A level of service provided by an IT staff or outsourcer, more often than not, this is usually associated with outsourcing. Also associated with the monitoring and operational support of an IT system from a server to a Enterprise System. Tools associated with this level of service should include HP's OpenView, CA's TNG/Unicenter or IBM's Tivoli product suite. These tools would be able to, if properly configured and optimized, assess and respond to any network concern at all times, every hour and day of the year. Monitoring may include non-IT systems such as HVAC and plant security.

Equivalent to a single high-speed telephone service line; capable of transmitting one voice cell or 56Kbps of data.

An acceptable use policy outlines the conduct acceptable use policy expected from a computer user. Businesses, schools, and ISPs create AUPs to prohibit spamming, piracy, pornography, and other inappropriate/illegal uses.

There are three types of addresses in common use within the Internet. They are e-mail addresses; IP, Internet or intranet addresses; and hardware or MAC addresses.

Anonymous FTP allows a user to retrieve documents, files, programs, and other archived data from anywhere in the Internet without having to establish a user id and password.

Provider of applications managed, or rented, over the Internet by companies wishing to outsource mission critical IT functions to specialists.

A web page that contains code written in JavaScript or Visual Basic script. Active server pages use the .ASP file extension and allow web pages to interact with databases and other programs.

An information transfer standard for routing traffic based on an address contained within the first five bytes of a fifty-three byte long, fixed-length packet or cell. It supports high-speed traffic such as real-time voice and video, as well as general data bits.

The process of using passwords, voice or digital certificates to verify identity and control security access to digital information.

A centralized high-speed network that interconnects smaller, independent networks.

Activities that are internal to an organization, often handled by ERP applications.

The number of bits of information which can move through a communications medium in a given amount of time; the capacity of a telecommunications circuit/network to carry voice, data, and video information. Typically measured in Kbps and Mbps. Bandwidth from public networks is typically available to business and residential end-users in increments from 56Kbps to T-3.

Rectangular ads ofter seen on web sites.

The number of transmitted bits expected to be corrupted when two computers have been communicating for a given length of time.

Short form of weblog is a web-based publication consisting of original or cited articles.

Saving a page within your web browser or social network for later viewing.

Phrase referring to a physical store or location rather than a business website.

A type of data transmission in which a single medium (wire) can carry several channels at once.

The speed or rate of information that the customer may need over and above the CIR. A burst is typically a short duration transmission that can relieve momentary congestion in the LAN or provide additional throughput for interactive data applications.

Business-to-business e-commerce refers to the exchange of services, information and/or products. B2B e-commerce between businesses via the web accounts for the lion’s share of sales online.

Refers to the exchange of services, information and/or products from a business to a consumer via the web.

Cache refers to short-term computer memory for fast data access. Browsers can hold entire web pages or graphics in cache, so the web page loads more quickly.

The ability for a network to provide sufficient transmitting capabilities among its available transmission media, and respond to customer demand for communications transport, especially at peak times.

A trusted third-party company or organization that issues digital certificates used to create digital signatures and public/private key pairs. The role of the CA in this process is to guarantee that the individual granted the unique certificate is, in fact, who he or she claims to be. Others can verify your identity by requesting certification of your public key from the certificate authority

A fraudulent purchase online will result in the credit card company charging back the purchase amount to the customer’s card. The merchant is responsible for a chargeback fee and for the loss of the merchandise.

A network 70% connected via Cisco products, recognized worldwide as a premier provider of network connectivity products.

Data analysis of the path a visitor takes through your web site, including the pages that were viewed, the amount of time spent on each page, and the sequence in which the pages were viewed.

Percentage of people who view a webpage, click on one of its banner ads, and load the advertiser’s site.

ISP/IMAP client service delivering a level of contractually defined services. Service levels such as 24x7x365 require responsive personalized service from dedicated multi-tier support teams. Most of your staff goes home at night and on the weekend, Backup, batch processing is scheduled then.

The Committed Information rate (CIR) is the speed or rate of information that USiLinkSM guarantees to the customer, measured in kilobits.

An interface program that is often used to exchange data between a Web server and databases. Web forms often use CGI to interface with a back-end database. CGI enables users to receive dynamic content based (Amazon, Ebay), as opposed to static HTML pages.

A telecommunications company that provides an alternative to a LEC for local transport of privateer line and special access telecommunications services.

