Who should do ITIL® certification?

What is ITIL®?

A Management software framework built to make services provided by the IT sector more effective and in alignment with the business procedures is called ‘Information Technology Infrastructure Library’ or ITIL®.

The attributes of ITIL® Framework such as implementation, integration, and configuration in the business structures allow the company to be more productive, produce better results and improve customer service.

The framework assists the companies to be cost-effective and grasp the best practices. All in all, it allows the company to set a high standard and work according to objectives.

Moreover, it makes the business more adaptable and flexible. This is a very useful trait for modern business where everything changes at a lightning pace. Therefore, ITIL® education is highly beneficial to the company. Also, one should keep in mind that an ITIL® certification holder is highly valued and well paid because of their knowledge, expertise, and skills.

So, who should take ITIL® certification?

• IT professionals who look forward to making a positive development in the organization such as productivity and cost efficiency.
• People who have the fundamental knowledge of the framework and want to utilize it towards efficient business management.
• Those who are already in the IT sector and yearn to enhance their skills, boost their expertise in the subject and ultimately earn a higher salary and designation can also apply for the course.

This course is not just for students, even professionals who want to boost their career and upgrade their skills can join this course -

• IT service executives and managers
• The IT managers and Directors
• Operations managers
• IT technical support professionals and engineers
• Quality analysts
• Service-support engineers
• The owners of business processes
• Database administrators

The benefits of ITIL® are not just limited to these professionals, anyone with a hunger to learn and a deep interest in the IT Sector can apply for the certification to understand the advantages of ITIL®. Since there are no criteria for participation in the certification, the course is available for everyone.

Why should you take ITIL® certification

By now, we know what ITIL® is and who all should join the certification course. But the question is, why should one go through all these hardships? Is it really worth it?

Let's update ourselves with the features of the ITIL Foundation e-learning certification course -

• The Foundation level e-learning course is accessible for 180 days. The duration may differ based on self-paced learning.
• The other certification levels in ITIL V3 are divided into 5 parts based on the understanding of the learner.
  1. Foundation - This is the first-level certification course that teaches the fundamentals and general concepts, terminology, and elements practiced in the ITIL® Lifecycle.
  2. Practitioner - This level aims to teach the candidates on how to adapt and adopt the skills of ITIL® during their daily work life. It is the most recent addition to the levels.
  3. Intermediate - This is a more in-depth study of the previous stages. Here, different modules are taken up to teach the various approaches and plans executed by following the framework. This certification is considered as the common ITIL® qualification in many IT sectors.
  4. Expert - This certification is considered as the esteemed qualification which depicts skills, expertise and a great understanding of the ITIL® framework. It takes a macro strategy to the ITIL®  Scheme covering the full course.
  5. Master level - The final stage of the certification which proves a comprehensive understanding of the principles, procedures and exceptional methods of ITIL®. It also demonstrates the candidate's superior skills. The master certified candidates are considered to be the best among others due to their knowledge and expertise.

The latest version of the ITIL® V4 has some new updates -

• Now, there has been an inclusion of ITIL Foundation and the ITIL Master exams.
• Moreover, the foundation exam has been divided into Strategic Leader and Managing Professional.
• Both of these levels have their own separate modules and examination.
• The end road for both the exams is the Master level.

Ways to get ITIL® Certified

There are various modes through which one can attain the ITIL® training. The modes are -

• Traditional Classroom Study
• Web-based or Virtual IT institutions.

If a candidate is very determined and focused, he/she can also choose to do self-study. One must understand that rather than the medium, it is the skill and knowledge that matters.

Major Benefits of the course

The main objective of the certification course is to prepare the candidate for various business management skills. These skills play a crucial role in aspects such as the interactions, services, processes, and outcomes of the business practices.

