Here’s how ITIL – Information Technology Infrastructure Library will help you, and your organisation.
What is the problem to which ITIL is the solution?
ITIL is a set of procedures and methods that help organisations implement, run, maintain and enhance IT services.
IT professionals have known for years that the key to success is to use more brains not more bodies. That is, to plan and run the project well, not just add more people. Adding more people to a late-running project probably will make it even later. This is Brooks Law, and is explained by Fred Brooks in his book The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering which was published in 1979.
ITIL’s roots are in the now-defunct Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency in the 1980s. It’s a rare example of government leading the way in IT. And it’s entirely appropriate that the government should invest in enhancing IT: it’s the country’s biggest user of IT services.
ITIL is technology agnostic. It can work with any development methodology, including lean and agile.
How will ITIL help my organisation?
ITIL significantly increase the chance of your organisation successfully implementing it’s next business critical IT project. Whether it’s about upgrading mainframes, moving services to an app, or upgrading mainframes so that services can be moved to an app, ITIL helps.
The ITIL structure gives the project structure. It ensures that everyone understands, and is focussed on, how the project delivers enhancements for the stakeholders. It makes sure that all the right questions are asked, and answered, before the critical systems architecture decisions are taken.
The benefits of ITIL
Three key benefits of using ITIL to businesses are:
- Enhanced Service Delivery: ITIL provides a structured framework that helps organisations deliver services in a consistent and efficient manner. This methodology ensures that IT services are aligned with business goals and customer needs, leading to improved service quality and customer satisfaction.
- Optimised Cost Management: By adopting ITIL practices, businesses can achieve more efficient use of resources, which helps in reducing costs. ITIL aids in the identification and elimination of redundant processes and promotes cost-effective service delivery solutions without compromising on quality.
- Improved Risk Management: ITIL offers a proactive approach to risk management by identifying potential service disruptions and providing strategies to mitigate risks. This helps businesses maintain continuous service delivery and ensures stability and reliability in IT operations, enhancing overall business resilience.
How will ITIL help me?
Many. many big organisations want ITIL skills. And demand is increasing as the importance of IT increases. This means adding ITIL qualifications gives you a significantly stronger CV. And in today’s business world there are no secure jobs, just good CVs and bad CVs. A good CV is the way forward to asking the boss for a good pay rise, and to knowing that if the boss says no, you can easily find someone else who will say yes. It’s the way to know that if your current employers no longer needs you, because they are downsizing, merging, or even going bankrupt, then you can move to a new employer. ITIL skills help you protect your income, your career, and your family finances.
Where do I start?
You start with training. Whether you are looking to help your organisation, yourself, or both, the first practical step is to get the key people, including yourself, trained.
The training steps are outlined here. The 4 main qualifications are:
- ITIL 4 Foundation
- ITIL 4 Managing Professional (MP)
- ITIL 4 Strategic Leader (SL)
- ITIL 4 Master