Modern business is incredibly reliant on technology, so it’s surprising that many key decision-makers still don’t know basic but crucial tech terminology. Many businesspeople may not be technologically inclined or have any technical background, but it’s still vital to understand some terms to keep pace with the speed of business in the digital age.
Many of these terms aren’t just relevant in the technical world – they also come up in strategic conversations. If you want to learn more about the technical side of your company or simply want to understand tech-heavy conversations better, familiarize yourself with these important terms.
Cloud Servers
Countless companies have embraced cloud computing and storage due to its convenience, utility, and cost-effectiveness. Data is an extremely powerful and valuable commodity, and companies are investing heavily to ensure they can store and analyze large amounts of data. In turn, this data helps form predictive models that allow companies to make data-driven strategic decisions.
Data stored in the cloud means you cannot access it without an internet connection. Some companies use on-premises private cloud servers, others pay for public cloud hosting from third parties, and many organizations opt for hybrids of the two. It’s important to understand how cloud storage and computing work so you can leverage it in strategic decision-making.
Back end
The back end is everything behind the scenes. When you open Google and type in a search, you’ll see the results once you submit your query. This is the front end. The back end is the algorithms running that decide which results would be most relevant to you. This can involve keyword analytics, search engine optimization, and page content.
CMS: Content Management Systems
A CMS system manages all the content on a website. Most websites use a publishing toolset that allows editing and formatting content more easily than traditional HTML. CMS systems also typically offer tools to enable marketers to target their advertising campaigns and digital content more accurately.
CRM: Customer Relationship Management
Marketers often deal with numerous other companies, customers, and contracts. A CRM system allows marketing professionals to track their organization’s history of interactions with a customer easily. This helps reduce the risk of embarrassing scenarios, such as sending a client the same email twice or confusing one account with another.
Content Curation
Content curation is the process of choosing which content a business will share online. Typically, this refers to marketers making changes to the content on their companies’ websites. This generates better results from search engines like Google. Taking the time to update your site regularly with fresh content is a great way to boost your search result rankings and establish relevance when users search for keywords related to your company.
Open Source
Open source essentially means that anyone can contribute to and access a piece of software or platform. WordPress is one of the most well-known open-source platforms; it’s an easy-to-use intuitive website publishing toolset. Open-source programs rely on developer contributions, which are often free. Another open-source program, Tor has garnered notoriety for enabling nearly totally anonymous web browsing.
A/B Testing
When marketers come up with new ideas for reaching customers, they typically use more than one approach. A/B testing refers to the process of trying two approaches on two sets of customers to see which approach generates the best results. Often, marketers will engage in multiple rounds of A/B testing for the maximum effect.
Regardless of whether you work in a technology industry or not, inevitably, you will come across these and several other terms that might seem foreign. Do your best to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and innovations in the tech world.
