What is ITIL?

ITIL® is the only consistent and comprehensive documentation of best practice for IT Service Management. Used by thousands of organisations around the world, a whole ITIL philosophy has grown up around the guidance contained within the ITIL books and the supporting professional qualification scheme.

ITIL consists of a series of books giving guidance on the provision of quality IT services, and on the accommodation and environmental facilities needed to support IT. ITIL has been developed in recognition of organisations' growing dependency on IT and embodies best practices for IT Service Management.

The ethos behind the development of ITIL is the recognition that organisations are becoming increasingly dependent on IT in order to satisfy their corporate aims and meet their business needs. This leads to an increased requirement for high quality IT services.
ITIL: Overview and Benefits

ITIL provides a systematic and professional approach to the management of IT service provision. Adopting its guidance offers users a huge range of benefits that include:

* reduced costs
* improved IT services through the use of proven best practice processes
* improved customer satisfaction through a more professional approach to service delivery
* standards and guidance
* improved productivity
* improved use of skills and experience
* improved delivery of third party services through the specification of ITIL or ISO 20000 as the standard for service delivery in services procurements.

ITIL® Call for Reviewers

TSO (The Stationery Office) are translating the Passing your ITIL Foundation Exam 2009 Edition into the following languages:

• Chinese
• French
• German
• Japanese
• Dutch.

We would like ten native language reviewers who are fluent in English for each title. The reviewers would be required to quality assure the translation against the English book to ensure that the translation has captured the sense and meaning of the English book as well as being free from grammatical errors etc.

The review would be carried out over a period of a month from May to June 2010 (dates are subject to change). Reviewers will be supplied with a link to an electronic copy of the translation and the English book along with an issues log to document any issues. Reviewers will be required to sign a Non Disclosure Agreement before they can review the publications.

All reviewers will have their names and their organization acknowledged within the publication.

Please submit your CV to emily.allison@tso.co.uk

ITIL Foundation New Questions

ITSM Online Solutions Inc. has just updated there ITIL v3 practice exams with the newest questions from the ITIL v3 Foundation syllabus version 4.2.

Check us out at www.ItsmOnlineSolutions.com for a free demo. Pass Guaranteed or your money back.

The translation of ITIL V3 Intermediate Examinations has begun

The APM Group would like to confirm that translations for ITIL® V3 Intermediate Examinations have commenced in the following languages and modules:-

Brazilian Portuguese - OSA
German – SO
Danish – OSA
Japanese – SOA
French – OSA
Spanish – SO

Work started on January 4th 2010, and is being done primarily in association with local itSMF Chapters and local translation agencies they have recommended. The key people are as follows:-

Brazilian Portuguese – Moracy Ferrari and Claudio Rostelato (Subject Matter Experts)
Danish – Anders Linde (DANSK IT)
French – Jean-Claude Beaudry (itSMF Canada), Robert Falkowitz (Subject Matter Expert), Vincent Guiheneuc (itSMFI)
German – Stephan Brendel (APMG Deutschland), Björn Hinrichs (itSMF Germany), Renate Eberle (TÜV SÜD)
Japanese – Joji Koyama (itSMF Japan)
Spanish – Marlon Molina (itSMF Spain)

The first translation to be available will be German and it is expected in April 2010. There will be two modules for each language. We are planning to release the first module in each language by May 2010 and the second, in the latter part of the year.

Further modules will be available after the refresh has been published in early 2011.
All English Intermediate papers have been monitored since release, and a sufficient number of candidates have now taken the exams to enable the examination panel to review them for their overall level of accuracy, difficulty, ease of understanding and applicability, against the performance metrics. Improved quality criteria have been applied during the assessment and review process to ensure the papers perform well in English. This was essential before translating into other languages.

We are confident that candidate performance in ITIL V3 qualifications will be consistent wherever they take a paper, in whatever language.

OGC withdrawal of ITIL version2

In June 2009 OGC announced that itSMF International 1 were undertaking a survey of the IT Service Management community to seek views on the uptake of ITIL version3 and the need to retain ITIL version2.

The survey had over 1300 responses, with a broad range of organisations providing a cross-representation of views from the community. There are some clear messages in the survey report:

* English versions of products need to be in the market to the end.
* Overall, less than 8% suggested version2 qualifications need to be available for more than 2 years (from the date of the survey).

OGC has considered these findings alongside its own requirements for the maintenance of the ITIL product set, and agreed that:
a. Withdrawal will be product based, with all language variants for individual qualifications and publications being removed at the same time.
b. Removal of version2 will complete on 30 June 2011. Specific product withdrawal will be as follows:

* V2 Foundation to cease 30 June 2010
* V2 Manager to cease 31 August 2010
* V2 Practitioner to cease 31 Dec 2010
* Foundation Bridge to cease 31 Dec 2010

ITIL V3 Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management

ITIL V3 Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management

V3FoundationpinThe Foundation Level of the ITIL Qualification Scheme focuses on providing knowledge and comprehension of the key concepts, structure, terminology and processes of ITIL.

This entry level certification offers candidates a general awareness of the key elements of the ITIL V3 Service Lifecycle, including the linkages between Lifecycle stages, the processes used and their contribution to Service Management practices.

Upon successful completion of the education and examination components related to this certification candidates can expect to gain knowledge and understanding in the following areas:

Service Management as a practice
Service Lifecycle
Key Principles and Models
Generic Concepts
Selected Processes
Selected Roles
Selected Functions
Technology and Architecture

Successful completion of the Foundation certificate also fulfils the pre-requisite entry criteria for the next level of study within the ITIL qualifications scheme, the ITIL V3 Intermediate Level.

View the Foundation syllabus for more detailed information on the areas of study covered by the ITIL Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management.
Target Group for the ITIL Foundation Certificate

The ITIL Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management is primarily aimed toward the following:

* those who require a basic understanding of the ITIL framework;
* those who need understanding of how ITIL can be used to enhance the quality of IT service management within an organization;
* IT professionals or others working within an organization that has adopted and adapted ITIL who need to be informed about, or contribute, to an ongoing service improvement programme.

However ITIL certification is open to any individuals who may have an interest in the subject.

ITIL V3 Update - Call for Participants

ITIL underwent a major refresh in 2005 and V3 was launched in June 2007. OGC has established a cyclical programme to update its core ITIL guidance which takes into account the latest developments in best practice in IT service management. Between the refresh projects, the ITIL guidance is regularly reviewed for fitness for purpose and is updated in controlled releases.

The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) and The Stationery Office (TSO), the official publisher for the
OGC, are seeking participants for the update of the five core publications (Service Strategy, Service Design,
Service Transition, Service Operation, Continual Service Improvement) and the Introduction to the ITIL Service
Lifecycle. The participants will be of two kinds: Authors who will make any necessary changes to the text, and
Reviewers who will comment on the changes and advise whether drafts are acceptable.

View the Call for Participants.

If you are interested please apply by 26 November 2009, enclosing your proposal, to:

Emily Allison
The Stationery Office
Emily.allison@tso.co.uk

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: -