The evolving landscape of technology can be somewhat difficult to grasp if you’re not familiar with the many acronyms and buzzwords. We’ve compiled a list of popular terminology in 2016 that we think you should be familiar with:
Internet of Things (IoT)
The Internet of Things, or IoT, has been used in the last few years as a blanket term for the way that more objects are becoming connected to a network so that they are able to send and receive information; for example, fitness wearables, Google glasses, coffee machines, lamps, and more. The opportunities are endless. It’s a way to make your everyday objects work more efficiently for you, forever impacting the way we work and live. In essence, the Internet of Things is just a phrase that represents the increasing connectivity happening in our lives. (Forbes)
Big Data
Big data is a phrase to describe large volumes of data collected and stored for analyses, to help study, interpret, and predict buyer behavior, trends, and more. With careful analyses, these large stores of information can reveal patterns of consumer behavior that can help businesses understand the complex nature of commerce. But as these huge volumes of data grow…business leaders should also keep in mind, the usefulness of big data is only as good as the people who are interpreting the information, thereby putting heavy value on “data scientists.” (IBM)
The Cloud or “Cloud Computing”
The Cloud is a network of servers. It’s an analogy for the internet. It IS the internet, sort of. Cloud computing is the act of storing, accessing data, and using applications on the internet, rather than on a local machine’s hard drive. For example, if you wanted to use Adobe Photoshop, traditionally you would buy the software and install it on your machine. With cloud-based services, you can access Photoshop and it’s functions directly from your browser, with the purchase of a license or subscription.
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)
Simply put, it’s when companies allow employees to bring their own personal devices to be used for work-related purposes. While it may help to increase productivity and reduce cost, it’s a hot topic of interest because of the possibility of IT security threats. More often than not, employee-owned devices will be more advanced equipment than what is offered by most IT departments. They’re also more mobile, which have an obvious appeal. A company can set a policy against BYOD, but odds are, over time, it will become an issue.
Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6)
Think of Internet Protocol (IP) as the Yellow Pages of the internet. It’s purpose is to deliver information from host to destination through an “address.” Essentially, the phone book just got bigger. The newest internet protocol system is designed to replace IPv4. The difference is that this protocol system designates a unique IP address for identification and location definition, and larger address space. With more devices requiring connectivity, features such as device mobility, security, and configuration have also been upgraded in addition to more address space. (Microsoft)
Gamification
Gamification takes all of the motivating factors of gaming, such as rewards, badges, and earned points, and turns them into benchmarks in a non-gaming context…such as business. The idea is to improve engagement, participation, flow, and productivity, while also building a wealth of Big Data which can be used to further analyze and interpret consumer behavior.
Virtualization
Virtualization makes cloud services possible! It’s the backbone that manipulates the hardware, “separating physical infrastructures to create various dedicated resources.” Cloud computing is a service that results from this manipulation. (Business News Daily)
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