Terms defined: customer vs. user

ITIL uses the terms “customer” and “user” in a very specific way that I’ve found handy:

A customer is someone who can help negotiate and agree to service level agreements. I have taken this term to mean “people with budget authority.” For example, Vice-Presidents would be customers.

A user is anyone who is entitled to one or more IT services. Parents, students, faculty, and staff may all be users.

The customers are usually the people who work with IT governance.