Why is ITIL^® important?

Why is ITIL important?

When it comes to a modern IT organization, there is hardly any way around ITIL. We have already taken a thorough look at why this is so, what advantages the framework offers, and how exactly it works.

Today, we want to change the perspective a little and look at the question of what added value ITIL offers the user organization.

The Customer & User Concept

In ITIL, the role of the customer is defined as follows: He is the one who decides on the requirements and restrictions of new services. He also bears the responsibility for ensuring that the defined goals are actually achieved. The customer thus has the final say on what a service does or does not do. The user, on the other hand, is defined as the role that applies a service exactly as it was designed by the customer.

Both roles describe people in a company who want to use services and thus achieve added value. IT, in turn, strives to provide these services in the best possible way so that the targeted added value becomes a reality and joint value creation can be established.

If we now take a closer look at ITIL 4, it quickly becomes clear that a strong customer focus applies here. We already encounter this focus in the ITIL Foundation, where value orientation is also defined as one of the seven basic principles - i.e., the focus on the concrete benefit for the customer.

Within the framework, there are other concepts that focus strongly on customers, but also on users. The customer journey, the service mindset, and service empathy are just a few examples. The famous motto "the customer is king" therefore also applies to ITIL. This does not mean that IT has to blindly follow the customer's will. But it does mean that all activities should be aligned with the overall success of the organization.

What is the added value for customer and user?

So what characterizes the use of ITIL and the associated methods, concepts and philosophies in an IT organization? The motto for all services provided is to meet all the individual needs of the customer as far as possible. The challenge here is to harmonize these requirements with the organizational necessities in such a way that added value can be achieved for the customer.

ITIL as a framework therefore ensures that IT focuses on the specific requirements of the organization and attempts with its activities to mirror and fulfill these requirements with the services provided. However, we see the added value not only from the customer's perspective, but also from the user's perspective. Most people within the organization who use services on a day-to-day basis often have closer contact with IT in precisely one case: when a service does not work as it should.

This is where many of the concepts and strategies from the ITIL universe come into play: In the service desk, ITIL 4 is not only about solving technical difficulties. It is just as important to take time for the respective users and their questions. ITIL ensures that the experiences and interactions a user has with IT become more positive, clearer and more efficient. Customer and user satisfaction are the two most important parameters used within ITIL to determine the added value of services.

Conclusion

With the leap to Version 4, ITIL has evolved into a framework that places central importance on the role of the customer. Its added value for all non-IT employees in organizations is thus greater than ever.

With this evolution, ITIL provides answers to the pressing questions of the ever accelerating digitization: IT and business are moving closer and closer together. Efficient IT that also relies internally on customer-oriented concepts is thus becoming a decisive factor for the future viability of a company.

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