BANK HOLIDAY CLOSURE: We Will Be Closed On Friday, 29 March 2024 & Monday, 01 April 2024. Our Office Will Re-Open On Tuesday, 02 April 2024. Learn more

ITIL® 4 - What’s Happening, What’s New And What We Know…

Posted by | Reviewed by | Last Updated on | Estimated Reading Time: Less than a minute!

BREAKING NEWS… The latest ITIL 4 update (as 5th July 2019)

Book your ITIL4 Foundation and Foundation Bridge courses now, straight from this link:

ITIL 4 Certifications

Well this is the new ITIL 4 certification scheme...

AXELOS ITIL4 Scheme Diagram - Purple Griffon Training And Consultancy

Will there be any bridging courses? – There is no official 'bridging exam' for current ITIL Foundation holders to ITIL 4 Foundation. However Purple Griffon have been given permission by AXELOS to run a Foundation Bridge course candidates who currently hold the ITIL V3 Foundation certificate will need to take ITIL 4 Foundation exam at the end of the 'Bridge Course' to be certified in the new ITIL4 scheme. Alternatively, you can continue accumulating ITIL V3 credits to be able to take the ITIL 4 Managing Professional transition (bridging) exam.

The great news for candidates that hold credits from ITIL Practitioner and Intermediate/MALC modules is that you can benefit from a transition module for ITIL Managing Professional, which will become available in H2 2019!

The ITIL Expert transition module consists of a certified training course and exam enabling ITIL v3 (2011 edition) certified professionals to transition to ITIL4. To be eligible to take the module candidates should hold:

  • ITIL Expert (v3) certificate or
  • A minimum of 17 credits from the ITILV3 Foundation & Intermediate / Practitioner modules or
  • A minimum of 15 credits from previous ITIL schemes plus the ITIL 4 Foundation

We encourage candidates to continue their journey accumulating current ITIL credits, in order to more easily transition to ITIL 4 without wasting any time.

AXELOS are still keeping some information close to their chest and accredited training companies are generally under an NDA so we have to be careful about what we know and what we can say, but what is publicly known so far is that:

  • ITIL will remain a professionally recognised certification scheme.
  • ITIL will continue to provide comprehensive, practical and proven guidance for establishing a service management system.
  • ITIL4 Foundation will be the first course to be released in Q1 2019… so probably March 2019 at the latest
  • They plan on building on existing ‘Best Practice’, not replacing it, so existing V3 guidance will be retained.
  • The current processes like Change Management which we all know and understand will still be at the heart of ITIL4.
  • ITIL 4 will expand previous versions by providing a practical and flexible basis to support organizations on their journey to the new world of digital transformation.
  • The main focus of ITIL4 is integration with other frameworks and methodologies like DevOps, LEAN and Agile.
  • ITIL 4 is an expansion on the existing ITIL framework, not a replacement.
  • Your current and past investment in ITIL training and certification will be protected.
  • Existing qualifications will still be recognised.
  • There will be some form of bridging training and exam.

AXELOS have also publicly stated that they are committed to building on previous versions of ITIL and ensuring that ITIL 4 will become even more relevant to organisations worldwide by:

  • Ensuring that there is a smooth transition path.
  • Making ITIL 4 more relevant to organisations undergoing rapid digital transformations.
  • Retaining and building on the basics like Change Management which is even more relevant in today’s rapidly changing environment
  • Supporting and interfacing emergent technologies and frameworks.

ITIL V3 versus ITIL4 Training

If you are about to embark on the road to ITIL Expert or already on that journey then we would highly recommend that you get started soon and continue, although we do not have official timescales yet from AXELOS, the likelihood is that you will have between 12 and 18 months to get to Expert level.

For those who want to be at the forefront of ITSM we will be scheduling our first ITIL4 Foundation course in March 2019 so if you are interested in being at the leading edge of ITSM ‘Best Practice please pre-register for these initial training courses.

Some Background to previous ITIL versions

1989 - First released and grew to a library of over 30 books.

2000 - Version 2 was published in a new format initially Service Support and Service Delivery books covering 10 processes and the Service Desk Function. Six additional volumes were added between 2001 and 2006.

2007 - Version 3 was published in a Service Lifecycle format of five core books, covering 23 processes the Service Desk, and Application, Technical and Operational Management Functions.

2011 – Version 3 was refresh as 2011 Edition with a number of new processes, BRM, Design Coordination and Transition Planning & Support, and a rewrite of the Service Strategy and CSI books. An ITIL Practitioner volume was later added in 2015.

2018 – ITIL 4 announced by AXELOS (note: it's not V4). The '4' is to align itself with the 4th Industrial revolution.

Before you leave, you might also find this post about the importance of ITIL RACI matrix interesting to read.

About The Author

Steve Lawless

Steve Lawless

I've worked in IT for over forty years and spent the last twenty in training and consultancy roles. Since starting Purple Griffon in 2002 I've taught over three thousand individuals in a variety of subjects. I hold qualifications in all four versions of ITIL®, ITAM, UX, BRM, SLM, SIAM, VeriSM, and AI, and co-authored the BCS AI Foundation book. Outside of work, I enjoy skiing (or rather falling over at high speed), reading, science and technology, and spending time with my loved ones.

Tel: +44 (0)1539 736 828

Did You Find This Post Useful?

Sign up to our newsletter to receive news about sales, discounts, new blogs and the latest IT industry updates.

(We will never share your data, and will never spam your inbox).

* Fields Required