IT Definitions and Glossary- listB

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B2B services (integration as a service)

B2B integration capabilities that are hosted in a multitenant environment were traditionally known as "EDI value-added networks (VANs)"; we now call these hosted offerings "integration as a service." Vendors referred to their integration-as-a-service offerings with a range of labels, including EDI VANs, integration platforms, EDI software as a service (SaaS), EDI services, Web services networks, transaction delivery networks, hosted integration services, business process networks, integration service providers and on-demand EDI. To be considered as an integration service provider, a vendor must offer hosted multienterprise integration and interoperability services. These include some combination of:

• Communications services (including multiprotocol support for protocols such as EDI, AS2, RosettaNet and Web services)
• Trading partner management services (such as tools to provision connections and manage certificates for security)
• Integration services (such as in-line translation and back-end system integration)
• Application services (such as order visibility or compliance management)

We do not include B2B project outsourcing – another form of B2B services – within this market because this is regarded as an IT professional services offering.

backbone

A high-speed line or series of lines that forms the fastest (measured in bandwidth) path through a network. It often acts as a metanetwork.

backbone network

A high-speed transmission facility, or an arrangement of such facilities, designed to interconnect lower-speed distribution channels or clusters of dispersed user devices.

backbone router

A router designed to be used to construct backbone networks using leased lines. Backbone routers typically do not have any built-in digital dial-up wide-area network interfaces.

back end

The server side of a client/server system.

background task

A task performed by a system during the time when its primary application is idle.

backhaul

The terrestrial link between an earth station and a switching or data center.

back-off algorithm

The formula used to determine when a second attempt will be made to access a network after an initial failed access attempt.

backplane

The physical connection between the interface cards and the data and power distribution buses in a network device such as a router, hub or switch.

backup and recovery software

Backup and recovery software products are designed to provide backup of storage to tape, disk or optical devices and to recover that data when needed. This segment also includes products focused specifically on supporting the recovery process, such as virtual tape libraries. Also included are media management, deduplication and backup reporting products, as well as archiving products that are included with the backup application. Media management activities include allocating, labeling, tracking, recycling and monitoring media, as well as storage pool management.

backup server

A software or hardware system that copies or "shadows" the contents of a server, providing redundancy.

balanced scorecard

A performance measurement and management approach that recognizes that financial measures by themselves are not sufficient and that an enterprise needs a more holistic, balanced set of measures which reflects the different drivers that contribute to superior performance and the achievement of the enterprise's strategic goals. The balanced scorecard is driven by the premise that there is a cause-and-effect link between learning, internal efficiencies and business processes, customers, and financial results.

BAM (business activity monitoring)

BAM is neither a market nor a product. It is a concept, such as quality or knowledge management, and it is not new. BAM solutions focus on cross-business processes rather than on divisional-, departmental- or technology-specific processes. The scope of integration in BAM solutions expands far beyond the four walls of a plant or a division, and real time is not necessarily nanoseconds, but rather it is determined by the requirements of the business process. It brings the near-real-time world of the BI operational data store together with IT operations monitoring and BPM through integration brokers and shared messaging.

band

1. The range of frequencies between two defined limits.
2. In wide-area telephone service (WATS), the specific geographical area in which the customer is entitled to call.

bandpass filter

A circuit designed to allow a single band of frequencies to pass.

bandwidth

1. The range of frequencies that can pass over a given transmission channel. The bandwidth determines the rate at which information can be transmitted through the circuit: the greater the bandwidth, the more information that can be sent in a given amount of time. Bandwidth is typically measured in bits per second. Increasing bandwidth potential has become a high priority for network planners due to the growth of multimedia, including videoconferencing, and the increased use of the Internet.
2. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of a modulated signal is tested within a range of frequencies on either side of the carrier frequency. This range is also called a bandwidth. In the case of videodiscs, it is often 15 kilohertz (KHz) on either side.

