ITIL embraces a practical approach to service management – do what works. And what works is adapting a common framework of practices that unite all areas of IT service provision towards a single aim – that of delivering value to the business. The following list defines the key characteristics of ITIL that contribute to its global success:

•  Vendor-neutral ITIL service management practices are applicable in any IT organization because they are not based on any particular technology platform or industry type. ITIL is owned by the UK government and is not tied to any commercial proprietary practice or solution.

•  Non-prescriptive ITIL offers robust, mature and time-tested practices that have applicability to all types of service organization. It continues to be useful and relevant in public and private sectors, internal and external service providers, small, medium and large enterprises, and within any technical environment. Organizations should adopt ITIL and adapt it to meet the needs of the IT organization and their customers.

•  Best practice ITIL represents the learning experiences and thought leadership of the world’s best-in-class service providers. ITIL is successful because it describes practices that enable organizations to deliver benefits, return on investment and sustained success. ITIL is adopted by organizations to enable them to:

•  Deliver value for customers through services
•  Integrate the strategy for services with the business strategy and customer needs
• Measure, monitor and optimize IT services and service provider performance
•  Manage the IT investment and budget
•  Manage risk
•  Manage knowledge
•  Manage capabilities and resources to deliver services effectively and efficiently
•  Enable adoption of a standard approach to service management across the enterprise
•  Change the organizational culture to support the achievement of sustained success
•  Improve the interaction and relationship with customers
•  Coordinate the delivery of goods and services across the value network
•  Optimize and reduce costs.