What is ITIL?

ITIL is a library of IT service management guidance, owned by PeopleCert, that describes how an organization designs, delivers and improves the services it provides, built on a service value system, four dimensions, a six-activity service value chain and 34 management practices in its current edition, ITIL 4. It is voluntary guidance, not a regulation, and individuals earn ITIL certifications, not organizations.

What is ITIL 4?

ITIL 4 is the 2019 edition of ITIL. AXELOS launched it in February 2019, and PeopleCert, which acquired AXELOS, has owned ITIL since 2021. It replaced the ITIL v3 lifecycle with the service value system, which has five components: guiding principles, governance, the service value chain, practices and continual improvement. PeopleCert has since announced a newer release, ITIL (Version 5), and offers an ITIL Foundation Bridge for ITIL 4 certified professionals who want to upgrade (PeopleCert ITIL certifications).

What are the key elements of ITIL 4?

Element	What it contains
Guiding principles	Seven: focus on value; start where you are; progress iteratively with feedback; collaborate and promote visibility; think and work holistically; keep it simple and practical; optimize and automate
Four dimensions	Organizations and people; information and technology; partners and suppliers; value streams and processes
Service value chain	Six activities: plan, improve, engage, design and transition, obtain or build, deliver and support
Practices	34 in total: 14 general management, 17 service management and 3 technical management practices, each service management practice with an official practice guide

The four dimensions are named on the PeopleCert ITIL 4 Foundation page; the counts above are those recorded on SmartSuite's ITIL 4 framework page. Incident management, change enablement, problem management, service desk and IT asset management are among the service management practices.

How is ITIL different from ITSM and ISO/IEC 20000-1?

ITSM is the discipline of running IT services, and ITIL is one body of guidance for doing it. ISO/IEC 20000-1 is a certifiable service management standard that an organization can implement using ITIL practices; ITIL itself certifies people, never organizations. The related terms below cover the practices in more depth.

How do you get ITIL 4 certified?

The entry point is ITIL 4 Foundation. According to PeopleCert, the exam has 40 multiple-choice questions, runs 60 minutes, is closed book and requires 65 percent to pass. Higher designations then lead from Managing Professional and Strategic Leader to ITIL Master, and designations share a renewal date three years after the latest exam.

Related terms

• IT service management (ITSM)
• Incident management
• Problem management
• Change management
• CMDB
• Service request management

In SmartSuite

SmartSuite lists ITIL 4 among its framework pages, with the official resources, the practice mappings and a datasheet; the ITIL 4 framework page links to the IT service management solution that covers requests, incidents and changes.

Frequently asked questions

Is ITIL a certification or a framework?

ITIL is a framework of guidance, and certifications are offered on top of it. Individuals earn ITIL certifications such as ITIL 4 Foundation, but an organization cannot be certified as ITIL compliant. An organization that wants a certifiable standard can look at ISO/IEC 20000-1 instead.

Is ITIL 4 still current?

PeopleCert has released ITIL (Version 5) and offers a Foundation Bridge for ITIL 4 certified professionals. Check PeopleCert's ITIL pages for the current certification routes before you plan training.

Does ITIL replace ITSM?

No. ITSM is the practice of managing IT services, and ITIL is guidance on how to do it. A team can run ITSM with ITIL, with ISO/IEC 20000-1, or with its own processes, and many combine them.

Conclusion

ITIL gives IT teams a shared vocabulary and a set of practices for delivering services that create value. Treat it as guidance to adapt: choose the practices that fix your biggest service problems first.