bank tier

• Tier 1 includes between 20 and 25 global bank assets and/or capital markets price makers with daily trading volume exceeding 50,000 transactions. These banks want software using open architecture on a framework on which they can leverage tools, such as analytics.
• Tier 2 constitutes about 200 international and national banks and/or capital markets price takers, as well as trading volume averaging about 30,000 transactions daily. Such banks seek new technology with a complete vertical integration of functions. Cross-asset functionality is not a concern, except for structuring deals because of the specialized focus of their trading businesses. They desire analytics and a front- to back-office suite to improve transparency and risk management.
• Tier 3 consists of approximately 1,000 banks, including smaller national and regional banks, and capital markets price takers. These banks want cross-asset platforms, but don't have the requisite IT resources in-house and must rely on vendors. Their biggest concern is implementation risk.
• Tier 4 comprises smaller regional institutions with a primary focus on core banking and limited capital markets trading. Such firms often source their capital markets requirements through third parties and tend to use an ASP approach.

BAPI (Business Application Programming Interface)

A set of documented, server-side interfaces to one or more R/3 processes, from SAP. BAPI packages multiple internal functions to enable programmatic access to such higher-order tasks as checking customer numbers, providing product descriptions, selecting products, creating quotations or creating orders.

baseband

Transmitting a signal in its original, unmodulated form. A baseband signal can be analog (e.g., originating from a telephone) or digital (e.g., originating from a computer).

base station

Within a mobile radio system, a fixed radio station providing communication with mobile stations and, where applicable, with other base stations and the public telephone network.

batch processing

The processing of application programs and their data individually, with one being completed before the next is started. It is a planned processing procedure typically used for purposes such as preparing payrolls and maintaining inventory records.

baud

A unit of signaling speed. The speed in bauds is the number of discrete changes per second in some aspect of a signal (e.g., voltage in a wire). Transmission speeds are now more commonly measured bits per second (bps), rather than bauds. The two terms were roughly synonymous until modems began to exceed 2,400 bps, after which they diverged more widely as modem speed has increased. Modems now use coding techniques to transmit more than one bit per baud, making their true baud ratings irrelevant.

BCC (block check character)

A control character appended to blocks in character-oriented protocols. Used for determining if the block was received in error in longitudinal and cyclic redundancy checking.

BCD (binary-coded decimal)

A numeric notation in which each of decimal digit is represented by a binary numeral. For example, in BCD notation, the number 23 is represented as "0010 0011" (as compared to the representation "10111" in the pure binary numeration system.

B channel (bearer channel)

One of two 64 kilobit per second data channels in the Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) Basic Rate Interface (see BRI).

BCM (business continuity manager)

The person responsible for business recovery planning (BRP) and business continuity planning (BCP).

BCP (business continuity planning)

A broad disaster recovery approach whereby enterprises plan for recovery of the entire business process. This includes a plan for workspaces, telephones, workstations, servers, applications, network connections and any other resources required in the business process.

BDLS (bidirectional loop switching)

The ability of fiber rings to be recovered in either of two directions, typically by using two pairs of fiber in the ring.

benchmarking

The comparison between vendor performance and designated benchmark organizations or indexes. An index is a publicly available indicator for a factor that is associated with a pricing element.

• Internal benchmarking is the continuous process of measuring a company's products, services and practices to determine whether the best possible job is performed with the resources at hand. This can include comparing similar functions of different operating units in an organization or comparing the operations of a specific division from one year to the next.
• External benchmarking is the continuous process of measuring a company's products, services and practices and comparing them with those of another company. This can include comparisons with industry peers, functional leaders, or best-in-class performers.

bend loss

Attenuation in fiber cabling resulting from a bend being at too great an angle or from distortion within the cable.

bend radius

The radius of the smallest circle possible when bending a cable, if transmission is not to be faulty.

best-in-class

The superior product within a category of hardware or software. It does not necessarily mean best product overall, however. For example, the best-in-class product in a low-priced category may be inferior to the best product on the market, which could sell for much more. See best-of-breed.

best-of-breed

The best product of its type. Enterprises often purchase software from different vendors to obtain the best-of-breed offering for each application area. For example, enterprises may purchase a human-resource package from one vendor and an accounting package from another. Although enterprise resource planning (ERP) vendors offer numerous enterprise applications and claim that their integrated system is a superior solution, all modules in an ERP system are rarely best-of-breed. See best-in-class.

best practice

A group of tasks that optimizes the efficiency (cost and risk) or effectiveness (service level) of the business discipline or process to which it contributes. It must be implementable, replicable, transferable and adaptable across industries.

beta test

The stage at which a new product is tested under actual usage conditions.

