ITIL (Information Technology
Infrastructure Library)
What is ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library)?
ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) is a framework designed to standardize the selection,
planning, delivery, maintenance and overall lifecycle of IT services within a business. The goal is to
improve efficiency and achieve predictable service delivery. The ITIL framework enables IT administrators
to be business service partners, rather than just back-end support. ITIL guidelines and best practices
align IT department actions and expenses to business needs and change them as the business grows or
shifts direction.
ITIL started in the 1980s, when data centers decentralized and adopted more geographically diverse
architectures. This practice caused process and deployment discrepancies and brought inconsistent or
suboptimal IT service performance into organizations.
The United Kingdom's Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA) recognized the
importance of perceiving IT as a service and applying consistent practices across the entire IT service
lifecycle, so it developed the Government Information Technology Infrastructure Management
methodology. CCTA released ITIL v1 in 1989.
In 2000, the CCTA folded into the Office of Government Commerce and released ITIL v2 the following
year.
ITIL v3 emerged in 2007 and was updated in 2011 to include feedback from the user and training
community, as well as to resolve errors and inconsistencies.
THIS ARTICLE IS PART OF
What is configuration management? A comprehensive guide
Which also includes:
Can container tools box out configuration management?
Testing infrastructure as code: A complete guide
, How Puppet works: Using the configuration management tool
The U.K. Cabinet Office and Capita PLC formed Axelos in 2013. The organization's mission is to
"individuals and organizations more effective by providing practical guidance, content and qualifications
distilled from real-world experience and developing practices."
Axelos currently oversees ITIL development. It announced the latest ITIL guidelines in 2017, releasing ITIL
v4 and related modules throughout 2019 and 2020. Axelos continues to manage the development and
oversight of best practice certifications and methods, including ITIL and PRINCE2.
What is the ITIL process framework?
Each iteration of ITIL delivers updated documentation and certifications to prepare admins for the
current infrastructure landscape and the types of services they provide. ITIL's framework is not a rigid
checklist to implement best practices -- organizations evaluate and implement the aspects that are most
important for their needs.
The evolution of ITIL
Over time, the ITIL standard has evolved to address changing IT environments.
ITIL v1
In 1989, ITIL's goal was to standardize IT service management (ITSM). This initial iteration gave
organizations an overview of how to streamline services and helped admins start thinking about best
practices.
ITIL v2
ITIL v2 offered admins a more applicable and uniform structure for service support and delivery, and it
included actual processes for organizations to follow.
ITIL v3
ITIL v3 gave a broader look at IT services and added guidelines on service strategy, design, transition and
operation. It also outlined ways for businesses to continuously improve services. Its framework of core
publications collected best practices for each major phase of ITSM. These books and their core concepts
are the following:
Service Strategy, which describes business goals and customer requirements, as well as how to align
objectives of both entities;
Service Design, which outlines practices for the production of IT policies, architectures and
documentation;
Infrastructure Library)
What is ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library)?
ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) is a framework designed to standardize the selection,
planning, delivery, maintenance and overall lifecycle of IT services within a business. The goal is to
improve efficiency and achieve predictable service delivery. The ITIL framework enables IT administrators
to be business service partners, rather than just back-end support. ITIL guidelines and best practices
align IT department actions and expenses to business needs and change them as the business grows or
shifts direction.
ITIL started in the 1980s, when data centers decentralized and adopted more geographically diverse
architectures. This practice caused process and deployment discrepancies and brought inconsistent or
suboptimal IT service performance into organizations.
The United Kingdom's Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA) recognized the
importance of perceiving IT as a service and applying consistent practices across the entire IT service
lifecycle, so it developed the Government Information Technology Infrastructure Management
methodology. CCTA released ITIL v1 in 1989.
In 2000, the CCTA folded into the Office of Government Commerce and released ITIL v2 the following
year.
ITIL v3 emerged in 2007 and was updated in 2011 to include feedback from the user and training
community, as well as to resolve errors and inconsistencies.
THIS ARTICLE IS PART OF
What is configuration management? A comprehensive guide
Which also includes:
Can container tools box out configuration management?
Testing infrastructure as code: A complete guide
, How Puppet works: Using the configuration management tool
The U.K. Cabinet Office and Capita PLC formed Axelos in 2013. The organization's mission is to
"individuals and organizations more effective by providing practical guidance, content and qualifications
distilled from real-world experience and developing practices."
Axelos currently oversees ITIL development. It announced the latest ITIL guidelines in 2017, releasing ITIL
v4 and related modules throughout 2019 and 2020. Axelos continues to manage the development and
oversight of best practice certifications and methods, including ITIL and PRINCE2.
What is the ITIL process framework?
Each iteration of ITIL delivers updated documentation and certifications to prepare admins for the
current infrastructure landscape and the types of services they provide. ITIL's framework is not a rigid
checklist to implement best practices -- organizations evaluate and implement the aspects that are most
important for their needs.
The evolution of ITIL
Over time, the ITIL standard has evolved to address changing IT environments.
ITIL v1
In 1989, ITIL's goal was to standardize IT service management (ITSM). This initial iteration gave
organizations an overview of how to streamline services and helped admins start thinking about best
practices.
ITIL v2
ITIL v2 offered admins a more applicable and uniform structure for service support and delivery, and it
included actual processes for organizations to follow.
ITIL v3
ITIL v3 gave a broader look at IT services and added guidelines on service strategy, design, transition and
operation. It also outlined ways for businesses to continuously improve services. Its framework of core
publications collected best practices for each major phase of ITSM. These books and their core concepts
are the following:
Service Strategy, which describes business goals and customer requirements, as well as how to align
objectives of both entities;
Service Design, which outlines practices for the production of IT policies, architectures and
documentation;
