If you are curious to know Everything About ITIL 4, then read this article to the end, as I will explain everything! Well, finally ITIL® has decided to move and “poke” the market. But is this just a fight for leadership between the best ITSM framework? Who wins, ITIL 4 or VeriSM?
VeriSM self-proclaims as the newest and definitive ITSM model. Coincidentally, ITIL says the same thing.
I can tell you with confidence that both complement each other in some processes, while others are replicated. However, the main difference is the perspective in which they are viewed and implemented. In the end, the goal is always the same: to generate value with an IT Service Management framework. It’s that simple!
Anyway, ITIL 4 arrived as a big change in 2019! And lately, I have been receiving numerous questions about it, such as:
“With the new version, is it still worth getting certified in the old “v3″, that is, the library based on the 2011 version?”
“What has changed in the new version?” among other questions.
In this article, I intend to answer the main questions (and update it) whenever I obtain information from AXELOS.
This content is aimed at you, who want to obtain ITIL certification or who want to update to the new version.
The official announcement of the ITIL 4 version change
Axelos is the current copyright holder of ITIL® and as soon as it announced at FUSION 2017 that it was working on the ITIL 4 version, it caused a stir in the market. From the announcement to the launch, there was intense work with a team of experts, writers, reviewers, and industry collaborators around the world.
But now, answering the question about who wins the fight as the best in ITSM, VeriSM or ITIL, I can say that a recent survey confirmed that ITIL continues to be the best practice for this sector. Although VeriSM is also a great ITSM framework and arrived first in the makeover, which ITIL took a little longer to do. Yeah, in this race VeriSM got ahead!
Is it necessary to change?
Yes!!! That is, ITIL is a “continuing relevance,” so its “evolution is continuous.” And this can be seen and evidenced by the existing companies and startups that continue to choose ITIL.
Today, automation is the key issue! See discussions about the future of service management in the AXELOS report in January 2017, The Future of Service Management Professional, which says that 89% of professionals believe that “an increase in automation will take over repetitive IT tasks.”
And see how interesting, now and then, I hear some people say and label that ITIL is no longer relevant.
This makes no sense, and the proof of this is what the new version of ITIL proposes. By the end of this article, you will believe me (so I hope! lol).
In fact, if this were true, the number of certified professionals would not continue to grow worldwide, and the widespread adoption of the framework would not continue.
For this new version, the focus must be on agility, that is, “the ability of a company to respond to business threats and respond to market demands and opportunities.”
Obviously, ITIL can be adapted to meet the needs of a faster service life cycle. Hence the link between DevOps, Agile, and Lean.
Is it still worth studying for the old version or completing my studies towards ITIL Expert?
No, it’s not worth it. My advice for those thinking about starting their studies is: go ahead, but do it with ITIL 4!
Now, for those of you who hold ITIL certifications, you can be satisfied to know that this update does not in any way invalidate your qualifications, whether it be Practitioner, Intermediate, Foundation, or Expert.
With this update in evidence, the ITIL certification becomes more relevant now than ever before.
So, what has changed and what has remained the same?
In the first major update to the ITIL library in 2011, there was a greater focus on the fundamental principles of ITSM (IT Service Management) and on how to use ITIL practices.
But today we know that the focus should be on Agile, Lean, and DevOps.
For version 4, the core elements of ITIL remain. The update includes practical guidance on how to model and adapt your IT management strategy in a more modern and increasingly complex environment.
Here’s some great, good, and exciting news! Version 4 places a greater focus on the practical applications of ITIL. This update clears up doubts about employability in an agile industry.
As a result, a series of references to new knowledge will adapt to ITIL 4 (DevOps, Lean, and Agile), as well as references to the importance of good IT leadership and organizational management practices.
Most of the operational and tactical practices and processes you are so familiar with in ITIL v3 are still there. So the good news is that ITIL v3 training and certification will not go to waste.
Akshay Anand, the lead architect of the ITIL 4 update, pointed out four major issues that ITSM faces today and how ITIL 4 addresses them.
1. Local problem-solving structures being used at the corporate level
Frameworks and methods like IT4IT and DevOps were designed to solve problems for a specific department or team but are being misapplied.
Companies tend to expect these frameworks to solve problems on an enterprise scale.
The truth is that many of these frameworks recognize their own deficiencies and where their scope begins and ends. According to Anand, “There is no silver bullet, but unfortunately, the message is getting lost.”
2. Adoption of a Bimodal IT as an organizational construct
The bimodal concept means that there are two modes or speeds of managing IT, i.e., flexible or fast, and at the same time, traditional or cautious.
The bimodal model is dangerous since, in fact, IT is multimodal. It’s not just two speeds, but rather multiple speeds.
3. Adoption of “product-centric” thinking
It’s time to align ourselves that we should focus on IT services and not on developing software products.
Even companies that deliver a product, the main customer engagement occurs through the provision of services. And that, nowadays, is a competitive advantage.
This engagement reinforces the brand and customer support, so certainly, products have a critical role to play, but it’s the mechanisms for delivering a service that make the difference.
4. “Anti-practices” of ITIL
The ITSM challenges listed above have given rise to some bad practices. And that includes “watermelon SLAs.”
Let me explain.
IT service providers believe they are providing good service (all indicators are green), but when they come into play, everything turns red, and consequently, the customer is dissatisfied.
This situation occurs due to misaligned expectations because metrics are often related to outputs and not business results.
Another bad practice is the “connecting the dots” approach to ITIL implementations.
It means the following:
Companies are looking for something that allows them to implement ITIL to solve a particular problem, but knowing that’s not how it works.
Part of what ITIL has always emphasized is that in managing complex environments, you need to continuously repeat the path to successful service management.
And finally, the last anti-pattern is “Endless maturity improvement initiatives.”
Endless maturity initiatives are the famous infinite missions to reach higher and higher levels of IT maturity.
Let’s be fair, this is nothing more than an exercise in vanity. Additionally, it’s a waste of time and money.
Of course, level 4 is better than level 3, but often what the company needs is level 3, which is better than level 4.
ITIL 4 also addresses some of these criticisms.
Let’s look at some of them.
The first criticism is about a detailed analysis of ITIL, which is too vast to be understood. The current ITIL library, from 2011, has about 2,000 pages, and people simply don’t know where to start.
The other criticism is that ITIL could be more “readable” and practical, similar to the approach taken in the new ITIL Practitioner certification published in 2016, which tests the ability to adopt, adapt, and apply ITIL concepts in an organization.
In response, the ITIL update team made ITIL 4 modular, as well as leaner and more practical.
The modular design allows ITIL researchers to update topics that are evolving rapidly, such as change and incident management.
This update will trim unnecessary “fat” and offer many examples of models and practical advice.
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