Virtual IT Labs Glossary

Virtual training labs are cloud-based training environments that emphasize an online, hands-on learning experience over a passive classroom-based one. A relatively recent innovation, virtual training platforms have become increasingly popular in the tech industry to train both employees and clients on the complexities of new software.

Virtual instructor-led training, or VILT, is an online classroom where the student and instructor are in different locations and communicate entirely through the cloud. Through this simulated learning experience, students have the benefit of a hands-on learning experience that improves knowledge retention.

A proof of concept, or PoC, is an experiment intended to show that a program, product, or system can be successfully deployed in the real world. PoCs are a critical part of IT development that differ from prototypes based on the fact that no final products are immediately produced until the concept itself has been validated.

Sales are a crucial aspect of any successful business. Your company’s marketing teams spend countless hours driving leads to your company so your sales department can close deals. Sales enablement is the overall environment that a company creates to generate sales. Proper adoption of the concept can result in higher revenue and better consumer engagement.

Cybersecurity threats are on the rise. Proactive companies are already developing new strategies to deal with these threats. But it’s not always as easy to deliver the necessary training to ensure that your teams are up to speed on the latest hacks, software, and strategies to combat them. Cybersecurity practice labs are one method that many companies are using to improve cybersecurity training and certifications by making this critical training more accessible.

When you have a new idea for a software solution, you want to convince potential buyers that your core concept is feasible in a real-world environment before committing to the development process. The proof of concept (PoC) is an experiment generally lasting a few months that fulfills the role of demonstrating the viability of an individual feature or a larger idea.

A virtual classroom is a learning environment in which students (customers, partners, or any third-party) engage with the lesson material online. Information is often conveyed through voice or video conferencing with several participants and instructors connected to the same chat interface.

Self-paced learning is significantly different from the instructor-focused learning methods most students are familiar with. Self-paced training does not follow a predetermined schedule, but rather progresses according to the learner’s preferences.

Sandboxing solutions provide companies with virtual environments that they can use to build, test, and deploy software. They have grown in popularity due to how accessible they are, the flexibility they provide, and the significant cost savings a company can realize by using them. There are many applications for virtual sandbox environments. Depending on your company’s goals, they can be used to improve the development process, identify and fix bugs, to test patches, or as a working directory.

Cloud technology has led to a substantial increase in software as a service (SaaS) solutions that are geared towards helping companies meet their needs through non-localized solutions. While customers benefit from a seamless experience, providers rely on sophisticated architectures to make all of this possible. Many companies are now turning to nested virtualization to further augment their development and testing processes, devops, sales, and other departments.

A cyber range is a virtual environment that companies can use for cyber warfare training and software development. These complex IT environments allow companies to practice handling specific real-world scenarios, train employees and customers on the latest threats, and they are essential for combating modern cybercrime. Cyber ranges are being actively used by the military and government agencies, private corporations (software development and in cybersecurity), and other private entities with a focus on cybersecurity.

Cyber resilience is a company’s ability to manage the consequences when affected by a cyberattack or data breach. It encompasses all the security policies and protocols your business undergoes when an online threat passes through your cybersecurity defenses. A robust cyber resilience policy means the company can fulfill its usual tasks while resolving the issue. The main components of cyber resilience are recovery and adaptability.

Sales engineers are the salespeople who work in industrial markets selling specialized technology to other businesses and individual buyers (when relevant). The responsibilities of a sales engineer combine the ability to sell effectively with the knowledge required to understand highly-specialized products. Sales engineers have a wide variety of roles.

IT training is a broad phrase that covers a variety of industries, technical information, and other aspects related to the internal processes that a business relies on to function. Technical IT training encompasses many skill sets. Knowing exactly what it means to your company will help you the next time you’re looking for training labs or reading the resume of a potential new hire.