SoC
Abbreviation with 8 meanings
| Stands for | System on a chip |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 8 |
| Categories | Technology & Computing, Medical, Science & Engineering, Writing & Everyday |
| Also written | SOC, soc. |
SoC has eight meanings. The most common are System on a chip (computer hardware) and Security operations center (cybersecurity); it can also stand for Standard of care, Start of care, State of charge, Separation of concerns and System and Organization Controls, plus 1 more listed below.
Meanings of SoC at a glance
| # | SoC stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | System on a chip | Technology & Computing › Computer Hardware |
| 2 | Security operations center | Technology & Computing › Cybersecurity |
| 3 | Standard of care | Medical › Medical Research |
| 4 | Start of care | Medical › Nursing |
| 5 | State of charge | Science & Engineering › Energy |
| 6 | Separation of concerns | Technology & Computing › Programming |
| 7 | System and Organization Controls | Technology & Computing › Cybersecurity |
| 8 | Society | Writing & Everyday › Everyday |
1. System on a chip
Technology & Computing · Computer Hardware Abbreviations · also used in science
Integrated circuit that combines most of a computer's components, typically CPU cores, a GPU, an NPU, memory controllers, modems and media engines, on a single piece of silicon. Every smartphone and Apple silicon Mac runs on one.
Example: Apple's M-series SoC puts the CPU, GPU and unified memory in one package.
SoCs save space and power compared with separate chips, at the cost of upgradability: memory and graphics cannot be swapped later. Major designers include Apple, Qualcomm (Snapdragon), MediaTek, Samsung (Exynos) and Google (Tensor), most of them manufactured by TSMC. The Raspberry Pi is built around a Broadcom SoC. In cybersecurity, SOC means security operations center.
2. Security operations center (SOC)
Technology & Computing · Cybersecurity Abbreviations
A team, and often a dedicated facility, that monitors an organization's systems around the clock to detect, investigate and respond to cyber threats, using tools such as SIEM, EDR and threat intelligence.
Example: The SOC escalated the alert after spotting data being copied to an unknown cloud account at 3 a.m.
SOCs are usually organized in tiers, from triage analysts to incident responders and threat hunters, and many organizations outsource the function to managed detection and response providers. A network operations center focuses on uptime instead. In audits SOC means System and Organization Controls reports, and in hardware a system on a chip.
3. Standard of care (SOC)
Medical · Medical Research Abbreviations
Treatment or process widely accepted by medical experts as appropriate for a given condition, used in trials as the comparator arm and in law as the benchmark for negligence. Many trials test "new drug plus SOC" against "placebo plus SOC".
Example: Randomized 1:1 to the investigational drug plus SOC or SOC alone.
Standard of care changes as evidence evolves and can differ between countries and health systems. In malpractice law the standard is what a reasonably prudent practitioner would do in similar circumstances. In home health nursing SOC means start of care, and in drug safety coding (MedDRA) system organ class.
4. Start of care (SOC)
Medical · Nursing Abbreviations
Home health term for the date of the first billable visit by the agency, when the comprehensive assessment and plan of care begin. Many deadlines, including the OASIS assessment, are counted from the SOC date.
Example: SOC 11/04: OASIS, med reconciliation and wound assessment completed.
Must take place within 48 hours of referral or hospital discharge unless the physician orders another date or the patient asks for a delay. The SOC visit is usually done by a registered nurse or, when only therapy is ordered, a therapist. In other industries SOC means security operations center.
5. State of charge
Science & Engineering · Energy Abbreviations · also used in transportation
Amount of energy remaining in a battery, expressed as a percentage of its full capacity; the battery equivalent of a fuel gauge. The battery management system estimates SoC from voltage, current flow and temperature.
Example: For daily driving, the manufacturer recommends charging only to 80% SoC to extend battery life.
Estimating SoC accurately is difficult, especially for LFP batteries, whose voltage barely changes across most of their range, so they are periodically charged to 100% to recalibrate. Keeping lithium-ion batteries at very high or very low SoC for long periods speeds aging. In electronics SoC means system on a chip.
6. Separation of concerns
Technology & Computing · Programming Abbreviations
A design principle of dividing a program into distinct sections that each handle a separate concern, such as data access, business logic and presentation, so each can be understood and changed independently. Layered architectures, MVC and the split between HTML, CSS and JavaScript all apply it.
Example: For better SoC, move the SQL out of the React component and into a data layer.
Coined by Edsger W. Dijkstra in his 1974 essay "On the role of scientific thought". Component-based front-end frameworks prompted debate over whether to separate by technology or by feature. In hardware SoC usually means system on a chip, and the capitalized SOC means security operations center; design discussions point to this meaning.
7. System and Organization Controls (SOC)
Technology & Computing · Cybersecurity Abbreviations
A family of audit reports defined by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) in which an independent CPA firm examines a service organization's controls. SOC 1 covers controls relevant to customers' financial reporting, SOC 2 security and related criteria, and SOC 3 is a public summary.
Example: Procurement asked for the vendor's SOC report before signing the payroll contract.
The reports replaced the older SAS 70 audits in 2011; the name originally read "Service Organization Control" before becoming System and Organization Controls. They are attestation reports, not certifications. For technology vendors, a request for "a SOC report" usually means SOC 2. In security operations SOC means security operations center.
8. Society (soc.)
Writing & Everyday · Everyday Abbreviations
Shortens "society" in organization names, journal titles and citations, as in "Hist. Soc." or "Amer. Chem. Soc."
Example: The letters are held by the county Hist. Soc., which is open to researchers on Thursdays.
Journal title abbreviations such as J. Am. Chem. Soc. (Journal of the American Chemical Society) follow the ISO 4 standard used in scientific citations. The Royal Society, founded in London in 1660, is among the oldest learned societies still active.
Related abbreviations
More computer hardware abbreviations
- SMART – Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology
- SMR – Shingled magnetic recording
- SMT – Simultaneous multithreading
- SO-DIMM – Small outline dual inline memory module
- SPD – Serial presence detect
- SRAM – Static random-access memory
- SSD – Solid-state drive
- SSHD – Solid-state hybrid drive
See all 151 computer hardware abbreviations →
More cybersecurity abbreviations
- SHA – Secure Hash Algorithm
- SHA-256 – Secure Hash Algorithm 256-bit
- SIEM – Security information and event management
- SOAR – Security orchestration, automation and response
- SOC 2 – System and Organization Controls 2
- SPF – Sender Policy Framework
- SQLi – SQL injection
- SSL – Secure Sockets Layer
See all 119 cybersecurity abbreviations →
This entry is for general education and is not medical advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.