Spring cleaning: ITIL gets an update

Spring cleaning: ITIL gets an update

By David Wheeldon and David Cannon

A growing roster of IT shops are using the best practices spelled out in the Information Technology Infrastructure Library to ensure they are employing technology in an efficient, cost-effective manner.

But since ITIL’s last release in 2000/2001, IT has changed considerably. On May 30, 2007, an updated version of ITIL is set to be published. This refreshed version is an evolution of the framework rather than a complete rewrite: materials, training and projects implemented with previous versions are still valid. However, by getting up to speed on the refreshed standard, IT organizations may improve service quality and save additional resources.

ITIL was started by the English government’s Office of Government Commerce (OGC). Cooperating with the OGC are a number of organizations and individuals across the Americas, Europe and Asia who have volunteered their time to write and guide the development of the core ITIL books in the refresh. Participants include Aspect Group, Accenture, Carnegie Mellon University, ConnectSphere, Foxit, Guillemot Rock, HP, Items and Pink Elephant.

The new edition of ITIL takes the form of five core books and a number of complementary supplements. And because ITIL Version 3 embraces a service life-cycle approach, all the books are organized using a wheel analogy.

Surrounding the best practices at the hub are topics such as service strategy, service design, service transition, service operation and continual service improvement.

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