ITIL is currently undergoing something of a renaissance in popularity. Renewed interest in the framework is almost certainly being spurred by the buzz surrounding the launch of ITIL in its third iteration. And whilst v.3 is still an unknown quantity and will inevitably be prone to some initial teething problems, I firmly believe that the refreshed best practice framework will be at least as successful as its predecessor. This success is likely to be predicated upon the increased focus placed upon ROI and justifying the value of the service desk and investment in the service desk to the board. It will be interesting to see over the next few years if this most recent refresh has gone far enough in this area.
A trend that I do see emerging amongst organisations of all sizes who currently use the v.2 framework will be a reluctance to make a wholesale leap to v.3 whilst wanting to take advantage of it. This will lead to a growing tendency to employ a hybrid approach, picking and choosing amongst the various ITIL disciplines which give organisations the ability to produce an even more tailored IT service framework.
The recent change from ITIL v.2 to v.3 is best compared to the renovation of a period property, for instance there is much there that one is at pains to preserve, however it is essential that to get the most from it, it needs to be modernised and updated. On the flip side I am always keen to point out to clients that whilst there is undeniable value in making the transition to v.3 it is not a decision which needs to be rushed, ITIL v.2 is still very robust, and whilst it could be regarded now as standard practice as opposed to the newly defined best practice of v.3.
Paul Whitlock, Technical Services Director, Plan-Net plc
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