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Aligning IT services with overarching business objectives isn’t just beneficial—it’s essential for sustained success. The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) provides a structured, comprehensive framework that organizations can leverage to achieve this alignment and drive measurable value from their IT investments.
In fact, a key benefit of ITIL is its emphasis on creating a service strategy directly tied to business goals. This approach ensures that IT services are not only operationally efficient but are designed and delivered in ways that actively support the organization’s broader objectives. ITIL’s framework includes processes that enhance communication and understanding between IT and business units, bridging the gap between technology and business needs. With business goals firmly enshrined in your ITIL plan, IT teams can ensure that the services they provide meet and support those goals.
ITIL also promotes the management of the entire lifecycle of IT services—from initial conception to their eventual retirement. This holistic approach enables organizations to maintain an IT service portfolio that reflects and directly supports business objectives. By aligning IT investments with business priorities, organizations can ensure that every dollar spent on IT contributes meaningfully to business outcomes.
Further, ITIL’s continual improvement model drives ongoing assessment and refinement of IT services, which is crucial as business needs evolve. This model fosters a culture of continuous enhancement, enabling IT teams to adapt quickly to changing requirements and deliver maximum value over time. ITIL encourages defining key performance indicators (KPIs) that measure the impact of IT services on business outcomes. These KPIs make it possible to quantify and demonstrate IT’s contribution to the business, which in turn justifies further investment and resources for additional IT initiatives.
One of the hallmarks of ITIL is its emphasis on standardized processes. When these processes are adapted to the unique requirements of an organization, they enable teams to operate more efficiently, consistently, and predictably—qualities that business units depend on for smooth operations. By providing reliable and aligned services, IT teams can minimize disruptions, streamline processes, and ultimately support business growth.
Clear and effective communication between IT and business stakeholders is vital for achieving alignment and fostering collaboration. ITIL actively promotes these communication channels, enabling a smoother flow of information, better collaboration, and a strong partnership between IT and business teams. When IT and business units work together closely, organizations benefit from a unified approach to problem-solving and innovation.
Adopting ITIL can unlock a wide range of benefits—but realizing these benefits requires more than just knowledge of the framework. It’s about the consistent, long-term application and integration of ITIL principles across the organization. For ITIL to deliver maximum value, organizations should commit to embedding these practices into their daily operations and decision-making processes.
Ready to see what ITIL can do for your organization? Take a look at our ITIL Training Courses and start building a stronger alignment between your IT and business goals today.
HOW TO ACHIEVE SUCCESS WITH ITIL
There are a few simple ways that your organization can achieve success with ITIL:
- Use it over time and across multiple departments. The key to digital transformation lies in increasing the speed of automation and innovation. However, it’s important to note that organizations don’t need to follow ITIL to the letter. Instead, they should manage changes in a way that suits their unique needs.
- Tailor your ITIL practices to various business needs. Well-defined practices and processes around security incidents enable visibility and improve business continuity. These practices won’t be the same as those used to optimize service quality and experience. For example, problem management and capacity management will have different focuses but are equally important.
- Remember that ITIL is a continuous journey. ITIL is not a one-time implementation. It helps organizations understand the different components they can use to meet their objectives over time.
ACHIEVING REAL BUSINESS VALUE THROUGH ITIL
A core principle of ITIL is value creation. This ensures that IT activities and services are always geared towards delivering business value, making IT a strategic partner in achieving business objectives.
Recent research from PeopleCert shows that 99% of enterprises that have integrated ITIL into their IT operating model are experiencing transformative enhancement of IT value and performance while enabling their organization’s sustainable growth and innovation agenda.
Additionally:
- 84% retained and attracted talent within IT
- 81% improved data security across their business
- 80% achieved improvement of ongoing business operations
- 75% increased innovation speed
So, what’s the best way to achieve these types of results for your organization? When you walk out of an ITIL foundation course, here’s how to apply the knowledge for maximum value:
- Utilize the Service Value System: Identify opportunities or demands from customers (both internal and external) and figure out how to deliver value. This involves standard activities like understanding the services you will deliver, acquiring and building components, and managing teams.
- Establish Governance and Practices: Provide direction through governance (decision-making and coordination) and practices (knowledge, experience, and capabilities needed for activities).
- Map Activities to Guiding Principles: Use your organization’s guiding principles to map priorities. What do you need to do, and how can this move the needle?
- Commit to Continual Improvement: Remember that nothing is static; continual improvement is key.
GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF ITIL
Implementing the guiding principles of ITIL can transform IT operations by focusing on efficiency and value.
First, defining what is most valuable to the business and its stakeholders is crucial. This means actively engaging with stakeholders to understand their needs and focusing resources on delivering solutions that directly impact business objectives.
Next, setting realistic objectives and scope helps teams avoid overcommitting and ensures projects are manageable, allowing them to deliver high-quality results within constraints.
One of the ITIL principles advises against activities that consume resources but don’t add measurable value. This is achieved by continuously evaluating processes and prioritizing high-impact actions, discarding any “busy work” that doesn’t align with business goals. Identifying and using meaningful metrics further supports this principle, as it provides clear indicators of success and areas for improvement. These metrics should be carefully selected to reflect actual progress and outcomes rather than vanity metrics that may not drive true business value.
Navigating organizational politics and improving working relationships are equally important to ensure smooth collaboration across departments. By fostering open communication and aligning with key stakeholders, IT teams can avoid conflicts and work more cohesively towards shared goals.
Lastly, building manageable and effective automation can significantly enhance productivity. When done correctly, automation reduces repetitive tasks and allows the team to focus on strategic activities, but it’s essential to implement automation tools that are scalable and adaptable to the organization’s evolving needs.
These principles, when applied thoughtfully, help create an IT environment that’s both strategic and responsive, fostering long-term efficiency and value for the business.
Curious to learn more? Check out our on-demand webinar, “Harnessing ITIL for Business Success.”