What do you call the people you support?

 

Recently on LinkedIn (the "HDI - Professional Association for the IT Support Professional" group to be specific), there's an interesting discussion going on about what to call the people you support.

 

Are they customers?

Are they clients?

Are they users?

 

...or something else?

 

 

And does it really matter anyway?

 

Well, according to the number of responses to such a simple question, apparently it does matter, and with good reason too!  The language we use at work defines our environment - It gives meaning to things and the way they're perceived.  The philosophical words "It is a world of words that creates a world of things" seems to have found fertile soil in the terminology rich service management framework of ITIL.

 

And hasn't it caused a ruckus?!

 

For the record, the official ITIL v3 definitions as taken from http://www.best-management-practice.com/gempdf/ITIL_Glossary_V3_1_24.pdf  are:

 

Client : A generic term that means a Customer, the Business or a Business Customer. For example Client Manager may be used as a synonym for Account Manager.

The term client is also used to mean:

• A computer that is used directly by a User, for example a PC, Handheld Computer, or Workstation.

• The part of a Client-Server Application that the User directly interfaces with. For example an email Client.

 

Customer : Someone who buys goods or Services. The Customer of an IT Service Provider is the person or group who defines and agrees the Service Level Targets. The term Customers is also sometimes informally used to mean Users, for example "this is a Customer focussed Organisation".

 

User : A person who uses the IT Service on a day-to-day basis. Users are distinct from Customers, as some Customers do not use the IT Service directly.

 

For added complexity, you've also got internal and external customers.  (HelpMaster support this via the option buttons at the bottom of the client screen.)

 

 

 

Just to make it more interesting, check out the definitions at http://www.itilfoundations.com/glossaries/itil/.  They're different again. How about http://wiki.en.it-processmaps.com/index.php/ITIL_Glossary

 

No wonder the debates rage, the sceptics disbelieve, the experts advise and the evangelists preach.

 

At the end of the day, whatever you choose, just make sure you configure the HelpMaster terminology feature to call the people you support to whatever you want!

 

 

 

For the record, what do you call the people you support?