You Don’t Need Every Part of ITIL Fond Du Lac WI

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Originally published at Internet.com

Any reputable player in ITIL marketplace will honestly tell you not everyone needs ITIL, and those who could use ITIL don't need every bit of it. There is nothing wrong with that, and anyone who won't tell you this is trying to sell you something you probably don't need.

Many have made a tidy living convincing clients they need full maturity in every ITIL discipline. Again, this is just plain wrong. You only need to implement those parts of ITIL you need and find appropriate, and you only need to mature them to the state required to do the job you need.

Thus a real ITIL implementation will only consist of the processes required and within those processes only those activities needed.

A reputable professional will even tell you if you don't need ITIL at all and, in fact, might be better served by an alternative to ITIL. Yes, there are alternatives to ITIL, and for some organizations or requirements, they are better solutions.

ITIL Alternatives

These alternatives fall into three broad categories: * Those based on or derived from ITIL including Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF), Framework for ICT Technical Support (FITS), etc. * Homespun solutions that, while not purposefully based on ITIL (or anything else), seem to work. * Frameworks similar to ITIL but specific to an industry or purpose, for example COBIT, ETOM, TMN, etc.

Some of these alternatives are very different from what ITIL describes. Consider the Enhanced Telecom Operations Map (ETOM.) ETOM evolved from common practice, to defacto-standard, and gave rise to ITU standard M.3050. ETOM/M.3050 is the standard for managing IT organizations within service providers such telephone/telecommunications carriers.

Both ETOM and M.3050 describe how to mange and diagnosis problems, establish service level agreements, etc. ETOM and ITIL address many issues compatibly but the perspective of each is radically different. ETOM includes order entry, billing, and even marketing elements-advice beyond the scope of ITIL.

Telecommunications Management Network (TMN) or ITU M.3000 is an international standard describing a framework for interconnecting systems and networks as well as defining the infrastructure needed to support the management and deployment of telecommunications services. Much like ITIL, TMN is based on multiple standards and best-practices and aims to reduce costs, improve service quality, increase efficiency, etc.

Then there is COBIT. COBIT is not a standard or a best-practice. It is a collection of control objectives for the specific purpose of making IT auditable. COBIT is also very different from ITIL (but, then again, it serves a very different purpose). COBIT and ITIL are not mutually exclusive, and in fact, when used together, often result in a better and more controlled IT organization.

Consider also ITIL variations. Microsoft's MOF is derived from ITIL (often word-for-word). The difference between them is ITIL is descriptive and not prescriptive-it does not tell you how to do much of anything. MOF on the other hand is prescriptive, and details exactly how you should use Microsoft products in order accomplish the objectives it contains (which just happen to be ITIL objectives in almost all cases).

BECTA, the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency, developed the Framework for ICT Technical Support (FITS) from ITIL. Adapted to the unique needs educational institutions, FITS is ITIL "tailored" to a specific requirement.

Then again we have to consider homespun solutions. Any significantly mature IT organization will, by default, have stumbled into the issues that ITIL addresses. These organizations evolved solutions on there own. It turns out that these homespun solutions often (and without the malice of foresight) mimic those described by ITIL.

Much of ITIL is simply common sense, and natural selection and corporate evolution means some companies would have naturally uncovered these "best-practices." Those that did not are using one of the other options described, or have already gone extinct (e.g., out of business.)

An Educated Consumer

Clearly then ITIL is not for everyone. You don't need everything in ITIL. You don't have to mature everything you do implement to the complete description in ITIL. And there are alternatives to from which to choose.

Further, ITIL does not stand alone in any implementation. It lives within a collection of standards, best-practices, management philosophies, and legislative requirements. ITIL itself is not a single thing but, as it very clearly states, "The IT Infrastructure Library documents industry best-practice guidance."

So, how can you tell if ITIL way is right for you? You have to learn about it, study it, and talk to those who are doing it and those who chose not to do it or have done something else. There are lots of implementations out there. Get involved. If it seems to suit you, then use it, or modify it, and use it.

In any case, given its momentum, which simply cannot be from just a couple of evil vendors manipulating the media, you need to know about it. This momentum is a direct result of the cost control, business dependency, and legislative issues surrounding IT.

Use ITIL for what it is, a collection of accepted best-practices, international standards, academic research projects, and popular industry texts assembled into one possible order of presentation.

Think of it as a guide book, not a playbook. Take what you need when you need it. Modify it if you want or need. If appropriate (and it is not always appropriate) use it as-is.

You know the old marketing saw Â… "An educated consumer is the best customer." It's never been truer than now and never applied more than it does to ITIL.

Hank Marquis is a managing partner and CTO at itSM Solutions. You can contact Hank at hank.marquis@itsmsolutions.com.