ITIL is a series of comprehensive, consistent publications that are used to aid the establishment of a quality ITSM framework within an organization, aligned with the international standard, namely, ISO/IEC 20000. The ITIL philosophy has evolved and is globally recognized as the foundation of IT Service Management best practices, supported by a professional qualification scheme.

The latest version of ITIL ® (v3) consists of a core set of five publications that replaces the previous version of ITIL ® (which was published in 2000). The core publications, providing the guidance necessary for an integrated approach (ref ISO/IEC 20000), are:

• Service Strategy
• Service Design
• Service Transition
• Service Operation
• Continual Service Improvement

The core volumes will be supported by complementary titles, addressing the application of the generic core guidelines in particular markets or technological contexts.

As IT services become more closely integrated with the business function, ITIL v3 assists in establishing a business management approach and discipline to IT, stressing the complementary aspects of running IT itself as a business. Service Management is a set of specialized organizational capabilities for providing value to customers in the form of services.

These capabilities take the form of functions and processes for managing services over a lifecycle, through strategy, design, transition, operation, and continual improvement (as per the volumes). Without these capabilities, signifying capacity, competency, and confidence for action, a service organization is merely a bundle of resources that by itself has relatively low intrinsic value for customers.

10 reasons IT managers fear ITIL

Adopting the best practices laid out in ITIL requires IT managers commit to a multi-year project, bring executive management on board and wear their thickest skin to work every day as a majority of people will resist the efforts to overhaul how IT does its job.

"As the ITIL framework has undergone a transformation during the past several years, speculation has abounded about the implications and changes to ITIL," writes Evelyn Hubbert, a senior analyst with Forrester Research.

1. Change

2. Measurement

3. Process limitations

4. Investment

5. Buzzword bandwagon

6. Process selection

7. Complexity

8. Executive expectations

9. Organisation size

10. Stifled creativity