The end of ITIL® v3: what you need to know now

The year 2022 marks a milestone in the chronicle of service management: During the year, rights holder AXELOS/PeopleCert takes all exams for ITIL v3 from the market. What this means for your further training in service management, what you should definitely pay attention to and which dates are important, you can find out here.

ITIL v3 comes to an end: The most important dates

You have about half a year left to successfully complete the certification path in ITIL v3: As of August 1, 2022, German ITIL v3 Foundation exams will never again be available (it is already no longer possible to take the exam in English). This also means that there will be no more training courses on this topic from this date.

All remaining ITIL v3 Intermediate exams and trainings have been discontinued by PeopleCert as of January 1, 2023. This also affects the ITIL Practitioner and Managing across the Lifecycle (MALC) certifications, among others. The same applies to the ITIL 4 Managing Professional Transition exam, which will also only be taken until January 1, 2023.

Organizations that still train their employees according to the ITIL v3 certification scheme must therefore hurry up - or successively migrate to the successor version ITIL 4. What does the move to ITIL 4 have in store for you? Find out at the end of this article.

Act now: This is what the end of ITIL v3 means for you

ITIL v3 being withdrawn from the market therefore means that neither training nor examinations in this version will take place from the respective cut-off date. If you are still collecting points according to the ITIL v3 certification scheme, this means: There is a concrete need for action! But what happens next on your training path? That depends, among other things, on where you already stand in the certification scheme.

What the turnaround means for (re-)entrants

Are you new to the world of ITIL? Then you should start with the ITIL 4 Foundation directly into the current version. The same applies if you only have an older ITIL Foundation certification or up to five ITIL v3 credits. In this case, ITIL 4 Foundation is also the best start for you. If you have previous experience with ITIL, we recommend our ITIL 4 Foundation Update course instead of the ITIL 4 Foundation. This closes the gap between the two versions without going into the absolute basics. In this way, you avoid duplicate content if you are already very familiar with the basics.

The right way for ITIL v3 advanced users

If you already have six to ten credits in the ITIL v3 certification scheme, the effort required for both paths is roughly equal: Whether you continue your journey in ITIL v3 in 2022 and complete the Managing Professional Transition this year, or start from scratch in the ITIL 4 framework, depends on your personal career goals and the time you can spend. If you want to complete a comprehensive training in ITIL v3 first and then move to ITIL 4 via a shortcut, you will have to complete your certification path in 2022.

If you have eleven or more credits according to ITIL v3, it is even more worthwhile to follow the path to the end. In this case, you should manage your time well until the end of the year in order to collect the required 17 credits you need for the ITIL 4 Managing Professional certification.

Be sure to note that the ITIL 4 Managing Professional Transition, which allows you to transition to ITIL 4 Managing Professional with just one exam after earning at least 17 ITIL v3 credits, has also been discontinued as of January 1, 2023. So for this path you need to collect enough credits early to still manage the course and exam in time.

How do ITIL v3 Experts and Specialists with more than 17 points get to ITIL 4?

If you are already an ITIL v3 Expert or have 17 or more ITIL v3 credits, you have it easy: Complete the ITIL 4 Managing Professional Transition by the end of 2022 in order to seamlessly transition to the new version and directly obtain the official title ITIL 4 Managing Professional. Keep in mind that this requires you to have completed not only the training but also the subsequent exam before January 1, 2023. It is therefore best to take care of your transition early so that you are not forced to move at the end of the year.

ITIL 4 instead of ITIL v3: The new generation

So this is how we say goodbye to ITIL v3. It is a well-deserved retirement that awaits this version. In "service" since 2007 and comprehensively updated in 2011, the framework still offers comprehensive service management guidelines and processes today. With the gradual introduction of ITIL 4 from 2019, not only has the certification scheme been tidied up considerably: the individual training courses have been more clearly delineated in terms of topics, so that there is less overlap. The scope of the exam content covered has also been successfully specified, resulting in a more participant-friendly learning workload on the one hand. On the other hand, no relevant topic is missed out - the perfect balance for the ITIL certification path. ITIL 4 is a worthy successor to the popular Version 3. But what does that mean in practice?

ITIL 4 not only incorporates the proven guidelines of ITIL v3, but thanks to its future-oriented focus and special consideration of digital transformation, ITIL 4 is already at the heart of any business strategy in the fourth industrial age. This latest version reflects the fast-moving and complex business environment in which organizations and companies find themselves today. As a result, ITIL 4 provides comprehensive guidance for IT management in the modern service economy. So ITIL is evolving with us. With the challenges of the times and with the opportunities offered by new technologies. Therefore, be sure to take advantage of the opportunity you have only this year and evolve with us!

Do you have questions about your personal path? We would be happy to help you find the right path. Simply contact us for a no-obligation discussion!

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