The more we progress in today’s world the more we realize the importance of information. Information is the most important resource owned by any organization which it has to manage efficiently. The management of this information and using it the right way determines how successful a company would be. The key factor in managing all the information within an organization in today’s world mainly depends on the quality of the IT Services that the business has.
It is therefore essential for every organization to realize the importance of IT services and to recognize them as assets for their organization, thereby investing the proper amount of time and money in them. However, many important aspects of IT services being provided to a company are overlooked or just lightly addressed in most organizations.
What is ITIL?
ITIL is a public agenda that outlines what the Best Practices are in IT service management and how they should be properly carried out keeping in view the company needs. It basically provides a framework, through which IT can be governed, and lays stress on the continuous check and balance of the quality of IT services provided to a company. This also includes improving those services for the betterment of the company from two perspectives: first from a business perspective and then from a customer’s perspective.
The focus on both these perspectives is the most important factor in the success of ITIL across the globe. This has also aided in using it more productively and in the benefits obtained by the organizations that are applying these techniques.
First published between 1989 and 1995, the ITIL library was last updated (to ITIL V3) in 2007 explaining the service lifecycle and the Official Introduction in five core books.
Benefits of ITIL
Some of the benefits of ITIL include:
• Improved availability of services, that in turn leads to higher profits and increase in revenue generation.
• Increase in customer and user satisfaction with the IT services provided by a company.
• Improvement in time to market the new services and products of a company.
• Better decision making and risk optimization.
• Reduction in rework and lost time, resulting in financial savings.
• Improvement in the usage and management of company resources.
• Improved quality control.
• Can be implemented in both, small and large organizations.
• Helps in identifying the skills and experiences of the employees so that they can be utilized in a more efficient way.
Detriments of ITIL
• Using ITIL standards extensively in an organization is costly.
• ITIL V3, as said above, covers the complete service lifecycle and therefore it is not easy to understand. ITIL V2 on the other hand laid focus on production and support and users found it easily understandable.
• Non-commercial users often are unable to afford the expensive ITIL books.
• Proper training of the staff is required in order to implement ITIL in an organization, which is a difficult task.
• There is little room for new and changed working practices and therefore some IT professionals consider ITIL to be biased and criticize it.
In the end, whether ITIL should be adopted varies from organization to organization and perhaps the best review can be given by those who are already following these practices.
