Glossary
Technology management terms, defined once in plain language.
Every term on this site means one thing. Where Microsoft or the industry has a word for it, such as tenant, the entry says so. If a page uses a word differently from this list, the list is right and the page needs fixing.
- Technology management
- Owning the technology plan, the vendors, the spend, and the recommendations for a company, without running the help desk or the day-to-day administration. Third Shift Group is a technology management firm. The role is filled by a part-time CIO (vCIO Solutions).
- AI management
- A specialty inside technology management: the written rules for how staff use AI, a count of every AI tool already running, and a watch that those rules still hold. It is not the name of the firm.
- AI development
- Automation and AI built into systems the client already owns, inside the AI Use Policy. Not a custom-model shop and not a one-week prototype.
- Technology spend management
- A monthly view of licenses, vendors, and subscriptions so a renewal is a decision, not a surprise. The base dashboard carries a standard IT spend report; marketplace purchases land on the same bill.
- Outsourced help desk
- A partner firm that takes tickets, password resets, and remote break-fix. Third Shift finds and directs that firm; they contract with you and bill you. Third Shift does not staff the queue.
- Onsite IT support
- A partner firm that sends technicians to your premises for desks, wiring closets, and scheduled visits. Third Shift finds and directs that firm; they contract with you and bill you. Third Shift does not send its own technicians.
- AI Use Policy
- The written rules for who may use which AI tools, on what kinds of data, and who signs off on exceptions. For most clients this is the first thing we deliver, and sometimes the only one.
- AI security and governance assessment
- The review that finds every AI tool already in use in your company, including the ones staff signed up for on their own, checks what each one can reach, and ranks what to fix first.
- Advisory review
- The opening engagement: the AI Use Policy together with the AI security and governance assessment. It ends in a written assessment and a recommendation you own, whether or not you hire us for anything else.
- Applications assessment
- A list of every system your company runs, with one decision for each: connect it to the dashboard, export from it on a schedule, leave it for later, or leave it alone.
- Base dashboard
- The standard Third Shift reporting dashboard. It runs in your own Microsoft cloud account and belongs to you.
- Microsoft cloud account
- Your company's own account with Microsoft, holding your people's sign-ins, mail, files, and apps. Microsoft calls it a tenant. The dashboard runs inside it, on your subscription, so it is yours.
- Azure
- Microsoft's cloud computing service. The dashboard runs on an Azure subscription inside your own Microsoft cloud account.
- Microsoft 365
- Microsoft's bundle of Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, SharePoint, and OneDrive, sold as a license per person. It is where most of a company's files, mail, and AI already live.
- Microsoft 365 Copilot
- Microsoft's AI assistant inside Word, Excel, Outlook, and Teams. It is licensed per person, on top of a qualifying Microsoft 365 license, and it can read any file the person using it can open.
- Copilot readiness
- The work done before Copilot is switched on: fix files that are open to too many people, label sensitive data, pick a pilot group, and decide what your AI Use Policy allows.
- Connect decision
- The outcome of the applications assessment for one system: how, when, or whether it feeds the dashboard.
- Conditional Access
- Microsoft's sign-in rules. They decide who can open which app, from which device or place, and how strong the sign-in has to be.
- Entra ID
- Microsoft's sign-in service, part of your Microsoft cloud account. It holds every account, group, sign-in rule, and app permission. When we say we review your sign-ins, this is what we are reading.
- Governance
- The rules for how AI is used and the people who enforce them. On this site we usually just say the rules and who enforces them.
- Governance gap
- Something the assessment finds where AI use does not match the policy: the wrong tool, the wrong data, or access no one reviewed.
- IT spend analysis
- The standard report in the dashboard that shows what your technology costs next to what it does for the business.
- Legacy authentication
- Older mail and app settings that let a program sign in with just a password and skip the second check. A common finding in our review of a Microsoft cloud account, and a common way into a mailbox.
- Legacy reporting
- Spreadsheets, exports, and old reports built outside any system. The applications assessment flags them, and the dashboard replaces them.
- License review
- Matching what a company pays Microsoft to what staff actually use: drop unused licenses, end duplicate add-ons, and avoid an upgrade no one needs. Our Microsoft 365 licensing review is this, in writing.
- Marketplace
- The Third Shift storefront where clients browse, buy, and manage Azure, security, and Microsoft 365 subscriptions. You buy from Third Shift, and everything lands on one monthly bill.
- Seller of record
- The company that sells you the subscription, sets it up, and sends the bill. For anything bought in the marketplace, that is Third Shift. The wholesaler behind us sells only to partners, never to you directly.
- MSP
- Managed service provider: the outside firm that runs a company's network, computers, sign-ins, and help desk. Third Shift directs and reports on the AI side; it does not replace your MSP or IT team.
- Ongoing watch
- The monthly work after the dashboard goes live: dashboard maintenance, AI security features, and automation development. Also called the monthly watch.
- Oversharing
- Files that more people can open than anyone intended, usually because a folder above them was shared years ago. Harmless until an AI assistant summarizes everything a person can reach.
- Pax8
- The cloud wholesaler Third Shift buys Azure and security subscriptions through. Wholesalers sell to partners, not to businesses directly, so Third Shift sells and bills the subscription to you.
- Secure Score
- Microsoft's own score for how safely a Microsoft cloud account is set up. Useful as a trend line, not a target to chase.
- Shadow AI
- AI tools in use inside a company with no approval and no oversight: personal AI accounts, browser add-ons, and AI features a vendor switched on by default. On this site we usually say AI tools staff signed up for on their own.
- Tenant-to-tenant migration
- Moving mail, files, Teams, and sign-ins from one Microsoft cloud account to another. It happens in acquisitions, spin-offs, rebrands, and when a company leaves a parent organization.
- Billed by the hour
- Project work billed for the hours and expenses used, at rates agreed and quoted before the work starts. Some contracts call this time and materials.
- vCIO
- A part-time chief information officer, sometimes called a fractional or virtual CIO. A senior person on a monthly agreement who owns the technology plan, the vendor and budget decisions, and the AI work. Our version is vCIO Solutions.
- ERP
- The system that runs a company's operations and accounting: orders, inventory, jobs, invoices, and the general ledger. Examples are NetSuite, Dynamics, Sage, and Acumatica.
- CRM
- The system that tracks customers, prospects, and sales activity. Examples are HubSpot, Salesforce, and Dynamics 365 Sales.
Questions
Questions about the terms
What does Third Shift actually do?
Third Shift is a technology management firm. We serve as the part-time CIO for a small number of companies, owning the plan, the vendors, the spend, and the recommendations. We specialize in AI (the rules, the tools already running, and automation built into what you own), technology spend you can see monthly, and Microsoft 365 tenant work. If you have no help desk or no MSP, we find that firm and stay on the process. We do not run tickets, devices, or day-to-day administration. People still search for “AI management company”; that is a specialty, not the name of the firm.
How does Third Shift work?
Third Shift works one way, sized to your business. You can start with a part-time CIO on a monthly agreement, or with a review of what you already run. The review is priced before it starts. Whatever comes after it — connecting systems, a dashboard you own, Microsoft 365 work, or automation — is priced from what the review finds. You never buy a package you have not seen the inside of. We manage that process. Your team, or the IT firm we help you select, provides daily support.
What size company do you work with?
Third Shift works with small and mid-sized companies. That means big enough to run real systems such as accounting, sales tracking, or practice management, and not big enough to have a full-time CIO. The first step is a conversation, then either a part-time CIO retainer or a review with a fixed scope and a quoted price. Everything after the review is priced from what it finds.