Digital services are no longer "just an IT issue," but are closely linked to business models, customer experience, and competitiveness. With ITIL Version 5, often referred to as ITIL 5 or the new ITIL, managers have a modern framework at their disposal to professionally shape this connection.
But instead of jumping straight into the details, it's worth taking a step back first: What questions should managers ask themselves now if they want to use or introduce ITIL Version 5 in their organization?
1. What role does service management play in our corporate strategy?
The first question is not directed at IT, but rather at the organization as a whole:
Is service management already anchored in your strategy, or is it rather implicitly "implied"?
ITIL 5 no longer considers service management to be purely an IT operational issue, but rather an organization-wide capability for making digital products and services controllable. For managers, this means:
- What specific strategic goals should digital services support?
- Which services are particularly critical for customers, employees, and partners?
- How visible is the contribution of these services to the company's success?
ITIL Version 5 helps to answer these questions systematically and use service management as a strategic control tool.
2. Do we have clear responsibilities for our digital products and services?
A recurring problem in organizations: there are services, but no clearly designated responsible party. With ITIL 5 and the Digital Product & Service Lifecycle, it becomes clear that digital products need accountability throughout their entire lifecycle.
Managers should ask themselves:
- Are there clearly defined service owners or product owners?
- Do these individuals know what they are responsible for—in terms of content, structure, and economics?
- Are decisions and escalation procedures regulated transparently?
The new ITIL helps not only to define roles, but also to assign them competencies and decision-making powers.
3. Do our capabilities and culture match our ambitions?
ITIL Version 5 is not only about processes, but also explicitly about skills and culture. When you, as a manager, set ambitious goals, the question arises:
- Do our teams have the necessary skills to achieve these goals?
- Does our culture promote responsibility, feedback, and continuous improvement?
- Is there room for learning, training, and development, or does reactive day-to-day business dominate?
ITIL 5 views service management as a combination of structure, capabilities, and active collaboration. Managers are the key architects of this framework.
4. How do we measure the success of our services?
Key figures are not an end in themselves. Under ITIL 5, greater emphasis is placed on whether digital services really deliver the expected value. For managers, the key question is:
- How can we tell if a service is successful?
The following, among other things, can help:
- Service quality from the user's perspective
- Contribution to achieving business or project goals
- Stability, availability, and efficiency in operation
- positive experience for customers and employees
ITIL Version 5 supports you in moving from control metrics to management-relevant KPIs that make progress and impact visible.
5. How do we ensure that ITIL 5 suits us—and not the other way around?
Essential for managers: ITIL 5 is not a dogma, but a framework. It provides guidance, best practices, and structures that should be adapted to your organization, not the other way around.
Important questions:
- Where does ITIL Version 5 specifically support us—and where would "overengineering" be?
- Which modules and content are truly relevant to our role and our situation?
- How can we meaningfully integrate existing strengths (e.g., agile teams, DevOps, existing ITIL experience)?
The new ITIL delivers its added value precisely when it is consciously selected, tailored, and implemented.
Already have ITIL experience? Ensure compatibility with ITIL Version 5
Many managers already have a background in ITIL v3 or ITIL 4. For them, the question is less "whether?" and more "how?" when it comes to ITIL 5.
This is where the ITIL 5 Transition training . It helps to:
- transfer to ITIL 5
- classify the new focal points such as skills, culture, and digital life cycle
- and to define more clearly the role of managers in the context of the new ITIL
This is the most efficient way for IT managers and service managers in particular to stay strategically up to date without having to start all over again.
Latest publications
Would you like to gain a deeper understanding of why skills and culture play such an important role in ITIL Version 5?
Then read the previous article:
"More than processes: How ITIL Version 5 focuses on skills and culture"
Training tip: ITIL Version 5 training courses for managers at SERVIEW
If you are a manager and want to use ITIL 5 specifically for strategy, control, and organizational development, SERVIEW's ITIL Version 5 training courses are exactly the right approach.
In our training courses, you will learn:
- How to use service management as a management tool
- Which ITIL 5 modules are relevant to your role
- and how to effectively shape transition, roles, skills, and culture in your area of responsibility
Ideal for CIOs, IT managers, service owners, product managers, and anyone who strategically manages digital services.
Find out more now:
ITIL 5 training courses at SERVIEW
