I talk mobile a lot – it’s a basic element of my job. As with any industry, the enterprise mobility space has developed its own vocabulary. This tends to lead to a lot of acronym speak which can be quite confusing.
I’d like to help simplify things for the newcomers, clear up some of the confusion, and pass along some of the more humorous definitions I’ve heard along the way. Consider this the start of a collective effort on behalf of the entire industry. I invite you to contribute terms of your own in the feedback section.
AirView: Proprietary Samsung technology allowing you to preview content by hovering over or barely touching a screen.NOT: Illegal paparazzi photos of the British Royal Family.
Android: Google’s open source application platform.NOT: Our small robot friends with whom we travel on intergalactic missions.
API: Application programming interface.NOT: Slang term, as in, c’mon get ‘api’.
Big Data: The conglomeration of all corporate information as a business transformation tool.NOT: The circumference of the area of grease left by the hamburger of a certain restaurant chain on important business documents.
BlackBerry: Handheld email and phone device.NOT: The fruit, dammit. Though neither one may have much of a shelf life…..BYOA: Bring Your Own Application, where employees use their personal versions of third-party applications and cloud services in the workplace.NOT: Bring your own anesthesia, a requirement within your health insurance plan.
BYOD: Bring Your Own Device, employees using their personal devices for work.NOT: Bring your own dish – referring a to a potluck meal.
Cloud: Extremely effective marketing term for off-site hosting.NOT: The place in which we spent our high school and college days.
Consumerization of IT: Trend bringing consumer features such as mobile apps, social media, video and rich interactivity into enterprise information technology systems and environments. You can learn more from CIO.com.NOT: An uncontrollable urge among IT workers to buy shoes, lots and lots and lots of shoes.
EMM: Enterprise Mobility Management: Managing the entire range of devices, networks, applications to fully leverage all aspects of enterprise mobility.NOT: A popular sharp-tongued rapper.
Enterprise Mobility: The shift to business being done with mobile devices. NOT: Switching jobs every two years to conquer new territories and increase your income.GPS: Global Positioning System: Technology that pinpoints your location and maps how to most efficiently get to your destination. NOT: Grandad’s Polyester Suit (GPS).
HTML5: A programming language for web-based apps and websites meant to make fulfill the write once run everywhere dream by behaving the same on all devices. While it has work well for content-based apps (newspapers), more complex apps (facebook and LinkedIn for example, have reverted from HTML5 versions to native versions because the user experience hasn’t lived up to expectations.NOT: Working on Internet Explorer, nor is it the evil, less-known brother of superhero Flash.
Ice Cream Sandwich – 4.0 version of Android.NOT: The chocolate cookie-vanilla ice cream pleasure of your childhood and trade shows (See my recent blog.)
Integration: Connecting your mobile apps to critical business systems.NOT: The subject in calculus that made many of us switch to marketing.
iOS7: Apple’s latest mobile operating systems incorporating a complete GUI change. NOT: Maxwell Smart’s secret code name when talking to Control.
Jelly Bean: 4.1 – 4.3 version of Android.NOT: The sweet gelatinous candy to which the late President Ronald Reagan was addicted.
MAM: Mobile Application Management: Maintaining a higher level of control over business-related apps with a lower level of control over the device.NOT: A formal way of addressing a woman you don’t know well.
MDM: Mobile Device Management: Specialized software that secures, monitors, manages and supports mobile devices, whether commercial or internally developed, deployed across mobile operators, service providers and enterprises.NOT: A cheap, off-brand version of a popular candy-coated chocolate that doesn’t melt in your hands.
MEAP: Mobile Enterprise Application Platform: A comprehensive platform for developing applications involving various mobile devices and OS that strives for the flexibility to anticipate future changes and need.NOT: The sound a certain road runner makes when trying to escape a dastardly coyote.
MIM: Mobile Information Management: Software meant to keeping sensitive corporate data and documents secure through controlling access and provisioning. NOT: The year 1999 in Roman Numerals.
Mobile Business Intelligence: Using mobile apps to drill down through amassed data to gain key insights.NOT: Eavesdropping on your seatmate while on an airplane.
Native Apps: Apps that have been developed for specific operating systems or devices. They leverage standard device navigation capabilities and the latest device features (like GPS or NFC) to enhance your application and provide a familiar and natural user experience.NOT: Customers who are indigenous to the local country.
Offline: The ability for a mobile app to let users continue to work when not connected to the internet. Relies on complex caching and synchronization capabilities.NOT: What you’re called after being pulled over by the police and you fail to walk a straight line.
Windows 8: Microsoft’s operating system specifically tailored to improve the user experience on tablets.NOT: Your cleaning goal for the weekend.
By Regev Yativ, CEO at Magic Software Enterprises USA.
