Tech talk translated
Tech talk translated

People who work in computing talk funny. This is inevitable in an industry that uses so many initials. Also, like any trade, computing has its jargon. Here is a real example combining both:
Joint work was being proposed between WfMC and BPMI. One item was to look closely at XPDL and understand the semantics to the extent that it could be expressed in BPML, or whether there were contructs in XPDL which required extensions to BPML... In any case, the bottom line is, [we] are finding BPMS to be very useful as a POA over a SOA and the comments in the paper stand.
Apart from the one metaphor, "bottom line", this is plain, direct professional English. Between technical types ('techies'), it is perfectly fine.
The problem arises when techies try to use ordinary English, such as to their customers. Something happens to their thoughts on the way to their tongue or their keyboard. Grandiose and obscure terms displace ordinary words, sentences stretch to breathtaking lengths and metaphors chase each other to the reader's distraction. Here are three examples, also real:
[Product A] enables [company B] to take a proactive stance to take action where necessary to ensure compliance is met. (A helps B comply.)

[Product C] has essentially managed the functionality needed to apply legacy applications. (Using C has allowed existing application programs to be harnessed.)

[D] is a process of homogenizing heterogeneous and siloed compute environments. (Sounds more like dairy farming. D integrates varied, and previously isolated, computer systems.)

Computer marketeers don't help, either. Here are some specimens of their vapourings:

[E] is the leading provider of standards-based business integration and enterprise backbone infrastructure solutions. (E's software connects existing application software through standard interfaces.)

[F] is the leading provider of Enterprise Spend Management solutions for the entire purchasing life cycle, from analysis through sourcing to procurement, delivering significant improvements to the bottom line. (F's software saves your company money when buying goods and services.)

[G] has pioneered the development of tailored vertical solutions. (Nothing to do with bespoke trousers. G was one of the first companies in this sector to make software for specific industries.)

