In the world of IT Service Management (ITSM), the word “service” gets tossed around a lot, but without a shared definition, it often leads to confusion, missed expectations, and inefficiency. That’s where ITIL comes in, offering a clear, standardized definition used by organizations worldwide to align IT with business outcomes. 📘 What Is a Service? (According to ITIL) A service is a means of enabling value co-creation by facilitating outcomes that customers want to achieve, without the customer having to manage specific costs and risks. In simpler terms: Services help people achieve results they care about. The provider takes on the complexity, risk, and cost so the customer doesn’t have to. Value isn’t just delivered, it’s co-created through use. Now let’s look at how this definition plays out in real life with a Tale of Two Companies. 🏁 Meet the Contenders: BeanScene vs. Brewtopia Both BeanScene and Brewtopia are rising stars in the specialty co...

A Digital Transformation requires radical and profound change that orients an organization toward an entirely new direction and takes a service provider to an entirely different level! High Velocity IT (HVIT) is the application of digital technology that will likely play a major role in significant business enablement where speed is crucial! This is an Atmospheric View of High Velocity IT - Meditate on this for a few - POWERFUL! High Velocity IT is just a normal way of doing business for some organizations. For others it is an aspiration and many service providers are on a quest to get there fast. Best practice shows that there are three core elements required for HVIT and after taking a deeper dive into these aspects I became excited to see how these characteristics can change the world! Integration of Emerging Technologies : Discuss how advancements in AI, machine learning, and automation have become integral to HVIT practices, enhancing speed and efficiency in service delivery. ...

I realized recently that while many organizations and jobs require ITIL certification, few say why. I've thought about it, and here is what I came up with... The reasons behind this requirement are multifaceted and deeply rooted in ITIL practices' benefits to an organization. Standardization and Best Practices ITIL provides a set of standardized best practices for IT service management (ITSM). This standardization ensures that all certified professionals have a consistent understanding of IT processes, leading to more efficient and predictable outcomes. By implementing ITIL, organizations can align their IT services with business needs, reducing waste and increasing value delivery. Enhanced Service Delivery One of the core objectives of ITIL is to improve service delivery. ITIL-certified professionals are trained to optimize IT services, ensuring they meet the expectations and requirements of customers. This leads to higher customer satisfaction and retention, as well as...

Without the right tools and processes in place, Customer Success Managers (CSMs) can sometimes find themselves falling into the trap of playing a very reactive role…sort of like glorified tech support. CS leaders are always looking for better ways to ensure Customer Success plays a more dynamic role in meeting customers’ needs. Part of ensuring your CSMs’ ability to be more proactive and productive involves giving them the space and resources to meet customer needs, while simultaneously working with customers to take the relationship a step further, to drive stakeholder value. Originally posted by  ESG  - delivering Customer Sucess as a Service Turns out, there’s actually a really handy parallel between this concept in CS and the “Drive Stakeholder Value” Managing Professional Module that is part of the latest version of ITIL, ITIL 4. What is ITIL you ask? ITIL is a leading service management framework that IT service organizations use to ensure the businesses and customers th...

ITIL, originally known as the IT Infrastructure Library, serves as a globally recognized framework for IT service delivery. It advocates for best practices in IT Service Management (ITSM), fostering the standardization of various processes and stages across the IT lifecycle. Initially introduced by the British government's Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA) in the 1980s, ITIL aimed to establish consistent guidelines and mitigate disparities among evolving IT architectures. Over the years, ownership has changed multiple times. In 2021, PeopleCert bought AXELOS, the owners of ITIL. ITIL 4 represents the latest iteration of the framework, and holds significant importance for organizations for several key reasons: Standardization : ITIL provides a set of best practices and guidelines for IT Service Management (ITSM). By implementing ITIL practices, organizations can standardize their IT processes and procedures, ensuring consistency and reliability in service deliver...

By Donna Knapp   At one point in my career, I was a change manager. I ran my company’s change advisory board (CAB), and I spent endless hours trying to convince project managers to submit requests for change (RFCs). Despite my best efforts, I invariably had to explain, fairly often, that ‘poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency change on mine.’ At that time, the change manager role was one of the many hats that I wore. My ‘real’ job was service desk manager. We called it a ‘hotline’ then and so yes… it was many, many years ago. In that role, I and my team saw the impact of poorly executed and failed changes. We dealt every Monday morning with the chaos that came out of the massive changes made over the weekend. That was then. Since then, much has changed. But it was through that lens that, more than 10 years ago, I first started researching a movement in the IT industry called DevOps. At the time, it was early days for DevOps and individuals and organizations we...

