"Bare Metal" refers to a type of computing environment where software runs directly on the physical hardware without an intervening operating system or virtualization layer. This setup allows for maximum performance and efficiency, as applications can utilize the full capabilities of the hardware. In contrast to virtualized environments, where multiple virtual machines share resources, bare metal provides dedicated access to the server's resources. This is often preferred for high-performance computing tasks, such as those found in data centers or cloud computing, where speed and resource management are critical.