Tech glossary A–Z

An electronic way to sign documents and agreements online, legally recognized for many transactions in most countries. Tech for Local Business

Discarded electronic devices such as phones, laptops, and batteries, which contain both valuable materials and hazardous substances. Green Tech

Extract, Transform, Load: a process that pulls data from sources, cleans and reshapes it, and loads it into a destination such as a data warehouse. Data & Analytics

Gathering information about the Earth's surface, oceans, and atmosphere using satellites, aircraft, and drones, often as imagery and sensor data. Space Tech

Educational technology: digital tools, platforms, and services designed to support teaching and learning. EdTech

Processing data close to where it is generated, such as on devices or local servers, instead of sending everything to a distant data center. Cloud & DevOps

A digital version of a patient's medical history that can be shared securely among authorized healthcare providers. HealthTech

Financial services such as payments, accounts, cards, lending, or insurance built directly into non-financial apps and platforms. FinTech

A list of numbers (a vector) that represents a word, sentence, image, or other item so that similar items have similar vectors. Artificial Intelligence

The process of converting readable data into scrambled ciphertext that only someone with the correct key can decode. Cybersecurity

Security software, known as EDR, that continuously monitors computers and servers to detect, investigate, and stop threats. Cybersecurity

Protecting devices such as laptops, phones, and servers that connect to a network from malware, exploitation, and misuse. Cybersecurity

A programmable blockchain platform, launched in 2015, that runs smart contracts and has its own cryptocurrency called Ether. Web3 & Blockchain

Methods and tools that help people understand why an AI model produced a particular prediction or decision. Artificial Intelligence