ITIL Explained
ITIL, designed by the Office of Government Commerce in the late 1980’s, is the de facto standard for IT Service Management. It provides an integrated, process based, best practice framework for the management of IT within a business.
What ITIL is NOT is a prescriptive set of rules that must be adhered to by everyone in the same way. The answer to the question ‘How can one set of functions fit all?’ will always be ‘They can’t’.
“Being a framework, ITL describes the contours of organising Service Management...it focuses on best practice that can be utilised in different ways according to need’
“Using ITIL doesn’t imply a completely new way of thinking…it provides a framework in which to place existing methods and activities in a structured context.”
OGC – Service Support Best Practice Manual
Split into 5 integrated elements by BS15000 (of which ITIL forms the basis), the two elements dealing with delivery of the IT Services, Service Support and Service Delivery, are briefly described here
When implemented in a pragmatic way, ITIL can truly help to align business and IT, and provide a means to measure the efficiency and success of IT Service Support and Delivery.
Basically, in summary, it’s this:
- A documented set of ‘best practices’ – not a methodology – for aligning IT services with business demands and requirements.
- Provides overall guidance; it is not a ‘step by step how to do manual’. ITIL processes need therefore to be implemented pragmatically and adapted to meet each organisation’s particular needs.
- It is ‘generic’, i.e. technology and infrastructure independent.
ITIL is a best practice framework applicable to all organisations that recognise the operational impact of costly mistakes and critical interruptions. Effective and efficient Service Management need not be unwieldy. ITIL will deliver similar benefits to organisations of all sizes, if implemented pragmatically to meet your unique requirements.