Software that enables businesspeople to create and maintain the content on their web site through template-driven pages, such as the home page, about us pages, product catalogue, and contact pages.

Cookies are messages that a web server transmits to a web browser so that the web server can keep track of the user's activity on a specific web site.

Channel Service Unit/Data Service Unit. The DSU is a device that performs protective and diagnostic functions for a telecommunications line. The CSU is a device that connects a terminal to a digital line. These two devices are typically packaged as a single unit.

CRM entails all aspects of service and sales interactions a company has with its customer. CRM often involves personalizing online experiences, help-desk software, and e-mail organizers.

A subset in a data warehouse, for use by a single department or function.

The process of reviewing and analyzing data from different perspectives and summarizing it in a useful manner.

A database containing copious amounts of information, organized to aid decision-making in an organization. Data warehouses receive batch updates, and are configured for fast online queries to output succinct summaries of data.

The use of encryption techniques to ensure that information has not been modified in transit to its destination.

A collection of information organized for quick access.

A point-to-point, hard wire connection between two service locations.

The point at which the local operating company's responsibility for the local loop ends. Beyond the demarcation point (also known as the network interface), the customer is responsible for installing and maintaining all equipment and wiring.

An attachment to a webpage or an e-mail message that verifies the sender’s or website’s identity

A digital code that can be attached to an electronically transmitted message that uniquely identifies the sender.

A communications technology that enables a telephone line to be divided into different bandwidth frequencies. A computer and telephone can share the line, with the computer operating on a higher frequency bandwidth portion of the line and the telephone operating on a lower frequency bandwidth portion of the line.

The bit that is relevant in situations of high congestion, and indicates that the frame should be discarded in preference to other frames without the DE bit set. The DE may be set by the network or by the user; and once set can never be reset by the network.

The process of bringing a company closer to its customers by eliminating the middlemen.

An Internet service that translates domain names into IP addresses.

A name that identifies one or more IP addresses.

A data communication circuit capable of transmitting data at 1.5Mbps/1.465Mbps realized. Currently in widespread use by medium and large businesses for video, voice, and data applications.

A data communications circuit capable of transmitting data at 45Mbps. The equivalent data capacity of 28 T-1's. Currently used only by businesses/institutions and carriers for high-end applications.

Refers to web content that changes each time it is viewed, based on user preferences, geographic location, time of day, previous pages viewed, or search criteria.

The electronic communication of the business transactions (orders, confirmations, invoices etc.) of organizations with differing platforms. Third parties provide EDI services that enable the connection of organizations with incompatible equipment.

The entire range of business processes that are optimized and fundamentally reworked through the application of Internet technology.

The use of computing and communications technologies to buy and sell goods and services.

The electronic transfer of money between financial institutions over secure, private networks.

E-marketing is the promotion of a product, company, service, or web site online. E-marketing can include a variety of activities from online advertising, e-mail marketing, search engine optimization (improving the ranking of web sites on search engine results) to online networking.

The process of using algorithms, keys and protocols to convert plaintext transmissions (which are readable) into ciphertext data streams (which are not readable) for the purpose of securing the data against theft. Encryption ensures data confidentiality and data integrity and in eCommerce, it usually occurs between clients and servers via a secure sockets layer (SSL).

USi's mission-critical networks, strategically located to connect global Internet backbones. Each EDC features redundant server capacity and disaster recovery mirroring, and is continuously monitored by USi's 24x7x365 primary and backup Global Enterprise Management Centers.

A single integrated IT system that combines all aspects of a corporations’ computing systems, and at times, parts of their customer's and supplier's systems, into one cohesive management information system. This includes eBusiness applications such as Supply Chain Management and Customer Relations Management.

Software that automates an organization’s business operations. ERP software integrates many functions into a single application, which often include a subset or all of financials, distribution, manufacturing and human resources.

A single integrated IT system that combines all aspects of a corporations’ computing systems, and at times, parts of their customer's and supplier's systems, into one cohesive management information system. This includes eBusiness applications such as Supply Chain Management and Customer Relations Management.

A common method of networking computers in a LAN.

A T1 format that provides a method for easily retrieving diagnostics information.

A website that allows secure communication over the Internet between a company’s intranet and designated, authenticated users from outside the organization

Frequently Asked Questions

Fiber Distributed Data Interface. A standard for transmitting data on optical-fiber cables at a rate of around 100 Mbps.

A standard used to transfer files between file servers and client computers.