BI (business intelligence)

See IT Definitions Continues business intelligence definition.

BIA (business impact analysis)

BIA identifies the cost (financial and nonfinancial) of a set of business processes that are not functioning correctly. It is one of the early steps required for preparing a disaster recovery plan (DRP) or a business continuity plan (BCP). Without this step, it is difficult for the business continuity manager to balance the cost of the DRP or BCP against the potential loss.

BICC (business intelligence competency center)

A business intelligence competency center (BICC) develops the overall strategic plan and priorities for BI. It also defines requirements, such as data quality and governance and fulfills the role of promoting the use of BI.

bid

1. An attempt to gain control over a line in order to transmit data, usually associated with the contention style of sharing a single line among several terminals.
2. A vendor's proposal to win a contract.

BI IDA (business intelligence information delivery architecture)

A key element of business intelligence (BI) implementation planning deals with the means and mechanisms for providing the needed data and information to users. Information delivery via desktop databases, intermediate servers, client/server database applications, or Web server interaction presents a challenge to most enterprises and many users. The BI IDA provides a framework and implementation model for evaluating and prioritizing users' needs as well as matching those needs to the evolving delivery approaches and technologies.

bill-of-material processor

Computer applications supplied by many manufacturers for maintaining, updating and retrieving bill-of-material information on direct-access files.

binary code

Representation of quantities expressed in the base-2 number system.

bindery

A database used by a workstation or network operating system to store internal data such as user or node definitions.

biometric authentication

A form of user authentication based on a physical (e.g., fingerprint, iris, face or hand) or behavioral (e.g., signature or voice) characteristic. Because it is based on something the person "is," biometric authentication can provide a higher level of security that something a person "knows" (e.g., password, PIN or mother's maiden name) or something a person "has" (e.g., a card, key or hardware token). Biometrics can be used to verify a person's claimed identity or to identify a user from a database of candidates. To use a biometric system, the user must enroll by providing several samples of the biometric, from which the system creates a template for that user. At the time of verification or authentication, the live sample of the biometric is compared against the stored template.

biometrics

A biometric characteristic, or a biometric trait, is a measurable physiological or behavioral trait of a living person, especially one that can be used to determine or verify the identity of a person in access control or criminal forensics. Most real adoption of biometric technologies during the next five years will come from government applications (for example, immigration, social security and surveillance), although corporate adoption will continue to grow slowly until biometric readers are routinely embedded in hardware, such as notebooks. Typical biometric measures include fingerprints, retinal recognition, facial thermograms and voice recognition.

BIOS (basic input/output system)

The part of an operating system that links the specific hardware devices to the software. It obtains the buffers required to send information from a program to the hardware/desktop receiving the information.

BI platforms

BI platforms provide the infrastructure and tools to enable users to build applications that facilitate decision making and help organizations learn, understand and improve their business. Gartner defines a BI platform as a software platform that delivers most of the following capabilities under three overarching categories of functionality:

• Integration (BI infrastructure, metadata management, development, and workflow and collaboration)
• Information delivery (reporting, dashboards, ad hoc query and Microsoft Office integration)
• Analysis (online analytical processing [OLAP], advanced visualization, predictive modeling and data mining, and scorecards)

Please note that for software to be qualified as a BI platform, it must fill a majority of the criteria above. For example, we do not consider a stand-alone solution of integration, metadata and collaboration to be a BI platform.

