# IoT & Devices

Source: https://ordergroup.co/glossary/iot/
Last updated: 2026-10-10

> Device software terms for teams that build or manage hardware fleets: OTA updates, mobile device management, deep packet inspection, with notes from our projects.

5 terms
Reviewed 10 October 2026

# IoT and device software glossary

Terms you meet when software has to run on devices you do not hold in your hand: updates over the air, fleet management and control of network traffic.

Every entry is reviewed by a practitioner who builds these systems:
[Maciej Sułek](https://ordergroup.co/authors/maciej-sulek/).

Writing a specification?

Turn these terms into a requirements checklist

Add the terms your project touches. We send you, for each one, what it changes in the software you are buying - ready to paste into an RFP.

[What we build: IoT & Device Software Development Services](https://ordergroup.co/iot-software-development/)

## A

- [AOSP](https://ordergroup.co/glossary/aosp/)

Android Open Source Project
AOSP (Android Open Source Project) is the open-source code base of the Android operating system, published by Google. Device makers can build their own Android variants from it. Google apps and services (GMS) are not part of AOSP and are licensed separately.

## D

- [Deep packet inspection](https://ordergroup.co/glossary/deep-packet-inspection/)

Deep packet inspection (DPI) is a method of network traffic analysis that reads packet contents, not only IP addresses and ports, to identify the protocol or application behind a flow, extract fields such as host names, and allow, block or log the traffic by policy.

## M

- [MDM](https://ordergroup.co/glossary/mdm/)

Mobile device management
Mobile device management (MDM) is software that lets an organization enroll, configure, monitor, lock and wipe phones, tablets and other devices from a central console, by sending policies to an agent or to the management interface of each device's operating system.

## O

- [OTA update](https://ordergroup.co/glossary/ota-update/)

Over-the-air update
An OTA (over-the-air) update is a software or firmware update that a device downloads and installs over a network, with no cable or service visit. FOTA is the firmware case. The package must be signed, verified on the device and recoverable when the installation fails.

## S

- [Sideloading](https://ordergroup.co/glossary/sideloading/)

Sideloading is installing an app from a source other than the device's official app store, for example an APK file from a website, an email or a cable. Android asks for permission for each source, and a company that manages the device can block it with a device policy.

Free for buyers

## Build your requirements checklist from this glossary

1. Pick the terms
Tap the plus on every term your project touches: protocols, regulations, market rules.
2. Get it by e-mail
For each term: the definition and what it requires from your software, written by our engineers.
3. Use it in your RFP
Paste the requirements into a request for proposal or use them to check what a vendor left out.

Commissioning software and the terms are piling up?

Talk to an engineer, not a salesperson. 30 minutes, we review your requirements and say what we would build first.

[Talk to an engineer](https://ordergroup.co/contact-us/)

Requirements checklist

For each term we send the definition and what it requires from your software. Free, no sales call needed.
Your checklist is empty. Use the plus next to a term to add it.