--- title: "Software and Tech Glossary | Al-Naba Tech" description: "Thirty tech terms explained by Al-Naba Tech: ERP, CRM, POS, API, hosting, domains, SSL and cloud, each with a one-line definition and an Iraqi example." url: https://alnabatech.com/en/glossary/ lang: en --- Glossary # Tech terms in plain language 30 terms you will hear when building a website or system, each with a one-line definition, an Iraqi example and a link to the related service. [ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)](#erp)[CRM (Customer Relationship Management)](#crm)[POS (Point of Sale)](#pos)[API (Application Programming Interface)](#api)[SaaS (Software as a Service)](#saas)[UX (User Experience)](#ux)[UI (User Interface)](#ui)[Hosting](#hosting)[Domain](#domain)[SSL certificate](#ssl)[Cloud](#cloud)[Database](#database)[Backend](#backend)[Frontend](#frontend)[Responsive design](#responsive-design)[SEO (Search Engine Optimization)](#seo)[CMS (Content Management System)](#cms)[Payment gateway](#payment-gateway)[MVP (Minimum Viable Product)](#mvp)[Cross-platform app](#cross-platform-app)[AI agent](#ai-agent)[LLM (Large Language Model)](#llm)[WhatsApp Business API](#whatsapp-business-api)[Backup](#backup)[SLA (Service Level Agreement)](#sla)[Offline mode and sync](#offline-sync)[HR and payroll system](#hrms)[Online store](#online-store)[Source code](#source-code)[Dashboard](#dashboard) - **ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)**: One system that brings accounting, inventory, purchasing, sales and branches into a shared database instead of separate programs.Example: A Baghdad wholesaler sees each item's stock in its Shorja warehouse and its Basra branch on one screen.Related service: [ERP systems](https://alnabatech.com/en/services/erp/) - **CRM (Customer Relationship Management)**: A system that keeps every customer, every contact with them and every deal in one place, so no lead is lost between salespeople.Example: A real estate company in Erbil logs every WhatsApp enquiry and knows which agent follows it up and when.Related service: [CRM and sales systems](https://alnabatech.com/en/services/crm/) - **POS (Point of Sale)**: The software and hardware at the till: it records the order, prints the receipt, reads barcodes and updates stock with every sale.Example: A restaurant in Karrada sends dine-in orders from the cashier screen to the kitchen and prints the customer's receipt.Related service: [Point of sale (POS)](https://alnabatech.com/en/services/pos/) - **API (Application Programming Interface)**: An agreed way for two systems to exchange data automatically, without a staff member copying it by hand.Example: An online store sends each order to the delivery company through an API, and the tracking number reaches the customer without a phone call.Related service: [ERP systems](https://alnabatech.com/en/services/erp/) - **SaaS (Software as a Service)**: Software you use in the browser or an app for a monthly or yearly subscription, while the developer runs the servers and updates.Example: A pharmacy in Najaf subscribes monthly to a ready-made POS instead of buying software and installing it on its computer.Related service: [Hosting and support](https://alnabatech.com/en/services/hosting-support/) - **UX (User Experience)**: How easily a user gets what they want from a website or app, from the first screen to finishing the task.Example: A Baghdad delivery app lets customers order in three taps instead of filling in a long form.Related service: [Mobile apps](https://alnabatech.com/en/services/mobile-apps/) - **UI (User Interface)**: The visual side of a website or app: colors, fonts, buttons and how elements are laid out on screen.Example: A private school app shows grades and fees in clear Arabic type with large buttons suited to parents.Related service: [Mobile apps](https://alnabatech.com/en/services/mobile-apps/) - **Hosting**: The always-online server that stores your website or system files so people can reach them.Example: An Iraqi online store picks fast hosting so its pages load quickly on mobile internet across the governorates.Related service: [Hosting and support](https://alnabatech.com/en/services/hosting-support/) - **Domain**: Your website's address that people type into the browser, registered and renewed every year.Example: A travel agency in Karbala registers a domain in its own name rather than the developer's.Related service: [Websites and online stores](https://alnabatech.com/en/services/web-development/) - **SSL certificate**: A certificate that encrypts the connection between the browser and the site, showing the padlock and the https address.Example: A store taking ZainCash payments needs SSL so customer data cannot be read in transit.Related service: [Hosting and support](https://alnabatech.com/en/services/hosting-support/) - **Cloud**: Servers run by a specialist provider, where you rent the capacity you need instead of buying a server for your office.Example: A company with branches in Baghdad and Erbil runs its system in the cloud so every branch reaches it over the internet.Related service: [Hosting and support](https://alnabatech.com/en/services/hosting-support/) - **Database**: The organized store where a system keeps all its records, such as items, customers and invoices, and retrieves them on request.Example: A clinic in Basra keeps every patient's file and visits in a database instead of paper notebooks.Related service: [ERP systems](https://alnabatech.com/en/services/erp/) - **Backend**: The part that runs on the server and users never see: it stores data, applies the rules and sends results to the app.Example: In a delivery app, the backend assigns each order to the nearest driver and calculates the fare.Related service: [Mobile apps](https://alnabatech.com/en/services/mobile-apps/) - **Frontend**: The part users see and interact with in the browser or app: pages, buttons