A security barrier implemented using hardware and/or software that prevents unauthorized access to a private network

A multimedia authoring and playback system from Adobe.

The basic unit with which primary rate streams are divided. A primary rate can be thought of as an endless sequence of frames.

Frame Delivery is the percentage of frames which are successfully delivered over the USiLink network, excluding frames which are not delivered due to factors unrelated to the USiLink network.

A high-speed packet switching protocol popular in networks, including WANs, LANs, and LAN to LAN connections across vast distances.

The activities of an organization that involve customer interaction, also called “customer facing processes.” From an eBusiness perspective, that includes the website interface and any related applications that customers use.

A gateway computer determines the best path for data to travel on the Internet.

A compressed bit-mapped image format that supports 256 colors.

GUI is the interface with which the client interacts. The GUI would include the navigation, buttons, graphic display, layout, design, and functionality.

The retrieval of any item, such as web pages or from a web server.

A computer language that uses tags to define how Web documents should be displayed on a Web page.

The protocol by which HTML pages are transmitted from a Web server to the Web browser.

A networking device that provides connectivity to multiple computers, typically deployed in a star configuration.

A communication network that uses ordinary phone lines to transmit digital instead of analog signals, thus allowing data to be transmitted at much faster speeds.

In the information processing industry, the entity that processes information with the use of computers.

'Best-of-breed' end-to-end services, with the leading packaged applications and the foremost computing platforms - both housed on secure and robust enterprise networks.

The set of standards which govern communication over a network. An IP address is a unique numeric code that identifies a computer on a network.

A company that provides Internet access for businesses and/or consumers, typically for a monthly fee.

The ability of technology components to interact seamlessly without custom interfaces.

A large group of interconnected networks that can be accessed by anyone using a Web browser.

An internal website running on a LAN/WAN, used for sharing information and services within an organization.

Sharing data and resources from one network to another.

Integrated Services Digital Network. An information transfer standard for transmitting digital voice and data over telephone lines at speeds up to 128Kbps.

Inter-exchange Carrier. A telecommunications company that provides telecommunication services between local exchanges on an interstate or intrastate basis.

Image compression technique that can reduce file sizes to about 5% of their original. This is the most common file format for pictures on the Internet.

A combination of personal computers, servers and communication devices that are connected to share data files, resources and applications. Located in close proximity, such as on the same floor or in the same or nearby buildings.

A telecommunications line dedicated to a particular customer along predetermined routers.

One of approximately 164 geographical areas within which local operating companies connect all local calls and route all long-distance calls to the customer's inter-exchange carrier.

Local Exchange Carrier. A telecommunications company that provides telecommunication services in a defined geographic area.

The term for a pair that connects an individual subscriber's telephone or data connection to its local terminating point.

Serves departments within an organization by synthesizing their data, ultimately providing management and operations with the information they require.

Creating custom relationships with each individual customer.

Megabits per second. A transmission rate where one megabit equals 1,024 kilobits.

A special HTML tag that provides information about a web page without affecting how the page is displayed.

A device for transmitting digital information over an analog telephone line.

The combining of multiple data channels onto a single transmission medium. Sharing a circuit - normally dedicated to a single user - between multiple users.

A location where ISP's exchange each other's traffic.

A group of two of more computers that are linked together.

A security measure that uses digital signatures as a form of “receipt” to prevent merchants or customers from denying that a transaction took place.

A highly customized approach to offering products and services that match the needs of a particular customer.

Software designed for decision support, allowing the user to quick results of queried information that has been condensed into multidimensional hierarchies and views.

Software that can be downloaded and modified free of charge

Email a customer registers to receive, such as a newsletter, or requesting notification when a website is updated or new products are offered.

All of the processes and systems required to deliver a product or service to a customer after the order has been received.

A small segment of a data message, constructed according to precise pattern and containing a precise number of bits.

A network in which messages are transmitted as packets over any available route rather than as sequential messages over switched or dedicated facilities.

Internet payment gateways process real-time credit card transactions and act as the middleman between your e-commerce server and your Internet merchant account (bank account).

The commercial practice under which nationwide ISPs exchange each other's traffic without the payment of settlement charges.

Technology that connects client computers directly with other client computers. It enables sharing and exchanging of information. Services such as BitTorrent, Napster, and Kazaa are p2p networks.

