ITIL - Do I Need It?

ITIL has quickly become the accepted standard for delivering World Class IT services. But is it really necessary? What are the benefits for an organisation investing the time and money?

ITIL is a series of best practice processes that provides an integrated framework to ensure the key aspects of the production environment are pro-actively managed, robustly linked together and providing the level of service demanded by the business. As a result, costs are reduced, planning is enhanced, the relationship with the business is better integrated, and the services are more effectively delivered.

ITIL is now so well embedded that it has become a common currency, constantly being adapted and developed. Its appeal means it is being implemented across the world by many corporate organisations who want the benefits of a standardised approach.

ITIL principally covers the Service Support and Service Delivery disciplines as these describe the processes required to effectively run a production environment. The processes cover the whole range of delivering effective IT services from running a Service Desk to managing Data Centre disasters. This is now being enhanced with ITIL Version 3 and the service lifecycle.

Organisations that have implemented ITIL report significant benefits, including cost savings, a more business focussed approach and a reduction in service outages. These benefits are sustained with regular and accredited ITIL training.