B-ISDN (Broadband ISDN)

A high-speed (greater than ISDN primary rate), asynchronous, time division multiplexed transmission facility, or an arrangement of such facilities, designed to provide a wide range of audio, video and data applications in the same network.

bit (binary digit)

The minimum unit of binary information stored in a computer system. A bit can have only two states, on or off, which are commonly represented as ones and zeros. The combination of ones and zeros determines which information is entered into and processed by the computer.

bit interleaving

A method of time-division multiplexing where inputs are sampled so that the sequence and number of bits are maintained, facilitating synchronization.

bitmapped

Composed of a vast number of picture elements, or pixels, which are displayed in a pattern that forms an image on a video screen.

black belt

Designation in Six Sigma of a practitioner who has achieved mastery of Six Sigma techniques and is qualified to lead others in developing Six Sigma skills.

blanking interval

The area in a video signal that falls between frames. It is often used to accommodate data such as synchronizing information.

blended premises/services approach

This type of solution tightly integrates on-premises and service offerings, and has its roots in a range of network-based service solutions. Service offerings, until now, have largely remained as un-unified, stand-alone communications services, or as all-in-one bundles that lack critical enterprise functions. Fully featured and integrated on-premises service UC solutions are only beginning to enter the market.

BLERT (block error rate test)

A test conducted by transmitting a known blocked bit pattern, comparing the pattern received with the pattern transmitted, and counting the number of blocks containing errored bits.

BLOB (binary large object)

A generic term used to describe the handling and storage of long strings of data by database management systems. A BLOB is a category of data , characterized by large size (including media formats such as audio and video), which can place extreme demands on storage systems and network bandwidth.

block

A group of bits or bytes treated as a unit.

block down conversion

The conversion of a full satellite band to a lower frequency (e.g., from SHF to UHF or VHF).

block error rate

In data communications testing, the ratio between the total number of blocks transmitted in a given message and the number of blocks in that message received in error; a measure of the quality of a data transmission.

blocking

The inability to connect two lines in a network because all possible paths between them are already in use.

Bluetooth

Low-power wireless networking technology operating in the 2.4 GHz unlicensed Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) band. There are two classes of Bluetooth device – Class 1 devices have higher output power and a range of about 100 meters, and Class 2 devices have lower power and a range of about 10 meters. Bluetooth enables ad hoc networking of up to eight devices (supporting voice and data). The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) was founded in 1998 by IBM, Intel, Ericsson, Nokia and Toshiba, and is supported by more than 2,500 organizations. The Bluetooth v.1.0 specification was ratified and published in 1999 and supported data rates of up to 1Mbps. Bluetooth Version 2.1, along with its enhanced data rate (EDR) specification, was ratified in March 2007, supporting data rates of up to 3Mbps, and simplified "pairing" – the process used for securely linking one Bluetooth device to another. It also reduced power consumption, doubling the battery life of headsets and other mobile devices for which the Bluetooth radio consumes a large percentage of the power budget. Version 3.0 ("Seattle") was adopted by the SIG in April 2009, and the specification included Wi-Fi as an alternative transport layer for large volumes of data, supporting data rates of up to 24 Mbps. The SIG also adopted "Bluetooth low energy," a new ultra-low-power variant, previously referred to as Ultra Low Power (ULP) Bluetooth and Wibree. See also ZigBee and ultrawideband (UWB).

Bluetooth LE (low energy)

Specification adopted by the Bluetooth SIG in April 2009 that enables low-power peripherals with a battery life of months to years to communicate with Bluetooth in handsets or other devices. Bluetooth LE opens up a new range of devices and applications such as on-body medical sensors and sports and fitness equipment. LE arose from a technology called Wibree (owned by Nokia) and was previously called ULP Bluetooth.

BMIT (business management of IT)

A framework developed by Gartner to help managers focus on the key issues affecting each area or stage of an IT strategy and how these issues impact the business or organizational side of the enterprise. Each stage requires measurement of IT costs, operations, efficiency and effectiveness. The six-stage management process focuses on risk and investment criteria across four major BMIT management practices: people, money, infrastructure and strategic-process architecture.

BOI (business object interface)

Application programming interfaces (APIs) published by Baan to permit access to functions within its enterprise resource planning (ERP) system.

BOL (bill of lading)

A contract of carriage between a shipper and carrier to consign a load for delivery to another party.

BOM (bill of materials)

A structured list of the raw materials, parts and assemblies that constitute a product to be manufactured, typically used as part of a manufacturing resource planning (MRP II) system.

bookmark

Pointer to an Internet address kept within a Web client (browser).

boot

To start a computer system. A boot from a power-off condition is called a "cold boot," while merely reinitializing the system is called a "warm boot."

