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We meet them often – when communicating with clients and customers, during business meetings, managerial or team meetings. But do we know what they really mean? We have selected 11 technological abbreviations, which we, as lawyers, most often encounter in communication with tech managers and IT people, while trying to bring their meaning closer to you in simple language.

Finally, we explain 10 abbreviations that are used or often seen by us – lawyers – in IT contracts and in their negotiation.

  1. IoT = Internet of Things

It is a network of “things” that are embedded with sensors, software, and other technologies for the purpose of connecting and exchanging data with other devices and systems over the Internet. The higher level will be IoB (Internet of Bodies) – the collection of physical data through various devices that can be implanted, swallowed or worn on the human body.

  1. AI – Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence – refers to the simulation of human intelligence on machines (machines are programmed to think like humans, imitate them, the machine learns, solves a problem).

  1. IP address – Internet Protocol address

It is a number that is used to identify a device on a network. An IP address ensures that data are properly delivered to individual devices on a network and allows the device to communicate with other devices over an IP-based network.

  1. CCTV– Closed-Circuit Television

“Closed circuit television” = the signal from the cameras is transmitted to a closed (or very limited) number of users who are (mostly) authorized to watch / view the recording.

  1. eKYC – electronic Know Your Customer

Know Your Customer (KYC) is a process for identifying and verifying a customer’s identity. The eKYC process is a digital (paperless) and remote (electronic, online) transposition of the traditional KYC process.

  1. FTE – Full Time Equivalent

It is the equivalent of one full-time employee. It is mainly used when negotiating our outsourcing services (using FTE, it expresses what capacity of human work a given task, activity or project needs).

  1. OEM – Original Equipment Manufacturer

It is a company that manufactures parts and equipment for other companies, which then promote and sell them under their own brand. OEM products are therefore products that are sold under the brand name of another manufacturer (e.g. software supplied with computer sets).

  1. ABIS and AFIS

Automated Biometric Identification System

Automated Fingerprint Identification System

  1. SDK

Software Development Kit = a set of software development tools that allows you to build applications for a specific device or operating system.

  1. OCR software

Optical Character Recognition Software = a technology for recognizing text inside images, such as scanned documents, which is then converted to machine-encoded text).

  1. RFID

Radio Frequency Identification = non-contact automatic identification for transmitting and storing data by means of electromagnetic waves; consists in storing the necessary data in memory radio frequency chips.

 

TOP 10 abbreviations in IT contracts

  1. NDA – Non Disclosure Agreement

Simply put – a confidentiality agreement or an agreement on confidentiality. Through the NDA, one or both parties (depending on the circumstances of the case) undertake not to provide or make available the information they received from the other party, to another party, or that they limit their use exclusively to the agreed purpose.

The NDA is concluded not only during the implementation of a specific project, but often before the business negotiations even start or at the stage of submitting a bid, if it is necessary for the parties to access or exchange know-how, knowledge, sensitive information or data during these negotiations.

  1. EULA

End User License Agreement is a legal agreement between the author / manufacturer of a software / application and its end user (the person who installs and uses the program / application).

  1. ELA

Evaluation License Agreement = usually a temporary license agreement that provides the applicant with a short-term license to explore the potential of a (usually new) technology to see if the technology will meet its goals and objectives.

  1. SLA

Service Level Agreement = agreement on the level of services provided (e.g. in addition to the delivery of software / applications).

  1. ADR

Alternative Dispute Resolution = an alternative way of resolving disputes between the parties (usually with the participation of a third party, without a court).

  1. QOS

Quality of Service = description / measurement of the total performance of the service.

  1. FME

Force Majeure Event = the circumstance establishing the so-called “Force majeure”.

  1. RFI, RFQ, RFP

RFI – Request for information; the contracting authority is identifying how it could solve the problem or meet its need. The answer to RFI should educate, it should have informational value.

RFQ – Request for Quote (quotation); the contracting authority finds out what the costs will be to meet its need, which it knows itself. Thus, the response to the RFQ quantifies.

RFP – Request for Proposal; the contracting authority will compare and evaluate, therefore the response should include pointing out the benefits and advantages of the solution. It therefore compares the response to RFPs.

  1. ROI

Return on investment.

  1. TCV

The total value of the order = the value of the order after its execution (completion). It includes all recurring contract revenue as well as any one-off fees that arise during the term of the contract.

 

This article is for general and informational purposes only, and the conclusions, opinions or recommendations presented herein may not apply to a specific situation. The article does not constitute legal advice or replace it. When solving a specific problem or situation, we always recommend consulting a lawyer.