End-user computing is the use of computer hardware and software by those who are not involved in their development. This includes corporate users such as data entry clerks and administrative assistants, as well as individuals using personal computers. End users can customize software to some extent, depending on the program’s design.
End-user computing (EUC) is a term used to describe the act of using computer hardware and software once it has been designed and made available to businesses or individual consumers. The term has to do specifically with those who are not involved in the development of the products under consideration, but make use of them once they are installed on a system. People who do end-user computing actively use the finished product, but are usually not involved in the process of designing, programming, maintaining, or installing the hardware or software involved.
In a corporate environment, end-user computing is conducted by those who use computers to manage day-to-day business activities. Users such as data entry clerks, administrative assistants, and even managers and executives who use desktop, laptop, and handheld devices to handle tasks such as email communication or document editing are all considered end users. Typically, this group relies on others in the corporate structure to select the software programs used by the company, manage installation, and even oversee the security protocols employed with each of these programs.
Individuals using home or personal computers also engage in end-user computing. While they may install software on their systems, these users usually have nothing to do with writing code for programs or handling other tasks that are the purview of computer specialists or professionals. For example, when an individual user writes and sends an email message from a specific email client or Internet-based program, he or she is engaged in end-user processing.
It is important to note that end-user computing does not mean that users cannot build applications using software that has already been designed and installed. End users often have certain privileges or rights that allow them to adapt or customize the software to some extent. For example, users of a sales database can often add and remove fields from the base model, even configuring that model to some extent using tools included by the developer. Similarly, end users of presentation software can often customize the templates provided, import data and images from other programs, and generally work within the parameters set by the program developer. Depending on how the software is written, the degree of customization that the end user can perform can be quite large or limited to a relatively small class of functions.
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