Episode 12: Customers, Users, and Sponsors — Roles in Service Management

Service management is not just about technology; it’s about people and their roles in creating and consuming value. In this episode, we’ll explain the three primary roles ITIL identifies: customers, users, and sponsors. Customers define requirements for services and take responsibility for outcomes, while users are those who actually consume the service in their day-to-day work. Sponsors, on the other hand, provide financial or organizational support to make the service possible. Understanding these distinctions is critical because exam questions often test your ability to recognize who plays which role in a given scenario.

We’ll bring these roles to life with examples, such as a company rolling out a new collaboration tool. The sponsor may be the executive funding the project, the customer may be the department requesting the tool, and the users are the employees who rely on it daily. This clear separation of roles helps avoid confusion and ensures accountability across the service lifecycle. Recognizing these dynamics will strengthen your understanding of how ITIL applies in practice. This episode was produced by BareMetalCyber.com.