What is ITIL?
ITIL stands for Information Technology Infrastructure Library. In essence, it is a group of practices that are applied in Information Technology Service Management, also called ITSM. The purpose of ITIL is to ensure complete alignment of the organisation’s IT services with the business’ goals and needs.
ITIL supports ISO/IEC 20000, which is the International Service Management Standard, specifically developed as a framework for IT service management. There are a few differences between ITIL and the ISO/IEC 20000 standard, which can be discussed with our consultants.
ITIL basically provides a full description of the various processes and tasks, as well as checklists that need to be performed by the company to ensure consistency in IT service management. It helps to create a benchmark for planning, implementing, and measuring IT service management performance in the organisation. There is no certification available on a company level, only individuals can qualify.
AXELOS owns ITIL and provides organisations with licences to use it. AXELOS accredits the examination centres and oversees ITIL updates. That said, no licence is required if an organisation only implements it internally.
Development of ITIL
With more and more organisations relying on Information Technology for communication, storage, exchange, and management of data, the Central Computer & Telecommunications Agency of the United Kingdom responded by creating of a range of recommendations regarding standard practices that need to be implemented. Various books were created by the Information Technology Infrastructure Library for IT service management issues, which ITIL was developed from, based on the process model view of control and management of operations. As such, ITIL follows the Plan-Do-Check-Act or PDCA as widely applied in ISO standards.
The ITIL set of books grew considerably, making it too bulky for general application. With 30 books in total, it was decided that it had to be made more affordable and easier to use. The second version became available at the start of the Millennium. It consisted of a consolidation of publications, which were grouped in relation to process guidelines. From this, most organisations used the Service Support & Service Delivery sets. The glossary of Version 2 became available in 2006 and by 2007, Version 3 was born. It was named the ITIL Refresh Project. This version consisted of various processes and functions, and now only had five, instead of the original 30, volumes of Version I. These volumes were arranged according to the service lifecycle. It eventually became known as the 2007 ITIL Version and an updated Version 3 was published in 2011.
Version 3 of 2007 replaced Version 2 completely. This version covers the entire service lifecycle in the organisation and is also relevant to delivery & support. ITIL 2011, the update of the 2007 Version, consists of the following publications:
- Service Strategy
- Service Design
- Service Transition
- Service Operation
- Continual Service Improvement
ITIL Service Strategy is focussed on giving a better understanding of the company’s objectives in relation to customer requirements. The Service Design publication is focussed on the transformation of the service strategy into a service delivery plan, to ensure business objectives are reached.
The Service Transition publication is about the development and improvement of the organisation’s IT capabilities to introduce new services, while Service Operation is about the management of services. Continual Service Improvement, as the name suggests, is about the on-going improvement of services. Version 3, released in 2011, has various similarities to the older Version 3. Therefore, the need to bridge examination has been eliminated.
ITIL is important in IT service management, as it provides structure to help organisations improve their IT service strategies. The Service Portfolio Management component is necessary to ensure that the organisation effectively defines its services in relation to the needs of its customers.
What is Our Role?
WWISE provides a wide range of courses regarding ISO standards. Should you wish to learn more about ITIL, we suggest starting with one of our courses. We also provide consulting services to help implement specific standards and frameworks, including ITIL. Whether your organisation is new to ITIL, or you simply want to gain a better understanding of the latest version of ITIL, you will appreciate our expertise and services.
View our range of courses or call us for more information, so you can ensure that your IT company functions within the ITIL framework.