ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library)
A set of rules for how to deliver IT services more efficiently by improving management processes across IT departments that support networks, applications, databases and systems.
Developed in 1992 and maintained by the U.K.'s Office of Government Commerce, ITIL originally served as a set of standards that service providers had to follow to deliver IT services to the British government. After its inception, public companies realized the benefits and implemented parts of ITIL in their internal IT departments.
The IT processes ITIL addresses are: service-level management, capacity management, contingency planning, availability management, cost management for IT services, configuration management, problem management, change management, help desk, and software control and distribution. ITIL certification programs promise to train IT professionals to adapt ITIL to their networks.
"ITIL is about having processes in place that enable the people, software and hardware you do have to work better so ultimately the need to fight fires lessens," says Glenn O'Donnell, a research director with Meta Group.
Proctor & Gamble implemented ITIL's "Follow The Sun" management process, which entails staffing network data and operations centers around the world according to time zone. For instance, IT management staff in the Cincinnati headquarters manned shifts from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time, while staff at the Brussels data center worked 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. local time, and in Singapore, network operations punched the clock from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. local time. The staffing let Proctor & Gamble use employees worldwide to ensure all its data centers were fully staffed from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in each location's local time - without adding staff.
Proctor & Gamble says it has saved about $500 million across multiple departments since beginning to streamline processes with ITIL four years ago.
From Reaping the rewards of best practices, Network World, 09/30/02.
Additional resources
ITIL Online
Downloads, news and FAQs.
American ITIL: Best practices win converts
The IT Infrastructure Library, a set of management best practices that has long been popular in Europe, finally is starting to make waves in the U.S. Network World, 08/30/04.
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There are 2 comments:
The User Group
By Neil Holden
Here's the direct link to group Louise referenced above <a href="http://www.itilcommunity.com">ITIL User Group</a>
ITIL
By Louise Hopkin
ITIL is in fact growing at a rapid rate, and even has its own 200 strong (and growing fast) international user group (http://www.itilcommunity.com).
However, it also continues to evolve. The current version is in fact the second. There wa ssomething of a re-jig in its organization circa 2001.
Equally, the scope of ITIL has increased, with addition 'sets' having been published in the last three years.
Whether this rate of growth can continue remains to be seen, but at present the signs are that it will.
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