Little Known facts about the ITIL® v3 Certification in Nigeria.

Little Known facts about the ITIL^{® v3} Certification in Nigeria
The acronym ITIL^®  (IT Infrastructure Library, a set of books similar in nature to PMI’s PMBOK Guide) or ITSM (IT Service Management – the concept of IT as a “service” to the business).

ITIL started in the late 1980s when the British Central Computer and Telecommunication Agency (CCTA), now called the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), made a decision that there should be a better way for Information Technology to function. The CCTA commissioned a study group to develop a new approach to managing Information Technology.

ITIL helps organizations achieve the following:

ü  Increase IT efficiency

ü  Improve quality

ü  ITIL brings with it a common dictionary, an item that has been lacking in the present IT world.

ü  Improved financial management of IT and a better matching of the services of IT to the needs of the overall organization.

ü  Improved relationship between IT and the organization for which it provide services.

ü  Improved utilization of the IT infrastructure.

ü  Improved utilization of IT personnel.

ü  Improved reputation of IT within the organization that IT services.

The true value is the long-term adoption of best practices that have shown a positive return on investment. ITIL builds a stronger organization that matches the service provided to the present and future needs of the business and provides that service in a cost-effective manner.

Are you looking for a job? There is a very high Demand for ITIL Expertise
Organizations are turning to ITIL, and the demand for individuals with skills and expertise in this area is increasing.  ITIL certifications rank as some of the highest paid certifications in technology, along with PMI’s CAPM and PMP credentials.  In recent salary surveys from ZDNet’s Tech Republic, PMI and ITIL credentials consistently rank in the top three IT certifications industry wide. 

ITIL Focuses on Processes not Technology
The ITIL books are process based not technology based.  In order to really understand IT Service Management as a practice, you do not need to understand LANs or routers.  Rather, you need to understand things like the importance of key process driven issues like controlling change, defining service understand service levels, and maintaining a catalog of all your services to the business in terms the business can understand. Because it is a framework,ITIL does not describe in great detail how any particular process should be implemented.

ITIL states that you need to have one function/department and ten processes. For example:

The Service Desk (function)

• Incident Management

• Problem Management

• Change Management

• Release Management

• Configuration Management

• Service Level Management

• Financial Management

• IT Continuity Management

• Availability Management

• Capacity Management

Service Support, the blue book, covers the one function and the first five processes. Service Delivery, the redbook, covers the last five processes.

What then is the ITIL V3 all about?

ITIL v3 presents a lifecycle approach to managing IT services designed to provide the most value possible to the business. By focusing on the services IT provides to the business in support of the business or mission of the enterprise, the IT organization can know how best to apply all the previously described quality, project, process, governance, and security models and frameworks. IT organizations worldwide use the ITIL to establish and improve capabilities in service management. ITIL has the following components:

                         

The ITIL core consists of five volumes of good practice guidance applicable to all types of organizations to provide services to a business

The ITIL complementary guidance is a related set of publications with guidance specific to industry sectors, organization types, operating models, and technology architectures.

The following table lists the ITIL v3 publications and brief descriptions.

Volume Description	Description
Service Strategy	How to transform IT service management into a strategic business asset
Service Design	How to design IT services, processes and functions to realize the strategy
Service Transition	How to move new and changed IT services and components into a production environment safely and effectively
Service Operations	How to efficiently and effectively deliver and support IT services
Continual Service Improvement	How to monitor and measure IT service management and make adjustments to remain

So whats the best place to get started in ITIL?

For most organizations, education or training is the first step. ITIL brings with it a common dictionary of IT terminology.

Many companies begin by requiring most or all of their IT staff to take an ITIL Foundations

Certification  class. This class can be 2 – 3 days in length. Many companies require that the class include a certification test. This training provides a common understanding of the ITIL framework and a common language for a more accurate discussion during the implementation.

A second step is to designate someone as manager of the ITIL adoption project. The adoption of ITIL rises to the level of a major project that requires formal oversight. The project manager should be an ITIL Certified Service Manager or have at least one advisor who is so certified.

Who will ITIL Training benefit?
This course would benefit in particular:
• Individuals who require a basic understanding of the ITIL® V3 framework and how it may be used to enhance the quality of IT service management within an organisation.
• IT professionals that are working within an organisation that has adopted and adapted ITIL® V3 who need to be informed about and thereafter contribute to an ongoing service improvement programme.
It will also benefit:
• IT Service Providers
• IT Directors and Managers
• CIO’s
• Business Managers
• Service Management Consultants and Contractors
• Business Process Owners

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