BOSS (billing and operational support system)

Generic term that refers to the key back-office software systems required to run a cellular network. More commonly known as business support system (BSS)/operations support system (OSS). See also BSS and OSS.

bottleneck

The operation with the least capacity in a total system with no alternative routings; the total system can be effectively scheduled by simply scheduling the limiting operation.

bounce

The return of an undeliverable e-mail.

BPA (business process automation)

The automation of complex business processes and functions beyond conventional data manipulation and record-keeping activities, usually through the use of advanced technologies. It focuses on "run the business" as opposed to "count the business" types of automation efforts and often deals with event-driven, mission-critical, core processes. BPA usually supports an enterprise's knowledge workers in satisfying the needs of its many constituencies.

BPA (business process analysis) tools

Business process analysis (BPA) tools are primarily intended for use by business end users looking to document, analyze and streamline complex processes, thereby improving productivity, increasing quality, and becoming more agile and effective. These tools also support the roles of business process architect and business process analyst, and enable them to better understand business processes, events, workflows and data using proven modeling techniques. BPA tools permit users to diagram their processes, noting (generally abstracted) rules or specifications to promote understanding, validate this information using standard methodologies and best practices enabled by the software, and ideally, automate the models into deployable applications that leverage their analytical efforts and comply with the business process rules. BPA tools feature the following functionality:

• Business model drawing and development
• Ease of use in operation, development and administration
• Business model analysis
• Integration and automation
• Multiuser support/versioning and extensibility
• Methodology and use
• Performance and scalability
• Vertical-industry and horizontal cross-industry template support

bpi (bits per inch)

A measurement used to calculate the number of bits stored in a linear inch of a track on a disk, tape or other recording surface.

BPM (business process management)

See IT Definitions Continues business process management definition.

BPM (business process modeling)

A process that links business strategy to IT systems development to ensure business value. It combines process/workflow, functional, organizational and data/resource views with underlying metrics such as costs, cycle times and responsibilities to provide a foundation for analyzing value chains, activity-based costs, bottlenecks, critical paths and inefficiencies.

BPM pure-play software

Gartner first introduced the term "BPM pure play" in 2003 to describe tools that delivered an application-independent approach to coordinating business. BPM pure-play products provide a set of services and tools for explicit process management (that is, process analysis, definition, execution, monitoring and administration), including support for human- and application-level interaction. BPM pure-play software includes commercially available software products that have all these features:

• Process orchestration engine
• Modeling environment
• Human-to-human workflow
• Monitoring and analysis capabilities
• Offline simulation
• System-to-system integration
• Business process performance reporting

Only general-purpose, cross-industry BPM pure-play software is included in this category. There are many vertical-industry-specific BPM pure-play software products that are not covered here.

BPMS (business process management suite)

BPM is a technology-enabled discipline, which causes the confusion between the BPM discipline and BPM technologies. A number of technologies could be used for BPM, but BPMSs represent the most-evolved and comprehensive approach to BPM at present. A BPMS is a complete set of integrated composition technologies for managing all aspects of process – people, machines, information, business rules and policies supporting full process discovery, analysis, design, development, execution, monitoring and optimization cycle, in which business professionals and IT collaborate as peers. A BPMS makes the business process explicit (visible and independent of its implementation), using business process models. A BPMS makes these models executable; they are not just documentation.

A BPMS must include the following 10 component capabilities:

• Process execution and state management engine
• Model-driven development environment
• Document and content interaction
• User and group interaction
• Basic system connectivity
• Business events, BI and business activity monitoring (BAM) support
• Online and offline simulation and optimization
• Business rule management
• System management and administration
• Process component registry/repository

BPO (business process outsourcing)

Gartner defines BPO as "the delegation of one or more IT-intensive business processes to an external provider that, in turn, owns, administrates and manages the selected processes based on defined and measurable performance metrics." Examples of business processes that are outsourced to an ESP include logistics, procurement, HR, finance and accounting, CRM, or other administrative or customer-facing business functions.

