Monday, October 19, 2009

Official Accreditor approves Service Catalogue complementary ITIL® V3 Qualification

29th June 2009, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, UK…....The Official Accreditor for the ITIL qualification scheme, The APM Group, has endorsed the addition of a new complementary qualification which earns candidates credits in the ITIL V3 qualification scheme.

The Complementary Qualifications Scheme is an initiative run by The APM Group as the OGCs Official Accreditor, in association with itSMFI and its International Qualifications and Certifications Committee (IQC).

The new qualification focuses on the Service Catalogue which looks at new ways to control demand, publish and track service pricing and cost, and automate service request management and fulfilment.

The Service Catalogue qualification was subject to independent review and scrutiny by the IQC and further to endorsement, candidates who gain the qualification will earn 1.5 ITIL V3 credits.

Colin Rudd, itSMFI Director of Professional Qualifications and Certifications said, "The importance of an accurate Service Catalogue cannot be underestimated. Candidates can now gain a recognized qualification in this discipline whilst working towards their ITIL Expert Certification."

Sharon Taylor, ITIL V3 Chief Examiner said, "Qualifications which help further promote specialized knowledge from within ITIL practices will be a welcomed addition to the overall Qualification Scheme. We are pleased to continue to offer more choices for ITIL certification."

The qualification will be developed over the next few months and will be available via organisations accredited through the APMG-International Examination Institute. Further information will be available from APMG-international at forthcoming itSMF events in the US and UK later in the year.

Foundation to Expert – ITIL® V3 comes of age

The world's first ISEB ITIL V3 Expert has qualified in the UK.

Paul Jackson, owner of mmXcellence ltd, a service management consultancy based in the Thames Valley is the world's first ISEB candidate to achieve ITIL V3 Expert level who has qualified through the accredited V3 Lifecycle learning route, passing every exam at the first attempt and in just ten weeks!

Richard Pharro, CEO, The APM Group, the ITIL Qualifications Scheme Accreditor, said "We extend our hearty congratulations to Paul Jackson for achieving ITIL Expert status. Achieving this level so rapidly is testament to his knowledge of service management and to his professionalism. We hope others are inspired by his achievement and aspire to do the same."

Paul says: "For me, ITIL, IT Service Management and the drive towards more efficient, effective, transparent IT operations has been the core focus of my working life for a number of years and, for me, achieving this qualification is an important step in progressing my career. I look forward to bringing this knowledge and experience to bear on future projects, and working with our customers to help them achieve their goals."

Paul, who is an extremely experienced consultant delivering IT Service management solutions, gained the qualification after completing an intensive, fast track study program whereby all five ITIL v3 lifecycle courses and the overarching "Managing Across the Lifecycle" course were completed over a ten- week period.

Paul adds: "When I was searching out a training provider I was looking for 3 things; value for money, course availability and reputation. For me, Sysop stood out from the crowd in all three areas, and, as I am not the most patient of people, their "Fast-track to ITIL V3 Expert " offering, whilst being both demanding and challenging, was the only one for me!"

ISEB Accredited Training Provider Sysop, a leading Service Management consultancy and training organisation, became one of the first training organisations in the UK to gain accreditation for all ITIL v3 training materials in August 2009.

Stuart Sawle, MD of Sysop said : "We are very proud of our track record on ITIL v3 qualifications. We were one of the first of the training organisations to gain accreditation for all of the ITIL v3 qualifications and the first to accept a student onto the, very demanding, "Managing across the Lifecycle" course. Paul booked a concentrated programme of training with us and proved to be an exceptional student and a joy to teach. We wish him well in his career and continued success in his business goals with mmXcellence."

Michelle Major-Goldsmith, Head of Training at Sysop said: "This was a real team effort in which Paul played no small part. Each of my team members played a part in delivering the training to Paul and I led him through "Managing across the Lifecycle". I'm so proud of everyone, it's been a demanding schedule: developing the courses to the high professional standard demanded by ISEB; delivering them in the classroom; and refining them to smooth the presentation flow."

For more information, please see the BCS-ISEB website.

ITIL ATO Sub Group Appointed

Earlier this year, the ITIL Qualifications Board (QB) agreed that in order to approve the engagement and level of consultation the QB has with the ITIL training community, an advisory group comprised of representatives from the ATO community should be established.

It was agreed that this group will undertake the following functions in an advisory role to the QB:-

* Provide a forum to discuss market concerns from an ATO perspective;
* Consider and discuss issues and proposals put forward by the QB;
* Provide valuable input on the risks and impact of proposed QB decisions, to the ATO and End User community;
* Raise concerns or issues to the QB which are of concern to the ATO or end user community.
* Bridge the gap between the QB and the training providers, working together to reflect the views, concerns, and benefits of the training providers, their associates and customer base, and to improve the ITIL market positioning.

The Accreditor is pleased to confirm that the following individuals were formally appointed to the ATO Sub Group in May 2009, and met for the first time with the Accreditor on the 17th and 22nd July 2009: -