IT Support Tech Buzzwords – Part 2

Yesterday,  we gave you some IT terminology that have become popular among IT support technicians. As before, we included simple definitions, with links to more detailed explanations:

Datafication: We know that data is increasing at an amazing rate datafication is the process through which businesses take information from people’s every-day lives and turn it into useful business data. The use of social media is a great example. It has become fairly common for businesses to use social media to determine personality characteristics of potential employees, replacing the personality tests that have been in use for many years. The use of social media has been proven to be more accurate. The accumulation of this data is often best accomplished through the Cloud.

Decentralized Cryptocurrency: No, it’s not something you would find in a cemetery. And, yes, cryptocurrency has developed something of an “underground” reputation as a form of payment that is used for nefarious purposes on the “dark web”, (not entirely undeserved) but in actuality, they are virtual “currencies”, meaning there are no physical representations, like bills or coins. Think of it like this: when you pay your credit card bill online, no one is going to a bank vault and taking a pile of dollar bills and transferring it from your money shelf to the credit card company’s money shelf. It is all done electronically. If, however, you wanted to walk into your credit card company’s office and hand them a stack of bills, they would take it. Cryptocurrency is like this except there is no hard currency alternative. You do buy your cryptocurrency (e.g. Bitcoin) with real money electronically, but after that, all transactions only take place over the Internet.

Gamification: Every day, as more young people enter the workforce, a larger and larger percentage of the nation’s employed grew up with video gaming as a major source of entertainment. Many employers, especially those that tend to employ younger people, have discovered that setting goals based on gaming protocols, rather than standard targets, prove more effective. For example, every sale completed may result is the awarding of “experience points”, and upon receiving a certain number of points, the employee “levels up” (reaching the next plateau.) When reaching a pre-set level, a cash or other prize is awarded. In other words, this is the “gamification” of goal setting.

Machine Learning: Machine learning is a function of AI, or Artificial Intelligence. What this means is that a computer gathers data from a variety of sources and then creates algorithms that uses this data to develop reliable predictions. This can help a business learn more about existing and potential clients needs and, thereby, increase the likelihood of making the sale.

Microservices: Microservices come from a form of software architecture in which easy piece of functionality is created as a separate program so as to be effectively independent of the other pieces. If a software customer needs a single piece of software functionality, they can purchase just that program and tie it together with similar standalone programs created by other software developers to end up with exactly the total functionality they need without having to have unique software written for them.

Open-Source: Open Source programs are those that are free and modifiable, and that can be used by anyone who wants to build an application around it. The use of open-source programs make the development of custom programs for small businesses affordable.

We hope these posts on terminology has been helpful. If there are any other terms, or anything at all about IT solutions or IT support that you are curious about, please feel free to speak with one of our team members at 866.252.6363 or visit us at Novatech.net.