Basic, the now-obsolete programming language, was tossed around, as was bulletin board service, a precursor to the Internet. Then the '90s hit, and the World Wide Web caught on. Companies started devoting their time and money toward enterprise resource planning implementations that tied legacy systems to new customer relationship management programs. But if you think you've mastered technospeak, think again. It's a constantly evolving beast.
Some terms are helpful ways of describing the uncharted territory of today's technology.
Others are simply catchphrases with shorter shelf lives than the products, services or trends they describe. That's why companies are paying more attention than ever to some of their most important customers - their employees. Sophisticated technology, competitive wages and employee recognition strategies are now given as much weight in many IT shops as customer service. BPOs can help companies cut the expense of entire departments so they can concentrate their energies on core competencies. As businesses that have traditionally been competitors start working together, they need to engage in collaborative commerce, which is essentially the lifeblood of online business exchanges.