ITIL: what is it and how to start using it?

Being aware that Information Technology (IT) is a strategic area for companies is not enough to achieve more expressive performance. It is also essential that companies adopt good management practices so that the services linked to this segment are within or above expectations. This scenario reinforces the need to invest in the ITIL methodology.

Currently, it is one of the most requested by IT managers, because it serves as a basis on how to manage the tasks of a team and keep the activities being performed in an exemplary way.

In this article, we are going to cover several points about this method of managing IT services, in order for you to adopt it in your business efficiently. Check out!

ITIL Overview: History, Evolution and Importance

The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) emerged as a set of best practices for IT service management, evolving over time to adapt to market needs. From its earliest versions to ITIL 4, the framework has undergone significant transformations, incorporating modern ITSM (Information Technology Service Management) and emphasizing guiding principles such as focusing on value, thinking and working holistically, and keeping it simple and practical.

For companies, adopting ITIL means aligning IT with business objectives, improving operational efficiency, increasing customer satisfaction and, ultimately, adding more value to the services provided.

What is the best answer about what is ITIL?

Certainly, a good way to define this IT management methodology is to say that it is a library with the best practices for managing Information Technology services.

It is also common to call ITIL a library, that is, a set of works in which the most successful actions around the world on IT management are documented, after decades of knowledge acquisition.

It is worth noting that the meaning of the acronym ITIL is: Information Technology Infrastructure Library. In Portuguese, it means Information Technology Infrastructure Library.

However, ITIL does not specifically refer to IT infrastructure. The focus is a broad approach to technological management, which also covers activities related to software development.

With the emergence of an information base related to the IT Governance and the management of technological services, this methodology started to gather a wider range of knowledge, an essential aspect to add value to the work of Information Technology managers.

Understand the ITIL V3 concept

To implement the ITIL IT management method, we recommend knowing the modalities that a company can implement. One of them is ITIL V3, which we adopted in 2011.

In it, the life cycle of activities is divided into five principles: service, processes, functions, measures and performance. To help you fully understand this, we will cover the most relevant stages in adopting ITIL V3. Stay tuned!

Strategy

The goal establishes the strategy for a company to offer digital services to customers and keep activities running smoothly. To achieve this, we also focus on implementing a culture focused on actions aimed at achieving the most impactful results.

Design

At this point, we transform the service strategy into concrete activities. We do this by launching new services or improving those currently offered.

Transition

The intent brings together all the assets of a service to perform testing and integration. This work verifies the quality of a new service so that it can be launched according to the best market practices.

Operation

This stage prioritizes the adoption of initiatives that enable the provision of responsive services. To achieve this, we structure incident management and the call center, which helps a company to be more dynamic in maintaining its activities.

Continuous Improvement

The work focuses on expanding the effectiveness and efficiency of IT processes and activities in a corporation. This stage aims to ensure that practices in other phases seek alternatives for continuous improvement.

Get to know ITIL 4

It consists of the most updated version of the ITIL methodology, being released in February 2019. It is worth mentioning that there were profound changes in the method's architecture.

With the intention of exposing this more clearly, we are going to show you how ITIL 4 is composed. Therefore, it is important to read this content very carefully!

organizations and people

As much as IT services involve software and hardware, it is impossible to ignore the relevance of customers (internal or external), suppliers and the Information Technology team.

Therefore, it is very important to have a focus on how the management of services can provide a good experience for stakeholders from the continuous improvement of the work.

Information and Technology

The activities are aimed at managing the IT sector to promote greater availability of digital systems and services, with a focus on information security.

partners and suppliers

To overcome the challenges of digital transformation, the Information Technology area needs partnerships and high-level suppliers. This factor favors the hiring of consultants, equipment, software houses and even a software factory.

Value streams and processes

At this stage, the focus is on IT processes. Thus, the possibilities of improving them are greater, taking into account the needs of customers. This posture shows a more proactive behavior in the face of market changes.

It is valid to say that these four stages of ITIL 4 can suffer economic, environmental, legal, political and technological influences. In addition, this new version is characterized by a greater focus on stakeholders rather than the structuring of the service itself.