A PVC is what connects the customer's port connections, nodes, locations, and branches to each other. All customer ports can be connected to each other, resembling a mesh, but PVCs usually run between the host and branch locations.

A telecommunications facility through which the company provides local connectivity to its customers.

An ad that appears in its own window when a user visits a webpage.

A website that acts as an entry point to the entire Web and provides a variety of services including Web searching, news, white and yellow pages directories, discussion groups, online shopping and links to other sites

PDF files preserve document integrity, reduce file sizes, and are platform-independent. Text and graphic files can be converted to a PDF file through Adobe Acrobat.

An application that breaks the connection between sender and receiver for the purpose of checking security access authorization, and, if the user has appropriate access rights, initiates a second connection to the destination.

Is used to broadcasts update of websites to subscribers. RSS uses XML code to scan a website for new or altered content. If new or additional content is found the RSS broadcasts to all the subscribers the updates.

Profit or cost savings realized on a financial investment.

A device placed between networks that relays data to those networks based upon a destination address contained in the data packets being routed.

A standard protocol developed by MasterCard and Visa that enables secure credit card transactions on the Internet.

An extension to the HTTP protocol to support sending data securely.

A security protocol used for authentication, encryption, confidentiality and data integrity in communications between servers and browsers on the Internet. It is the most frequently used security method for online consumer transactions.

An electronic commerce utility that keeps track of selected items for purchase and automates the purchasing process

Standardized query language for requesting information from a database.

The process of using the Internet as a tool to collaborate more closely with suppliers and other participants in the supply chain and to improve products and processes.

This protocol is a set of instructions dictating how applications can transfer files and send e-mail. The protocol dictates how data is subdivided into packets and transmitted over the network.

Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. A suite of network protocols that allow computers with different architectures and operating system software to communicate with other computers on the Internet.

The time it takes to go from the concept, to the implementation, to the readiness of systems.

An address that defines the location of a file, Web page or dynamic content on the Web.

Word-of-mouth advertising in which customers promote a product or service with no cost to the company.

A secure network connection established over the Internet. Typically used for individuals connecting remotely to a corporate network or to connect multiple LANs into a WAN.

The linking in different locations to create a larger network encompassing a metropolitan area, a LATA, and a regional or national network.

A level of service provided by an IT staff or outsourcer, more often than not, this is usually associated with outsourcing. Also associated with the monitoring and operational support of an IT system from a server to a Enterprise System. Tools associated with this level of service should include HP's OpenView, CA's TNG/Unicenter or IBM's Tivoli product suite. These tools would be able to, if properly configured and optimized, assess and respond to any network concern at all times, every hour and day of the year. Monitoring may include non-IT systems such as HVAC and plant security.

Equivalent to a single high-speed telephone service line; capable of transmitting one voice cell or 56Kbps of data.

An acceptable use policy outlines the conduct acceptable use policy expected from a computer user. Businesses, schools, and ISPs create AUPs to prohibit spamming, piracy, pornography, and other inappropriate/illegal uses.

There are three types of addresses in common use within the Internet. They are e-mail addresses; IP, Internet or intranet addresses; and hardware or MAC addresses.

Anonymous FTP allows a user to retrieve documents, files, programs, and other archived data from anywhere in the Internet without having to establish a user id and password.

Provider of applications managed, or rented, over the Internet by companies wishing to outsource mission critical IT functions to specialists.

A web page that contains code written in JavaScript or Visual Basic script. Active server pages use the .ASP file extension and allow web pages to interact with databases and other programs.

An information transfer standard for routing traffic based on an address contained within the first five bytes of a fifty-three byte long, fixed-length packet or cell. It supports high-speed traffic such as real-time voice and video, as well as general data bits.

The process of using passwords, voice or digital certificates to verify identity and control security access to digital information.

A centralized high-speed network that interconnects smaller, independent networks.

Activities that are internal to an organization, often handled by ERP applications.

The number of bits of information which can move through a communications medium in a given amount of time; the capacity of a telecommunications circuit/network to carry voice, data, and video information. Typically measured in Kbps and Mbps. Bandwidth from public networks is typically available to business and residential end-users in increments from 56Kbps to T-3.

Rectangular ads ofter seen on web sites.

The number of transmitted bits expected to be corrupted when two computers have been communicating for a given length of time.

Short form of weblog is a web-based publication consisting of original or cited articles.

Saving a page within your web browser or social network for later viewing.

