Glossary
Digitalisation in plain language.
Digitalisation and transformation come with a lot of jargon. Here we explain the terms you will come across along the way, in everyday language and with a link to what they mean for your organisation.
A
- IT & systems
AI agent
An AI application that doesn't just answer, but takes steps itself to complete a task. It chooses the tools it needs, calls them, looks at the result and decides what the next step is.
- IT & systems
API (Application Programming Interface)
A fixed agreement that lets software talk to other software. One program sends a request over the internet, the other sends back structured data. Every call has been written out in advance by a developer.
- IT & systems
API / integration
The way systems talk to each other, so you don't have to enter your data twice.
- IT & systems
Access management
Deciding who is allowed to use which data and systems.
B
- IT & systems
Backup
A spare copy so your data doesn't get lost.
- Strategy & delivery
Baseline measurement
Recording the starting situation so you can measure progress.
- IT & systems
Boehm's law
Boehm's law says that an error becomes more expensive the later you discover and fix it, and that the cost rises exponentially.
- Processes & structure
Bottleneck
The step that holds back the flow of a process.
- Strategy & delivery
Business case
The reasoning behind why an investment is worth the effort and the money.
- IT & systems
Business intelligence
Turning data into clear management information.
- Processes & structure
Business process
The steps you go through to get something done, from quote to delivery.
- Change & people
Buy-in
The support within your organisation that a change needs to succeed.
C
- IT & systems
CRM
A system for managing customer relationships and sales in one clear overview.
- Change & people
Change management
Bringing people along with a change, so that new ways of working actually stick.
- IT & systems
Cloud
Software and storage you use over the internet rather than on your own servers.
- Strategy & delivery
Continuous improvement
Small, ongoing improvements instead of one big project.
- IT & systems
Cybersecurity
Protecting your systems and data against digital threats.
D
- IT & systems
Dashboard
A single screen with your key figures at a glance.
- IT & systems
Data breach
The unintended release of sensitive data.
- IT & systems
Data migration
Moving data from an old system to a new one.
- IT & systems
Data quality
How accurate, complete and up to date your data is.
- IT & systems
Data silo
Information that is stuck in one system or department and can't be used anywhere else.
- Strategy & delivery
Digital maturity
How far your business has come in its digitalisation: from separate tools to a coherent whole.
- Strategy & delivery
Digital roadmap
A digital roadmap is your step-by-step plan for digitalisation: which steps you take in which order, so you don't have to do everything at once.
- Strategy & delivery
Digital transformation
Helping your organisation work smarter with technology, not as an IT project but as a way of working.
- Processes & structure
Digitalisation
Converting paper-based or manual processes into digital ones.
- IT & systems
Disaster recovery
The plan for getting back up and running quickly after a major outage.
E
G
H
I
K
L
M
- IT & systems
MCP (Model Context Protocol)
An open standard that lets AI applications such as Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini or your own AI agent discover for themselves which tools a system offers, and then call those tools. An MCP server usually sits on top of an existing API.
- Strategy & delivery
MVP
The smallest working version that already delivers value and lets you learn.
- Strategy & delivery
Make-or-buy
The choice between having something custom-built and buying an existing package.
- Processes & structure
Master data
Core data such as customers and products that has to be correct everywhere.
- Processes & structure
Meeting cost
Meeting cost is what all the meetings cost your organisation: the person-hours that go into meetings, multiplied by what an hour costs.
- IT & systems
Middleware
The intermediate layer that lets systems talk to each other.
- IT & systems
Multi-factor authentication
Signing in with more than just a password.
O
P
- IT & systems
PLCM (Product Life Cycle Management)
Managing a product from the first idea to its phase-out, with all its data in one place.
- Strategy & delivery
Phasing
Breaking a project into manageable, consecutive steps.
- IT & systems
Phishing
Fake messages that try to tempt you into giving away your data.
- Strategy & delivery
Pilot
A limited real-world trial with real users before the wider rollout.
- Processes & structure
Process mapping
Charting how the work really flows, step by step.
- Processes & structure
Process optimisation
Making your processes smarter: faster, with fewer errors and less manual work.
- Strategy & delivery
Product Increment
A product increment is the working result a team delivers at the end of a fixed period of a few months. The moment when that period is mapped out together in advance is called PI planning.
- Strategy & delivery
Programme management
Guiding several related projects towards one shared goal.
- Strategy & delivery
Programme manager
The person who oversees several related projects and aligns them towards one shared goal.
- Strategy & delivery
Project management
Bringing one clearly defined undertaking to a result within scope, time and budget.
- Strategy & delivery
Proof of concept
A small test that proves an idea works technically before you invest heavily.
R
- Strategy & delivery
ROI
The return on an investment weighed against its cost.
- Processes & structure
RPA
Software robots that take over repetitive clicking work between systems.
- IT & systems
Ransomware
Extortion software that locks your files until you pay.
- Strategy & delivery
Requirements
The documented requirements a solution has to meet.
- Change & people
Resistance to change
People's natural reluctance when things change.
S
- IT & systems
SLA
Agreements on the availability and response time of a service.
- IT & systems
SaaS
Software you use as a service in the cloud, instead of installing it yourself.
- Strategy & delivery
Scope creep
The unnoticed expansion of a project until it becomes unmanageable.
- Strategy & delivery
Second opinion (IT)
An independent look at your IT plans or a running project, before you are locked in.
- IT & systems
Shadow IT
Tools employees use on their own, out of sight of IT.
- Processes & structure
Single source of truth
One place where the correct version of the data is kept.
- Change & people
Sponsor
The senior manager who gives a project backing and priority.
- Strategy & delivery
Stakeholder
Anyone with an interest in or influence on a project. Also called an interested party.
- Processes & structure
Standardisation
Laying down the same way of working so that it becomes predictable.
- IT & systems
System integration
Making separate systems work together as one whole.
- IT & systems
System migration
Moving from one system to another without losing your data.
T
- IT & systems
Technical debt
Postponed maintenance that becomes more expensive to fix later.
- IT & systems
Test pyramid
The test pyramid is a rule of thumb for testing software: many small, fast and automated tests at the bottom, and fewer and fewer large, slow tests the higher you go.
- IT & systems
Tool calling
The technique by which an AI model indicates which tool or function should be run, and with which data. The application around the model carries out that call and returns the result to the model.
- General
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
The real cost of a system over the years, not just the purchase price.