Compliance Glossary

IT Infrastructure Library, abbreviated as ITIL, is a compilation of guidelines for managing IT services to enhance service levels. One of the primary objectives of ITBM is to ensure that IT services remain relevant to the business agenda and on track as that agenda evolves.

ITIL has evolved a lot over the years. The first version was upgraded and enlarged and gradually became the present international standard. Today, the newest description of the ITIL framework is ITIL 4, but it is more useful to understand the framework’s evolution than to value the current version.

The current one is ITIL 4, which came in 2019, while ITIL 3 has been in practice since 2007. ITIL 4 is more contemporary to use compared to ITIL V3, and its major change is that since ITSM is mainly about delivering value to customers and users through IT services, it aims to establish stable environments, control costs, manage risks, and provide support services. 

Another major change in ITIL 4 is that this framework places a great emphasis on automation. This removes service management from IT’s dominion and promotes interaction and teamwork throughout the enterprise. Overall, this goes beyond the conventional service lifecycle approach.

With that being said, ITIL 4’s framework is built around four essential factors for successful value delivery:

• Organizations and people: Organise the management of people in the firm so that their human capital reflects the business’s strategic plan.
• Information and technology: Again, security should always go hand in hand with technology, and more emphasis should be given to how data is managed.
• Partners and suppliers: Bring together external stakeholders to easily facilitate service delivery.

Value streams and processes: Processes that increase demand and convert it into value should be managed.