IT Infrastructure Library(ITIL)
The IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) concept emerged in the 1980s, when the British government determined that the level of IT service quality provided to them was not sufficient. The Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA), now called the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), was tasked with developing a framework for efficient and financially responsible use of IT resources within the British government and the private sector.
The earliest version of ITIL was actually originally called GITIM, Government Information Technology Infrastructure Management. Obviously this was very different to the current ITIL, but conceptually very similar, focusing around service support and delivery.
Large companies and government agencies in Europe adopted the framework very quickly in the early 1990s. ITIL was spreading far and, and was used in both government and non-government organisations. As it grew in popularity, both in the UK and across the world, IT itself changed and evolved, and so did ITIL. In the year 2000, The CCTA merged into the OGC, Office for Government Commerce and in the same year, Microsoft used ITIL as the basis to develop their proprietary Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF). In 2001, version 2 of ITIL was released. The Service Support and Service Delivery books were redeveloped into more concise usable volumes. Over the following few years it became, by far, the most widely used IT service management best practice approach in the world.
In 2007 version 3 of ITIL was published. This adopted more of a lifecycle approach to service management, with greater emphasis on IT business integration.
The question often asked is why the industry needs yet another standard if we have so many already used in IT? Many organisations have invested in the implementation of various approaches such as Six Sigma, ISO-9000, TQM/Deming, CMMI to name some of the more common ones. All of these programs provide methodologies that can be used to improve processes. However, these methodologies provide little or no guidance about which processes are required for IT systems and services to function well.
ITIL provides a guide to the framework of processes required to run the IT department as an efficient accountable Business Unit within an organisation.
ITIL states that organisations need to designate each specific IT function/department and identify the relevant ITIL processes. For example, for the Service Desk, Service Support and Service Delivery functions.
It is possible to adopt ITIL while still using any of the process improvement methodologies listed above. It is not a case of using one or the other. They are complementary and ITIL will assist in attaining ISO and CMMI accreditation in IT related activities.
Implementation of ITIL can be involved and costly, so it is important to appreciate the ROI of ITIL. Some of the benefits would be:
- ITIL has become the de facto best practice for running IT. The wide spread adoption of ITIL within an industry will provide guides to what works and what doesn't.
- Improved financial management of IT and a better matching of the services of IT to the needs of the overall organisation.
- Improved relationship between IT team and the organisation it services.
- Improved utilisation of the IT human and infrastructure resources
For most organisations, training is the first step. ITIL brings with it a common dictionary of IT terminology. Many companies begin by requiring most or all of their IT staff to take an ITIL Foundation Certification class. This training provides a common understanding of the ITIL framework and a common language for a more accurate discussion during the implementation.
IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) courses: