A summary is a brief statement or restatement of main points. As the world trudges forth towards a digital environment, technological advancement becomes inevitable and essential. Many roles that used to be run manually by people are handed over to technology to ensure that human talent is developed more efficiently elsewhere.

In this, IT teams evolved to become a core component of a company’s operations, their support is indispensable. IT teams need to be quickly certified with ITIL v4 certification. This is where ITIL comes into play as they serve as a guide for these IT teams.

What is ITIL?

Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is basically a set of guidelines that have obtained consensus. These guidelines are devised to teach organisations to adopt the best business methods that will allow them to maximise value from their IT services. ITIL equips IT teams across the country with a standardised set of criteria to ensure consistent and quality IT service being deployed to organisations.

Compared to its predecessor the latest rendition of the ITIL integrates the human factor into its guidelines. Its current framework emphasises innovation and adaptability. Instead of treating ITIL as an instructional manual to be followed.

The current version of ITIL encourages greater holistic thinking that is versatile where the same set of advice can propagate unique solutions that come from the IT teams themselves. Instead of focusing solely on the best processes and tools, the recent ITIL provides it but encourages IT teams to think for themselves.

For visualisation purposes, the ITIL is spread out across five broad categories like service strategy, service design, service transition, service operation, and continual service improvement.

These five stages are part of a cycle process. The first stage is to analyse stakeholders, finance and existing strategies. Then, the second does a deeper dive into the strategies and sees what can be improved upon. Next, are the tools and methods that can be utilised to transition into the revamped service. Then, the next stage is to observe whether the service is operating as it should be. Last but not least, is follow-up.

What is ITSM?

On the other hand, Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) is focused on the end-to-end delivery of IT services which consists of planning, delivery, and support to consumers who require it. Not to be mistaken with traditional IT support, ITSM is broader and incorporates all the processes involved in delivering IT as a service which contains the processes and tools that these teams will use as part of their job.

Some examples that demonstrate the use of ITSM are things like change supervision, capacity planning, configuration management, crisis recovery, performance optimisation, and many more. These are basically the technology services that are offered that directly impact the company’s operations and augment them. ITSM, in a brief, is similar to ITIL’s third stage of service transition.

What is the difference between ITIL and ITSM?

The key difference between ITIL and ITSM is that the former is a foundation where the latter will be analysed and adopted in the framework that is ITIL in order to maximise business goals. When a company wants to implement ITSM into their daily operations, ITIL would assist them in streamlining the process, that is how, when and where to use ITSM instead of haphazardly adopting the actions to be taken.

What are the benefits of implementing ITIL for businesses?

First and foremost, every individual has their own opinions and solutions. ITIL does well by aligning the IT team to business goals which allow businesses to charter a united front when it comes to dealing with problems.

Secondly, cost and benefits are normal considerations of a business due to profit-maximising behaviour. However,  they are only able to focus on that many things at a time. Instead of overwhelming a single department of the company, the ITIL reiterates to the IT team to track and optimise their IT costs.

Thirdly, technology is volatile and dynamic. It does not stay the same over time, and can change over months, weeks, and even days. It is constantly changing and having to design a framework for every change will be taxing, not to mention, unnecessary depletion of resources. To adapt better to changes at a more efficient cost, ITIL comes in to provide a steady set of guidelines that accommodates to the ebb and flow of IT.

Last but not least, it ensures that both employees and consumers are happy. With ITIL, processes become more streamlined which makes it easier for employees to implement and reduces workplace conflict when it comes to a clash of ideas.

With that, consumers are also better off as they will be receiving stellar services from employees, and there is a flow that consumers can understand better which increases the trust between the organisation and consumers. This will be a great boost to the operation and management of the company.

Conclusion

While technology may not be the easiest concept to grasp especially for those with limited knowledge in the field. Some time and effort dedicated to understanding it by reading are still possible.

Furthermore, the rewards that can be reaped from implementing more efficient technology have only proved to be beneficial for companies worldwide. This becomes even more important when you are implementing strategies that would not only boost convenience to your team but also to the stakeholders that matter to your company.

ITIL and ITSM are important concepts to be knowledgeable about so that one can continuously improve on their services whether your company business is highly reliant on technology or not. This guide is an eye opener into the ideas of ITIL and ITSM so it contains a summarised version of these comprehensive concepts. If you want to go into greater depth, more reading is required.

As they say, if you fear change, you will never step out of your comfort zone. The area outside your comfort zone is where the magic happens. Just by opening yourself up to new ideas and framework, you might find that your business strategy will improve and in that, bring in more revenue for the company leading to happier employees.