ITIL - Information Technology Infrastructure Library
- Swetha Y
- Jun 27, 2019
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What is ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library)??
New to ITIL? Start here!
Most organizations consider their people, capabilities, processes, and technologies to be strategic assets. These assets help deliver and support the company’s vision and mission. Efficient and effective alignment of capabilities and resources of services and products can help create a strategic advantage in the markets that organizations serve. This is where ITIL®, the Information Technology Infrastructure Library, comes into play.
ITIL is a set of detailed practices for IT service management (ITSM) that focuses on aligning IT services with the needs of the business.
ITIL describes processes, procedures, tasks, and checklists which are not organization-specific nor technology-specific but can be applied by an organization for establishing integration with the organization's strategy, delivering value, and maintaining a minimum level of competency. It allows the organization to establish a baseline from which it can plan, implement, and measure. It is used to demonstrate compliance and to measure improvement. There is no formal independent third-party compliance assessment available for ITIL compliance in an organization. Certification in ITIL is only available to individuals.
Since 2013, ITIL has been owned by AXELOS, a joint venture between Capita and the UK Cabinet Office. AXELOS licenses organizations to use the ITIL intellectual property accredits licensed examination institutes and manages updates to the framework. Organizations that wish to implement ITIL internally do not require this license.
Adoption of the ITIL framework can be the foundation for the success of other initiatives such as DevOps, cybersecurity, cyber-resilience, Internet of Things (IoT), and other emerging trends and technologies.
History
Responding to growing dependence on IT, the UK Government's Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA) in the 1980s developed a set of recommendations. It recognized that, without standard practices, government agencies and private sector contracts had started independently creating their own IT management practices.
The IT Infrastructure Library originated as a collection of books, each covering a specific practice within IT service management. ITIL was built around a process model-based view of controlling and managing operations often credited to W. Edwards Deming and his plan-do-check-act (PDCA) cycle.
After the initial publication in 1989–96, the number of books quickly grew within ITIL Version 1 to more than 30 volumes.
In 2000/2001, to make ITIL more accessible (and affordable), ITIL Version 2 consolidated the publications into nine logical "sets" that grouped related process-guidelines to match different aspects of IT management, applications and services. The Service Management sets (Service Support and Service Delivery) were by far the most widely used, circulated, and understood of the ITIL Version 2 publications.
· In April 2001, the CCTA was merged into the OGC, an office of the UK Treasury.
· In 2006, the ITIL Version 2 glossary was published.
· In May 2007, this organization issued ITIL Version 3 (also known as the ITIL Refresh Project) consisting of 26 processes and functions, now grouped into only 5 volumes, arranged around the concept of Service lifecycle structure. ITIL Version 3 is now known as ITIL 2007 Edition.
· In 2009, the OGC officially announced that ITIL Version 2 certification would be withdrawn and launched a major consultation as per how to proceed.
· In July 2011, the 2011 edition of ITIL was published, providing an update to the version published in 2007. The OGC is no longer listed as the owner of ITIL, following the consolidation of OGC into the Cabinet Office.
The ITIL 4 Edition starts with the ITIL Foundation book, which was released on February 18th 2019.
ITIL v3
While the ITIL Foundation level gives a high-level overview, and Practitioner certification focuses on how to practically adopt and adapt the ITIL framework, those who want to demonstrate knowledge of the entire ITIL scheme should work through the Intermediate credit system to become an ITIL Expert.
The principles, processes and activities covered within ITIL v3 provide essential knowledge that will contribute to a better comprehension of ITIL 4 concepts reflected in the updated framework. It will keep supporting professionals in the challenges faced in their work environment. Candidates who continue on their v3 journey will gain valuable skills to help solve their business challenges now. Courses are available until June 2020.
ITIL 4
ITIL 4 will help businesses navigate the new technological era, commonly known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The speed of current breakthroughs is disrupting almost every industry on a global scale. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is marked by emerging technology in fields including robotics, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, quantum computing, biotechnology, the Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing, autonomous vehicles and much more.
ITIL 4 will provide a practical and flexible basis to support organizations on their journey into the new world of digital transformation by helping them align their human, digital and physical resources to compete within the modern complex landscape.
The context of ITIL, with the release of ITIL 4 is now much bigger, with an emphasis on the business and technology world, how it works today, and how it will work in the future with Agile, DevOps and digital transformation.
ITIL 4 will be much more relevant to software developers, service management practitioners and businesses through promoting a holistic view of delivering products and services. Right from the Foundation level, ITIL 4 will emphasize the importance of collaboration, transparency, automating where possible and working holistically.
ITIL 4 retains many of the core elements that makes ITIL so valuable to individuals and organizations today. Change is a constant state and organizations are struggling to navigate it. ITIL 4 is best practice that supports organizations in navigating this ongoing change.
ITIL 4 is the next iteration that incorporates all of the best things from ITIL as it is known today and expands IT and service operations to a new level. Moving from traditional process-led delivery, ITIL 4 supports faster quality and value-driven delivery for people and organizations.
ITIL Processes from ITIL V3 2011
The following are the processes of Service Lifecycle:
· Continual Service Improvement ›
Who uses ITIL?
Large, medium and small organizations all over the world use ITIL to help them improve the value of their services. ITIL helps organizations in all industries and sectors solve business issues as well as improving IT capability. Organizations use ITIL as a guide to improve or implement a capability that provides business value.
Since ITIL is a set of best practices and not a standard, organizations are free to adopt as much of the ITIL framework as they see fit.
What are the benefits and advantages of ITIL?
Organizational benefits of adopting ITIL best practices include:
· Stronger alignment between IT and the business
· Improved service delivery and customer satisfaction
· Reduced costs through improved use of resources
· Greater visibility of IT costs and assets
· Better management of business risk and service disruption or failure
· More stable service environment to support constant business change
More detailed benefits and advantages of the ITIL framework are documented in each of the stages and in the 26 ITIL process areas defined in the core books. Essentially, the benefit lies in aligning process area with the desired business outcome. The goal is to improve the specialized capability of the process, people, suppliers and technology which supports the business service.
References:https://www.axelos.com, www.bmc.com, and Google.
Author: Swetha Ramdurg
About: The Technology Head at SkillRary, Swetha R has more than 8 years of industry experience as a Technologist. DevOps, Integration, Technologist, Architect, Marketing are just a few of her areas of expertise. Aiming to create a difference in technology, she visions to bring quality education to everyone’s doorstep.
