The Information Technology Infrastructure Library, or better known as ITIL, is a framework that manages IT activities delivered to procure a business value to the business’s customers and stakeholders.
At the moment, ITIL 4 is the current model with ITIL 3 as its predecessor. With that line of logic, ITIL 4 is an improvement over ITIL 3. It should merely be the best parts of ITIL 3, only better and more in-line with current standards. But that’s not necessarily just the case.
For starters, ITIL 3 and ITIL 4 have entirely different approaches.
Case in point, ITIL 3 allows students to look at IT Service Management (ITSM) as a system for the formation, delivery and continual innovation of tech-enabled products and services. On the other hand, ITIL 4 takes a different, more value-centric approach. Instead of just focusing on continual service improvement, ITIL 4 adopts a more holistic approach, assimilating other departments such as service management to IT, from demand to value.
This makes ITIL 4 more in line with what the ITIL was always meant to do.
ITIL 4 includes guiding principles and governance not covered in previous versions, the value of the service chain and other practices, as well as continual service improvement. It allows the IT teams to play a more crucial role in the development and growth of the company.
ITIL 4 And Its More Consistent Approach
The move to ITIL 4 will no doubt require some form of adjustment from even the most experienced ITIL folks. But all of these changes will make sense.
Unlike ITIL 3, ITIL 4 will be much more industry and community-driven, keeping up to speed with the constant change in technology. To do so, ITIL 4 will have endless revisions done by ITIL Development Group that acquire a whopping 2000 members.
ITIL 4 boasts smoother assimilation between delivery practices and customer support frameworks. The integration of this new framework and other methods such as Agile, Lean and DevOps will make ITIL 4 a more versatile and flexible tool for service delivery.
Why ITIL 4? Is ITIL 3 Already Obsolete?
It would be wrong to state that ITIL 3 is now obsolete with ITIL 4 in the picture. ITIL 3 remains to be the most popular framework for ITSM today as many companies are still implementing the context in their business models. However, with the new arrival of technology, ITIL 3 will be eventually phased out. Especially considering how ITIL 4 aims to provide a smoother transition between both the IT department, businesses and customer’s end.
However, if you have an ITIL 3 certification, do not fret! You can opt to transition from an ITIL 3 certification to an ITIL 4 certification by going for ITIL 4 Managing Professional Transition module and still attain skills relevant to the industry.
Final Thoughts
In terms of content, ITIL 3 and ITIL 4 have similar, if not the same, content. What sets them apart is the approach and philosophy they respectively hold. Businesses and organisations are now recognising the vital role of technology in their business frameworks. It is of utmost important that they have the necessary tools to keep up with the fast advancements and handle any such changes. Communication thus is essential in creating and implementing such changes and ITIL 4 provide a seamless means to do so.
