ITIL v3 : First Impressions

I did my ITIL v2 Foundation certification last year. It was actually the fag end of last year and I initially enrolled to take the test for ITIL v3. It was too late by the time I realized my mistake since I had already entered my credit card information on the test scheduling site. Luckily there was some error in entering the card number and the transaction was nullified and I re-scheduled for v2 for which I had been preparing.

Now few months down the line, I got a chance to overview and skim through ITIL v3. I am still browsing but first impressions:

• Has a major thrust on alignment with business in line with the trend where the CIO increasingly is reporting to the CEO or COO and not to CFO or some VP - Admin (!! .. yeah)
• Is more cognizant of the use of ITIL in outsourced scenarios. In fact it even recognizes that services will be delivered from offshore
• Focus is now on "Service" than elements that form the basis of service. So there are things like Service Strategy, Service Design, Service Transition and Service Operation. Also there are elements like Service Design Package (SDP) and Service Level Package (SLP) and a CMDB like Service Knowledge Management System (SKMS).
• Has a more marketing oriented feel and approach - be it the alignment to business or the abundant use of terms "strategy" and "value". It even has its four "Ps" !
• It is understands that there are service providers who are increasingly providing such infrastructure support services. It even takes into account the competitive environment for these service providers

Like everything that tries to be current and keeps evolving ITIL v3 is a step to keep the ITIL context relevant and appealing to most decision makers. It continues to be a guiding framework and not prescriptive for specific environments.