ITIL Benefits to Success - ITIL is the most comprehensive
approach to standardizing IT operations and improving overall
management. It is currently used by thousands of companies worldwide
with proven results. Most IT managers struggle with a lack of structure
and a reactive mode of operation that accompanies a lack of processes
and procedures. ITIL offers a solution for putting the pieces of the
puzzle into place to take a more proactive approach to improving the IT
organization’s performance.
IT management has been in transition for some time, from a focus
on managing the technology itself to using technology to help a business
achieve its strategic objectives. In theory, imposing disciplines on IT
processes should improve productivity and make IT more responsive to
the business. Many organizations are turning to the Information
Technology Infrastructure Library, better known as ITIL, to accomplish
this goal.
This Research Byte is a summary of our full report, ITIL Implementation Trending Up, But Adoption May Slow.
Large IT organizations are continuing to expand ITIL initiatives at a
healthy pace, but new adoption may be slowing. The obstacles to adoption
are real, and benefits are sometimes difficult to quantify.
Furthermore, the current economic crisis is not favorable to investment
in long-term improvement programs such as ITIL. On the other hand, a
downturn in business volume may be the best time to make changes to IT
processes and services, as personnel may have more time for such
initiatives.
Our study does find some indication that organizations already engaged
with ITIL have been accelerating their investments. This is a good sign,
as we believe that in the long run organizations focused on continuous
improvement will survive and ultimately prosper.
ITIL v3 Emphasizes Service Life-cycle Management
The Information Technology Infrastructure Library is a comprehensive set
of policies and concepts for managing IT infrastructure and service.
The document is founded on the principle that an alignment between IT
and business strategy is critical and that effective IT service
management is necessary for that alignment.
ITIL was originally published in the 1980s by The U.K. Central Computer
and Telecommunications Agency, and it is still governed by the U.K.
Office of Government Commerce. Even though ITIL was developed during the
1980s, adoption was light until the early 1990s and has only gained
traction in the U.S. within the past few years.
ITIL’s goal is to provide structured, flexible guidelines for
establishing governance standards around IT service management.
Advocates tout the program’s benefits as improving alignment between the
business and IT, increasing user satisfaction, lowering costs,
optimizing outsourcing, improving service levels, increasing service
availability, and improving the ability to manage change, among other
things. Some critics find the guidelines too prescriptive and
inflexible, and barriers to adoption include lengthy implementation,
disruption of current processes, high up-front training costs, and
relatively slow return on investment.