Following are the major benefits which can help the organizations to boost their business and individuals to enhance their productivity -

• Understanding of objectives like Service Strategy, Transition, and Operations. Through this understanding, they can implement and develop the process constantly.
• Customer experience is considered as the most valuable aspect of the business. The ITIL® framework makes sure that the candidates are able to use their skills and expertise along with the concepts grasped to improve the consumer experience.
• One of the major outcomes of the certifications is that it teaches the candidates how to apply their expertise to make cost-effective decisions.
• In business, it's the loyal and returning customers that make sure how far the business will go. This can be achieved in a better way if the ITIL® processes such as ‘fit for purpose’ and ‘fit for use’ are used properly as they help in building a loyal customer base along with magnifying the reputation of the organization.
• Integrated and adequate performance of the services that are associated with the outer groups.
• It is a well-known fact that a certified ITIL® professional is highly valued. The credentials of ITIL® in your resume will make you stand above the rest.
• Many leading MNCs prefer certified ITIL® professionals to maintain their high standards. This also allows them to be in sync with their co-workers in achieving the objectives.

What is ITIL® certification path?

The ITIL V3 certification path is as given below. Note that in 2019, the ITIL V4 levels of certification have been introduced. There are various paths to transition from V3 to V4.

In the above sections, the 5 levels were described in brief. This section will deal with the journey to the Certification Path for ITIL® V3. Throughout the certification course, there are a certain number of ITIL® Credits awarded when you clear the levels through examination. These credits are the key to unlock the next level of certification or training.

1. Foundation Course- 

As discussed earlier, it is the introductory course to the ITIL® Service Management.

• Training: Required.
• Prerequisites: Not Required
• Examination: Yes, Required
• Awards: 2 ITIL® credits
• Certificate: Yes, the ITIL® Foundation certificate is awarded to candidates who have successfully cleared the examination.

2. Intermediate Course-

The next step after Foundation course. It consists of Lifecycle and Capability streams with various modules in each stream.

• Prerequisites: ITIL® Foundation Certificate.
• Training: Yes, required
• Examination: Yes.
• Certificate: Provided on successful completion of the examination.

            Service Lifecycle stream modules: 

• Service Design - 3 credits
• Service Strategy - 3 credits
• Service Operation - 3 credits
• Service Transition - 3 credits
• Continual Service Improvement - 3 credits

            Service Capability stream modules: 

• Release, Control, and Validation - 4 credits
• Service Offerings and Agreements - 4 credits
• Planning, Protection, and Optimization - 4 credits
• Operational Support, and Analysis - 4 credits

3. Managing Across Service Lifecycle – MALC

The conclusive segment in the qualification system before obtaining the esteemed certification of Expert is the stage called - MALC.

• Prerequisites: ITIL® Foundation. 15 credits (Intermediate level) + 2 credits. Hence, 17 credits in total.
• Training: Yes, required.
• Examination: Yes
• Awards: 5 ITIL® credits
• Certificate: Provided on successful completion of the examination.

4. Expert Course-

The highly valued certification is a proof of superior knowledge and expertise.

• Prerequisites:
  • ITIL® Foundation
  • ITIL® Intermediate
  • 15 credits collected in ITIL® Intermediate level
  • MALC examination qualification
•  In Total: minimum of 22 ITIL® credits.
• Training: Not applicable.
• Examination: No exam, but the credential requires completion of lower level exams and accumulation of 22 credits.
• Certificate: Yes.

5. Master Course-

The ultimate stage in the ITIL® certification. This stage doesn't have any training material or examination. By this stage, the candidate is expected to be the best among his peer group and apply all the frameworks and principles in real-life situations.

• Prerequisites: 
  • ITIL® Expert certificate
  • 5 years of experience in leadership or management position.
• Training: Not applicable
• Examination: Rather than an examination, it's more like a collective review of the work. So, no examination.
• Certificate: Yes

ITIL® Stage	Prerequisites	Training	Exam	Certificates
Foundation	No	YES	YES	ITIL® Foundation
Intermediate	ITIL® Foundation	YES	YES	Intermediate level certificates
MALC	ITIL® Foundation - 15 credits in Intermediate	YES	YES	YES
Expert	ITIL® Foundation - 15 credits in Intermediate - MALC - Minimum 22 credits in Total	NO	NO	ITIL® EXPERT
Master	ITIL® Expert	NO	Demonstration	ITIL® Master

