Glossary
The terms we use, defined
Plain definitions for how we build and run custom internal systems. One sentence each, with a line of context. If you want the longer version, read how we work.
- Custom internal operating system
- The software that runs a company’s day-to-day work, built to fit how that specific business operates, with AI handling routine tasks like pulling reports, drafting, and routing approvals. One system across departments instead of ten tools stitched together.
- Managed operating partnership
- An engagement where Shift builds the system, then keeps it running, secure, and improving as a monthly service. The client keeps a runnable version of their own, and the subscription keeps it current.
- Build vs buy
- The choice between commissioning software shaped to your business and licensing off-the-shelf software your business adapts to. Off-the-shelf software bends the business to fit the tool.
- AI governance gateway
- A single path every AI request runs through, so usage is logged and access is controlled. Enterprise contracts where providers do not train on your data, with options to keep nothing after a request runs and to host the system privately.
- Hours back
- The working time operators recover when AI handles the routine work they used to do by hand. Measured in business outcomes: decisions made, approvals cleared, reports out the door.
- Ownership
- The client owns the custom build outright once it is paid, in a code repository they control, and can run it in-house. A monthly licence keeps the reusable engine that runs it current and improving.
- Discovery, Build, Operate
- The three stages of an engagement. Discovery maps how the business actually runs, Build ships working software into production within weeks, and Operate keeps it running and improving as a managed service.
- Embedded operators
- The senior people who build from inside the business, alongside your operators, having run companies in the same industries. Their hands-on track record in those industries is how Shift works.
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