ITSM And ITIL: What’s The Difference?
The terms ITSM and ITIL are often used interchangeably. In fact, these two acronyms describe similar — but not identical — concepts related to service desk management and best practices.
Let’s break it down: What’s the difference between ITIL and ITSM?
ITSM vs. ITIL
ITIL stands for IT infrastructure library. ITSM is an acronym for IT service management. While they’re both designed to improve the delivery of services and support to end users, they describe different aspects of the same process.
ITIL: Originally created by the U.K. government’s Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA) in the 1980s, ITIL focuses on standardizing IT deployments across the country to ensure consistent service delivery. The standard became popular across Europe in the 1990s and three more versions followed — ITIL V4 was released in 2019.
ITIL is divided into five key “volumes” that provide a framework for improved service delivery:
- Service Strategy
- Service Design
- Service Transition
- Service Operation
- Continual Service Improvement
ITSM: ITSM refers to specific activities performed by organizations to manage IT service delivery. These include planning, integration, monitoring, securing and upgrading systems as required to ensure consistent operations and performance.
What Is the Difference Between ITIL and ITSM?
Put simply, ITIL is the framework, while ITSM defines the processes used to improve service delivery.
For example, the first volume of ITIL is “service strategy,” which includes a set of best practices for creating a service framework that is standardized and straightforward. ITSM helps execute this strategy by defining current service needs, identifying key technology shortfalls, and implementing critical hardware or software upgrades.
At its most basic, the ITIL vs. ITSM difference is conceptual: ITIL describes the theoretical implementation of better service delivery, while ITSM defines the practical steps required to achieve this goal.
Benefits of ITIL and ITSM Certification
IT professionals can earn both ITSM and ITIL certification. Here’s what this means for businesses considering a managed IT partner:
ITIL vs. ITSM Certification
ITIL certification of staff members demonstrates that providers can create standardized frameworks for IT service delivery. This includes everything from defining more efficient IT resolution processes to developing long-term IT deployment strategies and improving incident response (IR) processes.
ITSM certification of employees, meanwhile, highlights the practical ability of managed service providers to improve the speed and satisfaction of end-user experiences. Under ITIL, “continual service improvement” defines key concepts for ongoing service desk evolution. ITSM-certified providers deliver strategy and services to implement these improvements directly.
The ITS Advantage
In practice, this means Innovative Technology Solutions has the high-level IT proficiency and hands-on experience necessary to help transform your service desk and improve service delivery.
With a focus on end-user satisfaction and employee performance, our agents leverage ITIL and ITSM to identify critical innovations, necessary transformations and specific service adaptations. As a result, our clients reap continuous improvement driven by IT support above and beyond the norm.
Enhance your service desk delivery with certified ITSM and ITIL support from ITS. Get in touch.
