Glossary
Plain-English definitions of technical terms that business owners encounter when evaluating, buying, or managing software projects.
What Is a Vector Database
Definition A vector database is a specialised database designed to store, index, and search vectors — the numerical representations (embeddings) that AI models produce from text, images, or other data. While a traditional database excels at finding exact matches (show me all orders from customer 4521), a vector database excels at finding similar items (show me all documents that are...
What Is Version Control
Definition Version control is a system that records every change made to a codebase, who made it, and when. It maintains a complete history of the project, allowing developers to review past changes, revert to earlier versions, and work on different features simultaneously without overwriting each other’s work. It is the equivalent of track changes in a document editor, but...
What Is a VPS
Definition A VPS (Virtual Private Server) is a hosting environment that gives you a dedicated portion of a physical server’s resources. The physical machine is divided into multiple virtual servers using software called a hypervisor, and each VPS operates independently with its own allocated CPU, memory, and storage. Unlike shared hosting, where resources are pooled and your site competes with...
What Is a Vulnerability
Definition A vulnerability is a weakness or flaw in a piece of software, a system, or a process that an attacker could exploit to gain unauthorised access, steal data, or cause damage. Vulnerabilities can exist in application code, server configurations, third-party plugins, operating systems, or even in the way people follow (or ignore) security procedures. They are not attacks themselves...
About the Glossary
Why Plain Language Matters More Than Technical Fluency
Every software project involves terminology that business owners are expected to understand but rarely have reason to learn. Developers use terms like API, CI/CD, middleware, and bearer token as if everyone shares the same vocabulary — and when a client nods along without fully understanding, decisions get made on incomplete information. That gap between technical language and business understanding is where the most expensive mistakes happen: approving architectures you cannot evaluate, signing off on testing strategies you cannot verify, and accepting timelines based on concepts you have not had properly explained.
This glossary exists to close that gap. Each entry provides a plain-English definition, an explanation of why the term matters to your business, and a concrete example of the concept in action. These are not textbook definitions written for computer science students. They are practical explanations for the person who needs to make decisions about software without becoming a developer in the process.
We built this glossary from the questions our clients actually ask — in discovery calls, during project reviews, and in Slack threads where someone finally admits they are not sure what a term means. The entries reflect what business owners genuinely need to understand, not what a technical writer thinks is important. Across hundreds of client engagements, we have found that the single biggest predictor of a smooth project is a client who understands enough vocabulary to ask the right questions. Not to write the code — just to evaluate the answers they are given.
The definitions here deliberately link to deeper content elsewhere on the site. If a glossary entry sparks a question about how we implement something, the Knowledge Center, Services, and Systems sections have the full picture. The glossary is the starting point, not the destination.
Need a Term Explained?
If you have come across a term we have not covered yet, let us know and we will add it.