Phrase referring to a physical store or location rather than a business website.

A type of data transmission in which a single medium (wire) can carry several channels at once.

The speed or rate of information that the customer may need over and above the CIR. A burst is typically a short duration transmission that can relieve momentary congestion in the LAN or provide additional throughput for interactive data applications.

Business-to-business e-commerce refers to the exchange of services, information and/or products. B2B e-commerce between businesses via the web accounts for the lion’s share of sales online.

Refers to the exchange of services, information and/or products from a business to a consumer via the web.

Cache refers to short-term computer memory for fast data access. Browsers can hold entire web pages or graphics in cache, so the web page loads more quickly.

The ability for a network to provide sufficient transmitting capabilities among its available transmission media, and respond to customer demand for communications transport, especially at peak times.

A trusted third-party company or organization that issues digital certificates used to create digital signatures and public/private key pairs. The role of the CA in this process is to guarantee that the individual granted the unique certificate is, in fact, who he or she claims to be. Others can verify your identity by requesting certification of your public key from the certificate authority

A fraudulent purchase online will result in the credit card company charging back the purchase amount to the customer’s card. The merchant is responsible for a chargeback fee and for the loss of the merchandise.

A network 70% connected via Cisco products, recognized worldwide as a premier provider of network connectivity products.

Data analysis of the path a visitor takes through your web site, including the pages that were viewed, the amount of time spent on each page, and the sequence in which the pages were viewed.

Percentage of people who view a webpage, click on one of its banner ads, and load the advertiser’s site.

ISP/IMAP client service delivering a level of contractually defined services. Service levels such as 24x7x365 require responsive personalized service from dedicated multi-tier support teams. Most of your staff goes home at night and on the weekend, Backup, batch processing is scheduled then.

The Committed Information rate (CIR) is the speed or rate of information that USiLinkSM guarantees to the customer, measured in kilobits.

An interface program that is often used to exchange data between a Web server and databases. Web forms often use CGI to interface with a back-end database. CGI enables users to receive dynamic content based (Amazon, Ebay), as opposed to static HTML pages.

A telecommunications company that provides an alternative to a LEC for local transport of privateer line and special access telecommunications services.

Software that enables businesspeople to create and maintain the content on their web site through template-driven pages, such as the home page, about us pages, product catalogue, and contact pages.

Cookies are messages that a web server transmits to a web browser so that the web server can keep track of the user's activity on a specific web site.

Channel Service Unit/Data Service Unit. The DSU is a device that performs protective and diagnostic functions for a telecommunications line. The CSU is a device that connects a terminal to a digital line. These two devices are typically packaged as a single unit.

CRM entails all aspects of service and sales interactions a company has with its customer. CRM often involves personalizing online experiences, help-desk software, and e-mail organizers.

A subset in a data warehouse, for use by a single department or function.

The process of reviewing and analyzing data from different perspectives and summarizing it in a useful manner.

A database containing copious amounts of information, organized to aid decision-making in an organization. Data warehouses receive batch updates, and are configured for fast online queries to output succinct summaries of data.

The use of encryption techniques to ensure that information has not been modified in transit to its destination.

A collection of information organized for quick access.

A point-to-point, hard wire connection between two service locations.

The point at which the local operating company's responsibility for the local loop ends. Beyond the demarcation point (also known as the network interface), the customer is responsible for installing and maintaining all equipment and wiring.

An attachment to a webpage or an e-mail message that verifies the sender’s or website’s identity

A digital code that can be attached to an electronically transmitted message that uniquely identifies the sender.

A communications technology that enables a telephone line to be divided into different bandwidth frequencies. A computer and telephone can share the line, with the computer operating on a higher frequency bandwidth portion of the line and the telephone operating on a lower frequency bandwidth portion of the line.

The bit that is relevant in situations of high congestion, and indicates that the frame should be discarded in preference to other frames without the DE bit set. The DE may be set by the network or by the user; and once set can never be reset by the network.

The process of bringing a company closer to its customers by eliminating the middlemen.

An Internet service that translates domain names into IP addresses.

A name that identifies one or more IP addresses.

A data communication circuit capable of transmitting data at 1.5Mbps/1.465Mbps realized. Currently in widespread use by medium and large businesses for video, voice, and data applications.

A data communications circuit capable of transmitting data at 45Mbps. The equivalent data capacity of 28 T-1's. Currently used only by businesses/institutions and carriers for high-end applications.

