The terminology used in the healthcare IT industry has evolved significantly over the past 60 years as the technology advanced. In the 1960s, computers were simply called "computers" and those who helped customers were called "salesmen" or "system engineers." By the 1970s, terms like "electronic data processing" and "shared systems" emerged. In the 1980s, longer terms became popular like "management information systems" and titles grew more sophisticated. Recent decades have seen further complexity with concepts like "cloud computing" and roles being called "territory managers" or "implementation consultants." The document outlines how language in the industry developed alongside changing technology.

5. H.I.S. Terminology Evolution So here it is at a glance: how semantics has become as complicated as the underlying information technology (and looks so much better today too, no?) Industry Sales Service Sharing 60s Computers Salesman System Engineer Time Sharing 70s (Electronic) Data Processing Marketing Representative Installer Shared Systems 80s M.I.S. Sales Consultant Installation Director (ID) Remote Hosting 90s I.S. Account Executive Implementation Consultant ASP SaaS 2000 I.T. Territory/ Regional VP “ Sir” “ Cloud”