Plain-English IT Glossary

A bill from a vendor for products or services in a specific period. Check dates, quantities, per-unit price, taxes/fees, and any credits. Compare to contract to spot mismatches.

The repeating monthly fee for a service (e.g., 50 phone seats at $12/seat). Watch for “price creep” at renewal.

One-time fees like setup, installation, or change orders. Make sure they are approved and not repeated by mistake.

The vendor’s product code. Two SKUs can look similar but include different features — compare SKU codes when checking duplicates.

Contract clause that renews the term unless you cancel by a deadline. Track notice windows to avoid being locked in at higher rates.

Partial-period charges or credits when seats are added/removed mid-cycle. Verify dates and quantities to prevent overbilling.

Fees for exceeding plan limits (storage, minutes, data). If frequent, consider a higher plan or enforcement controls.

Aligning multiple subscriptions to a single renewal date. Simplifies vendor management and negotiations.

Umbrella contract with standard legal/commercial terms. Specific work is defined in SOWs. MSAs often include liability, data handling, and renewal terms.

Defines scope, deliverables, timeline, and price for a project or service under the MSA.

Plain Old Telephone Service (analog phone line). Often left active after migrations — easy savings by disconnecting unused lines.

A dedicated connectivity service (e.g., fiber 500/500 Mbps). Check speed, location, term, and whether a backup circuit is still needed.

Direct Inward Dialing number that routes directly to an extension or device. Make sure unused DIDs are removed from billing.

Ways to carry voice calls over telephony or IP. SIP has per-channel costs; ensure channel counts match call volume.

Quality of Service settings that prioritize voice/video over other traffic. Misconfigurations can cause call issues mistaken as provider faults.

Log of call start/end, duration, number dialed. Use it to validate usage-based charges.

Right for one user (or device) to use a product. Look for inactive users, duplicate accounts, and licenses assigned to leavers.

Plan level (Basic/Pro/Enterprise) with different features. Downgrade if users don’t need premium features.

How much of the purchased capacity you actually use. Low utilization usually signals savings opportunities.

Discounted cloud capacity you commit to for a term. Great for steady workloads; risky for spiky ones.

Pay-as-you-go capacity. Flexible but typically pricier than reserved over long periods.

Fees for moving data out of a cloud/service. Surprise bills often come from large backups/exports/migrations.

Your isolated slice of a shared SaaS platform. Tenant-level settings control security and integrations.

Single Sign-On and Multi-Factor Authentication. Reduce risk and simplify user access across tools.

Security agent that detects and responds to threats on devices. Verify % of endpoints covered and alert handling.

Malware scanning engine (sometimes built into EDR). Avoid paying twice for overlapping tools.

Tool IT uses to manage and patch devices. Overlap with EDR/MDM is common — check consolidation opportunities.

Controls settings, apps, and security on laptops/phones. Ensure all devices are enrolled and compliant.

Percentage of devices fully updated within a timeframe. Low compliance increases risk and often support tickets.

The framework and tools for delivering IT services (ticketing, change, incident, etc.).

An unplanned service interruption or reduction (e.g., email outage). Goal: restore service quickly.

A user asking for something standard (new account, software access). Use catalogs and automation to speed up.

Root cause investigation behind repeat incidents. Fix the underlying issue to prevent recurrence.

Standard: pre-approved, low-risk (e.g., monthly patches). Normal: needs review/approval. Emergency: urgent fix with expedited approval.

Group that reviews/approves Normal changes. Ensures risk is managed before deployment.

% of tickets resolved in the first touch. Higher FCR = fewer handoffs and faster service.

Average time from ticket opened to resolved. Track by priority to spot bottlenecks.

SLA: target response/resolve times. Hit rate: % of tickets meeting those targets. Compare “defined” vs “actual”.

Open tickets by age bucket (0–7 / 8–14 / 15–30 / 30+ days). Shows whether work is under control.

Number of different assignees involved in a ticket. Lower is better — reduces ping-pong and delays.

Step-by-step instructions for common tasks (e.g., new user setup). Enables consistency and speed.

Articles for staff or users to self-serve. Good KBs reduce ticket volume.

Configuration Management Database: inventory of systems and their relationships. Useful for impact analysis in changes.

A third-party that operates some or all of your IT. Compare their MSL/contract to delivered results and KPIs.

The MSP’s service targets (like response times). Distinct from your internal SLA to users.

KPI measures performance. Baseline is “today’s level”; target is the goal after improvements.

A log of risks with severity, likelihood, owner, and mitigation. Review monthly.

A feature or seat added without approval. Often appears after renewals — watch for wording like “service enhancement”.

Charges for services that no longer exist (e.g., retired lines, decommissioned servers).

Two invoices for the same period or ticket. Match invoice numbers and dates.

Small increases each renewal without notice. Track your historical rates and compare at renewal.