1,024 PB (1018 bytes).

Magnetic medium

A secondary storage medium that uses magnetic techniques to store and retrieve data on disks or tapes coated with magnetically sensitive materials.

Magnetic tape

An older secondary storage medium that uses a strip of thin plastic coated with a magnetically sensitive recording medium.

Hard drive

A secondary storage medium that uses several rigid disks coated with a magnetically sensitive material and housed together with the recording heads in a hermetically sealed mechanism.

Optical medium

Secondary storage media that use laser technology to store and retrieve data, such as CD-ROMs and DVDs.

Cloud storage

A model of computer data storage in which data is stored remotely in logical pools and accessible to users over a network, typically the Internet.

Keyboard

An input device that provides a set of alphabetic, numeric, punctuation, symbol, and control keys.

Mouse

An input device with one or more control buttons housed in a palm-sized case, designed for movement on a surface to control a pointer on screen.

Touch screen

An input device that allows the use of a finger to point at and touch a monitor to execute commands.

Image scanner

An automated input device that captures images, photos, graphics, and text that already exist on paper.

Bar code scanner

An automated input device that captures information existing in the form of vertical bars whose width and distance apart determine a number.

Biometric scanner

An automated input device that captures human physical attributes such as a fingerprint or iris for security purposes.

Monitor

An output device that displays visual information, categorized by types such as CRT, LCD, LED, and OLED.

Ink-jet printer

A printer that makes images by forcing ink droplets through nozzles.

Laser printer

A printer that forms images using an electrostatic process, the same way a photocopier works.

Multifunction printer

A printer that can scan, copy, fax, and print all in one device.

3D Printer

A printer that can produce solid, three-dimensional objects.

Clustering

A technique developed from supercomputing research allowing multiple computers to work together as a single system.

Parallel processing

A technique developed from supercomputing research involving multiple processes executing instructions simultaneously or concurrently.

Smart Phone

A cellular telephone with a keypad that runs programs, music, photos, and email, and includes many features of a PDA.

Personal digital assistant (PDA)

A small, handheld computer that performs simple tasks such as taking notes, scheduling appointments, and maintaining an address book and a calendar.

Laptop computer

A portable computer that fits on a lap or in a bag, with its own power source or battery, and equipped with all the technology of a personal desktop computer.

Tablet computer

A computer with a flat screen that uses a mouse or fingertip for input instead of a keyboard, often with a stylus for writing notes.

Desktop computer

A personal computer that sits on, next to, or under a user's desk and is too large to carry around.

Workstation computer

Similar to a desktop but has more powerful mathematical and graphics processing capabilities and can perform more complicated tasks in less time, typically used for software development and engineering.

Minicomputer (server)

Designed to meet the computing needs of several people simultaneously in a small to medium-sized business environment, often used for managing internal company networks and websites.

Mainframe computer

Designed to meet the computing needs of hundreds of people in a large business environment, a step up in size, power, capability, and cost from minicomputers.

Supercomputer

The fastest, most powerful, and most expensive type of computer, employed by organizations involved in intense research and number crunching or extensive customer transaction processing.

System software

Controls how the various technology tools work together along with the application software.

Operating system software

Controls the application software and manages how the hardware devices work together (e.g., Windows, Mac OS, Linux).

Utility software

System software that provides additional functionality to the operating system, such as antivirus, disk optimization, and data recovery tools.

Application software

Performs specific information processing needs for users or organizations (e.g., word processing, spreadsheet, browser).

Crash-proof (utility software)

A type of utility software designed to help prevent system crashes or recover from them.

Antivirus (utility software)

A type of utility software that protects computers from malicious software like viruses.

Word processing software

A type of application software used for creating and editing text documents (e.g., Microsoft Word).

Spreadsheet software

A type of application software used for organizing, analyzing, and storing data in tabular form (e.g., Microsoft Excel).

Client

A computer designed to request information from a server.

Server

A computer dedicated to providing information in response to requests.

MIS infrastructure

Includes the plans for how a firm will build, deploy, use, and share its data, processes, and MIS assets.

Information MIS Infrastructure

Supports operations by providing plans for system backup, recovery, disaster recovery, and business continuity.

Agile MIS Infrastructure

Supports change by providing characteristics like accessibility, availability, maintainability, portability, reliability, scalability, and usability.

Sustainable MIS infrastructure

Supports the environment through environmentally friendly processes and resources.

Backup

An exact copy of a system’s information.

Recovery

The ability to get a system up and running in the event of a system crash or failure.

Disaster recovery plan

A detailed process for recovering information or an IT system in the event of a catastrophic disaster such as a fire or flood.

Disaster recovery cost curve

Charts the cost to an organization of unavailability of information and technology versus the cost to recover from a disaster over time.

Hot site

A separate and fully equipped facility where a company can move immediately after a disaster and resume business.

Cold site

A separate facility that does not have any computer equipment but is a place where employees can move after a disaster.

Warm site

A separate facility with computer equipment that requires installation and configuration.

Business continuity planning (BCP)

A plan for how an organization will recover and restore partially or completely interrupted critical function(s) within a predetermined time after a disaster or extended disruption.

Emergency

A sudden unexpected event requiring immediate action.

Emergency preparedness

Ensures a company is ready to respond to an emergency in an organized, timely, and effective manner.

Business impact analysis

Identifies all critical business functions and the effect that a specific disaster may have upon them.

Technology failure

Occurs when the ability of a company to operate is impaired because of a hardware, software, or data outage.

Incident

An unplanned interruption of a service.

Incident management

The process responsible for managing how incidents are identified and corrected.

Accessibility

The varying levels that define what a user can access, view, or perform when operating a system.