IT Governance Blog on IT governance, risk management, compliance and information security.

We’ve taken five minutes to catch up with our ITIL trainer Andy Britton, following the success of the first ITIL Foundation (2 day) training course – which achieved a 100% pass rate!

You have worked in IT Service Management for over 20 years – how did you get started and what has kept you interested?

I had previously worked in software development (as a programmer and software development manager) and then took up an interesting IT Support role at Hewlett Packard. Because IT Service Management (ITSM) has so many facets (ITIL now includes 26 separate ITSM processes) I was able to keep my interest by regularly taking new, varied and interesting roles within their huge worldwide IT organisation, and then within other organisations. It has kept me challenged and interested!

What advice would you give someone considering ITIL Foundation as a route to building a career in ITSM?

Do it! ITIL is the best-known and most-used ITSM framework in the world and around 20,000 people every month are now taking the ITIL Foundation exam. Don’t get left-behind and overlooked for someone who already has ‘ITIL’ on their C.V.

What is the most challenging part of attaining the ITIL Foundation certificate?

Persuading your manager to let you attend a course. The exam itself isn’t too tough if you engage during the course.

If persuading managers is a challenge – why should they support their staff to pursue ITIL qualifications?

ITIL is all about best-practices (hundreds of them) so the more that staff have exposure to these, the more chance they have to see how they can be applied to the advantage of the organisation (and the customers that they deliver to).

Also, ITIL has its own terminology/language and with the spread in its popularity, it’s a language that more and more people now speak. Being familiar with ‘ITIL language’ is key to effective communication across large organisations or for integrating new staff.

Will our 2 day course help persuade managers to support ITIL training?

I think the 2 day approach, rather than the more typical 3 day courses, will be of particular interest to managers. For managers facing limited training budgets, or with several staff requiring training, the 2 day course offers a shorter, lower-cost solution.

What level of prior experience would you expect delegates attending our 2 day course to have?

Our 2 day approach is ideal for people who have spent a year or so working in an IT role, who are keen to gain the ITIL Foundation qualification quickly and efficiently. Smart folks from non-IT roles could also get a lot out of the course though as, after all, it’s an introductory-level course.

Thanks Andy.

If you are keen to progress your career in IT service management by getting the ITIL Foundation certificate under your belt, our new intensive ITIL Foundation (2 day) training course offers the quickest possible route to qualification. Andy Britton will deliver the next course on 18-19 July 2013 in London.

>> Find out more and book your place

For those new to IT Service Management (ITSM), ITIL can seem a daunting term. What does it stand for? Who came up with the idea? Who uses it and why? Should you adopt it?

Well, let’s start with the basics…

ITIL Definition

ITIL stands for the Information Technology Infrastructure Library. It is a management framework for delivering IT services that are aligned with the requirements of the end user to deliver value.

The set of topics and concepts, which are best practice for ITSM, are condensed into 5 books, collectively known as the ITIL (2011) Lifecycle Publication Suite.

Authored by the Office of Government Commerce (now known as the Cabinet Office), this suite of books is core to anyone adopting ITIL into their organisation.

The Lifecycle suite does just what it says on the tin, err…I mean cover! It reflects the natural lifecycle of service management, covering strategy, design, transition, operation and continual improvement.

ITIL brings many benefits to your business, including: improved efficiency, reduction in IT costs and a better management of resources.

ITIL (2011) is the most current version of ITIL (as of May 2013). There have been three other versions in the past, but it is best to use and learn from any books or guidance as of the most current version.

ITIL is recognised worldwide.

You can gain certifications in ITIL to prove your credibility, including ITIL Foundation, Intermediate Level, Managing Across the Lifecycle, Expert Level and Master Qualification.

For more information about ITIL, download our ITIL white paper >>

If you have any more bite-size chunks about ITIL that you’d like to add to this post, please leave your comments below.

The UK Cabinet Office has selected Capita Plc (a leading private sector business process outsourcing organisation) to form a joint venture to develop and commercialise the UK government’s Best Management Practice portfolio of management frameworks and methodologies (ITIL®, PRINCE2®, M_o_R®, MoP®, MSP®, MOV® and P3O®).

Capita will own 51% of the new venture with the UK government owning the remaining 49%. The new organisation doesn’t currently have a name, though it is commonly being referred to as NewCo. It will own the intellectual property of the frameworks and methodologies and be responsible for their development, as well as assume the management and support of the ecosystem of accredited service organisations – including training and consultancy.

Capita is paying the UK government an initial sum of £10m with three deferred payments over the first three years of £9.4m. The Best Management Practice portfolio currently delivers revenues of approximately £40m. It is anticipated by year 10 that this figure will triple under the management of the new joint venture.

NewCo will assume ownership of the portfolio on the 1 July 2013, becoming responsible for full operational delivery from 1 January 2014.

You can read the full press releases on this deal from the UK government and Capita on their respective websites:

• Gov.uk
• Capita

Our ITIL Foundation Training course has been condensed into just two days, meaning you can achieve ITIL certification more quickly and cost-effectively.

