ITIL (Version 5): An organization-wide business service framework fit for today
Scott Everett – Head of Application Management, Anglia Ruskin University
In a world where IT has shifted from a back-office enabling function to a core capability underpinning organization-wide digital operations, the new ITIL recognizes this and offers a framework more applicable than ever before.
While being a huge ITIL 4 fan, I see how the latest version has taken the benefits and brilliance of both ITIL 4 and ITIL v3 to create something even more holistic – and a real evolution for how digital organizations function today.
And an important part of this is the shift from operational thinking to digital product and service lifecycle management.
The importance of customer experience
Having beta tested both ITIL Foundation (Version 5) and one of the next-level modules in the certification pathway, the ITIL Experience (Version 5) module, I’ve been struck by the framework’s focus on the experience of customers.
Going deeper into what drives customers to experience the product and service they’re using – and what is needed to support them – advances the previous versions of ITIL: providing guidance that is more human-centric, grounded in safety culture, and reflects the concepts and qualities of an enterprise business service rather than IT service management (ITSM) alone.
A digital enterprise-wide approach
Though ITIL 4 concepts were always applicable outside of ITSM, for example, the guiding principles could support professionals in any environment, ITIL (Version 5) is more clearly an enterprise-wide, organizational framework.
As organizations have developed in recent years, digital products and services are no longer just add-ons, but central to delivering outputs and outcomes to customers.
Enterprise service management has come of age, with functions such as HR, finance and estates management recognizing the language and importance of, for example, service requests, incident management and service desks.
In this context, ITIL (Version 5) speaks to business – not just IT – requirements and recognizes the need for a combined and collaborative product and service lifecycle approach. Therefore, the concepts, terminology, and examples in the new guidance – covering areas such as strategy, governance, and partnerships – are more digestible and relatable to business stakeholders.
This is important, as it helps to engage an entire organization in delivering outcomes for customers and ensuring a high level of quality and experience.
Embedding AI with essential governance
With AI offering the next leap in digital and IT capabilities, what it can help organizations achieve is thrilling.
But while many businesses are experimenting with AI, it requires another level of knowledge and responsibility to operationalize it safely.
Governance of AI is so important and ITIL (Version 5) provides the framework necessary to embed it. AI concepts are threaded throughout the latest version, showing how AI is an integral part of digital product and service management and customer experience, for example.
Placing AI-enabled products into the management lifecycle of an overall system, rather than working with them in isolation, gives the necessary structure to move things from proof of concept to scaling safely and embedding quality.
An invitation to ITIL sceptic – look again!
The concept of global best practice has been embodied in each successive version of ITIL.
By adopting the learnings of respected industry experts, who have road-tested and stress-tested many principles and practices, this helps professionals avoid, or at least minimize, the mistakes that others have made before them.
And so, practitioners who decided to remain at the ITIL v3 level – or those who have never explored ITIL – should recognize that PeopleCert has, in ITIL (Version 5), created something aligned with modern ways of working and much closer to how capable practitioners think and operate.
For example, the ITIL Transformation (Version 5) module now addresses the concerns that some ITIL v3 practitioners had about ITIL 4: by taking high-level theory, making it practical, and explaining how to apply it in the real world.
For anyone who is responsible for working with digital products and services – and faced with an ever-faster and ever-changing world – ITIL’s latest version provides a best practice framework honed by leading experts and relevant to the challenges of today.
Taking ITIL (Version 5) concepts into the workplace
While the workplace environment I lead has built a great foundation of practice through ITIL 4, the latest thinking with ITIL (Version 5) will introduce a new level of governance, culture, and delivery.
By embedding the core concepts of experience throughout the business, I believe this will reinforce why we’re here and why we do the things we do: pulling together, in the same direction to drive value co-creation and deliver outcomes.
If you previously felt ITIL wasn’t the right fit for you, or paused your journey at ITIL v3 or ITIL 4, now is the time to take another look. Explore how ITIL (Version 5) supports organization-wide digital product and service management, grounded in experience, governance, and real-world practice.