Glossary
Plain-English definitions for the software, cloud, and AI terms that come up when planning a project with us.
Software Development
MVP (Minimum Viable Product)
The smallest version of a product that still delivers real value, built to test an idea with actual users before investing in the full feature set.
API (Application Programming Interface)
A defined way for two pieces of software to talk to each other — how your app fetches data, sends payments, or connects to a third-party service.
Microservices
An architecture that splits an application into small, independently deployable services instead of one large monolith — easier to scale and update piece by piece.
Full-Stack Development
Working across both the frontend (what users see) and the backend (servers, databases, business logic) of an application.
MERN Stack
A common JavaScript stack — MongoDB, Express, React, Node.js — used to build a full application with one language end to end.
Technical Debt
The extra work created when a team ships a faster, less-polished solution now and has to pay it back later with refactoring.
Legacy System
An older system, often built on outdated technology, that's still running critical business functions and typically hard to replace without disruption.
Design System
A shared library of reusable UI components and rules that keeps a product's design consistent as more people build on it.
Cloud & DevOps
Cloud-Native
Software designed from the ground up to run on cloud infrastructure, taking advantage of on-demand scaling instead of being built for a fixed server.
CI/CD (Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment)
An automated pipeline that tests and ships code changes frequently and safely, instead of large, risky, infrequent releases.
Containerization
Packaging an application with everything it needs to run into a single, portable unit (like a Docker container) so it behaves the same everywhere.
Serverless
A cloud model where you deploy functions instead of managing servers — the provider handles scaling and infrastructure automatically.
Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
Defining and managing servers, networks, and other infrastructure through code instead of manual configuration, so environments stay consistent and reproducible.
Load Balancing
Distributing incoming traffic across multiple servers so no single one gets overwhelmed and the system stays responsive under load.
Auto-Scaling
Infrastructure that automatically adds or removes capacity based on real-time demand, instead of being sized for peak load at all times.
AI & Automation
LLM (Large Language Model)
The type of AI model (like GPT) behind modern chatbots and text-generation tools, trained on huge amounts of text to understand and produce language.
RPA (Robotic Process Automation)
Software that mimics repetitive, rule-based human actions — clicking, copying data, filling forms — to automate manual work.
Machine Learning
A branch of AI where systems learn patterns from data rather than being explicitly programmed with fixed rules.
Prompt Engineering
The practice of carefully designing the instructions given to an AI model to get more reliable, accurate output.
RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation)
A technique that grounds an AI model's answers in your own documents and data, instead of relying only on what it learned during training.
Vector Database
A database built to store and search data by semantic meaning (via embeddings) rather than exact keyword matches — the backbone of most AI search features.
Workflow Automation
Connecting tools and steps so a multi-step business process runs automatically instead of requiring manual handoffs.
Chatbot
A conversational interface, often AI-powered, that answers questions or completes tasks through a chat-style interaction.
Business & Product
SaaS (Software as a Service)
Software delivered over the internet on a subscription basis, rather than installed and licensed per copy.
B2B / B2C
B2B (business-to-business) products are sold to other companies; B2C (business-to-consumer) products are sold directly to individual users.
Multi-Tenant Architecture
A single application instance that serves multiple customers (tenants), each with their own isolated data, instead of a separate deployment per customer.
Product-Market Fit
The point where a product clearly satisfies strong market demand — usually shown by organic growth and retention, not just initial signups.
Agile
An iterative project methodology built around short cycles (sprints), regular feedback, and adapting plans as requirements change.
PropTech / FinTech / EdTech
Shorthand for technology built specifically for the property, financial, or education industries — usually implying deep domain-specific requirements (compliance, workflows) beyond a generic app.
On-Demand Marketplace
A platform that matches supply and demand in real time — think ride-hailing or delivery apps — connecting customers with service providers on request.
Get a Free Consulting
Call From Our Experts
Have a term or a project in mind we didn't cover here? Tell us about it and we'll walk you through it.