COBIT vs ITIL

Difference Between COBIT and ITIL

COBIT is a framework that stands for Control objectives for information and related technology, which is being used for developing, monitoring, implementing and improving information technology governance and management created/published by the ISACA (Information systems audit and control association). The main goal of the COBIT is to provide a common language to communicate the rules, objectives, requirements, goals, and results among the executives. ITIL stands for information technology Infrastructure Library is a framework designed with a set of best practices, planning, and selection that focuses on improving IT services as per the business needs. ITIL also defined as a series of processes for improving and refining the IT service lifecycle. The latest version of ITIL is released in 2011 with best practices for IT services.

What is COBIT?

COBIT is a set of guidelines needed for any organization and can be applied in any industry. It is a tool that will be helpful for managers by bridging the gap between control requirements, risk analysis, business risk, and technical issues. It was first introduced in 1996 with the main focus on auditing, and the latest version, which was published in 2013, has all capabilities by which organizations can effectively manage their governance, and it can suggest about risk management at the enterprise level. It ensures control, quality, and reliability of information systems which is necessary for every organization and an important aspect in today’s modern business.

What is ITIL?

ITIL enables IT services to be a business partner rather than backend support services. It helps organizations, people, and services when anything changes that make organisations vulnerable. It enables people to switch to the latest changes within a short period of time and stay in competition in the industry. ITIL life cycle consists of five different stages as below: ITIL service strategy, design, transition, operation, and continual services/support. It can be adapted and used in conjunction with other practices such as ISO 27000, COBIT, Six Sigma, etc.

Head To Head Comparison Between COBIT and ITIL (Infographics)

Below are the top 5 comparisons of COBIT vs ITIL:

Key Differences Between COBIT and ITIL

Both are popular choices in the market; let us discuss some of the major Difference:

• COBIT approach towards ISTM describes the “What” needs to be done for better governance and management, whereas the ITIL approach towards ISTM describes the “how” to be done for the management of IT services.
• COBIT main objective is to provide controlling of enterprise IT services for business and with a set of rules for the right direction. It aligns business goals with IT goals by bringing IT value to a business, whereas ITIL’s main objective is to manage IT services and IT departments in ITSM. It provides continuous support and opportunity for an operational perfection of the services.
• COBIT scope is almost similar to ITIL scope as both are focusing on ITSM (Information technology systems management), but COBIT covers a bit more than ITIL whereas ITIL scope is almost similar to COBIT as both are focusing on ITSM (Information technology systems management) as COBIT has a little wider scope.
• COBIT describes the rules that support an organisation’s IT services that make the best use of its resources and assets, whereas ITIL describes the parts of the IT services in detail about service management like process activities, organizational structuring, etc.

COBIT vs ITIL Comparison Table

Below is the topmost comparison among COBIT vs ITIL:

The Basis of Comparison	COBIT	ITIL
Definition	COBIT is a framework that stands for Control objectives for information and related technology, which is being used for developing, monitoring, implementing and improving information technology governance and management created/published by the ISACA (Information systems audit and control association). COBIT is a set of guidelines needed for any organization and can be applied in any industry.	ITIL stands for information technology Infrastructure Library is a framework designed with a set of best practices, planning, and selection that focuses on improving IT services as per the business needs. ITIL also defined a series of processes for improving and refining the IT service lifecycle.
Scope	COBIT scope is almost similar to ITIL scope as both are focusing on ITSM (Information technology systems management), but COBIT covers a bit more than ITIL.	ITIL scope is almost similar to COBIT as both are focusing on ITSM (Information technology systems management) as COBIT has a little wider scope.
Approach	COBIT approach towards ITSM IT services in the business point of view top-down approach where it provides distinguish between the management and governance of IT services. COBIT is more like of applying strategy to governance and management. Its main focus is on governance only.	ITIL approach towards ITSM is more likely the bottom-up approach in the IT perspective of the business model. ITIL is focusing on mostly for tactics and deals majorly on the management of IT services of ITSM.
Objective	COBIT main objective is to provide controlling of enterprise IT services for business and with a set of rules for the right direction. Apart from it, it aligns business goals with IT goals by bringing IT value to the business. It also manages risk analysis, resources, and IT systems efficiency.	ITIL main objective is to manage IT services and IT departments in ITSM (Information technology systems management). It provides continuous support and opportunity for an operational perfection of the services.
General Problems	COBIT handles the general problems in an effective way; for example, if a system frequently fails the audit, COBIT provides a set of benchmarks which are used for audit which evaluates the IT system by frequently using for internal audits and become partners for the external audit of IT systems.	ITIL handles the general problems in an effective way; for example, if IT teams are constantly overloaded, then ITIL provides service transition and service operation for IT departments in detail according to various IT services as it reduces downtime costs drastically.

Conclusion

Finally, it’s an overview of the comparison between. I hope you will have a better understanding of these tools after reading this COBIT vs ITIL article. We have discussed the advantages and disadvantages of both COBIT vs ITIL tools. Alone one of these tools can’t solve the problems of IT organizations or professional business problems. In order to solve the business problems of professional and IT organization in ITSM, they need to use both COBIT vs ITIL at a time to get the best out of both models. So that we can resolve the business problems, leveraging organizational strengths to maximize achieving chances of corporate goals.

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