ITIL - Understanding and Using IT Service Management

'ITIL' is a term that is fast gaining currency around the				Practical Guide' is a thorough and comprehensive
IT world. It is often wrongly described as 'IT				handbook on the subject, while the 'itSMF Pocket
governance' - in fact, on its own, it certainly isn't this.				Guides' provide a good overview of each of the ITIL
ITIL is a collection of best practices that helps				components.
companies implement an IT Service Management				Getting certified
culture. However, its growing popularity reflects the				Part of the reason for the recent growth in ITIL
substantial impact it can make on a company's IT and				awareness is the publication in December 2005 of a
business performance and the fact that, in combination				new global standard to which businesses can become
with other frameworks, it is a vital ingredient in creating				certified. ISO 20000 (or ISO/IEC 20000:2005, to give it
true IT governance.				its correct name) is closely based upon the
What is IT Service Management?				pre-existing British standard BS15000 - in fact, it is
Today's businesses are increasingly delivered or				virtually indistinguishable. The standard comprises two
enabled using information technology. Business and IT				parts: ISO/IEC 20000-1 is the specification for IT
management need guidance and support on how to				Service Management against which an organisation's
manage the IT infrastructure in order to				practices can be certified; ISO/IEC 20000-2 is the
cost-effectively improve functionality and quality. IT				'code of practice' that describes best practices and
Service Management is a concept that deals with how				the requirements of Part 1.
to define and deliver that guidance and support. In				BS15000 has become widely used around the world
common with other modern management practice, it				since it was published in 2003 and was adopted
views things from the customer's perspective, i.e. IT is				virtually unchanged as the national standard in Australia
a service that the customer or consumer receives. It				and South Africa. A number of companies across the
can be made up of hardware, software and				USA, Europe and Asia have already become certified
communications facilities, but the customer perceives it				as BS 15000 compliant. We also recommend several
as a self-contained, coherent entity.				excellent books that provide guidance on achieving
So what is ITIL?				BS15000/ISO 20000 compliance.
Standing for 'IT Infrastructure Library', ITIL is a set of				Upon the publication of ISO 20000, BS15000 was
best practices that are at the heart of the IT Service				withdrawn and individual standards and certification
Management approach. It provides guidance on how to				bodies are drawing up their own formal transition
manage IT infrastructure so as to streamline IT				programmes for conversion to the new standard.
services in line with business expectations. ITIL is a				Companies already holding BS15000 should encounter
best practice framework, presenting the consolidated				no difficulty in converting their certification to the new
experience of organisations worldwide on how best to				standard, as this should be one of the considerations
manage IT services to meet business expectations.				addressed by the individual certifying bodies.
ITIL was originally developed during the 1980s by the				Practitioners can also pursue a structured programme
UK's Central Computer and Technology Agency				of ITIL examination and certification, comprising the ITIL
(CCTA), a government body, which created ITIL				Foundation Certificate, ITIL Practitioners Certificate and
version 1 as an approach to incorporating various				ITIL Managers Certificate. Examinations and
vendor technologies and serving organisations with				certification in Europe are managed through two
differing technical and business needs. CCTA has now				independent bodies: EXIN, the European Examination
become part of the Office of Government				Institute for Information Science; and ISEB, the
Commerce (OGC), which, as official publisher of the				Information Systems Examination Board. Between
ITIL library, updated it, published version 2 and continues				them, these two organisations control the entire
to develop and support it.				certification scheme. In the United States, HDI is a
ITIL has since become widely adopted across the				principal organiser of examination and certification, and
world in both public and private sectors and is				it and similar organisations provide coverage
recognised as best practice, being deployed in				elsewhere around the world. These organisations
organisations of all shapes and sizes.				ensure that personal certification is fair, honest and
What makes up the ITIL Library?				independent of the organisations that provide the
ITIL documentation consists of seven 'sets' or				training, and accredit training suppliers to bring about a
'volumes': Service Support, Service Delivery, ICT				consistent quality of course delivery.
Infrastructure Management, Security Management,				ITIL and IT Governance
Planning to Implement Service Management, The				When combined with certain other frameworks, ITIL
Business Perspective and Applications Management.				makes a major contribution to the creation of effective
Of these, Service Support, Service Delivery and				IT governance. ITIL processes can be mapped to
Security Management are considered the central				CobiT (Control Objectives for Information and Related
components of the ITIL framework, covering vital				Technology) processes, and the two frameworks
issues such as Incident Management, Configuration				complement each other nicely: if the CobiT control
Management, Change Management, IT Service				framework tells the organisation 'what' to do in the
Continuity Management, Availability Management and				delivery and support areas, ITIL best practices help the
IT Security Management.				organisation define 'how' to deliver these requirements.
Learning about ITIL				Similarly, ITIL works very effectively with ISO 17799,
The seven ITIL volumes are published by The				the international code of best practice for information
Stationery Office, the official publisher of the UK				security, providing guidance on how to manage the
government. In addition, to gain an overview and a				various processes that ISO 17799 prescribes.
sense of how to navigate these, it is helpful to consult				By drawing upon these three complementary
one of several recommended introductory texts.				frameworks as appropriate to its needs, an
'Foundations of IT Service Management Based on ITIL				organisation can establish an IT governance regime
- An Introduction' is widely accepted as the best				that delivers real and lasting competitive advantage to
starting point and self-study guide. 'Implementing				its business.
Service and Support Management Processes - A