The 34 Practices of ITIL 4

ITIL 4 details 34 distinct practices that are essential for effective IT service management. These practices are grouped into three main categories: general management, which encompasses strategic and planning aspects; service management, which focuses on service delivery and support; and technical management, which deals with specific technological aspects. Understanding and implementing these practices is crucial for organizations seeking to optimize their ITSM processes and ensure the quality and reliability of their IT services. Here is a simple look at the 34 practices of the ITIL 4 framework:

General:

Management Architecture: Provides an understanding of all the components of an organization and how they fit together, aiding in planning and decision making.
Continuous Improvement: Establishes a culture of improvement throughout the organization and in all its services and practices.
Information and Knowledge: Generate the information and knowledge needed to support all service management practices.
Measurement and Reporting: Supports decision-making and continuous improvement by providing visibility into service and organizational performance.
Risks: Ensures that the organization assesses and manages risks effectively.
Information Security: Protects information needed to provide and support the services.
Projects: Ensures that all of the organization's projects are managed successfully.
Relationship: Establishes and maintains relationships between the organization and its stakeholders at all strategic and tactical levels.
Strategic: Formulates the organization's objectives and adopts the necessary courses of action to achieve them.
Suppliers: Ensures that the organization's suppliers and their performance are managed appropriately to support the delivery of continuous, quality services.
Human Resources: Ensures the organization has the right people with the necessary skills and competencies.

Services:

Business Analysis: Analyzes business needs and identifies possible solutions to meet them.
Service Catalog: Provides a single, consistent source of information about all of the organization's services and service offerings.
Capacity and Performance: Ensures that services have the capacity and performance necessary to meet agreed demand.
Continuity of Service: Ensures that services can continue to be delivered within agreed service levels after a disruption.
Event Monitoring and Management: Systematically observes services and service components and manages and prioritizes state change notifications (events).
Incidents: Minimizes the negative impact of incidents by restoring normal service as quickly as possible.
Problems: Reduces the likelihood and impact of incidents by identifying the real causes and developing solutions.
Liberation: Makes new and changed services available for use.
Change Control: Maximize the number of successful IT changes by ensuring risks are properly assessed, authorized and managed.
Service Validation and Testing: Ensures that new and changed services meet agreed expectations.
Service Level: Sets goals for service performance and measures, monitors, and reports actual performance against those goals.
Service Requests: Supports handling of all predefined and user-initiated service requests in an efficient and user-friendly manner.

Technique:

Implantation: Moves new or changed service components to live environments.
Infrastructure and Platform: Oversees and manages the hardware and software environments required to support services.
Software Development and Management: Creates and manages the software needed to provide and support the services.

Evaluate how to implement this methodology

In addition to the focus on continuous improvement of processes and services, it is necessary to have a close eye on employees for ITIL to become a real practice in the daily life of a company.

From the knowledge of the most used versions of the method, it is possible to think about the necessary steps for the implementation. However, there must be a priority in the qualification of the team for good IT practices to be fully implemented.

This scenario makes companies focus on encouraging employees to obtain the ITIL Foundation, certification necessary to follow the best Information Technology management procedures.

Currently, the ITIL 4 Foundation certification is a gateway to adopting the most up-to-date version of the ITIL framework. This is because it allows an understanding of how IT management involves the creation, delivery and continuous evolution of services.

For IT professionals, this certification helps to understand the ITIL structure and how it can be useful in improving the administration of Information Technology services.

As a company has properly qualified professionals, it will be faster and simpler to implement the ITIL methodology in the short term.

See some advantages of adopting ITIL in your company

There are several benefits to employing a work method focused on the continuous improvement of IT services. And understanding this will undoubtedly help you understand how investing in an advanced management methodology can make a difference.

A significant advantage of ITIL involves clarity and speed in prioritizing demands. When executing this correctly, the team will have a direction of what needs to be done in a more agile way. This contributes to increased productivity and focus on results.

With a better structured team, it is also possible to reduce IT costs and risks. If companies adopt good practices for monitoring and preventing cyberattacks, they will consequently have lower maintenance costs. In addition, this will minimize the likelihood of losses due to unexpected service interruptions.

Another outstanding benefit of the ITIL methodology is to make the IT sector more aligned with the business strategy. This is because the Information Technology team will act in accordance with the main objectives of the organization, which is crucial for the permanent evolution of the services.

There are many factors that justify an investment in ITIL. After all, it is necessary to ensure that the management of IT activities is within institutional perspectives and needs.

Historic

Responding to growing dependence on IT, the UK Government's Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA) in the 1980s developed a set of recommendations. It recognized that without standards, government agencies and private sector contracts began to independently create their own IT management practices.

The IT Infrastructure Library originated as a collection of books, each covering a specific practice within IT service management. ITIL was built around a process model-based view of controlling and managing operations often credited to W. Edwards Deming and his PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle.

ITIL Timeline

After initial publication in 1989-96, the number of books quickly grew within version 1 of ITIL to over 30 volumes.

