Have you ever wondered how a website stays up and running 24×7 or how an e-mail delivery service never fails? Who are the people that make an IT service successful?
IT firms have a services department that employs people to ensure that their products reach the end users without any hindrances. These people ensure that the IT services delivery of the company stays in top-notch condition all around the world.
If you’re looking for a career in this field, you can take up an ITIL certification course to be better prepared for the demanding job. However, before you go ahead and get yourself enrolled, you might first want to know more about the IT services framework and how it works.
ITIL And How It Works
ITIL, an acronym for Information Technology Infrastructure Library, is a framework with a set of practices that is used to run the IT services of a company. It was first introduced in Great Britain to manage information in government data centres. Since then, this framework has been adopted by several companies to ensure a smooth service delivery.
The ITIL framework allows companies to use a documented process to deliver their services. This methodology helps IT firms and other companies to focus on new IT services and also provide support for the old ones.
There are five phases in the ITIL services lifecycle and they are:
1. Service Strategy
This phase is dedicated towards developing a strategy for the IT services. During this phase, you would try to understand corporate governance and culture, policies, and different business strategies. This will help you come up with a strategy that will help old and new services.
2. Service Design
During this phase, you would analyze the company’s capability of designing new offerings and improving the old ones. In simpler words, it’s about assessing the business management processes to determine the design and service level capability of the organization.
3. Service Transition
Once you’ve dealt with the development side of the services, you can transition it to production for testing and quality control purposes.
4. Service Operation
During this phase, you have to find ways to manage the services once they are in production. You have to mainly address issues like access management, helpdesk support, incident response, and event management.
5. Continuous Service Improvement
This phase is dedicated towards improving services and implementing feedback. During this phase, you’ll also have to ensure that all procedures have been followed to a T, and policies and service agreements have been duly signed and maintained.
All these information might seem a bit overwhelming but that shouldn’t deter you from considering a career in ITIL. This framework gives a reusable process to companies without which they won’t be able to roll out IT services consistently.
ITIL Foundation Certification
This is an entry level certification that allows you to begin your career in ITIL. It’s the first step towards getting to know the IT services and management aspect of a business and the various processes involved in it.
To be able to clear the certifying exam, you would need to have a thorough understanding of the five phases of the ITIL lifecycle and how they work. If you’re fairly new to this field, it might be a good idea to take up a professional course for clearing the exam in your first attempt. This will help you understand the different aspects of ITIL and will also give you practical knowledge of the same.
Who Should Take Up This Course?
Any professional who’s interested in IT service management can take up this course and eventually clear the certification exam. However, if you’re working in a company and would like to familiarize yourself with the IT services department, then this course will help you do so. Also, the ITIL framework is a great way of gaining insight into the way an organization operates and delivers products and services to its customers.
How To Take Up The Certification Exam?
The ITIL Foundation certificate is issued by AXELOS and you need to complete the following two steps to pass the certifying exam.
● You need to correctly answer at least 26 questions (out of 40) and score 65% marks
● Once you have passed the exam, you need to earn two ITIL credits
The examination fee lies somewhere between $220 and $250 and you can appear for it online. The ITIL foundation certificate is a great option if you’re interested in taking up a job in the IT services of a company. Not only will the certificate help you understand the ITIL lifecycle, but it will also improve your career prospects. And once you have cleared this certifying exam and gained enough experience, you can take up other certifications like ITIL Practitioner, Intermediate, Expert, and Master
