According to industry publication IT Pro Today, If there were a professional bible for IT engineers, the Information Technology Infrastructure Library, or ITIL, would be it. For years, understanding the ITIL — and demonstrating ITIL mastery via ITIL certification — was a key requirement for a variety of IT jobs. In fact in a recetn IT Skills and Salary Report ITIL Foundation ranked seventh on its list of top-paying IT certifications.
ITIL an acronym for Information Technology Infrastructure Library, is a set of detailed practices for IT service management (ITSM) that focuses on aligning IT services with the needs of business.
ITIL is the only consistent and comprehensive documentation of best practice for IT Service Management. Used by many hundreds of organizations around the world, a whole ITIL philosophy has grown up around the guidance contained within the ITIL books and the supporting professional qualification scheme.
It is used to demonstrate compliance and to measure improvement. There is no formal independent third party compliance assessment available for ITIL compliance in an organization. Certification in ITIL is only available to individuals.
It allows the organization to establish a baseline from which it can plan, implement, and measure. Although ITIL underpins ISO/IEC 20000 (previously BS 15000), the International Service Management Standard for IT service management, there are some differences between the ISO 20000 standard, ICT Standard by IFGICT and the ITIL framework.
ITIL 5 - Simple Overview:
ITIL 5 builds on ITIL 4 by shifting from traditional IT service management toward AI‑driven, digital product and value management. It keeps the core of ITIL 4 but modernizes it for an intelligent, human‑centric, digital‑first world.
What’s different in ITIL 5
Broader Focus: ITIL 4 focused on IT services and the Service Value System. ITIL 5 expands this to full digital product and service management, looking at the entire end‑to‑end customer journey.
AI Governance: ITIL 4 encouraged automation. ITIL 5 adds guidance for responsibly governing and using AI – ethically, securely, and strategically.
New Ways to Measure Success: ITIL 5 moves beyond basic SLAs/KPIs, it emphasizes value‑ and outcome‑based metrics, including customer experience and social impact.
Stronger Customer‑Value Focus: ITIL 5 highlights co‑creation of value, aligning digital services closely with business strategy.
Updated Certification Path: After the disaster that was ITIL advacned certification, they have finally created a simpler structure with nine core modules, all requiring ITIL Foundation as the starting point.
What Stays the Same:
Thanksfully ITIL 5 is an evolution, not a replacement. ITIL 4 certifications still matter. The 34 practices continue, refreshed for agile, modern environments. The core philosophy of value co‑creation remains intact.
In a nutshell If ITIL 4 focused on mindset and flexibility, ITIL 5 applies that mindset to a digital, AI‑enabled world—putting customer experience, intelligent automation, and value outcomes at the centre.
ITIL is the industry standard for ITSM best practices, focused on aligning the needs of the business with IT services.
The only ITIL basics you need before the course:
ITIL = a framework for managing IT services so they deliver value to the business.
Key idea: value — IT and the customer create value together.
Services deliver outcomes without the customer needing to manage costs/risks.
Four dimensions: People, Technology, Partners, Processes.
SVS (Service Value System): guiding principles + value chain + practices + continual improvement.
Know the difference between:
Incident = fix something broken fast
Problem = find & remove root causes
Change = controlled updates
The ITIL® certification scheme offers a series of certifications which focus on different aspects of the ITIL Framework. For more information on these different levels, see our ITIL Exam tab.
ITIL continues to be the gold standard for ITSM best practices and interest in the topic is as high as ever.
ITIL processes and best practices have been a powerful tool for organizations to maintain and improve their service management for decades.
With over a million exams already taken globally ITIL is already recognised as the world’s most popular IT Service Management Methodology.