An extension to the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) that allows the secure exchange of files on the World Wide Web.
Scalable
How well a hardware or software system can adapt to increased demands.
Seamless Interface
A seamless interface is the joining of two computer programs so that they appear to be one program with a single user interface.
SET
SET (Secure Electronic Transaction) is a system for ensuring the security of financial transactions on the Internet, where buyers are assured that merchants will not be able to access their personal credit card information.
Smart Card
About the size of a credit card, a smart card is a plastic card with an embedded microchip that can be loaded with data, used for telephone calling, electronic cash payments, and other applications.
Spam
Unsolicited e-mail on the Internet. From the sender's point-of-view, it's a form of bulk mail.
SSL
Short for Secure Sockets Layer, a protocol developed by Netscape for transmitting private documents via the Internet.
SSI
Short for server-side include, a type of HTML comment that directs the Web server to dynamically generate data for the Web page whenever it is requested.
Stickiness
Stickiness is anything about a Web site that encourages a visitor to stay longer before clicking away and also to return to it in the future; a Web site is sticky if a visitor tends to stay for a long time and to return.
Supply Chain Management
Supply chain management (SCM) is the oversight of materials, information, and finances as they move in a process from supplier to manufacturer to wholesaler to retailer to consumer.
Telnet
Allows remote access to a computer/server.
Thin Client
A low-cost, centrally-managed computer devoid of CD-ROM players, diskette drives, and expansion slots.
Thin Server
A PC that contains just enough hardware and software to support a particular function that users can share in a network, such as access to files on a storage device, access to CD-ROM drives, printing, or Internet access.
TQM
Total Quality Management is the continuous or incremental improvement of existing business processes over time. This entails moderate risks as compared to BPR, which is typically high risk.
URL
Abbreviation of Uniform Resource Locator, the global address of documents and other resources on the World Wide Web.
Value Chain
A string of companies working together to satisfy market demands. The value chain typically consists of one or a few primary value (product or service) suppliers and many other suppliers that add on to the value that is ultimately presented to the buying public.
VAN
A value-added network (VAN) is a private network provider that is hired by a company to facilitate electronic data interchange (EDI) or provide other network services.
VC
Venture capital (VC) is funding invested, or available for investment, in an enterprise that offers the probability of profit along with the possibility of loss.
Vertical Market
A vertical market is a particular industry or group of enterprises in which similar products or services are developed and marketed using similar methods. Broad examples of vertical markets are: insurance, real estate, banking, heavy manufacturing, retail, transportation, hospitals, and government.
Viral Marketing
On the Internet, viral marketing is any marketing technique that induces Web sites or users to pass on a marketing message to other sites or users, creating a potentially exponential growth in the message's visibility and effect. One example of successful viral marketing is Hotmail, that promotes its service and its own advertisers' messages in every user's e-mail notes.
Virtual Community
A community of people sharing common interests, ideas, and feelings over the Internet or other collaborative networks.
Vortal
On the Web, a vortal (vertical industry portal) is a Web site that provides a gateway or portal to information related to a particular industry, such as health care, insurance, automobiles, or food manufacturing.
VPN
Short for virtual private network, a private network that is constructed by using public wires to connect nodes. For example, there are a number of systems that enable you to create networks using the Internet as the medium for transporting data. These systems use encryption and other security mechanisms to ensure that only authorised users can access the network and that the data cannot be intercepted.
W3C
The W3C is an industry consortium which seeks to promote standards for the evolution of the Web and interoperability between WWW products by producing specifications and reference software.
WAN
A WAN (wide area network) is a geographically dispersed telecommunications network
WAP
WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) is a specification for a set of communication protocol to standardise the way that wireless devices, such as cellular telephones and radio transceivers, can be used for Internet access, including e-mail, the World Wide Web, newsgroups, and Internet Relay Chat.
World Wide Web
Resources on the Internet that are using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol
XML
Short for Extensible Markup Language. It allows designers to create their own customised tags, enabling the definition, transmission, validation, and interpretation of data between applications and between organisations.