The benefits of investing in ITIL® advanced certification

Authors: Jenson Davis, Arjan Woertman

ITpreneurs

RESEARCH ON HOW ORGANIZATIONS

BENEFIT FROM ITIL ADVANCED CERTIFIED
PROFESSIONALS

This research was executed with the intent to share knowledge with the community.
Information from this whitepaper may be used in anon-commercial environment. Please ensure
the sources are quoted properly: ‘source: ‘The benefits of investing in ITIL Expert Certification,
ITpreneurs 2010, http://www.itpreneurs.com/expert’

© Copyright 2010 ITpreneurs – ‘Benefits of Investing in ITIL Certification’, http://www.itpreneurs.com/expert, info@itpreneurs.com

 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

ITIL® (the IT Infrastructure Library) and its associated certifications have

been around since the 1980s. Hundreds of thousands of IT professionals
have benefitted from the training and ITIL certifications, but has the
certification and training brought similar benefits to the organizations
typically sponsoring these programs? ITpreneurs conducted a research
project to find out whether ITIL certification has indeed helped
organizations improve the performance of key IT professionals and helped in
the implementation of ITIL and/or brought other benefits.

The research project has revealed that investing in ITIL v3 Expert

certification (or ITIL v2 Service Manager certification) for your IT
professionals will bring the following benefits to your organization:

Investing in training and certification will have a positive impact

on the skill development of your key IT professionals

Investing in training and certification will tangibly boost job

productivity of key IT professionals

It will lead to better implementation of IT Service Management

processes within your organization or will help professionals
become better at implementing ITSM for customers

Training and certification will improve the general management

skills of employees preparing them for management positions
within your organization

It will help your IT professionals to better connect with industry

peers and utilize shared best practices knowledge to your
organization’s advantage

Having more certified people gives your organization an

advantage over competitors when making bids for ITSM projects

Training and certification will make your IT professionals feel

more valued

© Copyright 2010 ITpreneurs – ‘Benefits of Investing in ITIL Certification’, http://www.itpreneurs.com/expert, info@itpreneurs.com

 INTRODUCTION

The IT industry is in the midst of a transformation. “IT-Business alignment”

may now be a clichéd phrase, but the fact remains that IT organizations that
have been historically ‘techno-centric’ are changing into ‘business-centric’
organizations. Rather than being a separate entity within the company,
which in past was considered 'overhead', IT organizations are increasingly
becoming service-aligned, so that they can actually partner with the
business and speak business language, thus enabling the overall
organization to be more effective.

With the IT industry becoming more and more service-aligned, organizations

that perform IT Service Management (ITSM) well can stay a step ahead of
competitors. ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library) is a descriptive set of best
practices (and associated publications & certifications) developed to provide
guidance to implement Service Management and is now widely regarded as
the de facto standard for ITSM. In this context, a question that remains
largely unanswered is whether ITIL certified professionals add value to their
organizations? Should you invest in training and miss your key people for a
long time to take the required courses and exams? Are ITIL certified the
ones who are leading the aforementioned transformation in the IT
organization? Or is it all a myth? To answer these questions, ITpreneurs
conducted a research project.

About the research project

ITpreneurs undertook this research project ‘The benefits of investing in ITIL

advanced certification’ with the objective of understanding whether ITIL v3
Experts and ITIL v2 Service Managers (hereafter collectively referred to as
ITIL Experts) do indeed make significant contributions to their organizations.
This whitepaper discusses the top five results of this research project. Read
on to find out the key results and also the top three recommendations of
the ITIL Experts who participated in the project.

Geographical Distribution
The method was to survey a total of 160
ITIL v2 Service Managers and ITIL v3
Experts and conduct in-depth interviews
of 20 of them to understand how their Asia
NA
organizations were affected by their 19%
certifications. Their profiles ranged from
27% Australia
consultants to directors to CIOs, across 4%
industries and across geographies.

MEA
7% Europe
43%

© Copyright 2010 ITpreneurs – ‘Benefits of Investing in ITIL Certification’, http://www.itpreneurs.com/expert, info@itpreneurs.com

 ITIL EXPERT CERTIFICATION & BENEFITS TO THE
ORGANIZATION – TOP FIVE RESEARCH RESULTS

Investing in ITIL training and certification will help to develop

skills and boost the job productivity of your key IT
professionals

The majority of IT professionals state that the primary driver for investing in
ITIL training and certification is to become better at implementing or
managing ITIL/ITSM in their organizations.

