Glossary

A management approach for not only accepting new cloud technologies but also establishing them, transforming conventional ways of working using the cloud, and promoting behavioral change.

Unlike the conventional “waterfall development,” which proceeds by dividing the work into phases such as planning, design, implementation, and testing, agile development proceeds through repeated iterations divided into fixed periods. This makes it possible to flexibly respond to changes in specifications and requirements during development and to shorten the time to service launch.

An abbreviation of Microsoft Azure, a cloud service provided by Microsoft.

An abbreviation of Cloud Adoption Framework. It is a methodology and collection of case studies that systematically compiles and updates the frameworks and architectures—covering everything from strategy to implementation and operation of cloud utilization at companies worldwide—that cloud providers such as Microsoft and Amazon Web Services each provide individually. Companies that support cloud adoption using the guidelines, assessment sheets, tools, and the like for each phase (strategy definition, planning, readiness, adoption, governance, and management) in accordance with this methodology receive priority technical support and project referrals from the cloud companies.

An abbreviation of Cloud Center of Excellence. It refers to the know-how—and the organization that handles it—for comprehensively driving everything from cloud strategy to implementation, utilization, and the realization of results.

A provider that offers the maintenance of processes and functions and cost optimization in order to improve cloud operation management and reduce expenses.

A service that provides users, over a network, with data and software that users conventionally used on their own computers at hand.

An abbreviation of Customer Relationship Management. It refers to a management method that collects and analyzes customer information to take optimal and efficient approaches and thereby enhance the competitiveness of a company's products and services, as well as the tools used to realize it.

An abbreviation of Dynamics 365, a SaaS-type CRM and ERP package provided on Microsoft Azure.

An abbreviation of Digital Transformation. It means transforming people's lives for the better by permeating society with digital technology, bringing about innovation that fundamentally overturns existing values and frameworks.

An abbreviation of Enterprise Resource Planning. It refers to a management method that builds a core business system to process core information and management resources—such as general affairs, accounting, human resources, production, inventory, purchasing, logistics, and sales—in an integrated, real-time manner for efficient management, as well as the tools used to realize it.

A combination of private cloud and public cloud according to the characteristics of the system. For example, systems handling confidential data or personal information are operated on a private cloud, while systems with large fluctuations in processing volume depending on the season, or systems that are only temporarily needed, are operated on a public cloud. This makes it possible to reduce fixed costs while maintaining a certain level of security.

An abbreviation of Infrastructure as a Service. It refers to a service that provides hardware and infrastructure such as servers, storage, and networks over the internet.

An abbreviation of Microsoft 365, a subscription-type service provided by Microsoft that includes “Office 365.”

A form of system usage in which servers, network equipment, software, and the like are installed and operated within facilities managed by the user.

An abbreviation of Platform as a Service. It refers to a service that provides a complete set of software needed for system development, such as middleware, database management systems, programming languages, and web server OS.

An abbreviation of Proof of Concept. It refers to a verification process carried out experimentally to confirm whether a new technology, theory, principle, method, or idea is feasible and whether the intended effects or benefits can be obtained.

An abbreviation of Software as a Service. It refers to a service that makes applications—conventionally provided as packages—available over the internet.