Renovated

The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is now more than 30 years old. The currently most widespread standard for managing IT processes and services is renewing itself with an upgrade to the IT philosophy.

The primary goal of IT management frameworks is to bring order to the heterogeneity of different systems, processes, and responsibilities that has arisen as a result of the evolved IT landscape. The idea is for processes and procedures to run systematically and comprehensibly, which means careful planning of updates, hardware changes, and software roll-outs; checking the effects of changes in advance; and keeping services continuously available wherever possible.

Made for the Cloud and DevOps

The restructured ITIL 4 now has two key elements: the Service Value System, which roughly maps the Service Value Chain from ITIL 3, and the Four Dimensions Model. ITIL also defines a number of guiding principles that have to be observed across the board, some of which are found elsewhere (e.g., software and management philosophies such as Lean and DevOps). Roles and functions from ITIL versions 2 and 3, on the other hand, were abolished and are now part of ITIL 4 practices. (See the "ITIL in a Nutshell" box.)

The guiding principles are orientation on added value (starting with the current situation and how it is upgraded), a step-by-step approach based on feedback, cooperative behavior and transparency (i.e., collaborate and promote visibility), a holistic view, a simple and practicable approach, optimization, and automation.

Four Dimensions Instead of Four Ps

Earlier ITIL versions referred to the "four Ps" (people, products, partners, processes). This concept has now been replaced by four dimensions:

• Organizations and people
• Information and technology
• Partners and suppliers
• Value stream and processes

These dimensions must be taken into account in every step, process, and action according to ITIL. The Service Value System, in turn, is subdivided into a value chain with six defined individual activities, which roughly correspond to the Service Lifecycle described in ITIL 3, but with a different structure:

• Plan
• Improve
• Engage
• Design and Transition
• Obtain/Build
• Deliver and Support

Here, Plan means a comprehensive planning process for all products and services of the entire organization – comparable to the Service Strategy of ITIL 3. The Improve activity is new and is designed to ensure continual improvement of products, services, and practices across all value creation activities. Engage includes a detailed requirements analysis, and Design and Transition ensures that services and products have the desired quality, are correctly priced, and are available on the market. Obtain/Build procures the necessary components in line with specifications and provides them for service delivery, and Deliver and Support refers to delivery of the product or service with the agreed features and support.

Service and Process Management

The 14 general management practices read like a business management manual and include strategy, portfolio, architecture, personnel, change, project, and supplier management, among others. The continual improvement process is noteworthy. Together with the Improve activity cited as part of the Service Value System and the seven-step improvement process already known from version 3, it is intended to ensure continual improvement in service delivery.

Furthermore, the framework designates and describes 17 service management practices (Table 1A) and three technical management practices (Table 1B). The change control service management practice was previously referred to as change management. The IT infrastructure and platform technical management practice pays particular attention to the cloud.

Certification

Certification according to ITIL 4 has been restructured. Not only is Axelos the central player in all certification projects, it has centrally marketed ITIL 4 training courses since 2014. According to ITIL 4, only individuals, not organizations, can be certified. The company also accredits and certifies accredited training organizations (ATOs), of which there are a number in each country [2]. Certification exams are usually taken at these ATOs, and they must be accredited with examining institutions, which also issue the certificates for the participants of the ITIL 4 certification courses at the ATOs. The examining institutions must also obtain accreditation from Axelos.

The certification scheme for ITIL 4 has changed compared with version 3. ITIL 3 had four consecutive stages: Foundation, Intermediate (advanced), Expert, and Master. The latter presupposes practical experience in service management and an Expert certificate, which is based on the two-day basic ITIL Foundation course plus five special courses divided into two streams: management practices and a stream with a more strategic focus. Both streams include the special course Direct, Plan, and Improve. The management stream also includes the special courses Create, Deliver, and Support; Drive Customer Value; and High Velocity IT. A successful graduate of all courses mentioned can advertise as an ITIL Management Professional (ITIL MP).

Cross-Upgrade from ITIL 3

The strategic branch comprises the Direct, Plan, and Improve and Digital and IT Strategy modules. After successfully completing both, a graduate can refer to themselves as an ITIL Strategic Leader (ITIL SL). For ITIL 3 graduates who want to cross-upgrade, ITIL 3 certificate holders who have earned at least 17 credits in ITIL 3 training courses can enter the special ITIL Managing Professional stream of four modules to transition to the ITIL 4 certification path. The transition course will be available for about one year. However, because of the large amount of new content, ITIL 3 graduates are also advised to attend the ITIL 4 basic training course.

Conclusions

The ITIL 4 management framework has taken the urgently needed leap into the cloud and DevOps future, enabling companies to continue to use their ITIL know-how and adapt it to their changing infrastructures.