ch 15 vocab Flashcards
marginal costs
the costs associated with each additional unit produced
open source software (oss):
software that is free and where anyone can look at and potentially modify the code
cloud computing
replacing computing resources - either an organization’s or individual’s hardware or software - with services provided over the internet
software as a service (saas)
a form of cloud computing where a firm subscribes to a third-party software and receives a service that is delivered online
virtualization
a type of software that allows a single computer (or a cluster of connected computers) to function as if it were several different computers, each running its own operating system and software; underpins most cloud computing efforts, and can make computing more efficient, cost-effective, and scalable
linux
an open source software operating system
n00b
written with two zeroes, pronounced “newb”; greek-slang (leet speak), derogatory term for an uninformed or unskilled person
lamp
an acronym standing for linux, the apache web server software, the mysql database, and any of several programming languages that start with p (ex: perl, python, or php)
security-focused
aka “hardened,” term used to describe technology products that contain particularly strong security features
scalability
ability to either handle increasing workloads or to be easily expanded to manage workload increases. in a software context, systems that aren’t scalable often require significant rewrites or the purchase or development of entirely new systems
total cost of ownership
an economic measure of the full cost of owning a product (typically computing hardware and/or software); includes direct costs such as purchase price, plus indirect costs such as training, support, and maintenance
utility computing
a form of cloud computing where a firm develops its own software, and then runs it over the internet on a service provider’s computers
service level agreement (sla)
a negotiated agreement between the customer and the vendor; may specify levels of availability, serviceability, performance, operation, or other commitment requirements
vertical niches
sometimes referred to as vertical markets; products and services designed to target a specific industry (ex: pharmaceutical, legal, apparel retail)
platform as a service (paas)
where cloud providers offer services that include the hardware, operating system, development tools, testing, and hosting (the platform) that its customers use to build their own applications on the provider’s infrastructure. in this scenario, the cloud firm usually manages the platform (hosting, hardware, and supporting software), while the client has control over the creation and deployment of its application
infrastructure as a service (iaas)
where cloud providers offer services that include running the remote hardware, storage, and networking (the infrastructure), but client firms can choose software used (which may include operating systems, programming languages, databases, and other software packages). in this scenario, the cloud firm usually manages the infrastructure (keeping the hardware and networking running), while the client has control over most other things (operating systems, storage, deployed applications, and perhaps even security and networking features like firewalls and security systems)
cloudbursting
describes the use of cloud computing to provide excess capacity during periods of spiking demand; is a scalability solution that is usually provided as an overflow service, kicking in as needed
black swans
unpredicted, but highly impactful events. scalable computing resources can help a firm deal with spiking impact from black swan events. the phrase entered the managerial lexicon from the 2007 book of the same name by nassim taleb
server farm
a massive network of computer servers running software to coordinate their collective use; provide the infrastructure backbone to saas and hardware cloud efforts, as well as many large-scale internet services
containers
a type of virtualization that allows for shared operating systems for more resource savings and faster execution. however, they still isolate applications so they execute and move to different computing hardware, just like conventional virtualization
virtual desktops
when a firm runs an instance of a pc’s software on another machine and simply delivers the image of what’s executing to the remote device. using virtualization, a single server can run dozens of pcs, simplifying backup, upgrade, security, and administration