BPR (business process re-engineering)

Business process re-engineering, where "as-is" and "to-be" process activities are defined and improvement generally takes the form of a complete redesign BPR analytical techniques

Mathematical, graphical, logical and managerial algorithms for describing and modeling business processes, information systems or management decision-making systems.

BPR methodology

An integrated set of management policies, project management procedures, and modeling, analysis, design and testing techniques for analyzing existing business processes and systems; designing new processes and systems; testing, simulating and prototyping new designs prior to implementation; and managing the implementation process.

BPR tools

Combinations of techniques and software products that allow electronic capture, analysis, testing, simulation, reconfiguration and persistent memory of business and systems models

bps (bits per second)

Measure of the capacity or throughput of a communication channel. The ability to achieve a particular bps depends on the bandwidth, frequency and modulation technique. See also bandwidth.

BR (business routing)

A Gartner category of call routing used for sales or service functions. The general objective is to determine, as transparently as possible, the caller's needs, business value and relationship, and ultimately to automate the call's routing to a resource. The process is usually driven by multiple databases, with each factor considered becoming a decision or value point.

brand and product management

These applications enable trade promotion, product development management and market research.

brand service company

Similar to the in-sourcing model, a company that is built to provide services to a large organization or a group of business-oriented companies. Services provided (which may include non-IT services and business processes) are carefully compared against the market, and the services company leverages external services providers (ESPs), selectively outsourcing part of their services.

BRE software

A BRE is a specific collection of design-time and runtime software that allows an enterprise to explicitly define, analyze, execute, audit and maintain a wide variety of business logic, collectively referred to as "rules." A BRE allows IT and/or business staff to define rules using decision trees, decision tables, pseudo-natural language, programminglike code or other representation techniques. Unlike traditional AD approaches, a BRE isolates the rule representation from the executing business logic – providing for explicit rule management. A BRE provides features to analyze rules for rule conflicts, rule consistency and other quality issues. A BRE allows auditing of the rule execution path and firing order, and it provides a rule repository and related features to maintain and enhance the rule base. A BRE may simply provide rule externalization capabilities (separating rules from programming code), or it may provide higher-level rule-processing capabilities, such as inferencing (forward chaining, goal-directed backward chaining), case-based reasoning and advanced heuristics. Many BRE vendors are increasing their business rule management technologies and "ecosystems" and are creating comprehensive business rule management systems that add capabilities to the basic BRE technology.

Only general-purpose, cross-industry BRE software is included in this category. There are many vertical-industry-specific BRE software products that are not covered here.

break

An interruption to a transmission; frequently a provision permitting a controlled terminal to interrupt the controlling computer.

BREW (binary runtime environment for wireless)

Application ecosystem designed by Qualcomm to support application development, provisioning, marketing and billing of handheld wireless data applications, predominantly for consumers.

broadband

Channels carried on coaxial or fiber-optic cables that have a wider bandwidth than conventional telephone lines, giving them the ability to carry video, voice and data simultaneously. Cable modems and digital subscriber line (DSL) technologies are examples of broadband connectivity.

broadband access

The access function enables end users to connect to a network. It provides the initial customer interface and plays a critical role in determining the customer "experience." The access part of a network tends to account for a large share of network investment because of customers' diverse needs and locations, and the high cost of the customer premises equipment (CPE). It is also the most expensive part of the network from an operations perspective.

Broadband access includes the following fixed broadband access technologies:

• Fiber to the home (FTTH).
• Generic digital subscriber line (xDSL), including all DSL flavors (also the so-called fiber to the curb [FTTC] where the "last mile access" is still based on copper).
• Broadband wireless access including all WiMAX but excluding mobile broadband technologies covered under mobile infrastructure. (Mobile WiMAX will be a niche technology and is included in broadband access with the rest of WiMAX.)

broadband aggregation/IP services routers

These routers are a subset of edge routers. They are aggregation and termination systems that accept a high concentration of data traffic from multiple xDSL access multiplexers, cable modem termination systems, wireless headends, dial-access concentrators and routers. In addition to aggregation and termination, these systems offer the following subscriber management services:

• Differentiated classes of service, different priority levels for different classes of network user, dynamic selection and delivery of network services, QoS for data, voice and video applications, and user-based billing.