Refers to web content that changes each time it is viewed, based on user preferences, geographic location, time of day, previous pages viewed, or search criteria.

The electronic communication of the business transactions (orders, confirmations, invoices etc.) of organizations with differing platforms. Third parties provide EDI services that enable the connection of organizations with incompatible equipment.

The entire range of business processes that are optimized and fundamentally reworked through the application of Internet technology.

The use of computing and communications technologies to buy and sell goods and services.

The electronic transfer of money between financial institutions over secure, private networks.

E-marketing is the promotion of a product, company, service, or web site online. E-marketing can include a variety of activities from online advertising, e-mail marketing, search engine optimization (improving the ranking of web sites on search engine results) to online networking.

The process of using algorithms, keys and protocols to convert plaintext transmissions (which are readable) into ciphertext data streams (which are not readable) for the purpose of securing the data against theft. Encryption ensures data confidentiality and data integrity and in eCommerce, it usually occurs between clients and servers via a secure sockets layer (SSL).

USi's mission-critical networks, strategically located to connect global Internet backbones. Each EDC features redundant server capacity and disaster recovery mirroring, and is continuously monitored by USi's 24x7x365 primary and backup Global Enterprise Management Centers.

A single integrated IT system that combines all aspects of a corporations’ computing systems, and at times, parts of their customer's and supplier's systems, into one cohesive management information system. This includes eBusiness applications such as Supply Chain Management and Customer Relations Management.

Software that automates an organization’s business operations. ERP software integrates many functions into a single application, which often include a subset or all of financials, distribution, manufacturing and human resources.

A single integrated IT system that combines all aspects of a corporations’ computing systems, and at times, parts of their customer's and supplier's systems, into one cohesive management information system. This includes eBusiness applications such as Supply Chain Management and Customer Relations Management.

A common method of networking computers in a LAN.

A T1 format that provides a method for easily retrieving diagnostics information.

A website that allows secure communication over the Internet between a company’s intranet and designated, authenticated users from outside the organization

Frequently Asked Questions

Fiber Distributed Data Interface. A standard for transmitting data on optical-fiber cables at a rate of around 100 Mbps.

A standard used to transfer files between file servers and client computers.

A security barrier implemented using hardware and/or software that prevents unauthorized access to a private network

A multimedia authoring and playback system from Adobe.

The basic unit with which primary rate streams are divided. A primary rate can be thought of as an endless sequence of frames.

Frame Delivery is the percentage of frames which are successfully delivered over the USiLink network, excluding frames which are not delivered due to factors unrelated to the USiLink network.

A high-speed packet switching protocol popular in networks, including WANs, LANs, and LAN to LAN connections across vast distances.

The activities of an organization that involve customer interaction, also called “customer facing processes.” From an eBusiness perspective, that includes the website interface and any related applications that customers use.

A gateway computer determines the best path for data to travel on the Internet.

A compressed bit-mapped image format that supports 256 colors.

GUI is the interface with which the client interacts. The GUI would include the navigation, buttons, graphic display, layout, design, and functionality.

The retrieval of any item, such as web pages or from a web server.

A computer language that uses tags to define how Web documents should be displayed on a Web page.

The protocol by which HTML pages are transmitted from a Web server to the Web browser.

A networking device that provides connectivity to multiple computers, typically deployed in a star configuration.

A communication network that uses ordinary phone lines to transmit digital instead of analog signals, thus allowing data to be transmitted at much faster speeds.

In the information processing industry, the entity that processes information with the use of computers.

'Best-of-breed' end-to-end services, with the leading packaged applications and the foremost computing platforms - both housed on secure and robust enterprise networks.

The set of standards which govern communication over a network. An IP address is a unique numeric code that identifies a computer on a network.

A company that provides Internet access for businesses and/or consumers, typically for a monthly fee.

The ability of technology components to interact seamlessly without custom interfaces.

A large group of interconnected networks that can be accessed by anyone using a Web browser.

An internal website running on a LAN/WAN, used for sharing information and services within an organization.

Sharing data and resources from one network to another.

Integrated Services Digital Network. An information transfer standard for transmitting digital voice and data over telephone lines at speeds up to 128Kbps.

Inter-exchange Carrier. A telecommunications company that provides telecommunication services between local exchanges on an interstate or intrastate basis.

Image compression technique that can reduce file sizes to about 5% of their original. This is the most common file format for pictures on the Internet.