and forms.Example: The product page of an Iraqi clothing store, with its photos and add-to-cart button, is the frontend.Related service: [Websites and online stores](https://alnabatech.com/en/services/web-development/) - **Responsive design**: Design that automatically rearranges the page to fit phone, computer and tablet screens.Example: Most visitors to a Baghdad restaurant's site open it on a phone, so the menu must be readable without zooming.Related service: [Websites and online stores](https://alnabatech.com/en/services/web-development/) - **SEO (Search Engine Optimization)**: Preparing a site's pages and content so they appear in Google results when people search for what you offer.Example: A dental clinic in Mansour writes a page for each treatment so it shows up for people searching for braces in Baghdad.Related service: [Websites and online stores](https://alnabatech.com/en/services/web-development/) - **CMS (Content Management System)**: A control panel where you edit the site's text, images and products yourself without writing code.Example: A perfume store in Erbil adds new products and prices from its control panel without calling the developer.Related service: [Websites and online stores](https://alnabatech.com/en/services/web-development/) - **Payment gateway**: A service that connects a store or app to an electronic payment method so customers pay inside the site.Example: An Iraqi online store connects ZainCash and Qi Card so customers pay before shipping instead of cash on delivery.Related service: [Websites and online stores](https://alnabatech.com/en/services/web-development/) - **MVP (Minimum Viable Product)**: The smallest version of a product with only the core features, launched quickly to test the idea with real customers.Example: A pitch-booking app idea in Mosul starts with booking and payment only, adding reviews and offers once demand is proven.Related service: [Mobile apps](https://alnabatech.com/en/services/mobile-apps/) - **Cross-platform app**: An app written in one codebase that runs on both Android and iPhone, cutting time and cost compared with building two apps.Example: A Basra delivery company launches its customer app on Android and iPhone on the same day.Related service: [Mobile apps](https://alnabatech.com/en/services/mobile-apps/) - **AI agent**: Software that understands customer messages in their own language, replies, and carries out tasks such as booking or taking an order, handing over to staff when needed.Example: A clinic in Najaf has an agent that answers WhatsApp in Iraqi Arabic and books appointments at midnight.Related service: [AI agents](https://alnabatech.com/en/services/ai-agents/) - **LLM (Large Language Model)**: An AI model trained on a huge amount of text so it understands and writes language; it is the engine inside AI agents.Example: An Iraqi store's agent uses a large language model to understand a price question in dialect and answer from the product list.Related service: [AI agents](https://alnabatech.com/en/services/ai-agents/) - **WhatsApp Business API**: Meta's official connection that lets a system or AI agent send and receive WhatsApp messages automatically from the company's number.Example: A private school in Hillah sends absence alerts to parents on WhatsApp automatically from its system.Related service: [AI agents](https://alnabatech.com/en/services/ai-agents/) - **Backup**: A regular copy of a system's data kept somewhere else, so it can be restored if a machine fails or something is deleted by mistake.Example: A wholesaler in Sulaymaniyah restores all its accounts after a computer failure because its system backs up daily.Related service: [Hosting and support](https://alnabatech.com/en/services/hosting-support/) - **SLA (Service Level Agreement)**: A written clause in a support contract that sets response time, fix time and system uptime.Example: A Baghdad pharmacy chain requires a set response time in its contract if the POS stops in any branch.Related service: [Hosting and support](https://alnabatech.com/en/services/hosting-support/) - **Offline mode and sync**: A system's ability to keep selling and recording when the internet drops, then upload everything to management when the connection returns.Example: A supermarket cashier in Diwaniyah keeps selling during an outage, and sales reach management once the connection is back.Related service: [Point of sale (POS)](https://alnabatech.com/en/services/pos/) - **HR and payroll system**: A system that keeps employee files, records attendance and leave, and calculates salaries, advances and deductions automatically.Example: A factory in Basra calculates its workers' month-end pay from fingerprint attendance instead of by hand.Related service: [HR and payroll](https://alnabatech.com/en/services/hr-payroll/) - **Online store**: A website that shows products and prices, takes orders and payment, and tracks shipping, so it sells around the clock.Example: A Baghdad electronics shop sells to customers in every governorate from its online store and ships with a local courier.Related service: [Websites and online stores](https://alnabatech.com/en/services/web-development/) - **Source code**: The program text a website or system is built from; whoever owns it can change it or move it to another developer.Example: An Iraqi company writes into its contract that it owns the source code, so it is never tied to one developer.Related service: [Websites and online stores](https://alnabatech.com/en/services/web-development/) - **Dashboard**: A screen that gathers the key numbers and reports in one place so a manager sees how the business is doing at a glance.Example: The owner of a Baghdad restaurant chain sees each branch's sales for the day on a dashboard on their phone.Related service: [ERP systems](https://alnabatech.com/en/services/erp/) ## Have an idea? 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