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ITIL:W

hat It Is and

hy You Should C

are

1-800-COURSES

www.globalknowledge.com

Expert Reference Series of White Papers

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Introduction

Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) has been around for 20 years, but interest within the

United States has only increased in the last five years. ITIL is becoming the next big thing in Information

Technology. It is the new industry buzz-word, the new certification, the new conference, and the new idea that

the IT world feels it needs. This paper will describe the origin of ITIL, who controls the ITIL contents, who are

the biggest users of ITIL, and why you should care about it. Throughout this paper, it will be important for you

to remember that ITIL describes a framework of processes for the management of IT. Because it is a frame-

work, ITIL does not describe in great detail how any particular process should be implemented.

Where did ITIL come from?

ITIL started in the late 1980s when the British Central Computer and Telecommunication Agency (CCTA), now

called the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), made a decision that there should be a better way for

Information Technology to function. The CCTA commissioned a study group to develop a new approach to

managing Information Technology. From this group came Version 1 of ITIL, which was called GITIM,

Government Information Technology Infrastructure Management. Version 1 of ITIL was a great deal different

from the present-day version. Part of this difference is due to the gradual maturing of ITIL and changes in the

Information Technology industry.

Between the development of Version 1 and the year 2001, the number of documents (books) used within ITIL

grew to more than 32. In the year 2000, Microsoft used ITIL as the basis for development of their proprietary

Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF). The year 2000 also saw the CCTA merge into the Office of

Government Commence (OGC).

Version 2 of ITIL was released in 2001. The present day version contains just 8 books:

• Service Support

• Service Delivery

• Business Perspective

• ICT Infrastructure Management

• Applications Management

• Security Management

• Planning and Implementation

• Software Asset Management

Two of these books, Service Support and Service Deliver, are the heart of ITIL and the focus of the present drive

for ITIL adoption.

Eugene S. Ball, PhD, ITIL Certified Service Manager

ITIL:What It Is and

Why You Should Care

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Because ITIL had its start in the British government, ITIL adoption began there; It then quickly spread to non-

government organizations within Britain. From Britain, ITIL moved to Europe and Canada, where it has seen

heavy adoption. From Canada, ITIL finally made its way to the United States. The adoption of ITIL, by both gov-

ernment and non-government organizations within the US, is gaining momentum. ITIL truly is the next big

thing. If ITIL is new to you, then now is the time to learn more.

Who are the players in ITIL?

The following is a list of organizations and companies that have successfully implemented ITIL.(A list of organ-

izations that have implemented ITIL is several sections down. The groups listed in this section are the ones

that control ITIL.)

Office of Government Commerce (OGC)

The Office of Government Commence, whose web site can be located at http://www.ogc.gov.uk/, is the owner

of ITIL. The mission of the OGC is to work with the public sector as a catalyst to achieve greater efficiency,

increase value in commercial activities, and improved success in the delivery of programs and projects. When

you look at the OGC, you will see that the scope of their concern for standards is much broader than just the

improvement of IT, extending to other diverse areas (even including plumbing standards).

The Stationary Office (TSO)

The Stationary Office (http://www.tso.co.uk) is the largest publisher by volume in the UK, publishing over

15,000 titles a year and providing a comprehensive range of document and publishing services. TSO is the offi-

cial publisher of the ITIL documentation. The downloadable PDF versions of the old ITIL books can be obtained

through TSO’s website.

EXIN and ISEB

Within ITIL there are a number of certifications for individuals. The owner of the certification and the certifica-

tion testing is the Dutch foundation Exameninstituut voor Informatica (EXIN) (www.exin-exams.com) and

Britain’s Information Systems Examination Board (ISEB) (www.iseb.org.uk). EXIN and ISEB jointly developed

the professional certification system for ITIL. This was done in close cooperation with the OGC and Information

Technology System Management Forum (itSMF described below). There are three recognized individual certifi-

cations: Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management, Practitioner Certificate in IT Service Management,

and Manager Certificate in IT Service Management. In addition to certification of individuals working in the

industry, there is an organizational certification, BS15000, which is the world's first standard for IT service

management. This standard specifies a set of inter-related management processes and is based heavily upon

the ITIL framework. BS15000 consists of two parts: BS15000-1 consists of 10 sections:

• Scope

• Terms and Definitions

• Requirements for a Management System

• Planning and Implementing Service Management

• Planning and Implementing New or Changed Services

• Service Delivery Process

• Relationship Processes

• Resolution Processes

• Control Processes

• Release Process

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BS15000-2 provides assistance to organizations that are to be audited against BS15000-1 or are planning

service improvements.

The Information Technology System Management Forum (itSMF)

ItSMF (www.itsmf.net) is an industry consortium dedicated to managing the cost and quality of IT service man-

agement. Members include IT organizations and software and services companies augmented by advisory and

review boards of industry leaders, analysts, and customers. Collectively, itSMF USA represents those with a

stake in IT service management. The itSMF is involved in two areas. First, the organization provides a forum to

address technical and business issues that will enhance the benefits of IT management applications and servic-

es. Second, it educates the market about IT service management and its value—in effect, marketing IT service

management. Note that www.itsmf.com will take you the international itSMF web site.

