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AXELOS has announced plans to update the world’s most widely-adopted framework for service management.

The development of the updated framework will take place in 2018. While building on the established core of best practice in the existing ITIL guidance, the update will offer new and explicit practical content focusing on the optimum integration of ITIL with complementary practices, such as DevOps, Agile and Lean.

True to the spirit that has always characterized the development of ITIL, this evolution of the framework will derive from the real-life experiences of thousands of specialists and experts. Contributors from the global ITSM community already include international brands, SMEs, governments, academics, training organizations and professional communities. Over 650 practitioners worldwide are now participating in ITIL’s Global Research Programme.

Speaking at itSMF USA Fusion 2017 conference, AXELOS CEO Peter Hepworth commented:

“ITIL is a community-driven initiative, and I would now like to encourage IT professionals to join our Global Research Programme. This is their opportunity to contribute to and drive forward this latest evolution of the framework. They will take ITIL best practice into the future by ensuring that it continues to provide service management professionals with guidance that reflects the realities and demands of today’s rapidly evolving business environment.”

AXELOS’s extensive research among the global service management community has shown that ITIL’s proven and tested framework remains the backbone of today’s business practices, crucially facilitating business transformation. Over a million IT professionals in the US rely on ITIL’s best practice guidance to deliver business success, and each year organizations invest substantially in adopting ITIL, adapting it to their needs, and upskilling their people with ITIL qualifications. As a reflection of this, the update will continue to include the widely-adopted core principles of ITIL, which already deliver real value to organizations worldwide.

Flexibility and agility have become a priority in recent years as organizations adopt new technologies and ways of working, such as cloud, increased levels of automation and digital transformation. That dynamic is behind the ITIL update: it will ensure that the world’s IT service management professionals can confidently integrate their essential ITIL knowledge with these new business practices.

Peter Hepworth continued:

“Over the last 18 months AXELOS has engaged with hundreds of experts in the service management community. They have affirmed that ITIL, with its proven framework, remains as relevant as ever. With this update we can build upon these strengths by making ITIL even more responsive, transparent and agile.”

AXELOS’s research also demonstrates the value that the certifications bring to ITSM professionals. The certificates are industry-recognized and are established as prerequisites for many IT careers. Recognizing this, AXELOS will ensure that the current ITIL qualifications remain valid within the new scheme.

Cathy Kirch, President of itSMF USA, the organizer of FUSION 2017 and the leading independent professional forum for IT Service Management professionals in the US, commented:

“ITIL is the most firmly entrenched ITSM framework in the infrastructure of large, complex organizations, with many – if not most – Fortune 500 companies using it.  Currently, ITIL and complementary practices, such as DevOps, Agile, and Lean, are used successfully in conjunction with each other, however the next evolution of ITIL will promote and underpin dynamic collaboration.

“itSMF USA actively supports this update. We recognize the importance of ITIL’s evolution: it is critical to ensuring that, as business environments change with increasing speed, service management professionals have the crucial skills to handle emerging technologies and adopt new practices.

“We are keen for our members to feed into the ITIL Global Research Programme. This is about their role in creating an ITIL for the future, a framework which will continue to provide ITSM professionals with the resources to remain at the heart of business transformation.”

To contribute to ITIL’s Global Research Programme and drive forward this latest evolution of the framework go to www.axelos.com/global-itsm-research-programme.