The pace of Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) adoption has quickened in the past few years, as organizations have recognized its effective and efficient approach to delivering and supporting IT services to the business. The ITIL framework is now widely recognized throughout the Public and Private sector as a definitive source for best practices for IT service management. In essence, ITIL is enabling companies to leverage well-defined and integrated service management practices, use common terminology across the IT and business spectrum, and ultimately align IT support activities with the objectives of the business.
One of the major stumbling blocks to ITIL implementation, however, has been defining the steps required to proceed from the present state of affairs to this IT service management end state. Into this confusion, ITIL Version 3 is being revealed in the Spring of 2007 with the aim of broadening the perspective of the service management life cycle and of enlightening followers on how to move from strategy to production.
With businesses today highly dependent on information systems to provide constant, fast and efficient services to customers within a constantly changing environment, ITIL v3 is broadening its scope to accommodate business priorities. Although it shares the same foundation as that of ITIL v2, the new version includes guidance on aligning IT strategy with organizational and business objectives; on recognizing the return on investment of various ITIL activities; and on understanding the design and cultural implications of various approaches. With this contextual comprehension, an organization can direct its efforts towards a solid return on investment, which are the result of well defined business outcomes tied to implementing service management capabilities.
As a consulting and systems integration firm, Windward has consistently reinforced its services to enable organizations obtain real business value to its IT investments. Windward not only welcomes the fresh approach defined within ITIL v3, but we are also aggressively developing our capabilities to help organizations take full advantage.