Loyalist College

Loyalist College(www.itilexams.com ) is a Canadian college that administers the certification test for individu-

als for the Americas.

Companies that have implemented ITIL

Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, and IBM have used ITIL as a base for their own proprietary IT management frame

work and created the following tools.

• Microsoft offers Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF)

• HP offers IT Service Management Reference Model

• IBM offers IT Process Model

Many of the chapters within the ITIL’s eight books were written by individuals from one of these companies.

What makes ITIL different?

Over the years many of you have probably been involved in projects related to the improvement of

Information Technology such as:

Quality Enablers

• Project Management (http://www.pmi.org/)

• Balanced Scorecards (http://www.balancedscorecard.org/)

• Six Sigma (http://www.isixsigma.com/library/content/c010204a.asp)

Quality Methodologies

• ISO-9000 (http://www.iso.org/)

• TQM / Deming (http://www.deming.org/)

• Capability Maturity Model (www.sei.cmu.edu/) (http://www.itservicecmm.org/)

All of these programs provide methodologies that can be used to improve the processes that you have in

place. However, these methodologies provide little or no guidance about which processes are required for IT to

function well. ITIL provides a guide to the framework of processes required to run IT as a Business - for the

Business and the relationship between those processes. ITIL states that you need to have one function/depart-

ment and ten processes. For example:

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The Service Desk (function)

• Incident Management

• Problem Management

• Change Management

• Release Management

• Configuration Management

• Service Level Management

• Financial Management

• IT Continuity Management

• Availability Management

• Capacity Management

Service Support, the blue book, covers the one function and the first five processes. Service Delivery, the red

book, covers the last five processes.

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.

What is the expected ROI?

Implementation of ITIL can be costly, so where can an organization expect to recover those costs? Here is a

partial list the benefits:

• 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.

• ITIL brings with it a common dictionary, an item that has been lacking in the present IT world.

• Improved financial management of IT and a better matching of the services of IT to the needs of the

overall organization.

• Improved relationship between IT and the organization for which it provide services.

• Improved utilization of the IT infrastructure.

• Improved utilization of IT personnel.

• Improved reputation of IT within the organization that IT services.

Who are some of the organizations that are adopting ITIL?

The adoption of ITIL is gaining momentum within the US. This is evident in the fact that as more of the IT tools

have added the tag line “ITIL compliant” into their advertisements. Here is a short list of state, federal and pri-

vate organizations that are implementing the ITIL framework.

• Microsoft—by providing Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF)

• HP—by providing IT Service Management Reference Model

• IBM—by providing IT Process Model

• US Army

• State of California

• State of North Carolina

• Blue Cross – Blue Shield of Florida

• Blue Cross – Blue Shield of Texas

• LG&E Energy LLC

• United Health Group in Minneapolis

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Microsoft, HP and IBM each have their own version of ITIL—which is focused on their own hardware and soft-

ware—but each is based on ITIL Version 2. Each of these organizations are somewhere on the path of ITIL

adoption. Most people with a lot of ITIL experience state that adoption of ITIL has no end point, only a starting

point and milestones along the way to measure your level of continuing success.

What are some of the difficulties of ITIL implementation?

The adoption of ITIL may not be easy or short or cheap.

One reason is that IT has not often run itself like a business. IT has a habit of operating as an indispensable

group that can use resources and provide services as it sees fit. How many times have you heard the phase,

“we know what our customer needs and that is what we are providing”?

IT has not been in the practice of running itself based on documented needs of the business. One place where

this is clearly evident is that many organizations lack a strong change management process. In these organiza-

tions, system changes frequently have an adverse effect on the productivity of the entire organization.

The ITIL framework is about process, not organization. Most IT organizations have spent years dividing up IT

resources into towers of responsibility, hardware, software, and staff. Breaking down or redefining these tow-

ers to expedite the processes within the ITIL framework and making sure that the necessary information is

passed between processes may be the biggest and most difficult challenge. Because this is such a large stum-

bling block, it should be understood that the requirement for ITIL adoption must come from the very top of the

IT organization.

The implementation of ITIL cannot be accomplished in six months. But most IT projects are expected to show

major positive results or even be completed within six months. ITIL will not meet either of those milestones.

ITIL milestones are measured in years rather than months.

Implementing ITIL may also require new resources. Your present technology may not be able to support the

processes or inter-process communication required by ITIL. Even though the ITIL framework is about processes,

that framework can only work efficiently when you have the right tools to support both the processes and the

inter-process data exchange.

Another difficulty is determining where to start. Two questions often asked are:

• Do we try to do everything at once?

• It is such a major undertaking, where do we start?

