Impact of ITIL on IT Departments - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages ITIL v3 splits the IT service into 5 service lifecycle stages; namely – Service Strategy, Service Design, Service Transition, Service Operations, and Continual Service Improvement. The core components of ITIL v3 best practices are 5 books, one for each of the service lifecycle stages. There are various ITIL-related accredited qualifications for individuals such as ITIL Foundation, ITIL Practitioner, ITIL service manager, ITIL expert, etc. – each with a higher degree of expertise in the topic. Though ITIL is an IT best practices framework, it is NOT a standard based on which organizations can be certified. The certification standard which has been based on ITIL is ISO 20000. Thus, overall there are 5 lifecycle stages and 25 processes in ITIL v3. There are the ITIL processes within the various service lifecycle stages.

The impact of ITIL on IT service levels is best described by the Service Level Management process within the Service Design lifecycle stage in ITIL v3. This contains best practices on how to go about planning for service levels, determine what service levels should be set as targets, how to track/report these service levels, and most importantly how to maintain the targeted service levels.

The IT service levels are one of the key measures on which the performance of IT departments is perceived by the business users and management. Hence, it is imperative for the IT department to carefully set the service level targets and ensure that they are met and reported in time. The service level management is also responsible for customer satisfaction, where customers for the IT departments are its business users, management, and end customers of the business.

Adoption of ITIL best practices enables the IT department to plan and manage its IT service levels effectively. This not only results in the achievement of its targeted service levels but in many cases also helps in exceeding the targeted performance which leads to customer delight and increased customer satisfaction. Thus, impact and benefits related to service levels are one of the main advantages of ITIL.

IT costs typically occupy the second or third largest costs within any business organization. Hence, it receives a high amount of visibility and is always under pressure to reduce IT costs. ITIL is one largest enabler in reducing IT costs and improving the efficiency and productivity of IT departments of businesses. ITIL offers various best practices which act as tools, techniques, and controls for reducing costs and improving efficiency while at the same time also delivering business benefits. IT Financial Management is one of the most important processes within ITIL which also helps in IT budgeting, accounting, and charging. Typically, organizations reap significant reductions in costs by adopting one or many or all processes from ITIL.

However, it is also important to note that some of the processes or best practices prescribed by ITIL are such that they need software tools to complement the processes to provide the benefits which are the objectives of the process. This acquisition and development of tools can be expensive and needs to be carefully evaluated and planned. Consideration should also be given to the long-term benefits of investing in such tools before deciding to either buy or develop such tools essential for ITIL best practices adoption.

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