Glossary
Plain language,
Plain language,
no marketing.
The terms that come up in every AI transformation, compliance, and on-site power conversation, defined the way we actually use them. Useful when the vendor in the room is counting on you not asking.
WOSB CERTIFIED
SAM.GOV · CAGE CODE
National and Puerto Rico
A
- Agentic AI
- AI that takes actions rather than only producing text. An agent can read a system, decide, and write back to it. The governance question changes completely once software can act, which is why oversight design matters more than model choice.
- AI Governance
- The written rules, roles, and oversight structure that determine how AI may be used in an organization. Policy, approval paths, acceptable data, human review requirements, and the evidence that all of it is being followed.
- AI Readiness
- Whether an organization can actually absorb AI, as distinct from whether it can buy it. Covers process maturity, data quality, workforce preparation, governance, and infrastructure. Most failed AI projects fail on readiness, not technology.
- AI Transformation
- Changing how an organization operates because AI exists, across people, processes, software, and infrastructure. Distinct from AI adoption, which is buying tools and hoping.
C
- CAGE Code
- Commercial and Government Entity code. A five-character identifier assigned to organizations doing business with the United States federal government. SOPIQ holds one.
- CMMC
- Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification. The United States Department of Defense framework governing how contractors protect federal contract information and controlled unclassified information. Certification is performed by an independent third party.
- Controlled Unclassified Information
- Government information that is sensitive but not classified, and that carries specific handling requirements under federal contracts. Commonly abbreviated CUI. Mishandling it is one of the fastest ways to lose a contract.
- C3PAO
- CMMC Third Party Assessment Organization. The independent body authorized to perform CMMC certification assessments. A consultant who prepares you cannot also certify you.
D
- Demand Charge
- A component of a commercial electricity bill based on the highest rate of consumption during a billing period rather than total consumption. Also called a capacity charge. Steady on-site output reduces it.
- Distribution Charge
- The portion of an electricity bill covering delivery over the local network rather than generation. Power quality problems and losses in delivery show up here.
E
- Evidence
- In compliance, the artifact proving a control was actually operating. Most audit findings are not missing controls, they are missing evidence that the control was followed.
H
- Harmonic Distortion
- Deviation of an electrical waveform from a clean sine wave, expressed as a percentage. Conventional generators typically exceed ten percent, standby units run three to six percent, and only inverter generators come in under three. None matches utility-grade output.
- Human in the Loop
- A design requirement that a person reviews or approves an AI decision before it takes effect. Increasingly a regulatory expectation, and always a defensibility one.
K
- Knowledge Graph
- A way of storing information as relationships between entities rather than as documents. Lets a system reason across connections, such as role to process to obligation to risk, instead of searching text.
N
- NIST CSF
- The National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework. A voluntary structure for organizing security programs, widely used as a baseline across regulated and unregulated industries alike.
- NIST SP 800-171
- The NIST publication defining requirements for protecting controlled unclassified information in non-federal systems. The technical foundation underneath CMMC Level 2.
O
- On-Device AI
- AI models that run on local hardware rather than a remote server. Slower to update, but works without a connection and keeps data on the device. The design choice behind Agentic Workforce.
P
- POA&M
- Plan of Action and Milestones. The document tracking known compliance gaps, what will be done about them, and by when. Auditors read it closely, and a stale one is worse than an honest one.
- Power Quality
- How closely delivered electricity matches a clean, stable waveform at the correct voltage and frequency. Poor quality shortens equipment life long before it causes a visible outage.
- Process Efficiency
- Redesigning how work flows before adding technology to it. Eliminating steps, rework, and bottlenecks first, because automating a broken process only makes it fail faster and cost more.
R
- RPO and RP
- Registered Provider Organization and Registered Practitioner. Entities and individuals authorized within the CMMC ecosystem to advise and prepare organizations for assessment, distinct from those who certify.
S
- SAM.gov
- The System for Award Management. The United States federal government's official registration database for organizations seeking federal contracts.
- Shadow AI
- AI tools employees use without organizational approval or awareness. Present in nearly every organization that has not looked, and the reason governance work usually starts with an inventory.
- SOC 2
- An auditing standard covering how a service organization manages customer data across security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. Commonly requested by enterprise buyers.
- Standard Operating Procedure
- A documented, repeatable method for performing a task. The unit of work that makes quality consistent, training possible, and compliance evidenceable. Frequently the cheapest fix available.
T
- Total Harmonic Distortion
- The standard measure of harmonic distortion, abbreviated THD, expressed as a percentage of the fundamental waveform. Lower is cleaner. Sensitive equipment and long-lived motors care about this number.
W
- WOSB
- Woman-Owned Small Business. A federal certification that qualifies a company for certain set-aside contracting opportunities. SOPIQ, LLC is WOSB Certified.
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