API Integration: The connection of different software applications using Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to enable them to exchange data and functionality.

Big Data: Extremely large and complex datasets that require specialized tools and techniques for analysis to extract insights and patterns.

Business Continuity (BC): The capability of an organization to continue delivery of products or services at acceptable predefined levels following a disruptive incident.

Cloud Computing: The delivery of computing services (servers, storage, databases, networking, software, analytics, and intelligence) over the internet (“the cloud”) to offer faster innovation, flexible resources, and economies of scale.

Cloud Infrastructure: It’s a collection of hardware and software components, like servers, storage, networks, and virtualization software, which enable cloud computing services. Think of it as the foundation on which various cloud services are built and delivered over the internet.

Cloud Migration: The process of moving applications, data, or entire IT infrastructures from on-premises environments to the cloud.

Cloud Native Applications: Applications designed specifically for cloud environments, taking advantage of cloud computing models and services to achieve scalability, resilience, and agility.

Cloud Security: A broad set of policies, technologies, applications, and controls used to protect virtualized IP, data, applications, services, and associated infrastructure of cloud computing.

Cloud Service Provider (CSP): A company that offers cloud-based platforms, infrastructure, applications, or storage services.

Cloud Storage: A service model for storing data on remote servers accessed over the internet, rather than on local storage devices.

Containerization: A lightweight virtualization method that involves packaging an application with its dependencies into a container, which can be run consistently on any infrastructure.

Data Backup: The process of creating copies of data to protect against loss or damage. Cloud backup involves storing these copies in a remote, cloud-based location.

DevOps: A set of practices that combines software development (Dev) and IT operations (Ops) to shorten the software development life cycle and provide continuous delivery with high quality.

Disaster Recovery (DR): The process, policies, and procedures related to preparing for recovery or continuation of technology infrastructure critical to an organization after a natural or human-induced disaster.

Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS): A cloud computing service model that enables an organization to back up its data and IT infrastructure in a third-party cloud computing environment and provides the ability to recover it quickly in the event of a disaster.

Edge Computing: A distributed computing paradigm that brings computation and data storage closer to the location where it is needed, improving response times and saving bandwidth.

Encryption: The process of converting information or data into a code, especially to prevent unauthorized access. Encryption is crucial for securing data in the cloud.

Failover: The process of automatically switching to a redundant or standby system upon the failure or abnormal termination of the previously active system.

Firewall: A network security device that monitors incoming and outgoing traffic and decides whether to allow or block specific traffic based on defined security rules.

Hybrid Cloud: A cloud computing environment that combines a private cloud with one or more public cloud services, with orchestration between the platforms.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): A cloud computing model where a provider offers virtualized computing resources like servers, storage, and networking over the internet.

Kubernetes: An open-source platform for automating the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications.

Machine Learning: A subset of artificial intelligence (AI) that involves the development of algorithms that enable computers to learn from and make predictions or decisions based on data.

Managed Service Provider (MSP): An MSP is a company that manages and maintains your cloud infrastructure or applications. They handle tasks like monitoring, security, updates, storage, backup, recovery, and troubleshooting, so you can focus on their core business.

Multi-Tenancy: An architecture where a single instance of a software application serves multiple customers (tenants), each with their own data and configurations.

Network Recovery: The process of restoring a network to its operational state after an outage or failure.

Network Recovery-as-a-Service^TM (NRaaS^TM): NRaaS^TM is a cloud-based solution that quickly restores a company’s network operations after a disruption. It’s like having a backup plan for your network, ensuring minimal downtime and data loss. NRaaS^TM providers offer continuous monitoring, automated failover to redundant systems, and seamless recovery of critical network services, while IPs remain unchanged.

Object Storage: Object storage is a computer data storage architecture that manages data as discrete units called objects. Unlike traditional file systems, which store data in a hierarchical structure of folders and files, or block storage, which divides data into fixed-size blocks, object storage stores each object as a separate entity with a unique identifier, metadata, and data content. Object storage is well-suited for storing large amounts of unstructured data, such as images, videos, log files, and backups. It’s scalable, cost-effective, and provides easy access to data through APIs. It’s commonly used in cloud environments due to its flexibility and ability to handle massive amounts of data.

Penetration Testing: An authorized simulated cyberattack on a computer system to evaluate its security and identify vulnerabilities that an attacker could exploit.

Private Cloud: A cloud computing environment dedicated to a single organization, providing increased control and security compared to public clouds.

Public Cloud: Cloud computing resources and services offered by a third-party provider over the public internet, available to anyone who wants to use or purchase them.

Recovery Point Objective (RPO): The maximum targeted period in which data might be lost from an IT service due to a major incident.

Recovery Time Objective (RTO): The targeted duration of time and a service level within which a business process must be restored after a disaster (or disruption) in order to avoid unacceptable consequences associated with a break in business continuity.

Software as a Service (SaaS): A software distribution model in which a CSP hosts applications and makes them available to customers over the internet.

Virtual Machine: In cloud computing, a virtual machine (VM) is a software emulation of a computer that runs on a remote server, not on your physical device. It’s like renting a computer in a data center instead of owning one. This virtual computer has its own operating system and resources, allowing you to run applications and store data remotely. Cloud VMs are flexible, scalable, and cost-effective, as you pay only for the resources you use.

Virtual Private Cloud (VPC): A private network segment within a public cloud environment that provides isolation from other public cloud users and security for resources.