Anne, This is a harsh semantic interpretation, although therefore no less inherently valid! Why do we call them users (in IT)? I suspect that it is to distinguish them from IT techies who are responsible for providing the IT services and from channel partners who sit in the distribution infrastructure between the vendor and the end- user. In one sense a channel partner is a customer in that he purchases from and pays the vendor. However vendors do not typically classify them as customers because they are not at the end of the commercial food chain. So here is a suggestion: if you are uncomfortable with the the term "user" or "end-user" in an ICT context, why not refer to them as consumers?
Gervas --- In [email protected], Anne Thomas Manes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Consider this -- There are two business domains in this world that view > their customers as "users": drug pushers and IT organizations > > ITIL and Service Oriented Environment (SOE) initiatives strive to get IT > people to think of their users as "customers". Rather than dictating > policies, they provide (and in some cases sell) services to those customers. > It certainly changes the way you need to think about building application > systems. > > Anne > > On 1/28/06, Todd Biske <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > Personally, I think the key to success with SOA lies more with the > > business than it does with IT. The reason it comes from IT is that IT > > workers are usually the ones that wind up having to look at things more > > broadly. > > Your other analogy to non-profit organizations, etc. is somewhat > > applicable as well. One source of confusion within IT is the notion of > > service as it applies to IT Operations (i.e. ITIL) and the notion of > > service as it applies to SOA. What I suspect (I've never sat down and tried > > to apply SOA to an ITIL-based IT Operations organization) is that it should > > probably be far easier to determine how to apply IT to benefit the IT > > operations processes of a company who's adopted ITIL than a company who > > hasn't. Why? The business (IT Ops in this case) is already thinking from a > > service-oriented perspective. Anyone else have thoughts on this? I am by > > no means an ITIL expert, I'd love to hear the experience of someone who's > > done this. > > > > -tb > > > > On Jan 26, 2006, at 4:29 PM, appsj wrote: > > > > When reading books, articles, white papers and following excellent groups > > like this one, the impression left with me is, generally, that SOA is all > > about IT, with a good portion of Java thrown in. > > > > SCA is a good example of the prevalence of Java in this case, but that's a > > topic in its own right, one which William Henry in his great blog has > > touched upon recently. See > > http://www.ipbabble.com/2006/01/java_soa_some_lessons_from_cor.html > > > > What I am wondering is whether enough work is being done to bring together > > users and their demands for > > > > - much quicker turn-around of their requirements, implying greater > > flexibility of the IT systems and their usage > > - better implementation of what the user *really* wants in the sense > > that the service the user wishes to or does provide can be matched by what > > is actually implemented - and changed as quickly as the demand arises > > - closer attention to services, as seen from the user's perspective > > - empowering the user to turn her services into IT services using > > tools provided for the job > > - and so forth > > > > together. > > > > I find the term 'service' best understood when viewing the activities of, > > say, a school, community or hospital, rather than a corporation. The reason > > is that a school or other non-profit organization --it is my firm belief > > that schools and other institutions such as homes for senior citizens should > > never be profit-oriented-- is measured solely on the quality of service > > provided, not on the amount sold last quarter. It is also this quality that > > is the motivating factor, not money. > > > > So, with that in mind, what are the approaches to be taken to bring SOA > > inline with organizations that are service-oriented, thus making IT simply > > an "off the shelf" tool which organizations may use? > > > > (Of course, all corporations stri! ve to pr ovide a decent "service", but > > this does not always appear to tie in with reality.) > > > > I'm probably dreaming here and not expressed myself very well. However, I > > do hope to learn more and exchange views with others, despite the perhaps > > somewhat esoteric nature of the above. > > > > > > SPONSORED LINKS > > Service-oriented architecture<http://groups.yahoo.com/gads? t=ms&k=Service-oriented+architecture&w1=Service- oriented+architecture&w2=Computer+monitoring+software&w3=Free+compute r+monitoring+software&c=3&s=108&.sig=6fK_mkZmO-Ja3c3077pabQ> Computer > > monitoring software<http://groups.yahoo.com/gads? t=ms&k=Computer+monitoring+software&w1=Service- oriented+architecture&w2=Computer+monitoring+software&w3=Free+compute r+monitoring+software&c=3&s=108&.sig=uGrAl3xkOAL3qi_0zABOeQ> Free > > computer monitoring software<http://groups.yahoo.com/gads? t=ms&k=Free+computer+monitoring+software&w1=Service- oriented+architecture&w2=Computer+monitoring+software&w3=Free+compute r+monitoring+software&c=3&s=108&.sig=zwfvL3bn6VwdybrUdt_F8g> > > ------------------------------ > > YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS > > > > > > - Visit your group "service-orientated- architecture<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/service-orientated- architecture>" > > on the web. > > > > - To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > > service-orientated-architecture- [EMAIL PROTECTED]<service-orientated-architecture- [EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > > - Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of > > Service <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/>. > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS > > > > > > - Visit your group "service-orientated- architecture<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/service-orientated- architecture>" > > on the web. > > > > - To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > > service-orientated-architecture- [EMAIL PROTECTED]<service-orientated-architecture- [EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > > - Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! 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