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Why You Should Consider ITIL® Training

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Any decision on whether to improve your skills and knowledge by taking a training course depends on a number of factors.

Do I really need this training?

What will this give me?

Is it going to make my life easier?

Are there alternatives?

However, you may be lucky in that your company may have already identified that they wish to develop your skillset further. The downside to this is that the individual may not see the benefits and will be a reluctant attendee. We call these guys ‘prisoners’, as they don’t really want to be there, so it can lead to a difficult opening section until they warm to the topic (hopefully!).So, you may find yourself shortlisted for an ITIL course, but what is it all about, and what are the benefits it can bring you, as an individual?

ITIL® (The IT Infrastructure Library) training courses and exams are some of the most popular and relevant qualifications for people working in an IT environment. Despite regular announcements of its imminent demise it is still as relevant today as it was when it was first documented.

ITIL® is a documented set of detailed practices for IT Service Management (ITSM) that focuses on aligning IT services with the needs of business. The ITIL® framework has now been around for over 25 years and has become the de-facto ‘standard’ for IT Service Management worldwide with over 250,000 people taking formal ITIL® training each year. Knowledge of ITIL® is generally viewed as a prerequisite for many job vacancies within IT.

We live in challenging times, where uncertainty is the order of the day. Failure to provide quality, cost-effective services that provide the necessary and required business value leaves insourced IT Service Providers with the possibility of being replaced by an outsourcing model.

Why You Should Consider ITIL® Foundation Training Initially?

The ITIL® Foundation certificate is the first step in the qualification structure, and covers all the basic information and terminologies used in ITIL, including its history, growth, improvements and benefits. It will introduce the concept of a Service Lifecycle approach – from the conception of a service (Service Strategy) through design (Service Design), build, test, implement, (Service Transition management) operate (Service Operation), and improve (Continual Service Improvement), before finally being retired several years down the line. ITIL Foundation also instills the importance of providing services that are aligned to supporting customers in achieving their desired outcomes, and that are deemed to be cost-effective.

What You Will Learn On ITIL® Foundation:

The basic concepts of best practice coupled with the Service Lifecycle, process-lead approach. ITIL® is recognized as the world’s first best practice framework for Service Management, and is utilized by organisations globally. This course will prepare you for the ITIL® Foundation certification exam, a sought-after qualification recognised by organisations worldwide for the value its holders can contribute to organisations.

Benefits In Taking This Training Course:

The course follows the syllabus and provides an introduction of the pertinent topics. The benefits in taking the course can be many and varied, but include

Better alignment between the Business and IT

Less downtime by better quality Incident and Problem Management (Leading to higher availability)

Better control of costs and quality, allowing IT to demonstrate its benefits to the business

Better planning of requirements (including planning for future growth)

Identification of improvement opportunities within your own organization

Why Bother With ITIL® Intermediate Training?

The Intermediate courses, covering both the ITIL® lifecycle (3 day courses) and the ITIL® capability modules (5 day courses) and the ITIL Practitioner, are the next steps after attaining the Foundation qualification.

The ITIL® lifecycle modules, encompass Service Strategy, Design, Transition, Operation and Continual Service Improvement, and are worth 3 credits each towards the ITIL® Expert award

  1. Service Strategy: understands organizational objectives and customer needs.
  2. Service Design: turns the service strategy into a plan for delivering the business objectives.
  3. Service Transition: develops and improves capabilities for introducing new services into supported environments.
  4. Service Operation: manages services in supported environments.
  5. Continual Service Improvement: achieves services incremental and large-scale improvements

The Intermediate capability courses encompass Operational Support and Analysis, Planning, Protection and Optimization, Release, Control and Validation and Service Offerings and Agreements. The Intermediate Capability modules cover the roles and responsibilities, technology and implementation aspects, as well as specialized process-level details, including inputs, activities, concepts, metrics and outputs of each process. These modules are worth 4 credits towards the ITIL® Expert award

Benefits in taking these courses, whether the lifecycle or capability modules, include more in-depth knowledge of the processes, more focus on communication, understanding of the handover points between lifecycle stages, inputs, outputs, concepts, activities, metrics and implementation considerations

1. Operational Support & Analysis – Processes Covered:

Problem Management

Incident Management

Event Management

Request Fulfilment

Access Management

Operational Support & Analysis – Functions

Technical Management

IT Operations Management (Includes IT Operations Control, and Facilities Management)

Application Management

Service Desk

2. Planning, Protection & Optimisation – Processes Covered:

Availability Management

Capacity Management

IT Service Continuity Management

IT Security Management

Demand Management

3. Release, Control & Validation – Processes Covered:

Transition Planning and Support

Change Management

Release and Deployment

Service Asset and Configuration Management

Change Evaluation

Service Validation and Testing

Knowledge Management

4. Service Offerings & Agreements – Processes Covered:

Service Portfolio Management

Service Catalogue Management

Service Level Management

Demand Management

Supplier Management

Financial Management

Business Relationship Management

(Click this link if you want to learn about our monitoring and event management training).

Why You Should Consider The ITIL® Practitioner Training Course?

The ITIL® Practitioner certification offers practical guidance on how to adopt and adapt the ITIL® Framework to support your business' objectives. It is the next step after ITIL® Foundation for professionals who have already learned the basics of IT Service Management (ITSM). ITIL® Practitioner does not replace any of the existing ITIL® certifications. ITIL® Practitioner covers the Continual Service Improvement approach as the way to structure any improvement initiatives, and covers three key areas crucial for success of any improvement initiatives:

Organizational Change Management

Communication

Measurement and Metrics

The Practitioner guidance follows 9 Guiding Principles:

  • Focus on value
  • Design for experience
  • Start where you are
  • Work holistically
  • Progress iteratively
  • Observe directly
  • Be transparent
  • Collaborate
  • Keep it simple

Decision Point?

So now that you have all the details of the benefits of our ITIL® training courses, and what they can provide, why not consider which may be the most appropriate course for your current job – or perhaps have a word with your boss to see whether the company would be prepared to consider this as part of your training path.

If you are not sure which is the best route for you, why not have a chat with one of our account managers who will be able to guide you through the options available.

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

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