In 2000/2001, to make ITIL more accessible (and accessible), ITIL Version 2 consolidated the publications into nine logical “sets” that grouped related process guidelines to match different aspects of managing IT, applications, and services.

The Service Management suites (Service Support and Service Delivery) were by far the most widely used, disseminated and understood of the ITIL Version 2 publications.
In April 2001, the OGC, an office of the UK Treasury, incorporated the CCTA.
In 2006, they published the ITIL Version 2 glossary.
In May 2007, this organization released ITIL version 3 (also known as the ITIL Refresh Project), which consisted of 26 processes and functions, now grouped into just 5 volumes, organized around the concept of the service lifecycle framework. We now know version 3 of ITIL as ITIL 2007 Edition.
In 2009, the OGC officially announced that ITIL Version 2 certification would be withdrawn and launched an important consultation on how to proceed.
In July 2011, they published the 2011 edition of ITIL, which provided an update to the version published in 2007. Following the consolidation of the OGC into the Office, the OGC is no longer listed as the owner of ITIL.

The 4th edition of ITIL starts with the book ITIL Foundation, released on February 18, 2019.

The ITIL Continuous Journey in the Age of Digital Transformation

The evolution of ITIL since its inception by the Central Computer Agency reflects the constant need to adapt to changes in the IT landscape. The current version, ITIL v4, represents a milestone in the way organizations approach IT service management, especially in the context of digital transformation.

Implementing ITIL Successfully

Implementing ITIL requires a well-defined action plan that takes into account the particularities of each organization. To ensure success, it is essential to:

1st Step:

Understanding the guiding principles: The ITIL 4 guiding principles serve as the basis for all decisions and actions, ensuring that IT services are aligned with the strategic objectives of the enterprise.
Define IT processes: Identifying and documenting existing IT processes and how they relate to each other is essential to optimizing workflow and ensuring operational efficiency.
Invest in ITIL certification: ITIL certification, especially the ITIL4 Foundation, is essential to ensure that IT professionals are familiar with best practices and can apply them effectively.
Promoting continuous improvement: Continual service improvement is a key element of ITIL, encouraging organizations to constantly look for ways to improve their services and processes.
Manage risks: Risk management is crucial to ensuring information security and the continuity of IT services.

2nd Step:

Manage Change: Change management is an essential practice to ensure that changes to technology infrastructure are implemented in a controlled and efficient manner.
Manage incidents: Incident management is critical to ensuring rapid restoration of IT services in the event of outages.
Manage Configuration: Configuration management is essential to ensure that IT infrastructure components are identified, controlled, and monitored.
Manage availability: Availability management is crucial to ensuring that IT services are available when needed.
Manage releases: Release management is essential to ensure that new versions of software and hardware are implemented in a controlled and efficient manner.

3rd Step:

Manage portfolios: Portfolio management is critical to ensuring that IT investments are aligned with the company's strategic objectives.
Adopt management practices: Implementing ITIL management practices, including general practices and technical management practices, is essential to ensuring the quality and efficiency of IT services.
Align with objectives: Alignment with company objectives is essential to ensure that IT services add value to the business.
Meeting demands: Customer service and customer satisfaction are priorities in ITIL 4, which seeks to ensure that IT services meet user demands.

Benefits of ITIL Implementation

Adopting ITIL brings several benefits to organizations, including:

Improved quality of IT services: ITIL best practices ensure that IT services are delivered consistently and efficiently.
Cost reduction: Optimizing IT processes and risk management contribute to reducing operating costs.
Increased customer satisfaction: Focusing on customer experience and customer service ensures that users are satisfied with IT services.
Alignment with business objectives: ITIL ensures that IT services are aligned with the company's strategic objectives, contributing to business success.
Improved communication and collaboration: ITIL facilitates communication and collaboration between IT professionals and other stakeholders.
Greater agility and adaptability: ITIL enables organizations to adapt quickly to changes in the market and customer needs.
Greater information security: Risk management and the implementation of security management practices ensure the protection of company data and systems.
Optimization of technology infrastructure: ITIL contributes to the optimization of technology infrastructure, ensuring that resources are used efficiently.
Improved decision making: ITIL provides accurate information and data to aid strategic decision making.

ITIL in the Age of Digital Transformation

In the era of digital transformation, ITIL becomes even more relevant. The adoption of technologies such as cloud computing and artificial intelligence requires a flexible and adaptable approach to IT service management. ITIL 4 provides the tools and guidance organizations need to make the most of these technologies and ensure the success of their digital transformation initiatives.

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