Security and random authentication, troubleshooting and remote diagnostics, network management, managed firewalls and secure VPNs.

Broadband aggregation system vendors and their products include:

• Cisco: 7200, 7300, 7600, 10000 Series.
• Juniper Networks: E-series.
• Redback Networks: SMS and SmartEdge families.

broadcast

1. Delivery of a transmission to two or more stations at the same time, such as over a bus-type local network or by satellite.
2. Protocol mechanism whereby group and universal addressing is supported.

broadcast storm

Excessive one-to-many or many-to-many transmissions, especially troublesome on Ethernet networks.

broker

The middleware that mediates communication between applications (including external legacy applications and packaged applications) and enables them to share information.

brownout

In response to heavy demand, main system voltages are sometimes lowered, leading to brownouts in which power is not lost but reduced.

browser

A software program used to locate and display information on the Internet or an intranet. Browsers are most often used to access Web pages. Most can display graphics, photographs and text; multimedia information (e.g., sound and video) may require additional software, often referred to as "plug-ins."

browsing

The near-random search for content on the Internet.

BRP (business recovery planning)

Planning for the recovery of an enterprise's systems in the event of a major outage.

BRTI (Badan Regulasi Telekomunikasi Indonesia)

Telecommunications regulator in Indonesia.

BRU (business requirement unit)

A unit of measure developed to compensate IS organizations for performing up to business requirements. The unit cost to deliver server environments to the enterprise can then be calculated by accumulating all the delivered BRUs and dividing them by the total cost to operate the environment. BRUs are determined based on IS functions delivered by the IS organization, weighted by importance, scaled for size and added together to provide a total.

BSC (base station controller)

Network element that controls and monitors a number of base stations and provides the interface between the cell sites and the mobile switching center (MSC).

BSC (Binary Synchronous Communications)

A half-duplex, character-oriented data communications protocol originated by IBM in 1964. It includes control characters and procedures for controlling the establishment of a valid connection and the transfer of data. Also called Bisync. Although still in use, it has largely been replaced by IBM's more efficient protocol, Synchronous Data Link Control (SDLC), which is under Systems Network Architecture (SNA).

BSP (business service provider)

A domain of enterprise application outsourcing best suited for confined processes with a few, well-defined interfaces to other business processes of the enterprise. BSP is the extension of the application service provider (ASP) model into business process management. A BSP manages and operates standardized business processes on behalf of its customers, delivering its service across a network to multiple customers using a "pay as you go" payment model.

BSS (base station subsystem)

Base transceiver station (BTS) and BSC parts of the radio access elements of a mobile network. The abbreviation BSS can also be used for business support system and basic service set.

BSS (business solution server)

A platform for development and execution of complete line-of-business (LOB) applications. A unit of BSS development abstraction is a business process, not a program. Architecturally, a BSS is a framework of business processes. Technologically, BSSs may rest on a variety of technologies, exposed to developers via business application programming interfaces.

BSS

Business support system.

BTA (basic trading area)

Geographic area designation that was used for the allocation of 800MHz cellular licenses to mobile service providers in the U.S., which determines where they can operate. Each metropolitan trading area (MTA) is made up of several BTAs. There are 493 BTAs and 51 MTAs in the U.S. See also metropolitan service area or metropolitan statistical area (MSA), MTA and rural service area (RSA).

BTS (base transceiver station)

Fixed radio transceiver in any mobile network. The BTS connects mobile devices to the network. It sends and receives radio signals to mobile devices and converts them to digital signals that it passes on the network to route to other terminals in the network or to the Internet.

buffer

A storage device used to compensate for a difference in rate of data flow, or time of occurrence of events, when transmitting data from one device to another.

bug

An unexpected problem with software or hardware. Typical problems are often the result of external interference with the program's performance that was not anticipated by the developer. Minor bugs can cause small problems like frozen screens or unexplained error messages that do not significantly effect usage. Major bugs may not only affect software and hardware, but could also have unintended effects on connected devices or integrated software and may damage data files.

