BMC Helix Guide to Voice, Tone, and Style

D
DA: delivery automation
data: Although technically plural, it is treated as a singular noun. Example: The data was compelling.
database: One word
data center: Two words data-driven: Use the hyphen
DataOps: Shortened version of data operations. It doesn’t need to be spelled out on first instance.
datasheet: One word
dates: See Dates/Times under Grammar, usage, and style.
Davos: A short way to reference the World Economic Forum (WEF), an annual meeting of global, political, and corporate leaders that often strongly influences corporate IT decision-making.
DEI: diversity, equity, and inclusion
DevOps: Should be capitalized as shown
DIY: do it yourself
dollar vs. $: Spell out dollar in this context: “Give me a dollar.” or “The project cost millions of dollars.” Use the dollar symbol ($) when referencing a specific amount of money (e.g., “I spent $35 at the store.”). See Currency.
DORA: DevOps Research and Assessment LLC (often followed by “metrics”) or Digital Operational Resilience Act; confirm intended usage when spelling out first instance.
double-click vs. double click: Use the hyphenated form as a verb, but no hyphen as a noun. Example: Double-click the icon to open the document. A double click will open the file.
downtime: One word, not down time
DSM: digital service management
DX: digital experience

E
e-: When using the prefix “e” to mean “electronic,” use a hyphen, as in “e-commerce” and “e-business.” Exception: email is used without the hyphen. For headlines and other uses requiring capitals, capitalize the “e.”
e-book: Include the hyphen (if capitalized for category listings, use E-book)
e.g.: Abbreviation for “for example”; always followed by a comma, and can include one or more examples (in contrast with i.e., which typically references a specific item).
ecosystem: One word, not eco system
edge: Do not capitalize unless used in a formal name (BMC Helix Edge), title, or as the first word in a subhead.
email: Email is used without the hyphen. For headlines and other uses requiring capitals, capitalize the “e.”
EMEA: Acceptable on first reference to mean “Europe, Middle East, and Africa.”
end-user or end user: Use the hyphenated form as an adjective, but do not include a hyphen when used as a noun. Example: The end user read the end-user documentation.
enterprise-wide: Use the hyphen.
ESG: environmental, social, and governance
ESM: enterprise service management; do not capitalize unless referring to BMC Helix Enterprise Service Management, which should not be abbreviated
EX: employee experience
exclamation points: See guidance in Punctuation in Grammar, usage, and style.

F
failover vs. fail over: The first is an adjective and the second is a verb. Example: A failover data center for business continuity will fail over to another machine.
FedRAMP: Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program; note capitalization
follow-up vs. follow up: The first is an adjective or noun and the second is a verb. Example: The team conducted a follow-up visit on the issue after promising the customer they would follow up.
FootPrints: Capital F, capital P (FootPrints from BMC Helix) Front-end vs. front end: The first is an adjective and the second is a noun. Example: The front-end interface demonstrated that BMC Helix is on the front end of innovation.

G
GenAI or Gen AI: Generative artificial intelligence; spell out on first instance and lower case all words unless Generative begins a sentence. It's OK to use full term instead of abbreviation, and abbreviate as GenAI or Gen AI as it's a new term, but align on consistent usage in collateral.
gender: See Gender-neutral under Language.
GUI: graphical user interface; no need to spell out on first mention

H
handheld: One word, no hyphen (a handheld device) headings and subheads: Use sentence case. See guidance in Punctuation in Grammar, usage, and style.
healthcare: One word
high-tech: Hyphenate as an adjective only when it precedes the noun. Example: “It’s a high-tech solution.” and “The solution was very high tech.” Do not hyphenate as a noun: “That’s the nature of high tech.”
HIPAA: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act; note capitalization
home page: Two words
hyperautomation: One word, no capitalization unless in a title, no hyphen

