Peter Seddon, associate professor of Australia's Melbourne University department of information systems reckons the term end user is a hangover from the 1980s and said the two necessary parts for ensuring new software acceptance is training and subsequent support.

Seddon said it is not resistance that IT managers need to get their head around, it is how to handle inertia.

"End user is a relic from the 1980s when IT just ran batch processes, but it is quite understandable that people do not welcome change," Seddon said.

"It is important IT managers focus on five channels of training to keep a project on track: active, helpdesk, user groups, power users and talking to buddies.

"IT managers should also focus on training and the helpdesk ... they also do not realize the benefits of user groups to share information."