A combination of personal computers, servers and communication devices that are connected to share data files, resources and applications. Located in close proximity, such as on the same floor or in the same or nearby buildings.

A telecommunications line dedicated to a particular customer along predetermined routers.

One of approximately 164 geographical areas within which local operating companies connect all local calls and route all long-distance calls to the customer's inter-exchange carrier.

Local Exchange Carrier. A telecommunications company that provides telecommunication services in a defined geographic area.

The term for a pair that connects an individual subscriber's telephone or data connection to its local terminating point.

Serves departments within an organization by synthesizing their data, ultimately providing management and operations with the information they require.

Creating custom relationships with each individual customer.

Megabits per second. A transmission rate where one megabit equals 1,024 kilobits.

A special HTML tag that provides information about a web page without affecting how the page is displayed.

A device for transmitting digital information over an analog telephone line.

The combining of multiple data channels onto a single transmission medium. Sharing a circuit - normally dedicated to a single user - between multiple users.

A location where ISP's exchange each other's traffic.

A group of two of more computers that are linked together.

A security measure that uses digital signatures as a form of “receipt” to prevent merchants or customers from denying that a transaction took place.

A highly customized approach to offering products and services that match the needs of a particular customer.

Software designed for decision support, allowing the user to quick results of queried information that has been condensed into multidimensional hierarchies and views.

Software that can be downloaded and modified free of charge

Email a customer registers to receive, such as a newsletter, or requesting notification when a website is updated or new products are offered.

All of the processes and systems required to deliver a product or service to a customer after the order has been received.

A small segment of a data message, constructed according to precise pattern and containing a precise number of bits.

A network in which messages are transmitted as packets over any available route rather than as sequential messages over switched or dedicated facilities.

Internet payment gateways process real-time credit card transactions and act as the middleman between your e-commerce server and your Internet merchant account (bank account).

The commercial practice under which nationwide ISPs exchange each other's traffic without the payment of settlement charges.

Technology that connects client computers directly with other client computers. It enables sharing and exchanging of information. Services such as BitTorrent, Napster, and Kazaa are p2p networks.

A PVC is what connects the customer's port connections, nodes, locations, and branches to each other. All customer ports can be connected to each other, resembling a mesh, but PVCs usually run between the host and branch locations.

A telecommunications facility through which the company provides local connectivity to its customers.

An ad that appears in its own window when a user visits a webpage.

A website that acts as an entry point to the entire Web and provides a variety of services including Web searching, news, white and yellow pages directories, discussion groups, online shopping and links to other sites

PDF files preserve document integrity, reduce file sizes, and are platform-independent. Text and graphic files can be converted to a PDF file through Adobe Acrobat.

An application that breaks the connection between sender and receiver for the purpose of checking security access authorization, and, if the user has appropriate access rights, initiates a second connection to the destination.

Is used to broadcasts update of websites to subscribers. RSS uses XML code to scan a website for new or altered content. If new or additional content is found the RSS broadcasts to all the subscribers the updates.

Profit or cost savings realized on a financial investment.

A device placed between networks that relays data to those networks based upon a destination address contained in the data packets being routed.

A standard protocol developed by MasterCard and Visa that enables secure credit card transactions on the Internet.

An extension to the HTTP protocol to support sending data securely.

A security protocol used for authentication, encryption, confidentiality and data integrity in communications between servers and browsers on the Internet. It is the most frequently used security method for online consumer transactions.

An electronic commerce utility that keeps track of selected items for purchase and automates the purchasing process

Standardized query language for requesting information from a database.

The process of using the Internet as a tool to collaborate more closely with suppliers and other participants in the supply chain and to improve products and processes.

This protocol is a set of instructions dictating how applications can transfer files and send e-mail. The protocol dictates how data is subdivided into packets and transmitted over the network.

Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. A suite of network protocols that allow computers with different architectures and operating system software to communicate with other computers on the Internet.

The time it takes to go from the concept, to the implementation, to the readiness of systems.

An address that defines the location of a file, Web page or dynamic content on the Web.

Word-of-mouth advertising in which customers promote a product or service with no cost to the company.

A secure network connection established over the Internet. Typically used for individuals connecting remotely to a corporate network or to connect multiple LANs into a WAN.

The linking in different locations to create a larger network encompassing a metropolitan area, a LATA, and a regional or national network.