The answer to the first question is “no.” Trying to do everything at once is too difficult and will only increase

the chance of failure. The answer to the second question depends on each individual organization. ITIL pro-

vides flexibility in approach, not requiring a specific methodology. Common advice is to look at your present

processes and see which of those processes comes the closest to matching the processes describe in either the

Service Support or the Service Delivery books. Begin with those processes. Try to pick one that will show a pos-

itive result quickly, so others will stay on board.

The ITIL framework will cause a major change in the way your business is being done. Changes in the business

processes are always difficult.

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Even though ITIL implementation can be difficult, the true value is the long-term adoption of best practices

that have shown a positive return on investment. ITIL builds a stronger organization that matches the service

provided to the present and future needs of the business and provides that service in a cost-effective manner.

Both of these actions will improve the standing of IT within the business and improve both the competitive

advantage and bottom line of the business.

What are the steps to getting started?

For most organizations, education or training is the first step. ITIL brings with it a common dictionary of IT ter-

minology. Many companies begin by requiring most or all of their IT staff to take an ITIL Foundations

Certification class. This class can be 2 – 3 days in length. Many companies require that the class include a cer-

tification test. This training provides a common understanding of the ITIL framework and a common language

for a more accurate discussion during the implementation.

A second step is to designate someone as manager of the ITIL adoption project. The adoption of ITIL rises to

the level of a major project that requires formal oversight. The project manager should be an ITIL Certified

Service Manager or have at least one advisor who is so certified. This is a long-term project and every effort

should be made to have the same Certified Service Manager to provide continuity to the ITIL implementation.

A third step is more training. As progress is made toward the implementation of each of the 10 ITIL processes,

the manager of each process may be assigned to take a special ITIL Practitioner Certificate class that covers

the process for which they have responsibility.

An ongoing step is to consider is the need for new technology. However, new technology should not be consid-

ered until your processes are better defined. It is important to remember that technology is only an enabler

and does not improve weak processes.

Summary

ITIL is becoming the industry standard for best practices for the management of IT. If you are an IT company or

an IT division within a company then you can expect to hear, “Where are you in your ITIL implementation?” If

you work in the IT industry, and you work for a medium-to-large organization or plan to in your future, then

you should think about adding one or more ITIL certifications to your resume—because ITIL will be in your

future.

For those of you who are about to begin the ITIL implementation journey, remember to think and talk about

the long term, because this journey is measured in years not in months. ITIL is a new approach to continuous

improvement. Part of ITIL is the constant improvement of each of the 10 ITIL processes and the inter-process

communication. This constant improvement has as its goal to provide IT services in a more cost-effective man-

ner and to better match those services to the present and future needs of the business.

ITIL is a framework of how to manage IT like a business for the business. As such, the ITIL framework does not

describe in absolute terms how any of the ITIL processes should be implemented. Those details are left up to

the implementer. The goals and key performance indicators for each of the processes is well defined, so that

there is a clearly defined road map to measure your success.

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Learn More

Learn more about how you can improve productivity, enhance efficiency, and sharpen your competitive edge.

Check out the following Global Knowledge course:

ITIL Foundations Certification Boot Camp

ITIL Practitioner Certification Boot Camp

IT Project Management

For more information or to register, visit www.globalknowledge.com or call 1-800-COURSES to speak with a

sales representative. Our courses offer practical skills, exercises, and tips that you can immediately put to use.

Our expert instructors draw upon their experiences to help you understand key concepts and how to apply

them to your specific work situation. Choose from our more than 700 courses, delivered through Classrooms,

e-Learning, and On-site sessions, to meet your IT, project management, and professional skills training needs.

About the Author

Dr. Eugene Ball has 26 years of experience in the customer service industry. This experience followed 12 years

of teaching and research in mathematics, computer science, and statistics at universities both in the US and

abroad. During the last 26 years, he has held positions related to the customer service industry that ranged

from providing direct telephone support to managing a large help desk. Dr. Ball founded Help Desk Solutions,

Inc. in 1993. Working through Help Desk Solutions, he has assisted a variety of organizations in implementing

or improving their customer service by improving processes and procedures and selecting, implementing, and

integrating tools that support and automate these processes. These organizations have included start-up com-

panies, county governments, higher education, and members of the Fortune 500. Dr. Ball is a regular speaker

on both national and local levels on topics related to customer support. He has also published a variety of arti-

cles on subjects related to the customer service industry. Dr. Ball is one of the founders and has served as

President of the North Carolina, Research Triangle, and Central Virginia local chapters of the Help Desk

Institute. In 1998, and from 2002 – 2005, Dr. Ball served on the Help Desk Institute Team Excellence evaluation

panel. He is a founding member of the Help Desk Institute Individual Certification Standards Committee. He is

a certified HDI training partner, a certified HDI Site Auditor, and an ITIL Certified Service Manager. In addition

to teaching Help Desk Institute certification, he trains and consults with clients on ITIL issues.

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