What is ITIL?

History of ITIL

ITIL was created in the 1980's by the UK governments CCTA (Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency) with the objective of ensuring better use of IT services and resources.

The ITIL concept emerged in the 1980s, when the British government determined that the level of IT service quality provided to them was not sufficient. The Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA), now called the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), was tasked with developing a framework for efficient and financially responsible use of IT resources within the British government and the private sector.

The earliest version of ITIL was actually originally called GITIM, Government Information Technology Infrastructure Management. Obviously this was very different to the current ITIL, but conceptually very similar, focusing around service support and delivery.

Large companies and government agencies in Europe adopted the framework very quickly in the early 1990s. ITIL was spreading far and, and was used in both government and non-government organizations. As it grew in popularity, both in the UK and across the world, IT itself changed and evolved, and so did ITIL.

In year 2000, The CCTA merged into the OGC, Office for Government Commerce and in the same year, Microsoft used ITIL as the basis to develop their proprietary Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF).

In 2001, version 2 of ITIL was released. The Service Support and Service Delivery books were redeveloped into more concise usable volumes. Over the following few years it became, by far, the most widely used IT service management best practice approach in the world.

In 2007 version 3 if ITIL was published. This adopted more of a lifecycle approach to service management, with greater emphasis on IT business integration.

What is ITIL?

ITIL is a series of documents, originally created by the Office of Government Commerce, a governmental department in United Kingdom. These are used to help implement an efficient framework for IT Service Management (ITSM).

This 'ITIL framework' essentially defines how to organize the system and network management departments within individual organizations. The concepts within ITIL support IT service providers in the planning of consistent, documented, and repeatable processes that improve service delivery to the business.

ITIL addresses the organizational structure and skill requirements for an IT organization by presenting a comprehensive set of management procedures with which an organization can manage its IT operations.

ITIL: Information Technology Infrastructure Library. ITIL is an integrated set of best-practice lifecycle recommendations with common definitions and terminology. It is actually divided into a series of five documents/books, which are known commonly as 'sets' or 'volumes'. The volumes themselves describe what are often termed 'disciplines', covering individual subjects and approaches.

Conceptually, the driving volume is 'Service Strategy', which offers a view of ITIL that aligns business and IT so that each brings out the best in the other. The remaining four volumes are Service Design, Service Transition, Service Operation and Continual Service Improvement.

An established and well defined certification scheme is also in place to support ITIL. This comprises three disctinct levels: Foundation, Practitioner and Manager. This is discussed in a separate section of this portal.

ITIL Central

ITIL is now a worldwide phenomena, used by organizations of all shapes and sizes, and with a growing army of certified individuals. This website was produced to offer information and support, at both corporate and personal levels. When fully developed, it will provide a focal point for news, interaction and of course access to a wide range of support products and services.