By now everyone within the professional IT community should be familiar with and instituting ITIL-related ideas and/or policies as part of their everyday duties. Some of the most prestigious, and connected organizations are in fact utilizing ITIL to its fullest extent. For those that aren’t particularly familiar with ITIL, you might be wondering why this might be the case, right?
According to information which can be freely obtained through several news sources, the NIST (or, National Institute of Standards and Technology) adopted ITIL practices and processes in their day-to-day activities nearly a decade ago. Lack of understanding and/or training in ITIL will certainly not help in landing you any employment opportunities with NIST; when it comes to ITIL, NIST is definitely on board. In fact, the cloud computing literature being published and produced by NIST is purported to be perfectly aligned with ITIL. But ITIL isn’t merely an outside reference material to the NIST, it has become integral to the way they carry out their operations as well.
Before we go any further, let’s establish what the NIST actually does, or rather, is responsible for. The most immediate duty of the NIST is to develop technological standards and help reinforce them. But in recent times, the NIST have been frequently called upon to aid in the improvement of the production, assimilation, and dependability of emerging technologies. This is to say that the NIST is literally helping to improve entire industries from the ground up through their policies and problem solving tactics.
What are the benefits of implementing ITIL?
If we are to learn what those who are working from within NIST have to say (about ITIL), the key to optimal adoption of ITIL is a slow transition. When they started integrating ITIL concepts around 9 years ago they (NIST) opted to start with their most immediate issues and essentially “fill in the blanks” later. This was done intentionally so as to not alienate employees; ITIL is fairly dense subject to study, and trying to integrate all concepts at once will certainly lead to confusion and/or failure. So what benefits have the NIST reported? Specifically, the NIST have stated that adherence to an ITIL framework has improved overall infrastructure, helped to create a more streamlined incident management system, and has boosted efficiency across the board.
So, how does this affect you as an IT professional? Well for starters, it should be blatantly apparent that ITIL and ITIL training are beneficial, especially if they’re being tapped by those who literally issue the standards we all adhere to. The NIST (and their ITL group) are actively working toward ensuring that their releases are in accordance with ITIL methodologies. Since most IT professionals are subject to the regulations being developed by the NIST (and the NIST apparently values ITIL enough to account for it) it only makes sense that your average IT worker should also possess an intimate knowledge of ITIL as well. This also speaks volumes about what the NIST actually thinks about ITIL with regards to its staying power, and/or future importance.
OK, so now we’ve established that ITIL knowledge and training are apparently very useful to organizations which are at the very height of technology. Likewise, it should be clear that there are significant reasons as to why ITIL training should be on every IT professional’s wish list.
If you’ve already decided that you’d like to jump into formalized study of ITIL you might be wondering what options you have.
There are courses that are offered through technical schools and universities which cover ITIL, but they can be somewhat foreboding for IT careerists. This is largely because courses which require physical attendance can severely disrupt one’s work schedule and put undue strain on one’s ability to learn / absorb information. Then of course you have the cost of on-site courses, which (can) literally run upwards into the thousands-of-dollars. Are there any cost effective solutions which are not only convenient, but also affordable?
ITIL training and certification are now successfully delivered via an e-learning method, and can be delivered digitally to any number of devices (including PC’s, Mac’s, tablets, and smartphones). The benefits of ITIL e-learning are numerous, and the costs, extremely attractive. IT professionals who have a background in ITIL should only expect to encounter increasing opportunities and job security, not to mention, upward mobility.
If you’re ready to begin your ITIL training and/or certification, simply click here. The programs offered here are designed by experts to help you retain more information and facilitate the certification process. Additionally, these programs are delivered digitally, viewable on any device, and cost only a fraction of what on-site courses might cost. If you’re looking for a dedicated ITIL learning solution, you just found it.