Statistical Terms Glossary

Is popular as a telecommunications industry term for non-core services or, in short, all services beyond standard voice calls and fax transmissions but, it can be used in ANY service industry (eg. Web 2.0) for the services providers provide for no cost to promote their main service business. In telecommunication industry on a conceptual level, value-added services add value to the standard service offering, spurring the subscriber to use their phone more and allowing the operator to drive up their ARPU. For mobile phones, while technologies like SMS, MMS and GPRS are usually considered value-added services, a distinction may also be made between standard (peer-to-peer) content and premium-charged content.

Performing activities that increase the value of goods or services to consumers.

Is a type of private equity capital typically provided for early-stage, high-potential, growth companies in the interest of generating a return through an eventual realization event such as an IPO or trade sale of the company. Venture capital investments are generally made as cash in exchange for shares in the invested company. It is typical for venture capital investors to identify and back companies in high technology industries such as biotechnology and ICT (information and communication technology).

(ITIL) An Activity that ensures a new or changed IT Service, Process, Plan, or other Deliverable is complete, accurate, Reliable and matches its Design Specification.
(CMMI) Confirmation that work products properly reflect the requirements specified for them. In other words, verification ensures that “you built it right.”
(ISACA) Checks that data are entered correctly.

The Activities responsible for ensuring that information in the CMDB is accurate and that all Configuration Items have been identified and recorded in the CMDB. Verification includes routine checks that are part of other Processes. For example, verifying the serial number of a desktop PC when a User logs an Incident. Audit is a periodic, formal check.

A Version is used to identify a specific Baseline of a Configuration Item. Versions typically use a naming convention that enables the sequence or date of each Baseline to be identified. For example Payroll Applicaon Version 3 contains updated funconality from Version 2.

The establishment and maintenance of baselines and the identification of changes to baselines that make it possible to return to the previous baseline. In some contexts, an individual work product may have its own baseline and a level of control less than formal configuration control may be sufficient.

<communications, protocol> (VDSL) A form of Digital Subscriber Line similar to ADSL but providing higher speeds at reduced lengths.

communications> (VSAT) A kind of ground station used to contact a communications satellite such as INMARSAT.

A videoconference or video conference (also known as a video teleconference) is a set of interactive telecommunication technologies which allow two or more locations to interact via two-way video and audio transmissions simultaneously. It has also been called 'visual collaboration' and is a type of groupware. It differs from a videophone call in that it is designed to serve a conference rather than individuals.

Streaming is a technique for transferring data such that it can be processed as a steady and continuous stream. Video streaming technology is developed based on 2 key technologies, the video coding technology and scalable video distribution technology.

See Tele-conferencing.

<communications> (VoD) A planned system using video compression to supply programs to viewers when requested, via ISDN or cable.

The representation of a related set of concerns. A view is what is seen from a viewpoint. An architecture view may be represented by a model to demonstrate to stakeholders their areas of interest in the architecture. A view does not have to be visual or graphical in nature.

A viewpoint defines the perspective from which a view is taken. It is a specification of the conventions for constructing and using a view. A view is what you see; a viewpoint is where you are looking from – the vantage point or perspective that determines what you see.

Virtual education refers to instruction in a learning environment where teacher and student are separated by time or space, or both, and the teacher provides course content through course management applications, multimedia resources, the Internet, videoconferencing, etc. Students receive the content and communicate with the teacher via the same technologies.[1]

The VERCON pilot was aimed at addressing in particular the needs of small-scale Egyptian farmers through the exchange of information between agricultural research and extension, and indirectly the farmers themselves. Now, government researchers and extension workers based in rural villages can communicate with colleagues and experts in the other pilot locations and the capital in seconds rather than in days.

Is a group of hosts with a common set of requirements that communicate as if they were attached to the same broadcast domain, regardless of their physical location. A VLAN has the same attributes as a physical LAN, but it allows for end stations to be grouped together even if they are not located on the same network switch. Network reconfiguration can be done through software instead of physically relocating devices.

Is a provider of management services and a reseller of network services from other telecommunications suppliers that does not own the telecommunication infrastructure. These network providers are categorized as virtual because they provide network services to customers without owning the underlying network. A VNO typically leases bandwidth at the wholesale rates from various telecom providers in order to provide solutions to their customers. The VNO concept is relatively new in the North American market when compared to the European and Asian markets.

A system configuration, where the subscriber is able to build a private network via connections to different network switches that may include private network capabilities.

The ability for users to access the sights and sounds of remotely located complex systems in real-time.

The process of adding a "guest application" and data onto a "virtual server," recognizing that the guest application will ultimately part company from this physical server.

Is an organization's process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy, including its capital and people. Various business analysis techniques can be used in strategic planning, including SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats ), PEST analysis (Political, Economic, Social, and Technological), STEER analysis (Socio-cultural, Technological, Economic, Ecological, and Regulatory factors), and EPISTEL (Environment, Political, Informatic, Social, Technological, Economic and Legal).

A Function of a Business Process which is critical to the success of the Business. Vital Business Functions are an important consideration of Business Continuity Management, IT Service Continuity Management and Availability Management.

The 3GPP has defined the Voice Call Continuity (VCC) specifications in order to describe how a voice call can be persisted, as a mobile phone moves between circuit switched and packet switched radio domains (3GPP TS 23.206).

Allows a telephone user to participate in conference sessions.