Roger's thesaurus 
To help you understand other instances of 'tech-speak', here are some of the favourite terms with techies and computer marketeers translated into everyday English. Not all of them are exclusive to computerists.
They say
They mean
A
Acquire
Get; obtain; find out; discover; record (see Capture)
Advancement
Advance; improvement
Aggressive
Forceful; active; ambitious
Agile
Versatile; adaptable; nimble; supple
Application (or 'app')
Application program. (The application is what the program is there to do)
Arena 
Subject area under discussion. (Similar to Space)
Array
Collection; set; group
Architect (verb)
Design
Asynchronous
Delayed or allowed to be (as opposed to Real-time)
Audience
Readers; consumers; buyers; users; viewers (of a Web site). Seldom listeners, its real meaning.
Author (verb)
Write
Aware (suffix)
Able to recognize and work with the prefixed object, as in network-aware
B & C
Best of breed (of software)
Specialized or single-purpose (see Point solution)
Capture (verb) 
Enter or record
Challenge (noun)
Task; duty; stimulus; opportunity; problem; difficulty
COTS
Commercial off-the-shelf (of software), i.e. packaged or retail
Compute (adjective)
Computing
Concept
Idea; notion; plan
Configure
Set up
Conformance
Conformity or compliance
Core (adjective)
Main; most important
Craft (verb)
Make
Customer-facing
Involving contact with customers
D
Deconstruct
Analyze; examine
Dedicated
Purpose-made; designed or set aside for a specific purpose
Deliver
Do; meet (as in promise)
Deploy
Install or introduce (see Roll out)
Desktop 
Desktop computer. Nothing to do with furniture
E
Elegant
Neat (in the American sense); efficient or orderly
Enabled (suffix)
Able to work with or on the prefixed object, as in wireless-enabled
Enhance
Improve. (Enhance really means heighten or intensify)
Enterprise (adjective)
Organization-wide; central
Environment 
The combination of operating system and related software on which something will run. (See Platform)
Execute
Run; carry out; fulfil; do
F
Flagship
Main, as in flagship product
Flexible
Adaptable
Footprint
The area that something takes up, such as desk space. Applies also to the use of computing resources, such as disk capacity
Form factor
Size
Functionality
Ability
G & H
Generate
Make; produce; create
Go to market (adjective)
Marketing, especailly of new products
Going forward
In (the) future
Governance
Running; managing; administering
Granularity 
Physical or figurative smallness of component parts. High granularity allows small increments. (See Step function)
Holistic
Integrated; overall; whole
I
Implement (verb)
Install; do; fulfil; set up; complete; put in
Inject (as in cash)
Add
Install (intransitive verb)
Install itself  or be installed (as in "the app has installed")
Intuitive
The designer understands it (possibly)
Issue (noun)
Problem; difficulty
L
Laptop
Portable computer (see Desktop)
Leadership (adjective)
Best or leading
Leading edge (adjective)
Modern or latest
Legacy (adjective)
Existing; previous; old
Leverage (noun)
Advantage; influence
Leverage (verb)
Exploit; work upon; make use of; build on.
Logistics
Transport or supply. Also (wrongly) administration or timetable
M
Map (verb)
Match; correspond; suit; transpose
Massive
Large; huge; numerous; enormous
Methodology
Method; way; technique
Migrate (transitive verb) 
Move. See Transition.
Mission-critical
(Often hyperbolic) Vital; crucial; important
N
Native (suffix)
Designed specifically for a 'platform' (see below) rather than adapted for it, e.g. Web-native
Neutral (suffix)
Unbiased (or claims to be) about the prefixed noun. Vendor-neutral, for example, means not promoting any particular supplier
Non-trivial
Difficult; important; large
O
Of choice (adjective)
Chosen or preferred
Offshore (verb)
To outsource (sic) overseas
Outage (noun)
(As in power outage). Cut; breakdown; interruption
Outsource (verb)
Farm out; contract out; put to a bureau
P
Paradigm
Convention; pattern; example; model
Peer (verb)
To arrange devices to work as equals, rather than as master and slave. Nothing to do with squinting
Performant
High powered; able to do the job
Platform 
Anything, such as an operating system, microprocessor or network, on which the thing they're talking about will work. (See Environment)
Point solution 
Specialized or single-purpose system (see Best of breed)
Populate
Fill, as in a database
Presentment
Presentation
Price point
Price
Proactive
Active; anticipatory. (Sometimes, as above, simply meaningless padding)
Process (verb)
Run or do
Proof of concept
Showing that it can work
Pure play (of suppliers)
Specialized
R
Re-engineer
Change; modify; adapt; remodel
Real-time (adjective or noun)
Happening soon or quickly 
Real world (adjective or noun)
Anywhere their rivals do not talk about or work in
Refresh (noun)
Refreshment, as in "technology refresh" -- updating the systems used in an organizational unit. (It doesn't sound so expensive or traumatic described that way.)
Retire (transitive verb)
Withdraw from sale, service or use
Role
Job; task; assignment; responsibility
Roll-out (noun) 
Installation; introduction; spread
Roll out (verb)
Install; disperse; spread; introduce
S
Scale (verb)
Grow or expand easily and quickly. (Note: scaling down is seldom needed or boasted about. One must be positive)
Scalable
Able to be enlarged easily and quickly, as above. Nothing to do with ropes and crampons
Scenario
Situation or possibility
Seamless
Neat (in the British sense); tidy; smooth; invisible (they wish)
Seat (noun)
User, as in cost per seat
Shape (verb)
Make or influence
Silo (noun or verb) 
Working only within its own organizational unit (by analogy with a grain silo. See Stovepipe.)
Solution
Product; service; system; method. Applied whether or not it actually solves anything
Source (verb)
Find; get; buy
Space (noun) 
(As a figure of speech) market, sector or industry. (See Arena)
Spend (noun)
Expenditure
Step function 
Changing by a large amount in a very short time each time, so that a graph of progress has 'steps' in it (see Granularity)
Stovepipe 
A similar metaphor to Silo
Subset
Part; some of
Support (verb)
Work with; under or over; comply with; help
T
Technology
Machine; system; device; method of construction. Also, lazily, short for information technology
'Techie'
Slang for a technical expert. Also sometimes known (not always accurately) as a nerd or a geek or, to older people of all ages, as a "computer whiz"
Thought leadership
The ideas of people deemed or who deem themselves important
Toolset
Tool kit (i.e. software tools)
Touchpoint
A place where people who aren't techies are allowed to get their hands on the system or process that they're probably paying for
Track (verb)
Keep track of or follow
Transition (verb) 
Change or move over. See Migrate.
Transparent
(Usually) apparent. Also, obvious or clear
U & V
Upward (or forward) compatible
Able to work with a new version of itself or something else, such as an operating system. (Downward or backward compatibility means able to work with the previous version)
Usage
Use (noun)
User
Anybody not of the anointed (i.e. not a techie). An all-purpose word, lumping 99+% of the world's population into one homogeneous group
User base
Users
User community
Users
Utilize
Use (verb)
Vault (verb)
Store for a long time. Nothing to do with athletics.
Vendor
An organization that sells goods or services; a supplier. (Oddly, the converse Latinism, emptor, is not often used.)
You might feel I have oversimplified in places and argue that some of these terms have a specific meaning at odds with the synonym or synonyms I offer. I would agree, if those terms were usually applied with precision, but they are not.

If there are any further terms you think merit inclusion, please drop me an email about them.

Thanks

Other sources of help 
Whatis.com, FOLDOC and Webopedia explain technical terms, acronyms and initialisms but not always in plain English
Eric Raymond's Jargon File explains some of the more arcane terminology used between computerists.
Wikipedia is a collaboratively-edited encyclopedia that also covers many subjects besides computing.