ITIL Framework

Overview of ITIL Framework

ITIL or Information technology infrastructure library are established IT practices that have been formed so that the IT services of a business can be in alignment with its consumers and the needs of the business. When technology is used to align the demands of the customers along with the needs of the business, it results in an organization having improved efficiency, much more productivity and higher value. This is the basis of a successful business. It is through ITIL that organizations, as well as individuals, can provide IT service management (ITSM) at a profitable price, bringing the vision of the company, its strategy, and growth in alignment. It is the connection between the end-users and the providers of service. In this topic, we are going to learn about ITIL Framework.

The ITIL framework is used by large organizations across the world and also by smaller organizations that can adopt a particular section of ITIL which will bring a significant improvement. The 3 ITIL procedures that have been adopted the most and have been successful are Incident Management, Change Management, and Problem Management. ITIL framework consists of 5 stages, and each of these stages has pre-determined procedures in alignment with the IT structure. Organizations can adopt some or all of them according to their needs.

Service Strategy of ITIL Framework

This is the first process in the framework wherein the current nature of the market is examined, all that is in place is acknowledged, and a plan is created for the needs that are to be fulfilled.

ITIL Service strategy consists of five steps stated below :

1. Service portfolio management, the idea of which is to aim at managing the portfolio of all the IT services that are being offered. It makes sure that the service goals that have been decided upon are fulfilled by the service delivered.
2. Management of finances where the spending activities of the business are taken into account; for instance, the budget is finalized, the accounts of the organization and all activities involving expenditure are analyzed. Financial management also works towards minimizing costs while maximizing the value of the service provided.
3. The managing strategy of IT services means studying the IT services of the entire market. It involves market analysis, focusing on the current needs of the customer and looking into the possibility of market expansion.
4. Managing demand which means evaluating the demand of the customer in context to the service rendered. It is the job of this management to ensure that the magnitude of the service provided, its availability and the different type of services are in sync with the needs of the customers.
5. Business relationship management involves maintaining a good and satisfying relationship with customers. The target here is to understand the requirements of the customer and rendering services to fulfill those needs.

ITIL Service Design

This process is involved in designing the service needs of both the customer and the organization. There are eight procedures included in this designing service :

1. Management at the service level which means recognizing and planning service target and later checking the performance of the services.
2. Service catalog management makes sure the service catalog is always up to date and all the services mentioned are accessible.
3. Capacity management involves maximum usage of the system’s capacity to fulfill the needs of the business.
4. Availability management ensures that all the services promised to customers are available.
5. Management of IT service continuity analyses the risk involved and ensures that the business is in continuation.
6. Management of information security means protection of the system and the data and also safeguarding the people who use the system and data. It means ascertaining, averting and fixing the problems to keep all information secure.
7. Supplier management means supervising the relationship with all suppliers and ensuring that they are doing their job according to the agreement.
8. Design management ensures that the design is efficient and optimal, taking into consideration the availability of resources and services.

ITIL Service Transition

This involves the implementation and managing of services. The processes involved are

• Change management assures that if the business needs change, services are adaptable and reliable.
• Change evaluation predicts and manages changes and also decides which change should be adapted and which one ignored.
• Release and categorizing management means the deployment of software, making sure that the ongoing production turf is minimally affected.
• Testing of service involves testing the results and also making the required changes or taking decisions if needed.

ITIL Service Operation

This step means that the delivery of services is made smoothly and on time. It must also be aware of the changing needs depending on technology like cloud computing.

• Incident management reinstates any interruptions that may hay have occurred in services.
• Problem management prevents any problem from reoccurring.
• Event management involves inquiry of all service events arising from applications etc., so that timely action can be taken for continued service.
• Access management allows only authorized users to have access to the system and prevent any illegitimate person from using the system.
• Fulfillment of request means that any request received at the desk is systematically processed, which involves receiving, entering, arranging and solving the request.

ITIL Continual Service Improvement (CSI)

The objective of CSI is to find ways to improve and develop services. Equal attention is paid to the success and failure of any service as this will make identifying flaws easier, and changes will be made accordingly, resulting in higher customer satisfaction and increased efficiency. The processes involved are :

• The evaluation means continuously assessing the procedure for improvement.
• Choosing CSI for assessment and inspection.
• The CSI initiatives keep track of its progress.

Conclusion

Executing ITIL is beneficial for any business. The productivity of the employee increases, efficient service is provided to customers, thus improving the relationship with them, making the process cost-efficient while increasing the value of the business.

Recommended Articles

This has been a guide to the ITIL Framework. Here we discuss the Service Strategy of ITIL with Service Design and Service Transition. You can also go through our other suggested articles to learn more –

1. ITIL Interview Questions
2. ITIL VS PMP
3. ITIL Service Design
4. Scrum Framework