Glossary

The terms, in plain English

Definitions written for the person signing the invoice, not the person configuring the firewall.

AI agent

An AI agent is software that completes a defined operational job across several steps, using systems it's allowed to access, and hands the case to a person when it falls outside the rules.

AI hallucination

An AI hallucination is a fluent, incorrect answer produced by a language model that presents invented facts or citations as if they were true, with no warning that the content is unreliable.

Cyber Essentials is a UK government-backed certification that confirms a business has five defined cybersecurity controls in place, covering firewalls, device setup, access, malware protection and security updates.

Endpoint detection and response (EDR)

Endpoint detection and response is security software on laptops, desktops and servers that watches for unusual activity, then lets a team investigate and stop a threat on the affected device.

Human in the loop

Human in the loop is a design where software prepares or proposes an action, then a named employee must review, approve or reject it before the process continues.

Intelligent document processing

Intelligent document processing is software that classifies incoming business files, extracts the fields you specify, checks them against your rules, and routes uncertain results to a person before the data enters your systems.

Large language model (LLM)

A large language model is software trained on huge collections of text so it can draft, summarise, classify and answer questions in ordinary language by predicting likely wording rather than looking up stored facts.

Leased line

A leased line is a dedicated internet circuit for one business site, with matching upload and download speeds, no sharing of capacity with neighbouring premises, and a written uptime SLA.

Managed service provider (MSP)

A managed service provider (MSP) is a company that takes ongoing responsibility for a business's IT, covering support, monitoring, security and infrastructure under a monthly agreement rather than one-off project work.

Multi-factor authentication (MFA)

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is a sign-in check that asks for a second proof of identity, such as an authenticator app or hardware key, so a stolen password isn't enough to open a business account.

Prompt engineering

Prompt engineering is the work of writing the instructions that tell an AI what job to do, what format to use, what it must not do, and when a person should take over.

Recovery time objective (RTO)

A recovery time objective is the longest acceptable time to restore a business system after a disruption, so you know which services need fast recovery and which can wait.

Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG)

Retrieval-augmented generation is a method that looks up relevant material from your approved documents before an AI writes an answer, so replies are grounded in your files rather than the model's training data.

Robotic process automation (RPA)

Robotic process automation is software that copies fields and types them into another application staff already use, completing a repetitive computer task the same way a person would.

SD-WAN

SD-WAN is software at each office that chooses which internet connection an application should use, so cloud systems and calls take a suitable path and can switch if a link fails.

Service level agreement (SLA)

A service level agreement is a written contract that sets the performance a supplier must deliver, how that performance is measured, and what happens if the standard isn't met.

SIP trunk

A SIP trunk is an internet-based phone connection that carries inbound and outbound business calls, replacing analogue or ISDN lines while keeping your existing numbers and, often, your current phone system.

Uptime SLA

An uptime SLA is a contractual target for the percentage of time a named service stays available, plus how outages are counted and what follows if the target is missed.

Workflow automation

Workflow automation is software that carries a defined business process from one step to the next, moving data and triggering actions so staff don't copy information or chase the next person.

Zero trust

Zero trust is a security approach that checks each request to a system, so being on the office network or already signed into email won't automatically open payroll, files or admin tools.

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