The path from ITIL® V3 To ITIL® V4 

Before getting acquainted with the ways to move from ITIL® V3 to ITIL® V4, let's find out how ITIL® V4 has upgraded -

Major Upgradations in ITIL® V4 -

• Exceptional integration besides other successful ITSM practices, including DevOps, Agile, and Lean
• A broader focus on the meaning of customer experience
• The superior combination of ITIL® and modern business practices
• A community-driven focus to create the framework extra flexible and powerful

The reason why ITIL® V4 is the most superior version is that several consultations and recommendations from professionals have been included in this version. This version was created to address the most common issues faced by most professionals.

Due to these developments, even the foundation module has been enhanced along with new exam material. So, yes! Because of these changes, it is definitely worth to upgrade to the latest version.

Let's find out how can one do that -

AXELOS has addressed the transition issue and has made the process quite simple. These are the best options as suggested by AXELOS on how a candidate can move from the older version of ITIL® to ITIL® 4. These steps majorly depend on what stage they have achieved in their certifications.

Foundation course -

For those who have started the certification course and have only reached the existing Foundation certification, or have earned up to 6 additional credits, are recommended to start again with the latest version of the ITIL® 4. This is because of the change that was mentioned above due to which the modules of the foundation course have been revised and upgraded. Therefore, it will be better for them to restart from the beginning as they will be in sync with the current updates.

Intermediate Course -

However, it's not so simple for those who are completing the intermediate level of the ITIL® V3. AXELOS doesn't want the students to unnecessarily waste their valuable efforts, so if the student has collected more than 6 credits beyond the foundation level, he/she is advised to continue with the studies. It is also worth noting that the Transition module will not be released until the second half of 2019, so this gives the students a fair amount of time to collect their required credits.

Expert Certification -

Students who have already achieved a minimum of 17 ITIL® Credits will have the choice of practicing the ITIL® 4 Managing Professional (MP) Transition module when it is published. This will enable them to join the stage of ITIL® Managing Professional (MP). Following this, all they need to do is, join the ITIL® Leader Digital & Strategy module. It will assist them in achieving the ITIL® Strategic Leader (SL) designation. By this stage, they will be eligible to apply for the ultimate level of ITIL® Master.

Now that we are aware of the transition stage and have gained the idea of what ITIL® is and how it is useful along with its various attributes that the framework offers in the Business Management, let's address the question that has been in your mind towards the start,

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What are the job opportunities for ITIL® certified professionals?

The best thing about the ITIL® certification is that it has no expiration date. So, once you achieve the certification, you can put the credentials in your resume for the rest of your life. This will not only make your resume look more valuable than other candidates, but will also increase your professional value and credibility.

Sr. No	Role	Average salary per annum in US	Average salary per annum in India
1	Service Delivery Manager	$82,795	INR 1,366,982
2	IT Analyst	$86,361	INR 7,32,612
3	Asset Manager	$88,552	INR 539533
4	IT Project Manager	$91,257	INR 1,433,472
5	IT Manager	$101,181	INR 1082029
6	Engineering program manager	$106,280	INR 1819880
7	Senior  IT Project Manager	$112,899	INR 1,818,560
8	Service Transition	$117,000	INR 13,34,273
9	Service Operation	$117,000	INR 610,864

The certification is confirmation that the candidate is not only highly skilled, experienced and has superior management skills, but is also thriving for excellence and knows how to adapt to new updates. Moreover, an ITIL® certified candidate can only implement the frameworks of ITIL® but can effectively guide the company into building a loyal customer base.

Now, what jobs can ITIL® certified professionals acquire?

One must keep in mind, that ITIL® is not a magic formula. It is a framework and education whose success rate highly depends on the candidate. There is no doubt that the job opportunities are more than a non-certified candidate, but these are factors on which the success ratio depends:

• Your professional background.
• Experience
• The speed at which you learn ITIL® concepts.
• The interest you have in IT processes. This will determine your success ratio in your everyday job.