By Donna Knapp For years, people , process , and technology (PPT) was a widely recognized framework for balancing and integrating the components needed to achieve optimal performance and outcomes. In the ITIL v3 Service Design publication, this framework was expanded to the four Ps: people , processes , products , and partners . ITIL 4 has further expanded and evolved this framework to the four dimensions of service management. These four dimensions are collectively critical to the effective and efficient facilitation of value for customers and other stakeholders in the form of products and services. The four dimensions of service management are: Organizations and people Information and technology Partners and suppliers Value streams and processes. These four dimensions represent perspectives which are relevant to the whole service value system (SVS), including the entirety of the service value chain and all ITIL practices. Each ITIL practice is a set of organizational resources base...

Change Enablement is a practice within the ITIL 4 framework that focuses on managing changes to IT services, systems, and infrastructure in a controlled and efficient manner. The primary goal is to minimize the negative impact of changes while maximizing their benefits. This involves assessing, authorizing, and overseeing changes to ensure they are implemented smoothly and successfully. The Importance of Change Enablement Change Enablement is a critical practice for managing the complexities of IT service management. By adopting a structured approach to change, organizations can minimize risks, ensure business continuity, and remain agile in the face of new challenges.  1. Risk Mitigation : Uncontrolled changes can lead to service disruptions, security breaches, and compliance issues. Change Enablement ensures that all changes are carefully evaluated and authorized, reducing the likelihood of negative outcomes. 2. Business Continuity : By managing changes effectively, organiza...

Attending a quality online Instructor-Led Virtual Classroom  allows you, the learner, to immerse in material that is presented in a fun, practical manner.  This is NOT a Webinar! This is NOT an e-learning self-paced computerized course.  You are not on your own!  Instructor-Led Virtual Classrooms allow you to :  Learn online with a live experienced instructor. Interact in group discussions and activities with others in the class. Engage your instructor with ongoing Q and A throughout. Listen to or share real-world examples. Participate in analyzing sample exam questions with the instructor.  Collaborate with chat, open mic, polls, and other interactive tools – VOIP or phone!  Learn from; review sessions, videos, workbook activities, study aids, Reference Cards, and more! Benefits Include: Take a class at your home or office – more time for you and yours! Receive materials online – no shipping.  No travel, no TSA, stay safe an...

Donna Knapp is the curriculum development manager for ITSM Academy, where she is responsible for  the development of ITIL course content. By her own admission, it’s a role that indulges her love of learning and passion for sharing her knowledge with others. Gaining the ITIL 4 Master designation is an unexpected outcome to the career path Donna Knapp first set out on. However, she now realizes it’s the culmination of her ITIL journey.  “Early in my career, I was the IT liaison for my organization’s Lean initiatives. At the time, I wasn’t aware of ITIL . Instead, we used IBM’s IT service management framework.” Donna said. “The IBM philosophy was well respected in the IT industry at that time, and dovetailed much of what I was doing in terms of designing and improving our IT service delivery and support processes.” “IBM went on to contribute to the birth of ITIL and by 2005 I was using ITIL as a consultant and educator,” Donna explained. “As I look back, I appreciate that this w...

At ITSM Academy, we take pride in delivering courses that offer a hands-on, experiential approach to learning. Our commitment to practicality is evident in all our classes, where assignments and discussions are designed not only to reinforce examinable terms and concepts but also to provide students with opportunities to apply their knowledge in real-world scenarios. In 2004, the genesis of one of our most popular assignments, "I am the Incident™," took place on the pages of a hotel notepad. This case story-based series of assignments serves as a powerful tool, emphasizing the importance of establishing a common vocabulary and a shared understanding of key practices such as service level management, monitoring and event management, incident management, problem management, and change enablement. In the I am the Incident™ exercise, students are tasked with focusing on a specific service and considering a service level agreement (SLA). Each assignment presents a scenario related...