What Is an End User?

The term "end user" refers to the consumer of a good or service, often one who has some innate know-how that is unique to consumers.

In a literal sense, the ter♎m is used to distinguish the person who purchaseไs and uses the good or service from individuals who are involved in the stages of its design, development, and production.

Understanding End Users

Delivery to the end user is the last step after a company creates, develops, tests, and markets a product. One goal of the business is to empower the end user to accomplish something that wasn't possible for them before using its well-conceived quality product.

In order to create a successful product or service, the ♌people w♒ho manage and handle the processes above must think not of their own needs, but of those of the various people—the end users—who ultimately will use the product.

A computer programmer who designs a software platform for foreign currency trading must think about the level of interface sophistication versus🌠 simplicity, and all of the steps an end user needs to take to trade effectively.

They must consider, for example, how a trader approaches a trade, what the trader needs to see and the tools they need to use, how easily they need to access these tools, the speed at which they need to access🌺 data and information, how trades are to be executed, and w♓hat has to be done after a trade has been transacted.

Putting oneself into the shoes of an end user is a key to producing th𓆏e product the end user not only needs, but wants.

Special Considerations

References to end users are common in the technology industry, suggestingও that a basic level of technical ♔expertise is expected of these customers.

On March 1, 2018, Proofpoint, Inc., a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:cybersecurity company, announced the acquisition of a security awareness training company. The CEO of Proofpoint stated:

As cybercriminals continue to look for new ways to exploit employees, companies need to be vigilant about changing end-user behavior and reducing risk with cybersecurity education solutions.

The fintech, or financial technology, industry, is another group that's highly aware of their end users, their familiarity with technology, and the need to continue to develop and improve fintech products, such as apps, that can meet their essential banking, investing, and trading needs.

A survey released by the American Bankers Association in October 2023 revealed that 48% of end users preferred to use phone apps and other mobile devices for their banking activities.

Specifically, end users' preferences for fintech depended on their demographic. More than half of end users in each category designated as Gen Z, Millenials, and Gen X used mobile apps. About 39% of Baby Boomers preferred to use online banking via a desktop or laptop computer.

Despite having some knowledge about using technology, end users often don't know much about how the products or services that they use were developed or how they work.

The average end 𒅌user of a computer operating system, such as Microsoft Windows, for instance, would not understand the lines of code, user experience research, or debugging that went into the product.

Typically, all most end users care about is ease of use, functionality, stability of the tools, and getting their task done. That's why companies should develop products with the end user in mind, and not a product expert.

End User Experience

Since end users are most often lay persons without expert knowledge or particular skills, companies need to ensure that the user experience is straigh💯tforward, intuit♉ive, and effective.

User experience (UX) has become its own pr🐟ofession, with UX teams employed by many firms across a wide range of industries and involved with a wide range of produ🗹cts.

Companies utilize quantitative and qualitative research to identify and iron out bugs, design flaws, and common user errors—all in an effort to cཧonstantly improve user experience. They also crowdsource new ideas for updated versions.

If the end user experience is difficult or frustrating, the company's product is unlikely to be successful. This is especially the case in the age of social media and online reviews where dissatisfied customers can instantly air their grievances for all to see.

End User vs. Customer

As stated, the term "end user" is common when it comes to technology. It may also go by the more technical term "revenue-generating unit" or RGU.

In com🌜parison, a customer is the person purchasing the technology. They may or may not also be the end userꦜ. At a place of business, for example, the boss may be the one who purchases a computer. So the boss is the customer, but a junior-level employee might be the actual end user.

Examples of End Users

Tech companies have millions, if not billions of end users. Microsoft's end users are anyone who owns or works with a Windows machine or uses MS Office tools such as Word, Excel, or PowerPoint. Apple's end users are those who use an iPhone or a Mac computer.

The number of a company's end users is likely to change according to changing demand, competition, innovation, or in response to some external pressure.

For instance, the number of end users of video conferencing platforms like Microsoft Teams and Zoom skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic as people around the world entered lockdowns and were forced to work from home or take classes online.

The Bottom Line

An end user is the person or business that uses a company's good or service. End users often possess some degree of familiarity with the technology used in the products they buy.

It's important that companies make the effort to thoroughly understand the needs and preferences of their end users so that they can continue to develop the products that end users want, buy, and use, preferably for years to come.