Have you ever heard of ITIL? The acronym might not sound familiar to those outside the technology industry, but its purpose—ensuring effective process management—benefits many other areas of a company.
ITIL stands for Information Technology Infrastructure Library, representing a globally recognized set of best practices for managing information technology services. Its primary goal is to align IT services with business needs, promoting a structured and efficient approach to delivering and supporting these services.
When a company puts ITIL frameworks into practice, it allows professionals to quickly identify the root causes of issues, ensuring the necessary visibility for teams to prevent these problems from happening in the future.
But before delving into the advantages and processes that make up this framework, let's learn more about the origin of this methodology and how it has evolved over the past four decades.
What is ITIL?
"ITIL" was first coined in 1980 by the British Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA) to document best practices in IT service management. In this context, ITIL began as a collection of over 30 books addressing specific IT service management practices.
As technology and work processes evolved since the 1980s, it was natural for this methodology to undergo changes and adaptations, so new versions were released over time.
ITIL v2 and ITIL v3 emerged in the mid-2000s with fewer books. In the third version, ITIL was structured around the service lifecycle, which has 5 stages:
- Service strategy: Aims to transform IT service into an asset by creating a plan that encompasses corporate culture, governance, policies, and standards, ensuring their implementation and service management.
- Service design: Involves mapping the availability and skills of professionals in the field, with the goal of developing new services and improving existing ones.
- Service transition: Involves the actual implementation of the service. The central goal during this stage is to ensure that changes implemented in the production environment are carried out in a controlled and efficient manner.
- Service operation: This stage aims to ensure the quality execution of services, following previously established service-level agreements (SLAs) and quality standards.
- Continuous improvement: Even though it's the final stage, continuous improvement can be put into practice in parallel with the previous stages. This stage is essential to identifying possible issues and correcting them.
The most recent version, ITIL 4, released in 2019, revisits the best practices already published in the previous version but with an expanded scope. It emphasizes not only processes but also agility, automation, and integration with practices like DevOps.
Another major change is that the model based on the service lifecycle has been replaced by the Service Value System (SVS). Although the five stages from ITIL V3 are not directly replicated in ITIL 4, the underlying principles and best practices remain relevant.
But how can these best practices positively impact both IT and the organization? Let's explore this in the following sections!
Why is ITIL important for a company?
Within an organization, the information technology sector plays a crucial role in driving the overall company's results. This is one of the areas that can enhance a company's performance and increase productivity among employees in other departments, having a positive impact on areas such as finance and human resources.
This is why effective management of the IT department can bring significant results to the organization. That's when ITIL comes into play, ensuring the execution of best practices in this field.
The primary advantage for a company in adopting ITIL is a significant improvement in the quality of IT services, which results in increased customer satisfaction, greater operational efficiency, and better risk management.
To adopt ITIL, a company should start by training its team in ITIL principles and practices, establish service management processes based on ITIL guidelines, and continuously monitor the performance and effectiveness of these processes, making adjustments as necessary.
ITIL certification
To officially implement this methodology, there are certifications through the ITIL program, supported by the ITIL Certification Management Board (ICMB). These certifications are widely demanded in the technology market, especially for professionals involved in IT management.
There are levels of certification, which vary depending on the depth and level of knowledge. Here are some examples:
- ITIL Foundation: This is the primary level and serves as a prerequisite for the others. It ensures knowledge of fundamental concepts in the field, such as key practices, objectives, and service management processes.
- ITIL Managing Professional: This can only be obtained if the person holds the previous certification. In this stage, there are four mandatory modules: Create, Deliver, and Support; Drive Stakeholder Value; High Velocity; and Direct, Plan, and Improve. This certification aims to ensure that the professional has technical and practical knowledge of IT management.
- ITIL Strategic Leader: After completing the four previous modules, there are two additional ones that can certify an IT leader: Strategist - Direct, Plan, and Improve; and Leader - Digital and IT Strategy.
- ITIL Master: This certification requires a certain level of seniority, as professionals need over five years of experience to get it. It certifies that the person is capable of applying ITIL principles, techniques, and methodologies in the corporate environment.
Currently, several courses help professionals prepare for the exams at each certification level. Exams can be taken virtually or in person, depending on the institution that applies them.
For those in the IT field, these certifications can provide a competitive edge in the job market, offering an advantage over other professionals and potentially leading to an increase in salary.
See how ITIL can be an invaluable tool for IT management? With this framework that reduces the chances of making mistakes and processes running smoothly, it's easier to achieve positive results at an individual level and for the company as a whole.
GUEST WRITER: Marina Meireles
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