Here are 8 reasons why you should sit this course with IT Governance:

1. Course condensed into just 2 days – IT Governance ‘trims the fat’ on existing courses, delivering you the key facts in the shortest amount of time
2. Save on costs – Because of the 2 day course, you will spend less time away from the office and less on hotel fees, giving you a quicker return on your training investment
3. Inclusive – Price includes training, EXIN exam, lunch, light refreshments and full course documentation throughout the 2 days
4. Centrally located  – Training venue in London
5. Experienced trainer  – Interactive and practical training delivered throughout the 2 days
6. Friendly customer service team  – On hand to help you arrange travel, accommodation and deal with any other queries you may have
7. Online booking – it’s simple, easy and quick
8. 100% pass rate – Need we say more?

ITIL Foundation (2 day) Training Course Price: £495 Next date: 30-31 May 2013. See more dates.

Delegates who attended the new IT Governance ITIL (2 Day) Foundation Training Course achieved an impressive 100% pass rate in the ITIL Foundation exam awarded by EXIN.

IT Governance has introduced this two-day ITIL Foundation course to offer busy professionals a quicker route to certification than traditional three-to-four day ITIL courses. The 100% pass rate is a clear indicator of the effectiveness of this innovative two-day approach.

Why take the two-day ITIL Foundation route?

If finding the time or budget to attend a classroom course is creating a barrier to gaining your ITIL Foundation qualification, this two-day course will:

• Reduce your time away from the work place
• Lower your travel and accommodation costs

For those who are new to IT service management, the course trainer Andy Britton (an experienced ITIL/ISO20000 consultant) will ensure that the pace of learning is appropriate. Delegates from the first course commented that:

“Andy kept sessions moving and didn’t make me feel like I was being rushed. If there was a point I didn’t get, he was very patient and thorough with his explanations and didn’t move on until he was sure I’d understood.”

“The trainer adapted the timetable to suit the class and re-capped on previous sessions. He also brought in real-world examples and appropriate easy-to-understand analogies.”

Start your ITIL journey

The next EXIN accredited ITIL (2 day) Foundation Training Course will take place on 18-19 April 2013 in London and bookings can be made online. The course includes a free copy of the ITIL Foundation Essentials Pocket Guide.

IT Governance free green papers also provide a good introduction to ITIL and the ITIL, ITSM & ISO2000 Linkedin group is great for sharing your experiences with other service management professionals.

If you’re running an ITIL Foundation training course and are looking for some material to hand out to your delegates, try the ITIL Foundation Handbook, authored by the Cabinet Office.

	ITIL Foundation Handbook Price: €129.50

Available in bulk bundles (packs of 10), this is the perfect choice for those looking for a cost-effective option in training delegates. These handy books are:

• Fully aligned with ITIL 2011
• An ideal introduction to ITIL and ITSM
• Written by authoritative bodies in plain English and in an easy-to-understand format
• Designed to aid delegates in preparing for the ITIL 2011 Foundation exam

The ITIL Foundation Handbook is available from IT Governance EU which ships from a Benelux warehouse and is denominated in Euros, Krona and Kuna.

Find out more about the ITIL Foundation Handbook here >>

P.S. Single copies are available too!

Ah, those are the memories – many days of my misspent youth starting with watching the kids TV series ‘Transformers’. Most mornings during the school summer holidays, the ‘Robots in Disguise’ theme tune could be clearly heard.

ITIL and Transformers

But what do ITIL and ITSM have to do with the Transformers I hear you ask? The answer is very basic, change or transformation. When Optimus Prime changed from a lorry to a robot he was changing, or to be more specific, transitioning from one state to another. Change or transformation became the very core of ITIL after the release of the 2007 (v3) version of the framework. It recognised that change/transformation should be a day-to-day part of service management. Prior to this, ITIL had a very linear structure surrounding processes. Now there was a clear lifecycle for continual improvement.

Change as an on-going process

Change is often thought of as just a linear process, a transition or transformation (especially in Optimus Prime’s case) from one state to another. In fact, change is an on-going process. It is continually occurring around us and most modern management frameworks and systems (ISO9001, ISO27001, ITIL etc.) recognise this.

Many organisational change management classes teach delegates how to succeed with ‘change projects’, but how can change succeed if it is seen or taught as a one-off project? Surely the theory behind these courses is moot?

As ITIL recognises that change or transformation is in fact on-going and a way for IT to continually reconfigure itself to deliver services that are fit for purpose and that deliver value, doesn’t it make ITIL ever more relevant to IT professionals today? Common sense would say, ‘use ITIL’.

Let’s face it, it’s better to be an Autobot and change than be an evil Decepticon.

ITIL and Organizational Change

For more information coping with change in your IT department, take a look at ITIL and Organizational Change, one of our latest ITGP titles that explains how to revolutionize your business with the ITIL framework whilst managing the change effectively.

Now Autobots – transform!