A brief history: In 1989, the Central Computer and Telecommunication Agency (a division of the UK government) published the first elements of what would later become known as the IT infrastructure Library, or ITIL. A series of best practice books, ITIL gained more widespread acceptance in the mid-1990's, and has come to be adopted as the standard by many of today's top IT businesses (an example: Microsoft chose ITIL as the basis for its Microsoft Operations Framework).

The first question should be 'Does the organization need ITIL?' or 'What could the organization gain from ITIL'. If the answer is negative on either account - stop.

ITIL books emphasise that organizations that have succeeded in implementing ITIL have one important thing in common - a strong 'Executive Sponsor'. This means a senior manager - ideally on the Board of Directors, the Corporate Information Officer or some similarly important role - is passionate about ITIL being implemented. When conflicts arise (as they do), the Sponsor will champion the cause, making sure the ITIL project has the funding and the authority to succeed.

Some organizations have started with a technical enthusiast, but it has taken a lot longer and usually only works once that person has a senior and powerful sponsor.

ITIL is not just a technical thing. Actually it isn't really technical at all - not like Java programming anyway! ITIL is ultimately concerned with aligning IT with the business - that means that the business is ultimately the driver, not IT.

You can implement both ITIL and Six Sigma, as well as other quality standards, such as COBIT and the Telecoms eTOM. There is documentation showing how these standards intersect and highlighting major differences. Six Sigma describes a model of defects in manufacturing. This doesn't translate directly to an IT model - imagine if you defined Service Calls as 'defects' and tried to drive those down to zero! With proper implementation of metrics and a sympathetic integration into the Six Sigma programme, it is possible to integrate these important quality initiatives.

Information technology service providers, IT directors and managers, Business Managers and indeed, any organization that depends on IT Services.

ITIL is a series of best practice books that provide recommendations to IT organizations on ways to best optimize their delivery or management of IT services. ITIL provides a great foundation to systematically improve the delivery of IT services.

"There is a popular misconceptions about ITIL: that it delivers an all encompassing framework within which standard processes and procedures can be implemented. This is only partly true.

ITIL certainly presents a 'best practice' approach to all of the processes an IT service supplier will need to have in place but its success over the years has very much been based on the philosophy of adopt and adapt. The solutions of one supplier are never directly translatable to another because of the differences between the two; technical, cultural, organizational and geographical. However, within its proscribed boundaries, it is a very useful tool. ITIL is a series of process recommendations printed on paper (or read on a screen). IT organizations can learn much from ITIL, but still need to be able to implement the recommendations described within it. Choosing to use ITIL is often the beginning of a long journey and, while hugely beneficial, organizations should not expect it to be an easy ride!

Quoting the ITIL website, "ITIL is intended to assist organizations to develop a framework for IT Service Management." The key parts of that sentence are "assist" and "framework." ITIL's biggest strength is that it provides an internally consistent framework around which IT organizations can structure their service management. The problem that many organizations run into is that they approach ITIL as a complete solution rather than as an aid to an end objective.

Probably because ITIL has been so widely adopted and is such a powerful tool when used correctly, there have been a number of articles/blogs/posts written about the pitfalls that can be encountered when using it. They include warnings like, "don't let ITIL become a religion," and "don't become a slave to outdated definitions." The vast majority of those pitfalls boil down to one concept: treat ITIL as a useful tool to create a cohesive structure for IT service management; don't treat ITIL as the answer to all of IT's problems. Used correctly, ITIL is a guide for improving the management of existing services, not a panacea for all of IT's woes. Remember Oscar Wilde's famous quotation "Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools!".

While many companies bill their products as "ITIL compliant," the OGC (owner of ITIL) actually does not have a certification program at this time. However, ITIL is closely aligned with ISO/IEC 20000, the international standard for IT Service Management. There is an ISO/IEC 20000 certification program with which interested parties can engage.

No. In fact, many people have written articles cautioning against taking ITIL as a holistic, end all solution. ITIL is a strong tool that describes IT process management best practices and can greatly aid IT organizations, but it is not, by itself, the all-encompassing solution that many IT managers seek

Amongst the key changes we see in ITIL v3 is a wholesale shift towards a service-driven lifecycle approach and guidance which aims to be more prescriptive. Where ITIL v2 outlined what should be done to improve processes, ITIL v3 explains more clearly how you should go about doing it.
Another key ITIL v3 addition is demonstrating a return on investment to the business. This was one of the most frequent requests.

Anyone who holds an ITIL V2 certificate will have the option to take a short bridging course and exam to bring them in-line with the new ITIL v3 qualifications.

ITIL v2-v3 Foundation and Manager level bridging course have been developed and are available.

ITIL v3 is an updated version of ITIL and ITIL v2 qualifications and exams will be phased out over time.

For organizational consistency, and while they remain available, organizations have an option to stay with what they have used in the past.

The holder of the ITIL v3 Foundation Certificate should be aware of the techniques, processes and functions in the core ITIL publications of Service Strategy, Service Design, Service Transition, Service Operation and Continual Service Improvement. He or she should be able to relate this knowledge to wider IT issues and to their own work environment.

The majority of people that consider ITIL as a qualification do so for career and personal development reasons. Often this is driven by a change of job or career, where you notice that to get to the top of the CV pile, you need to have an extra qualification like ITIL (even if you have been involved in service management successfully for many years without it). In many advertised positions ITIL has become a prerequisite.

The majority of companies that implement ITIL also encourage their employees to take the exams. If your staff have accredited ITIL qualifications, then you can present your company as using ITIL. This works particularly well where you tender for or supply to any large IT organizations or outsourcing companies.

For foundation level you can, as the ITIL manuals contain pretty much everything you need. However it is hard work, and often your own interpretation of ITIL may be different to that required. If you are working on a shoestring budget, then this may be the only option open to you, but with all the extra study involved, your time may be better spent learning using an accredited course.

For the intermediate or advanced levels it is compulsory to attend an accredited training course.

Industry experts involved in refreshing ITIL say the best practice framework was updated to align with how IT operates within businesses today. The materials in Version 2 have been condensed into Version 3 along with new content, such as methods to measure ITIL's success and align IT efforts with business processes.

ITIL advocates say Version 3 provides more prescriptive advice by way of use-case scenarios that have worked for others in real-world ITIL implementations. It includes tips to get started depending on specific circumstances. In addition, this version helps broaden ITIL's focus across IT disciplines and silos; content centers around managing the IT service life cycle across an enterprise company, rather than in pockets within various departments

No, existing ITIL qualifications will not be invalidated by the changes to ITIL because the core principles of process management have not change.

The OGC continues to maintain ITIL intellectual property and oversee updates to ITIL, working with the IT Service Management Forum [itSMF]. The Stationery Office [TSO] in the UK publishes ITIL books and accompanying materials - as do a number of other important sources.