Jargon Buster

Data encryption:
The process of scrambling stored or transmitted information so that it is unintelligible until it is unscrambled by the intended recipient.

 

Domain name:
The unique name that identifies an Internet site. With respect to email, this refers to the name to the right of the ‘@’ sign.

 

Email server:
An application that controls the distribution and storage of e-mail messages.

 

Exchange email:
Microsoft Exchange Server is a collaborative software server from Microsoft. Among many other things, Microsoft Exchange manages electronic mail, and is thus a popular mail server.

 

Email Gateway:
A machine that transfers mail between two or many more e-mail systems

 

Global address list:
Unified email directory for an organisation with offices merging contacts in different bureaus across the globe.

 

Licensing:
A contract that grants a party explicit rights to use intellectual property.

Unlike other products, software is hardly ever sold to the user outright. Instead, the user is granted a licence to use the software, usually in exchange for an ‘up front’ or rental fee.

 

Resilience:
The ability of a computer system to continue to operate correctly even though one or more of its components are malfunctioning.

 

SaaS:
Software as a service (SaaS) is a software distribution model in which applications are hosted by a vendor or service provider within a managed data centre and made available to customers over a network, typically the Internet.

 

Soft client/ Viewer application:
Software that resides on a user's desktop or laptop computer, and which allows it to run applications on a remote computer.

 

Software upgrades and releases:
The availability of a new version of a computer software product.