The sourcing world has got a new version (v3) of IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL), a framework with guidelines to manage IT-services lifecycle. While the new version focuses on service-driven lifecycle approach, ITIL v2 is all about processes. ITIL v3 is based on five titles: Service strategy; service design; service transition; service operation; and continual service improvement.
ITIL v3 that has come out after a long gap of seven years when its earlier version was released, and is being widely accepted. “At present, 60 companies in the U.K. and 44 in India are using the ITIL framework,” says David Wheeldon, Director, IT-Service Management, HP Education EMEA, and author of many ITIL books. “We see a lot of positive responses from Indian companies while it is not very adoptable amongst Chinese companies.”
From “Alignment” to “Integration”
ITIL v3 includes new features such as “IT and business integration” instead of business alignment — one of the key features in process driven ITIL v2.
“This [ITIL v3] changes the old relationship between IT and business (that’s all about aligning service management with business strategy) into the new one that integrates into a single ecosystem,” says Wheeldon.
Other changes that have been included this time are “value network integration” instead of old “value chain management,” and “dynamic service portfolio” instead of v2’s “linear service catalogue.” In fact, new developments also include IT strategies for management tools like outsourcing. For outsourcing and co-sourcing, there are: New concepts such as a “service management knowledge” base that “helps transform captured information into organizational intelligence; new processes such as request fulfillment; process expansion, such as event management; new practice areas and organizational structures; and new methods of delivering ITIL,” according to Best-management-practice.com. (See Table for more.)
However, many industry gurus feel that it is quite challenging to implement v3 in smaller environments. So it is good to retain knowledgeable consultants with experience in implementation of the ITIL framework.
Some Differences Between v2 and v3
| ITIL v2 is about |
ITIL v3 focuses on |
| Business and IT alignment |
Business and IT integration |
| Value-chain management |
Value-network integration
|
| Linear service catalogues |
Dynamic service portfolios
|
| Collection of integrated processes |
Holistic service-management lifecycle |
Source: Best-management-practice.com
