Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) - Essay Example

Equally important, IT must deliver services that promote effectiveness in the use f information systems. (Thibodeau 16-16) A large part f the challenge is the fact that organizations continually implement new business processes, discard flawed ones, or extend and modify current practices. Business systems that automate and actuate these business processes are continually in flux. But that's only the beginning. IT managers are also haunted by the specter f rapid, unceasing, technological churn, especially when the option f not adopting the latest innovations might put them at a competitive disadvantage.

Moreover, today's business systems, radically different from their less-sophisticated precursors, are extremely complex and highly networked, and must support a new breed f multicompany, business-to-business applications. Web services, commonly defined as Internet-based applications that perform some type f business task, add yet another twist. (McLaughlin 39-42) As either a supplier or user f Web services, system or service failure has the potential to damage brand equity, as well as customer (internal or external) and trading partner confidence.

Ultimately, it falls to in-hou. Thankfully, there are techniques that can mitigate risk, reduce complexity, and lessen IT costs. To date, the best approach involves the use f some combination f industry standards and proven process models. The term "IT Service Management" encapsulates all f the standardized processes and best practices that can be systematically applied across the entire range f IT services and support functions, to deliver superior services, while reducing risks and effectively managing costs.

The use f standards and process models, however, while necessary, is not sufficient for delivering critical business systems. Organizations must apply the various approaches in an architected and deliberate manner, based on practices that have proven themselves in the field time and again.Introduction to ITIL It has been long understood that the value f IT services to the enterprise is reduced if delivery is inadequate and costly, or if implementation puts the business at risk. It is equally well known that the ability to deliver high-quality, low-cost IT services is enhanced if those services are based on proven methodologies and best practices.

(Steinberg 22-30) To that end, the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA) is a U.K. government agency chartered with development f best practice advice and guidance on the use f information technology in service management and operations. Beginning in the mid-1980s, the CCTA surveyed the leading information technology companies from around the world to document and validate best practices in the disciplines f IT service management.The IT Infrastructure Library, more commonly known as ITIL, captures and codifies the