There is a difference between customers who work in the same organization as the IT service provider, and customers who work for another organization. They are distinguished as follows:
Internal customers
These are customers who work for the same business as the IT service provider. For example, the marketing department is an internal customer of the IT organization because it uses IT services. The head of marketing and the chief information officer both report to the chief executive officer. If IT charges for its services, the money paid is an internal transaction in the organization’s accounting system, not real revenue.
External customers
These are customers who work for a different business from the IT service provider. External customers typically purchase services from the service provider by means of a legally binding contract or agreement.
Internal and External Services
Internal services are delivered between departments or business units in the same organization.
External services are delivered to external customers.
The reason for differentiating between internal and external services is to differentiate between services that support an internal activity, and those that actually achieve business outcomes.
Dealing with external customers
Many IT organizations who traditionally provide services to internal customers find that they are dealing directly with external customers because of the online services that they provide. It is important that the service strategy clearly identifies how the IT organization interacts with these customers, and who owns and manages the relationship with them.
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