I
IDaaS: identity as a service
IDE: integrated development environment
IIoT: Industrial Internet of Things. Note the capitalization of Internet in this instance only. Spell out on first use, followed by a parenthetical IIoT.
IL4: Impact Level 4, note capitalization and do not hyphenate
IL5: Impact Level 5, note capitalization and do not hyphenate
ILOB: independent line of business
industry-wide: Use the hyphen internet: Do not capitalize
IoT: Internet of Things. Note the capitalization of Internet in this instance only,
IP: intellectual property
IPA: intelligent process automation
iPaaS: integration platform as a service
ISV: independent software vendor
IT vs I.T.: Abbreviation for information technology. In almost all instances, use IT without periods. If using without periods will create confusion due to typeface or content, add the periods.
intranet: Do not capitalize
italics vs. quotation marks: See Punctuation under Grammar, usage, and style.
ITIL^®: IT Infrastructure Library. Should be trademarked ITIL^® and does not need to be spelled out on first use.
ITIM: IT infrastructure monitoring
ITOM: IT operations management
ITOps: IT operations
ITPA: IT process automation
ITSM: IT service management; no need to spell out on first use
its vs. their vs. it’s: Use the possessive “its” to refer to a company or other entity. Example: BMC Helix announced its newest solution at the event. Note: Microsoft announced their latest partnership. When referring to a group or team, use “their” or reword to indicate ownership. Example: The team presented their project. It’s is an abbreviation for “it is” and should not be used to indicate a possessive. Example: It’s just one way that BMC Helix is proving its innovation.

J
Java: A high-level, general-purpose programming language
JavaScript: A scripting language

K
K: Used to indicate thousands in graphics and callouts. Capitalize. Example: 500K users.
kilobyte: A unit of storage capacity on a computer. Abbreviate and list with a number and no space: “10KB.”
knowledge base: Two words

L
less vs. fewer: Use less to refer to a quantity and fewer to refer to numbers of things. Example: The snack wasn’t great because there was less milk in the bottle and fewer cookies in the box.
lifecycle: One word, no hyphen
Linux^®: Not LINUX, and include the ^® per legal agreement
lists: See Lists under Grammar, usage, and style.
LOB: line of business
login vs. log in: The first is a noun and adjective; the second is a verb. Example: She could not log in to the system, although her login credentials were correct.
logon vs. log on: The first is a noun and adjective; the second is a verb. Example: He could not log on to the system, although the logon page was working properly.
LPAR: logical partition

M
M&A: mergers and acquisitions
megabyte: A unit of storage capacity on a computer; abbreviate and list with a number and no space: “250MB”
MFA: multi-factor authentication
midmarket: No hyphen
mid-sized: Hyphenate when used as an adjective.
ML: machine learning
MLC: monthly licensing charges
MLOps: machine learning operations
MM: Abbreviation for “million”
more than vs. over: Use “more than” to refer to numbers and “over” to describe heights. Example: He had more than 20 years of experience, and his webinar about the building he designed, which was over 40-feet tall, attracted more than 300 attendees.
MQ: Gartner^® Magic Quadrant; note required usage of Gartner registration symbol. Any usage referencing an evaluation of BMC Helix solutions requires review and approval by Gartner. See Citations section in this guide.
MSU: million service units
MTTR: mean time to repair or mean time to recovery; confirm usage and spell out on first use, no hyphens
multicloud: One word, no hyphen
Mr., Ms., etc.: BMC Helix does not use these courtesy titles with names.

N

NIST: National Institute of Standards and Technology; its Cybersecurity Framework is sometimes referenced as CSF even though cybersecurity is one word; spell out both on first usage and note capitalization.
NLP: natural language processing
non-: Do not use a hyphen in instances of compound words that do not have special meaning and can be understood if not is used instead before the base word (i.e., nonsensical is as equally understood as not sensical). Use a hyphen before proper nouns or in awkward combinations, such as non-nuclear.
noon: Acceptable for 12 p.m. Do not use the redundant, 12 p.m. noon. Do not use all caps.
number (or #): Instead of # as an abbreviation to indicate position or rank, you can also use “No.” (note the period) followed by a number. Be mindful in web design that # as a hashtag is indicative of a link.
numbers: Spell out numbers one through nine and use numerals to indicate the numbers 10 and up. An exception may be made when citing a number in a heading, such as “3 paths to service management excellence.” See Numbers under Grammar, usage, and style.

