We’ve compiled a full list of commonly encountered IT terminology that will help you better understand the industry and how it works. By familiarizing yourself with basic computer terms and definitions, you’ll allow yourself to understand manuals, descriptions, and everyday jargon necessary to fully grasp IT products and services.
You’ll find our tech glossary is conveniently laid out below in alphabetical order with an easy navigation interface so you can quickly reference words related to technology.
In addition to our tech terms, you can also find other resources to help you learn more about the role of technology in modern industry, including blogs, whitepapers, and case studies. Though our list of IT terms to know is expansive, if you have any further questions regarding things to know about technology, please contact us.
Unicode is a universal character encoding standard that assigns a unique numerical value to every character, regardless of platform, program, or language. Unicode supports a vast array of characters from different writing systems, symbols, and emojis, enabling consistent representation and manipulation of text across different systems and devices. This standard is essential for global software development and data exchange, ensuring that text is displayed correctly worldwide.
Ubuntu is a free and open-source Linux distribution based on Debian. It is designed primarily for use on personal computers but also provides server and cloud versions. Ubuntu is known for its user-friendly interface, regular updates, and strong community support. It comes pre-installed with a wide range of software, including office applications, web browsers, and multimedia tools, making it accessible for both novice and experienced users.
User Account Control (UAC) is a security component in Microsoft Windows that helps prevent unauthorized changes to the operating system. UAC prompts users for permission or administrator credentials before allowing actions that could potentially affect the system’s operation or alter settings that affect other users. This mechanism helps to mitigate the impact of malware by limiting the ability of applications to make changes without user consent.
User Acceptance Testing (UAT) is the final phase of the software testing process, where actual software users test the software to ensure it can handle required tasks in real-world scenarios, according to specifications. UAT is crucial for validating the end-to-end business flow and ensuring the system is ready for production. Successful UAT confirms that the software meets business requirements and is ready for deployment.
Usage-Based Billing is a pricing model where customers are charged based on their actual consumption of a service. In IT and telecommunications, this model is common for services like cloud computing resources, data transfer, or bandwidth usage. Usage-based billing allows for more flexible and scalable cost structures, enabling customers to pay only for what they use, which can lead to cost savings compared to flat-rate or subscription-based models.
Uptime refers to the amount of time a computer system, server, or network has been continuously running without any downtime or interruptions. It is a critical metric in IT infrastructure management, reflecting the reliability and stability of systems. High uptime percentages are often stipulated in Service Level Agreements (SLAs), indicating the expected availability of services to users. Monitoring and maintaining high uptime is essential for ensuring consistent access to services and minimizing business disruptions.
Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) is a set of networking protocols that allows devices on a network to discover each other and establish functional network services. UPnP enables seamless connectivity and simplified implementation of networks in homes and offices by allowing devices to automatically join a network, obtain an IP address, announce their presence, and learn about other devices. However, due to its automatic configuration, UPnP can pose security risks if not properly managed.
The Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) is a modern firmware interface for computers, designed to replace the legacy Basic Input/Output System (BIOS). UEFI initializes hardware components and starts the operating system at boot time. It provides several advantages over BIOS, including faster boot times, support for larger hard drives, better security features like Secure Boot, and a more user-friendly interface.
The User Interface (UI) is the point of human-computer interaction and communication in a device or software. It includes everything designed into an information device with which a user may interact, such as screens, keyboards, mice, and the appearance of a desktop. In software applications, UI refers to the graphical layout, including buttons, icons, and menus. Effective UI design focuses on maximizing usability and the user experience.
User Experience (UX) encompasses all aspects of an end-user’s interaction with a company, its services, and its products. In the IT context, UX focuses on enhancing user satisfaction by improving the usability, accessibility, and pleasure provided in the interaction with a digital product, such as a website or application. Good UX design ensures that the product is intuitive, efficient, and enjoyable to use, which can lead to increased user engagement and loyalty.