ITSpedia - your IT encyclopedia / January 2026

It's a new year – and with it comes not only a regular batch of IT terms, but alsoa new look for your favorite ITSpedie!

There aren't many fields where abbreviations reign supreme and flourish as much as in information technology. And to help you stay on top of things, we're bringing you more additions to our glossary in the first month of 2026.

And because we are not Google :), we always addour tip to each password– in other words, our view of the matter. We are more than aware that even in IT there are a number of terms that only grandly describe something that has long been happening in practice.

And because the list of terms in ITSpedia is growing, we have prepareda newPDF version that you can conveniently download in its entirety – and use for self-study, for example ;).

Stay up to date with us and take a look at the terms that have just landed on ITSpedia in January 2026:

Latest entries in the collection

SASE

Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) combines network and security functions into a single cloud model. It responds to the need for secure access to applications in an environment where the traditional network perimeter is losing its significance.

Our tip: SASE is particularly suitable for organizations with distributed users and a high proportion of SaaS applications. For smaller companies with simple topology, its implementation may be unnecessarily complex.

SLA

A Service Level Agreement (SLA) defines measurable parameters for the service provided, particularly availability, response time, and responsibilities. In the area of security, it is an important tool for managing risks and expectations.

Our tip: The SLA should correspond to the actual criticality of the service. An overly ambitious SLA without the appropriate processes and tools often increases costs without delivering any real security benefits.

XDR

Extended Detection and Response (XDR) unifies threat detection and response across multiple security domains. It enables better identification of complex attacks and reduces the time from detection to response.

Our tip: XDR delivers the greatest value where multiple security tools and sufficient data for correlation already exist. However, without follow-up processes and qualified personnel, its potential remains untapped.