The Way Beyond ITIL® Certification

ITIL is a framework of best practices for delivering IT services. It was designed to streamline the selection, planning, delivery and maintenance of IT services, according to the requirements of business. The requirements of business can vary from improving customer relations, creating a stable IT environment to reducing costs.

1. Enhanced productivity

• A certified candidate is trained to understand the ITIL framework thoroughly.
• They have a great insight into how the concepts.
• This gives them an edge as they will not only be able to detect the issue but also imply these concepts which will allow them to adequately manage.
• Also, they are aware of the importance and procedures followed in the ITIL framework, this assists them to be more productive and utilize the resource to their maximum extent.

2. Increased Wage 

• A certified candidate is highly valued for his skills and expertise.
• This is the reason why any IT company will refer the certified professional over a non-certified candidate.
• Due to the course, a certified candidate has a better understanding of the ITSM, which helps them to be more valuable for the company.
• Not only is the wage higher, but a certified professional is also expected to have an exponentially higher scale compared to others due to their superior adaptation and learning skills.
• The average pay for an ITIL certified candidate can grow more than 15%.

3. Recognition

• Having the ITIL credentials in your resume is the verification of your advanced management abilities.
• Not only will your peer groups and colleagues appreciate your value but even your seniors will recognize you for your superior understanding and efficient execution of the tasks.

4. Common Terminologies 

• Being aware of the common terminologies which were a part of the course will give a certified candidate an edge over others.
• This will let them have better communication with the client and improve the customer experience.

5. Holistic View

• One of the most advanced features of ITIL is that it teaches the candidate how to observe.
• This allows him/her to see the big picture and plan their actions accordingly.
• Also, this will assist the professional in giving a long term feedbacks and contributions which are highly valued in the industry.

6. Generation of Idea

• The holistic view and skills allow the certified candidate to generate better and effective ideas.
• Since they are equipped with a better sense of understanding of the framework, it allows them to keep a track of how the organization is progressing and what it needs to keep growing.

7. Stand out

• The framework is established to help the organization to solve the everyday issues and boost their ITSM to gain the maximum profit.
• Since a certified learner will know how to utilize the framework to its fullest, this will make the professional stand out from the crowd.
• Not only will this boost their confidence, but will also push them to work more efficiently.

8. Prepared for the future

• It has been found out from a survey that ITIL certified professionals have a better chance of getting adapted to new jobs and handle the responsibilities much more efficiently as compared to others.
• Their adaptation skills are far more superior due to their expertise and high knowledge on the understanding of the process.

That was the major benefits of ITIL for individuals. Let's take a look at how the framework helps the organization to lift up their business -

1. Better communication

• With the rise of business dependence on IT, having an organization that is well acquainted with the best practices towards ITSM, and having a common framework will remove the additional need for lengthy processes which consume a lot of time and effort.
• This will allow organizations to work hand-in-hand and to push each other to do their best.
• Also, this would eliminate the communication gap and work friction as the quality and approach will be similar.

2. Advanced productivity

• Usually, a lot of valuable work hours are lost when in cases of small errors and dysfunctions. Mostly, the employees are not aware of what they have to do. This in turn not just wastes their working hours but also sours the customer experience and ultimately the reputation of the company.
• But with the correct framework and the knowledge that it provides, it makes it possible for the employees to follow those certain steps in order to finish the task.
• This saves time which can be used to improve the productivity of the organization.

3. Flexibility

• The biggest issue that hits SMBs is that when they try to expand, their systems and procedures are unable to adapt to the massive changes. This puts a sudden halt to the growth of the organization and it takes a considerable amount of time to come out of this.
• But the best feature of the ITIL framework is that it supports scale and expansion. Due to its flexibility and adaptation, the process and systems remain unaffected.
• Also, the SMBs suffer massively by the hardware which is associated with their systems.
• But ITIL framework takes care of this issue through its ITIL- supported service desk which looks after such complications beforehand. This allows the transition to be smooth and efficient.

4. Enhanced Service Quality

• ITIL implementation provides the organization with every possible damage-control measures.
• This allows the employees to understand what needs to be done rather than panicking.
• Also, as the calmness in the employees makes it possible for them to observe, plan and execute their actions properly.
• The ITIL frameworks keep track of all the procedures and steps that were followed, this makes sure that lessons are learned from the past mistakes and improve upon them. This ultimately enhances the quality of the service provided by the organization.