bundling

Packaging multiple features and products together for a single price.

burst

In data communications, a sequence of signals counted as one unit in accordance with a specific criterion or measure.

bursty

Data that is transmitted in uneven spurts.

bus

1. Physical transmission path or channel. Typically an electrical connection with one or more conductors, wherein all attached devices receive all transmissions at the same time.
2. Local network topology, such as that used in Ethernet, where all network nodes listen to all transmissions, selecting certain ones based on address identification. It involves some type of contention-control mechanism for accessing the bus transmission medium.

business consulting

Business consulting services included in Gartner's IT services forecast are limited to business operations consulting services that typically preface, enable or influence the adoption of IT. These business consulting services include business process transformation, business process redesign or re-engineering, business performance improvement, corporate compliance, risk management, governance and sourcing advisory. These services may be sold or sourced as discrete projects, or as preludes to outsourcing engagements. Regardless of how they are sold and delivered, the business consulting services considered in Gartner's IT services forecast will directly affect IT. This distinguishes them from other types of business consulting, such as strategy consulting or corporate finance, that may sometimes influence IT.

business intelligence

Gartner defines business intelligence (BI) as the general ability to organize, access and analyze information in order to learn and understand the business. BI is an umbrella term that includes the applications, infrastructure and tools, and best practices that enable access to and analysis of information to improve and optimize decisions and performance...

• Read the full business intelligence definition

business IP telephones segmentation

Gartner defines the business IP telephone handset market according to the following segmentation scheme:

• One- or two-line IP telephones.
• Graphical display IP telephones.
• PC softphones.
• Mobile softphones.
• 802.11 WLAN IP telephones.

business process

An event-driven, end-to-end processing path that starts with a customer request and ends with a result for the customer. Business processes often cross departmental and even organizational boundaries.

business process management (BPM)

Gartner defines business process management (BPM) as a management discipline that treats business processes as assets that directly improve enterprise performance by driving operational excellence and business agility...

• Read the full business process management definition

business process outsourcing (BPO)

Gartner defines BPO as "the delegation of one or more IT-intensive business processes to an external provider that, in turn, owns, administrates and manages the selected processes based on defined and measurable performance metrics." Examples of business processes that are outsourced to an ESP include logistics, procurement, HR, finance and accounting, CRM, or other administrative or customer-facing business functions.

BPO services are characterized by multiyear, contractual relationships, with appropriate SLAs that deliver full business processes to the service recipient. Typically, BPO services include the delivery of the people and process workflows, as well as the underpinning technology that supports them. Additionally, gradients of process — and pieces of subprocesses — can be outsourced as discrete BPO contracts, or full end-to-end, comprehensive arrangements. In all cases, the inherent risk for the business process in scope is the responsibility of the service provider, as outlined in the contract's statement of work. This is what differentiates BPO from, for example, application outsourcing.

At the core of Gartner's BPO forecasts are process management services, but other product support, consulting, and development/integration services can also be delivered through BPO contracts. This is because the typical life cycle of a BPO contract will follow design-build-and-run phases, during which consulting, implementation and management services are being delivered. That said, the cornerstone of any BPO deal is the process management revenue, which represents the ongoing, steady-state phase of the deal, once the processes are fully transitioned to the service provider.

bus topology

An equal-access network design in which all devices are connected to a single linking cable with two distinct ends.

buy side

A process enabling companies to purchase products that include requisitioning, product catalogs, approvals, user identification, purchase order creation, payment processing and integration with other systems.

BWA (broadband wireless access)

Generic term for services based on a wireless broadband MAN; sometimes referred to as wireless broadband access.

bypass

Any of several configurations of alternative transmission arrangements whose purpose is to avoid the local telephone company switched network. "Service" bypass involves using the telephone company's own (cheaper) facilities, while "facilities" bypass involves privately owned fiber or radio transmission.

byte (binary table)

A group of eight bits handled as a logical unit. In text files, a byte is equivalent to a single character such as a letter, number or punctuation mark.

byte code

The intermediate code compiled and executed by a virtual machine (VM). Byte code can be used unchanged on any platform on which the VM operates.

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