O
offline: Not off-line nor off line
on demand vs. on-demand: On demand is a prepositional phrase that usually comes after the noun; on-demand is an adjective that precedes the noun and is hyphenated. Example: What is the right on-demand solution for your business? If you need help on demand, join our live webinar.
online: Not on-line nor on line
on-premises: Always plural, is an adjective, and should be hyphenated. Example: The team handled the on-premises installation.
OT: operational technology
OTAC: one-time authentication code

P
PCI-DSS: Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard; note capitalization
PDP: policy decision point
percent vs. %: In longform content like white papers, datasheets, and e-books, always use the word “percent” in copy, e.g., 100 percent. The % symbol is acceptable for web copy for SEO purposes, as well as online banners, documents with limited space, charts, callouts, sidebars, and tabular materials.
pen test or pentest: penetration testing
PII: personally identifiable information
Plug-in vs. plug in: The first is a noun and adjective; the second is a verb. Example: Plug in the adapter in the plug-in slot on the device.
plus sign (+): Use to indicate “more than” in limited character space. Example:+4MM or 4MM+ users. Style considerations may dictate whether plus sign is placed before or after the corresponding number.
podcast: One word
pro bono: Do not hyphenate products: Use the official spelling, letter casing, and character spacing for BMC Helix product names. This includes the “BMC Helix” in front of product names that are not trademarked or those that are trademarked with BMC Helix in the name. See BMC Helix Trademarks.

Q
quarter: Use Q1 or Q4 to indicate the quarter of the year (for business, finance, sales)

R
(R): Stands for “registered” and indicates registered trademark or patent. Format with a superscript ^® after the word. No space between the word and the symbol.
RBA: run book automation
re-: A hyphen is used if the prefix ends in a vowel and the word that follows begins with the same vowel. Examples: regain, re-elect.
real time vs. real-time: The first is a noun; the second is an adjective. Example: The real-time data was delivering results in real time.
Remedy: This product is now called BMC Helix ITSM Remedyforce: The F is not capitalized and should contain the prefix of “BMC Helix” to be BMC Helix Remedyforce. See BMC Helix Trademark Guidelines.
ROI: return on investment
ROX: return on experience
RPA: robotic process automation
run time vs. run-time: The first is a noun; the second an adjective. Example:The run-time process reduced the system’s overall run time.

S
salesperson, salesforce: One word; only capitalize Salesforce if referencing the company.
SDI: software-defined infrastructure
SEM: search engine marketing
SEO: search engine optimization
ServiceOps: A paradigm that merges IT service management (ITSM) and IT operations management (ITOM). Note: you may see instances of BMC Helix ServiceOps in BMC Helix collateral—it is a framework and not a formal product.
SI: systems integrator
SLA: service level agreement
shift left vs. shift-left: The first is a verb; the second is an adjective. Example: Shift-left testing allowed the team to review which processes it could shift left.
SIEM: security information and event management
SOAR: security orchestration, automation, and response
SaaS: software as a service; no need to spell out on first usage
standalone: All one word, adjective. Example: It’s a standalone computer terminal.
start-up vs. start up: The first is a noun and adjective; the second is a verb. Example: The business was a start-up and its signature solution promised to reduce start-up costs. The first step is to start up the installation.
states: Spell out state names unless part of an address—Texas, not TX.

T
TCO: total cost of ownership
TEI: Forrester Total Economic Impact Report™ note required usage of Forrester trademark symbol. Any usage referencing an evaluation of BMC Helix solutions requires review and approval by Forrester. See Citations section in the guide.
telephone numbers:

United States:

• Use parentheses around the area code. The inclusion of the parentheses around US area codes helps to instantly identify them as US. This applies to 800 numbers as well
• Use a hyphen between each grouping of numbers, but not after the closing parenthesis.

