IT terminology for beginners: A Fixify-friendly glossary

If you've ever stared at a tech ticket, a Slack thread, or an IT tool and thought, “What does that even mean?” — you’re not alone.

IT teams use shorthand and acronyms every day. For them, it's second nature. For the rest of us, it can feel like decoding another language. Whether you’re in HR, Finance, Operations, or just want to better understand the support process, this guide is for you.

We’ve pulled together the most common IT terminology for beginners and explained it in plain English. You’ll also see where Fixify fits in — making the work easier without all the jargon.

IT terminology for beginners: Day-to-day IT support terms

Let’s start with the words you’re most likely to hear when someone needs help with their tech.

Help desk

The front line of IT support. This is the team (or tool) that handles internal tech issues like login problems, broken laptops, or app errors.

You might submit a ticket to the help desk, email them, or message them in Slack. Behind the scenes, they’re triaging requests and resolving issues.

Want to see how Fixify makes this faster? Here’s our approach to an AI help desk.

Ticket

A ticket is simply a recorded request for help. It’s a way for the IT team to track issues, assign them, and keep a history of what was done.

Tickets usually go into a system like Jira, Freshservice, or Zendesk — but Fixify works with whatever you already use.

SLA (Service Level Agreement)

This is a commitment on how fast a ticket will be responded to or resolved. Example: “High-priority tickets will be resolved within 4 business hours.”

SLAs help IT teams prioritize and stay accountable.

CSAT (Customer Satisfaction)

A quick survey that usually shows up after your ticket is resolved. It asks how happy you were with the support you got.

Higher CSAT = smoother experience.

Infrastructure and systems terms

These terms show up when you’re dealing with the nuts and bolts of devices, networks, or internet access.

Network

This refers to the connections between your devices, the office Wi-Fi, and the broader internet. If the network is down, most of your tools stop working.

Server

A powerful computer that stores or processes data for other devices. Servers can be physical (in an office or data center) or virtual (in the cloud).

If a tool goes down, it's often traced back to a server problem.

Endpoint

This is any device that connects to your network — laptops, phones, tablets, and printers.

IT teams track endpoints to keep them secure and up to date.

MDM (Mobile Device Management)

Software that lets IT manage and secure devices remotely. It’s how they push updates, install security patches, or wipe data if a laptop is lost.

Here’s a helpful breakdown of MDM if you want to go deeper.

Identity and access terms

Access is a big part of IT’s job — who gets into what, and how.

MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication)

A login method that requires more than just a password. Usually, it's a password plus a phone code, app notification, or fingerprint.

This keeps accounts safer — even if your password leaks.

SSO (Single Sign-On)

One login that unlocks multiple tools. Log into Okta or Google Workspace once, and you’re in your email, docs, calendar, and more.

Fewer passwords = better security and fewer help desk tickets.

Provisioning

This is how IT gives someone access to tools, systems, or devices. It’s usually part of onboarding, but can also happen when someone changes roles or teams.

Here’s a more detailed look at provisioning.

Deprovisioning

The reverse. When someone leaves the company, IT removes their access and retrieves or wipes devices.

Doing this quickly is important for both security and license tracking.

IT processes and strategy terms

These are the terms that come up when IT talks about how they organize, scale, and improve their support.

ITSM (IT Service Management)

A structured approach to delivering IT services — like onboarding, troubleshooting, or access control.

It helps IT work consistently, track performance, and avoid reinventing the wheel. Many companies use ITSM solutions to manage all of this.

Workflow

A repeatable series of steps to complete a task. For example: new hire joins → account provisioned → laptop assigned → Slack access granted.

Fixify helps automate these steps so they happen fast — and without mistakes.

Automation

Using software to do repetitive tasks so humans don’t have to. Think of auto-approving low-risk access requests or auto-installing apps for new hires.

Automation is key to scaling IT without growing headcount.

Root cause

The underlying reason why an issue keeps happening. IT teams use this to fix problems at the source — not just put out fires.

AI and advanced tools

This is where things can get fuzzy fast. We’ll keep it simple.

AI (Artificial Intelligence)

Software that mimics human decision-making. In IT, it can help resolve tickets, answer questions, or detect patterns across issues.

Fixify uses AI to handle support requests in real time — without requiring you to “speak IT.”

Agentic AI

A type of AI that can make decisions and take action based on what’s happening right now.

Instead of following a rigid script, agentic AI adapts — just like a helpful analyst would.

We go deeper into this in our post on the role of agentic AI.

LLM (Large Language Model)

The tech behind tools like ChatGPT. These models are trained on large datasets to understand and generate human language.

LLMs make it easier to get support by describing your problem in your own words — not IT speak.

Automation platform

A tool (like Fixify) that handles IT tasks using workflows and AI. Think of it as an extra teammate that never gets tired or forgets a step.

How Fixify helps simplify it all

You don’t need to learn IT lingo to use Fixify. That’s kind of the point.

Less jargon, more action

We built Fixify to handle the common requests that slow teams down — without requiring you to know what "SLA" or "deprovisioning" means.

Just say what you need. Fixify handles the rest.

Help when you need it

Whether you’re resetting a password or setting up a new hire, Fixify moves fast. We work with your existing tools, so there’s no learning curve.

You make the request. We take care of the workflow.

Visibility without complexity

Want to know what’s getting stuck, or how long support takes? Fixify gives you answers — without digging through spreadsheets or managing 12 dashboards.

We turn complex systems into clear, actionable data.

IT doesn’t have to be confusing

You don’t have to be an engineer to understand IT. You just need someone to translate — and a tool that works the way you do.

Fixify bridges the gap between what people need and how IT delivers. We handle the repetitive stuff, explain the tricky stuff, and keep things moving.

Want to see it in action? 

Let’s talk.