5. Results

• With the above enhancements included that the ITIL implementation provides, such as improved service quality, smooth transition, and enhanced productivity, it is a proof that an ITIL assisted organization is far more advanced and likely to achieve their targets than an organization which works randomly.  
• The ITIL implementation also looks after the cost-reduction methods and time management. Moreover, it gives a priority to the user experience making sure that the customers are satisfied. The smooth flow of work and chaos free work environment promotes productivity and keeps the employees happy.

What are the Career Benefits of Each ITIL Certification level?

Now, let's look at the career benefits of ITIL certification for each level respectively -

• Level 1: ITIL Foundation  

  • It is the first-level certification course. In this stage, the generic concepts and factors of ITIL are to the students.
  • These factors are used in the two significant sections of ITIL - The Service Lifecycle and its lifecycle stages.
  • A candidate will obtain general awareness essential for ITIL support and Services Delivery.

• Level 2: ITIL Practitioner

  • The certification was designed in 2016. This level features methods to implement the ITIL framework.
  • The process directs on events and conditions in the daily business life cycle.
  • A candidate gets to know some features of crucial concepts.
  • This covers two major areas– Service Capability and Lifecycle.

• Level 3: ITIL Intermediate 

  • This level is divided into multiple sections which demonstrate revised methods for successful implementation of ITSM.
  • This level is more superior than the previous levels.
  • Intermediate certification is globally accepted in the IT sector.
  • Therefore this opens the door many possible positions in IT.
  • Modules are categorized into Service Capability and Lifecycle.
  • The Service Lifecycle modules:
  • Service Design (SD)
  • Service Strategy (SS)
  • Service Operation (SO)
  • Service Transition (ST)
  • Continual Service Improvement (CSI)
  • Service Capability modules:
  • Planning, Protection, and Optimization (PPO)
  • Operational Support and Analysis (OSA)
  • Service Offerings and Agreements (SOA)
  • Release, Control, and Validation (RCV)
  • Students have a choice to modules in a single category or modules in both categories for qualification.

• Level 4: ITIL Expert

  • This is the esteemed certification. By this stage, a professional is expected to be well versed in practices to execute various complex concepts to maximize business management.
  • An Expert certification is the roof of tremendous expertise, knowledge and skill base.
  • This certification is assured to provide candidates who know the best practices of the ITIL framework.

• Level 5: ITIL Master 

• This level comprises comprehensive knowledge of the methods and advanced practices of ITIL.
• The final stage of the certification which comprises extensive knowledge of the techniques and exceptional methods of ITIL.
• It also incorporates the high-level process for its associated administration methods.
• The Master certified professional is highly valued for their experience, skills, and expertise. The certification is the roof that the candidate is the best in his/her domain.

• Job opportunities

• Following are the jobs that you can expect through ITIL certification -

  • Process Coordinator

    • Experience required is a minimum of two years.
    • Level: Foundation-level to Intermediate-level
    • Responsibility: Assure that the administrative actions in a process are conducted as planned.
    • Change coordinator, Incident coordinator, and configuration analyst are few of the coordinator positions possible in ITIL®-based IT service management.
      

  • Managerial Role

    • Experience - At least eight years of working experience for a certified ITIL professional.
    • Level -This is operated at the mid-management level. 
    • Responsibility: 
      • The role here is to ensure that activities in the service management are in accordance with the given processes.
      • He/she will be managing the coordinators under you who will directly report to you.
      • The Manager is accountable for their actions and making sure that the work allocated is executed thoroughly.
    • Release manager, Problem manager, and service desk manager are some of the managerial roles.
      

  • ITIL® consulting role

    • Experience - This role of Process Consultant requires experience of ten years.
    • Level - An ITIL certified professional.
    • Requirement - The candidate also needs to have certain different abilities with Observation skills being the most dominant traits. Also, they need great “Problem-solving’’ abilities.
    • Responsibility - An ITIL Consultant must have great observation skills as this would allow him to notice inconsistencies in processes and immediately plan about optimization. The consultant must enjoy going into the depth of the issues. 
    • Their role is to observe every role assigned under them and guide them to execute the process as smoothly as possible.
    • This is one of the most highly-paid and respectable posts in the industry.

  Salary Growth 

  In the industry, the salary is directly proportional to the level of certification. The higher the certification is, the higher is the salary. Of course, there are other factors too that influence this growth, such as -

  • Professional experience
  • Knowledge
  • The pace at which you absorb ITIL concepts.
  • The interest you have in IT methods.