International (outside US):

• Do not use the “1” or “+1” before the area code. Example: (713) 918-0000 or (800) 123-4567
• Do not use parentheses.
• Use a hyphen between each grouping of numbers.
• Use the plus (+) sign before the country code. Example: +54-5776-75001 or +1-713-918-0000

TFP: tailored-fit pricing
that and which vs. who and whom: Use that or which as the pronoun for objects and who or whom as the pronoun for people. Example: The staff who arrived early enjoyed the breakfast that was provided for them. Add a comma transition with which and no comma with that. Example: The breakfast, which was served cold, was not the meal that the attendees expected.
third-party, third party: Hyphenate as an adjective; do not hyphenate as a noun. Do not use “3rd” in place of “third” in any instance. Example: A third party owns the third-party software.
time: See Dates/Times under Grammar, usage, and style
time zones: Do not list the time zone in a communication distributed to a local audience, such as a print invitation, because readers will assume the time is local. For online events or other global references, use Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). See Dates/Times under Grammar, usage, and style.
titles: See Job titles under Grammar, usage, and style.
TM: Stands for “trademark” and should be used to designate official trademarks; format with a superscript ™ after the trademarked word, no space between the word and the symbol. Use the TM symbol ™ in Office; do not type out and superscript the letters.
total cost of ownership: Spell out on first use with acronym; “TCO” alone is acceptable thereafter.
Track-It!: Include the hyphen, capital “I,” and exclamation point; CVT product.
trademarks: Use the official spelling, letter casing, and character spacing for BMC Helix trademarks. See BMC Helix Trademark Guidelines.
TrueSight: Capital T, capital S (TrueSight); note that TrueSight is a trademark and is not prefaced with “BMC Helix.” See BMC Helix Trademark Guidelines.

U
UEBA: user- and entity-based behavior analytics
UK: Acceptable as a noun or adjective for the United Kingdom; do not add periods
UNIX: Not Unix, and include a superscript ® on first use, per legal agreement
URL: This is the accepted abbreviation for Uniform Resource Locator. Do not spell out.
US: The abbreviation is acceptable as a noun or adjective for United States. Use periods only if meaning may be misconstrued.
users: Unless the document deals with technical issues, try to use one of the following terms, which are not as impersonal—people, employees, workers, coworkers, customers, clients
username: One word
use vs. utilize: Use is simpler and is preferable
UX: user experience

V
versions: When abbreviating the word “versions” for new releases of BMC Helix products, use this format: “BMC Helix (product name) V7.0.” Note that the “V” is a capital letter.
versus: Use instead of vs. in copy. Example: The solution automated the steps versus relying on older, manual processes. The abbreviation can be used in graphics and callouts.
VM: virtual machine
VOC: voice of the customer
voicemail: One word
VR: virtual reality
vs.: Only use in lieu of versus in graphics and callouts; always include the period afterward.

W
web page vs. website: Web page is two words. Website is one word. No caps in either, unless in a title or the first word of a sentence.
WEF: Abbreviation for the World Economic Forum, an annual meeting of global, political, and corporate leaders that often strongly influences corporate IT decision making; see Davos.
white paper: Two words—not whitepaper
workflow: One word—not work-flow, nor work flow
worldwide: One word, no hyphen
workstation: One word—not work-station, nor work station

X
x: Should not be used as a substitute for “times” in body copy. Example: The product increased server performance by five times. The exception to this rule is usage in headers, titles, callouts, or graphics where space is limited.
XaaS: everything as a service

Y
you: It is acceptable to address your audience with “you” to help create a personal tone in many assets; in general, datasheets and solution white papers should maintain a more objective, third-person tone.

Z
Zero Trust: Capitalize the term. It may be followed by framework, methodology, model, etc., which are not capitalized.