Managed Services Glossary

A login process that requires a second verification factor in addition to a password, typically a code, a push notification, or a biometric. MFA blocks account takeover when attackers steal passwords through phishing, malware, or breach reuse. Most cyber insurance carriers now require MFA on email, remote access, and administrative accounts before they will issue or renew a policy.

Security software that watches how computers, laptops, and servers behave and stops attacks based on observed activity. Traditional antivirus relies on known malware signatures, which modern attackers routinely evade. EDR detects unusual behavior like unexpected encryption, credential theft, or lateral movement, and can isolate a compromised device before damage spreads.

A service where a dedicated security team monitors your environment around the clock, investigates alerts, confirms real incidents, and guides response. Most small and mid-sized businesses cannot staff a 24x7 security operation internally. MDR provides the human judgment and continuous coverage that security tools alone cannot deliver, and produces the documented incident response that insurance carriers and regulators expect.

The team and facility responsible for continuously monitoring an organization's security signals, investigating suspicious activity, and coordinating response. A SOC combines trained security analysts, investigation tools, and documented procedures. For most businesses, SOC capability comes through a managed service, since building one internally requires specialized staff and continuous coverage investment.

A platform that collects logs and security events from across an environment, including endpoints, servers, firewalls, cloud applications, and identity systems, then correlates them to surface patterns that indicate a threat. A single suspicious login might look harmless. The same login combined with an unusual file download and an unexpected administrative change tells a different story. SIEM is how those connections get made.

A security model built on the principle that no user, device, or network connection should be trusted by default, even when it sits inside the corporate network. The system verifies every access request based on identity, device health, and context. Zero Trust replaces the older model that assumed anything inside the office network was safe, an assumption that no longer holds with remote work, cloud applications, and sophisticated attackers.

A targeted email attack where a criminal impersonates an executive, employee, or vendor to trick someone into sending money, changing banking information, or sharing sensitive data. BEC attacks often skip traditional red flags like attachments or obvious malware, which is why they slip past basic email filters. They are consistently among the most financially damaging attacks reported to the FBI.

The platform an IT provider uses to maintain visibility into every computer and server in your environment. RMM enables automated patching, health monitoring, alerting on failures, remote troubleshooting, and scripted maintenance. Without RMM, an IT team operates reactively and largely blind between support tickets. With RMM, most problems get addressed before users notice them.

A platform that enforces security and configuration policies on phones, tablets, and sometimes laptops that access company email, files, and applications. MDM can require screen locks and encryption, restrict which applications handle company data, and remotely wipe a device that's lost, stolen, or belongs to a departing employee. Mobile devices are a real attack surface, and MDM makes them accountable.

The team responsible for monitoring network infrastructure continuously, responding to outages, applying maintenance, and keeping connectivity stable. A NOC watches firewalls, switches, wireless access points, and internet circuits around the clock. When something degrades at 2 AM, the NOC catches it and begins resolution before business hours.

The disciplined process of testing and applying operating system and application updates to close known security vulnerabilities and fix bugs. Most breaches exploit vulnerabilities that have been publicly known and patchable for months or years. Consistent patch management is one of the highest-impact, lowest-cost controls a business can maintain. It is also one of the most commonly neglected.

A written commitment that defines how quickly an IT provider will respond to and resolve different categories of support requests. A well-written SLA distinguishes between a full outage affecting the business and a single-user password reset, and sets appropriate response times for each. SLAs make accountability measurable and give clients a basis for evaluating service quality.

A combined approach to protecting business data and restoring operations after failure, corruption, deletion, or attack. Backup creates copies of data. Disaster recovery is the plan and tested capability to bring systems back online using those copies. The important questions are whether backups have been tested, whether restore times are documented, and whether the recovery plan has been rehearsed. Those answers determine whether an incident is recoverable or business-ending.

The broader plan for keeping a business operating during a disruption, whether that disruption is a cyberattack, natural disaster, key system failure, or loss of a critical vendor. Business continuity covers people, processes, facilities, and technology. Backup and disaster recovery are technology components within a business continuity plan, alongside communication protocols, alternate work arrangements, and decision authority during a crisis.

Phone service delivered over a data network instead of traditional copper phone lines. VoIP converts voice into digital packets that travel the same internet connection used for email and applications. Modern business phone systems are overwhelmingly VoIP-based, which enables features like softphones, mobile extensions, and integration with email and collaboration tools.

The signaling standard that sets up, manages, and ends voice calls over IP networks. SIP is the technical foundation underneath most modern business phone systems. When you hear the term "SIP trunking," it refers to the service that delivers dial tone and phone numbers to a business phone system over the internet, replacing traditional analog or digital phone lines.

A cloud service that combines voice calling, video conferencing, chat messaging, and collaboration tools into a single platform. UCaaS consolidates what used to require separate phone, video, and chat systems. For employees, one application handles calls to a coworker, a video meeting with a client, and a quick message to a team channel.

A software application that turns a computer, tablet, or smartphone into a business phone extension. Softphones let employees make and receive calls on their business number from whatever device they're using, whether at a desk, in a conference room, or traveling. For hybrid and remote teams, softphones have largely replaced the need for a physical desk phone.

Automated call routing menus that greet callers and direct them to the right person, department, or queue. An auto attendant handles basic options like "press 1 for sales, press 2 for support." IVR extends this with more advanced capabilities, including account lookups, appointment scheduling, and integration with business systems. Both reduce the load on a receptionist and route calls more reliably.

The process of transferring an existing phone number from one carrier or phone system to another. Number porting lets a business change providers without losing the phone numbers that clients, vendors, and marketing materials already reference. Porting requires coordination with both the old and new carriers, and typically takes days to weeks depending on the number type and the carriers involved.

Enhanced 911 service that automatically provides the caller's physical location to emergency responders when they dial 911. Traditional phone lines tied to a fixed address made this straightforward. VoIP and softphones can be used from anywhere, which makes accurate location delivery more complex and more important. E911 is legally required for business phone systems in the United States.