The objective of the ITIL service management framework is to provide guidance applicable to all types of organisations that provide IT services to businesses,
irrespective of their size, complexity, or whether they are commercial service providers or internal divisions of a business. The framework shouldn’t be
bureaucratic or unwieldy provided it is used sensibly and in full recognition
of the business needs of the specific enterprise.
ITIL-based solutions have been deployed successfully around the world for over
20 years. Over this time, the framework has evolved considerably. The original publications, of which there were over 40, tended to be single topic and function-based. The next iteration reduced the number of books considerably, taking a process-based view and concatenating topics to reinforce the integrated nature of service management solutions. The latest iteration, the 2011 Edition, now provides a broader, holistic service lifecycle approach.
The generic nature of ITIL is both a strength and a weakness. Since it is generic, it truly can be applied to any organisation of any size in any market sector and regardless of whether the service provider is internal to the business or a commercial enterprise. However, organisations have to adopt and adapt the
guidance that it contains to their specific requirements, which in some cases
requires considerable effort and commitment.
Unfortunately, much of the focus in learning programmes is on the specifics of terminology and process definitions included within the ITIL volumes, which means that individuals aren’t always equipped to make the necessary decisions about how to implement key processes and functions. Organisations should not be seeking to ‘implement ITIL’, but to implement a service management solution based on ITIL that meets the needs of the organisation.