  Below is the average annual salary of some of the ITIL certified jobs, starting from the foundation level and going all the way to the masters.

  Sr. No	Role	Average salary per annum in the US	Average salary per annum in India
  1	Service Delivery Manager	$82,795	INR 13,66,982
  2	IT Analyst	$86,361	INR 7,32,612
  3	Asset Manager	$88,552	INR 5,39,533
  4	IT Project Manager	$91,257	INR 14,33,472
  5	IT Manager	$101,181	INR 10,82,029
  6	Engineering program manager	$106,280	INR 18,19,880
  7	Senior  IT Project Manager	$112,899	INR 18,18,560
  8	Service Transition	$117,000	INR 13,34,273
  9	Service Operation	$117,000	INR 6,10,864

  The growth in the number of professionals doing certification

  The huge demand of ITIL framework is because of the result it has shown over the years. The growth and development have been witnessed in both the organization as well in the individuals.

  • ITIL has helped the learners to get acquainted with the best practice methodology. These methods are not only systematic but are professionally valued too.
    
  • The course enhances a professional’s ability to design, distinguish and support the IT services in a business producing improved productivity, performance, and competence.
    
  • It addresses and teaches professionals to focus on the most important aspect of a business, the customer experience.
  • ITIL helps the professional to sort and give priority to what is more valuable according to the business standards. This allows the organization to focus on the priorities more work more efficiently.
    
  • The reason why ITIL is so much in demand has also to do with the fact that it increases the market value of a certified professional

  Which type of sectors is providing jobs?
• The reach of the ITIL framework is not just limited to IT sectors. Various sectors depend on the structure and methodologies of ITIL. An ITIL certified professional is given higher reference than a non-certified worker. This is because the ITIL credential in their resume is proof of their credibility and expertise.

  Their knowledge and experience about the ITIL concepts will help the organization to implement the procedures more efficiently, thus giving them an edge and allowing them to move towards achieving their vision.

  The methodologies help the organizations to improve their career objectives as well as implementing cost methods. the ITIL certified professionals together with the framework, establish a strong base to uplift the IT service management and therefore, improving the customer experience.

  Many of the leading companies have made it mandatory for their employees to have ITIL training. Companies from different sectors are hiring ITIL professionals to fulfill their vision. A lot of companies and industries have embraced ITIL globally after realizing its never-ending list of benefits. Some of them are -

  • Technology - The most advanced and leading sector which is upgrading every day has understood the importance and need of the ITIL frameworks.Companies associated with technology that have implemented ITIL are -
    • Microsoft
    • IBM
    • HP
    • Fujitsu
      
  • Retailers - Retailers are the backbones of the business industry. ITIL was initiated to boost the business sector. So how can the retailers not join the implementation? These are the major retailers who have adopted ITIL framework -
    • Walmart
    • Target
    • Staples
      
  • Financial Services - Given the benefits of the ITIL framework especially in implementing cost-effective methods which not only saves resources but also the time and effort consumed on it. Some of the leading financial service providers who have adopted the ITIL are -
    • Citi Bank
    • Bank of America
    • Barclays
      
  • Entertainment - Over time, the entertainment business has grown to be one of the biggest industries in the world. As the industry grows, it's only fair to assume that the responsibilities will grow too. Adopting the ITIL framework is the measure taken to ensure the free flow of service and hence, improve the user experience. The entertainment companies that have approved the ITIL are -
    • SONY
    • Disney
      
  • Manufacturers - The building blocks of the industries are the manufactures. ITIL magnifies the result of both the large business as well as the SMBs. Some of the leading manufacturers are -
    • Boeing
    • Bombardier
    • Toyota
      
  • Life Science - One of the most intellectual and smartest sectors in the world. It's really not surprising that they have adopted the genius of ITIL. The companies that have providers who have adopted the ITIL are -
    • Lilly Pfizer
    • Takeda

  There are many other companies all over the world that have implemented the ITIL. If one notices, All the above companies are in the to for their game. What do they have in common? The ITIL framework! This itself is the validations of the wonders that ITIL can.

  Ultimately, it all depends on corporate buy-ins and staffs. The ITIL will be as successful as effectively you allow it to. But if used constructively, it definitely increases the chances of success exponentially.