How Does ITIL Certification Benefit Your Career?

IT service management continues to evolve as both front-line staff and digitally-empowered consumers demand improved support, faster response times, and specific resolutions for IT problems. Experience and credentials are required to meet these growing expectations — organizations need IT staff capable of both solving service issues in the moment and implementing long-term strategies to enhance service delivery.

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The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) certification is widely recognized as the definitive service management qualification and remains one of the most popular IT training courses offered by online providers.But what’s the benefit to your career? What can ITIL do for you right now, and what’s the outlook over time? Here’s what you need to know about earning, applying, and improving the ITIL certification.

What is ITIL?

ITIL was developed in the 1980s by the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency of the U.K. government to standardize IT service best practices. While initially designed for a very specific use case, enterprises quickly realized the broad applicability of service improvements to IT delivery at scale and ITIL entered mainstream use. Today, the program is managed by Alexos and has been divided into multiple certification levels.

What are the Benefits of ITIL Certification?

As IT departments make the shift from budget line-items to business strategy components, effective technology service management becomes paramount. End-users are no longer willing to wait days or weeks for IT response; <a style="color:#0000EE; "href="https://www.cybrary.it/catalog/interview-mocha/itil-information-technology-infrastructure-library-assessment/">ITIL provides the necessary framework for companies to create policies and processes that prioritize on-demand service and continuous availability. ITIL focuses on five key areas that benefit both business bottom lines and professional <a style="color:#0000EE; "href="https://www.cybrary.it/catalog/career-paths">career paths:

• Service strategy — By defining services as strategic assets, IT professionals can develop a cohesive strategy and apply it across the organizational infrastructure. Strategy training also demonstrates the ability to predict for and adapt to emerging issues, two skills now in high demand.
• Service design — This practice area focuses on assessment: Are current services working as intended? How can they be improved? Service design demonstrates the ability of IT professionals to identify key concerns and develop specific remedies.
• Service transition — Choosing IT services and solutions is one thing; implementing them effectively is something else entirely. Knowledge of service transition best practices helps IT pros deploy new resources at scale and makes them valuable assets for any industry.
• Service operation — Once services are live, IT experts must develop processes to manage delivery effectively, ensure uptime, and reduce the time between incident reporting and IT support.
• Continuous service improvement — IT services aren’t static. The focus on continuous improvement helps ensure ongoing compliance and performance benchmarks are met and helps IT professionals develop the ability to improve operations in any environment.

How do you Earn ITIL Certification?

Start with the <a style="color:#0000EE; "href="https://www.cybrary.it/course/itil/">ITIL Foundations course, which is designed for beginners and provides baseline knowledge for IT service management. While this certification has no prerequisites, the sheer amount of information available around ITIL deployment and implementation makes in-depth, online coursework your best bet to help focus study efforts and ensure you’re prepared for the <a style="color: #0000EE; "href="https://www.cybrary.it/catalog/practice_labs/exam/itil-foundation-exam/">ITIL Foundations exam. This exam consists of 40 multiple-choice questions in 60 minutes — candidates must score at least 65% to pass the exam and earn this certification.Along with training in the five key ITIL practice areas, top-tier online training also helps IT pros develop the skills and best practices necessary to reduce total IT costs for their organization, enhance critical processes, improve IT productivity and ensure customer satisfaction.Technology experts with the ITIL Foundation certification often find work as Service Desk Technicians, IT Support Techs, Application Support Specialists, and Security Analysts.

What Other ITIL Qualifications are Available?

ITIL certification is broken up into five different certification levels, beginning with Foundation. While earning the Foundation designation has no prerequisites, ITIL uses a credit system to determine eligibility for more advanced training. The other four levels include:

• Practitioner — This certification was first offered in 2016 and focuses on the practical implementation of ITIL best practices. ITIL Foundations is a prerequisite for this course and provides three credits toward ITIL Expert certification.
• Intermediate — The Intermediate certification focuses on two sets of modules: Service Lifecycle and Service Capability. Candidates can choose to earn certification in one or both module sets depending on their area of practice. Two years of IT experience is recommended before pursuing this certification, and exam preparation must include an accredited training course.
• Expert — Expert certification for experienced IT professionals looking to enhance both the depth and breadth of their IT service knowledge and is often a prerequisite for management or C-suite IT positions. Candidates must have at 17 credits from the previous certification tiers and complete the Managing Across the Lifecycle (MALC) exam.
• Master — Designed for IT pros looking to fully implement ITIL best practices across enterprise technology infrastructure, Master certification opens the door to C-suite level careers such as CIO, CTO, or <a style="color:#0000EE; "href="https://www.cybrary.it/catalog/career-path/12-competencies-of-the-effective-ciso/">CISO.

Even after 40 years, ITIL remains relevant as service-focused IT delivery becomes critical to business success. For IT professionals. ITIL certification offers both actionable skills that can be immediately applied to current operations and provides the Foundation for improved IT career opportunities.