Many of the leading companies have made it mandatory for their employees to have ITIL® training. Companies from different sectors are hiring ITIL® professionals to fulfill their vision. A lot of companies and industries have embraced ITIL® globally after realizing its never-ending list of benefits. Some of them are -

1. Technology - 

IT, the most advanced and leading sector which is evolving almost on a daily basis have understood the importance and need for the ITIL® frameworks.
Companies associated with technology that have implemented ITIL® are -

• Microsoft
• IBM
• HP
• Fujitsu

2. Retailers -

Retailers are the backbones of the business industry. ITIL® was initiated to boost the business sector. So how can the retailers not join the implementation? These are the major retailers who have adopted ITIL® framework -

• Walmart
• Target
• Staples

3. Financial Services -

Given the benefits of the ITIL® framework especially in implementing cost-effective methods which not only saves resources but also time and effort, some of the leading financial service providers using ITIL® are -

• Citi Bank
• Bank of America
• Barclays

4. Entertainment - 

Over time, the entertainment business has grown to be one of the biggest industries in the world. As the industry grows, it's only fair to assume that the responsibilities will grow too. Adopting the ITIL® framework is the measure taken to ensure the free flow of service and hence, improve the user experience. The entertainment companies that are using ITIL® are -

• SONY
• Disney

4. Manufacturers - 

The building blocks of the industries are the manufacturers. ITIL® magnifies the result of both the large business as well as the SMBs. Some of the leading manufacturers using ITIL® are -

• Boeing
• Bombardier
• Toyota

5. Life Science - 

One of the most intelligent and smartest sectors in the world. It's really not surprising that they have adopted the benefits of ITIL®. The companies in life sciences that have adopted the ITIL® are -

• Lilly Pfizer
• Takeda

Following are the responsibilities that an ITIL® certified professional can expect -

Process Coordinator

Foundation-level to intermediate-level professionals with a minimum of 2 years of experience can expect to get the job of Process Coordinator.

The job of a Process Coordinator is to assure that the administrative actions in a process are conducted as planned. Change coordinator, Incident coordinator, and configuration analyst are few of the coordinator positions possible in ITIL®-based IT service management.

Managerial Role

With at least 8 years of working experience, a certified ITIL® professional is expected to manage processes end to end. This is operated at the mid-management level.

The role here is to ensure that activities in service management are in accordance with the given processes. As the name suggests, you will be managing the coordinators under you who will directly report to you. The Manager is accountable for their actions and making sure that the work allocated is executed thoroughly.

Release manager, Problem manager, and service desk manager are some of the managerial roles.

ITIL® consulting role

The basic requirement as you can guess is same - an ITIL® certified professional. But along with that, the candidate also needs to have other abilities with Observation skills being the most dominant trait. An ITIL® Consultant must have great observation skills as this would allow him/her to notice inconsistencies in processes and immediately plan about optimization. So the next skill required is, “Problem-solving’’ abilities.

This role of Process Consultant requires experience of ten years. The consultant must enjoy going into the depth of the issues. Their role is to observe every role assigned under them and guide them to execute the processes as smoothly as possible.

This is one among the highly-paid and respectable posts in the industry. Needless to say, with great power comes great responsibility too!

ITIL® Trainer

Over the last decade, ITIL® has been in huge demand. Mostly, because professionals and companies have realized its importance in the business industry. Also, due to the tough competition, many job seekers are looking to sharpen their skills, expertise and raise their value. To achieve these, they are applying for the certification course. All these are a testament that the ITIL® dominance will stay for a while until a better framework can be built, and the way ITIL® is constantly evolving with the times, that seems unlikely to happen.

So, being an ITIL® trainer is a great idea provided you enjoy teaching. This post requires you to be absolutely thorough with every detail in the ITIL® process.

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Conclusion

The results and outcomes of ITIL® will only be visible when they are applied effectively.

Ultimately, it all depends on corporate buy-ins and staff. The ITIL® will be as successful and effective as you allow it. But if used constructively, it will definitely increase the chances of success exponentially.