Is your organization ready for ITIL? Whether you're ready or not, ITIL is here to stay!

By implementing ITIL best practices, companies in the public or private sector will experience positive results. As your organization grows, either internally or externally, the need to be a better service provider increases in importance. As a service provider, you need to know when it’s time for your team to change processes to become effective and efficient in meeting the needs of your customers via the delivery and support of services that achieve key business outcomes. To better serve your customers and the organization where you reside, investing in ITIL could be the winning x-factor needed to jump-start this powerful journey.

ITIL best practice is given from service management professionals across the world. ITIL is comprised of a wealth of experience (successes and failures) documented and published that continues to foster the growth and maturity of IT service management best practices.

The Magic Formula:

“Customer satisfaction + positive perception = value for the service provider”

The investment in ITIL addresses key organizational needs, but it's an investment. So how can ITIL really save your organization money?

1. It increases alignment between the business and IT

Focus is provided on the need of the customer and ongoing realignment to adapt to changes in requirements / desired outcomes. Savings are generated through avoiding rework and delivering solutions that are right the first time!

2. It's not a standard – it's best practice advice

The principles, concepts, methods and techniques can all be tailored toward your organizational needs. (Remember, ITIL has the ingredients; you have to create the recipe that works.) Savings are generated through the adoption of practices that work, mitigating risks and costs as the best practice has been implemented before.

3. Cost savings across IT and the business

This is achieved through improved utilization and management of resources and their capabilities. Savings are generated through ensuring the organization receives the optimal performance from its assets in the delivery of services.

4. Best practice addresses key needs

Knowledge management: “Knowledge is power,” but the focus within ITIL is to ensure we are capturing the right level of knowledge and communicating it to the right audience. Savings are generated as this avoids wasting time and resources on gathering and communicating irrelevant information.

Continual service improvement: The keyword being “continual.” This is not a one-off event or something that should be triggered when things go wrong. The goal is to be continually proactive and to identify opportunities or areas of innovation. Savings are generated through investing money now to save money in the future.

Governance: The need to have controls in place to manage functions and processes in the delivery of services. But more importantly, to clearly identify people within IT who are ultimately held accountable and responsible for the delivery of services. Savings generated are intangible but incredibly valuable, as the customer will have a better perception of the IT service provider, knowing that risks and costs are being actively managed and controlled.

Synergy of People, Process, Technology and Supplier: Do we take this for granted within our organization? We need to consider all four elements in the delivery of services – People, Process, Technology and Supplier.

Trained people can lead to changes in processes. Changes in process can lead to changes in technology. And changes in technology can lead to changes in supplier.

Organizations always seem to recognize the key forces of people and processes. But technology and suppliers have a major part to play, directly or indirectly, in the delivery of services and saving the organization money.

ITIL ensures that best practice advice is offered that will contribute to allow close integration of the right mix and more importantly raise awareness that any change can potentially impact all four areas.

About Hitesh Patel

Hitesh Patel has more than 10 years experience in ITIL and is an instructor and course author for Learning Tree International. He trains globally and is the course author of the Learning Tree course - Putting ITIL into Practice: A Roadmap for Transformation.

Patel’s primary role is a director of his own company, offering service management consultancy. He has extensive program and project management experience and has successfully undertaken business, service, technical, process and cultural change programs.