Juanita De Macedo, an IT Service Manager who works in South Africa

explains:

“I wanted to become a certified Service Manager as I found it relevant to

my working profile. Being a Service Level Manager in my company, it aided
to the understanding of how processes work with and often times against
one another. I found this knowledge to be very empowering.”

79% say their job productivity

increased after certification
For the majority of professionals, the
results after certification are in line with 79%
the expectations they had set up front.–
ITIL Expert Certification considerably
improved their on-the-job performance
as shown in the figure. 79% of the ITIL
Experts indicate that training and
certification helps them to develop their
skills so that they can better perform
their job and be more productive helping
the IT organization improve the overall
productivity.

15%
6%

No change Minor change Significant change

© Copyright 2010 ITpreneurs – ‘Benefits of Investing in ITIL Certification’, http://www.itpreneurs.com/expert, info@itpreneurs.com

 This greater job performance is an accomplishment that in turn furthers
along the organization. As Cheryl Eyermann, an ITIL v3 Expert from the USA,
explains:

“Entering into an understanding of ITSM principles took my thinking about

IT and providing service in an entirely different direction. I am passionate
about Service Management, expanding these concepts and practices across
our organization and helping our customers to improve their service
delivery.”

Advanced certification helps IT professionals to become better

at implementing ITSM and improves their general
management skills

Majority of the respondents say that

becoming ITIL Experts equips them with
skills to better lead ITIL/ITSM
implementation projects. On top of that,
certification helps IT professionals
become better and well-rounded
managers, preparing these professionals
for advanced leadership careers in your
organization. As many as 80% of the
respondents mention that they feel more
confident leading implementing ITSM
projects.

A common theme in the responses is that the certification enables Experts

to better understand what is to be accomplished and better address
customer needs in the area of assessments and ITIL/ITSM projects. Also,
though ITIL knowledge is geared towards optimization of technology and
business relationships, it helps the Experts considerably when they move
into IT leadership positions. Certification complimented by experience and
leadership skills are great assets to any organization and invaluable for the
IT organization to be successful.

© Copyright 2010 ITpreneurs – ‘Benefits of Investing in ITIL Certification’, http://www.itpreneurs.com/expert, info@itpreneurs.com

 As Rodger Baker, an ITIL Expert from the USA, explains:

“I believe if you get a deep understanding of ITSM, it allows to you add a

great deal of value to business. It has made me more articulate in dealing
with Program Managers and Customers about the need to use processes to
benefit businesses.”

On a similar vein, Edward Roodt, Service Manager from South Africa, says:

“ITIL knowledge and applying it in practice has assisted me in making

better overall management decisions as a manager of an IT department, and
this benefits the organization in many ways, especially financially.”

Finally and equally important to note is the value that ITIL education adds to
an experienced IT Professional. Randy Steinberg, ITIL v3 Expert from the USA,
clarifies this point:

“If you take a lot of people who work in (say) Infrastructure management,
they will say that they learnt their skills 'on the job'. Essentially, this is an
area that is very critical and the inability to manage can cost the company
millions of dollars and wastage of resources. So with ITIL coming out and
creating an educational program, professional guidance and a certification
body - what this allows is companies to have a comfortable feeling that the
person coming onboard operates with reasonably good sets of practices as
opposed to a person who learns from mistakes.”

Training and certification helps your IT professionals to better

connect with peers and utilize community knowledge to their
advantage and for the benefit of your organization

59% say they are now better

As many as 59% of the participants say connected with peer/colleagues
they are better connected to colleagues
and peers because they have achieved
59%
the ITIL Expert Level, and that they can
tap into this network for continuous
learning

. 23%
18%

No change Minor change Major to significant Change

© Copyright 2010 ITpreneurs – ‘Benefits of Investing in ITIL Certification’, http://www.itpreneurs.com/expert, info@itpreneurs.com

 Regarding being better able to tap into the network and learn from peers,
Simon Whitfield, an ITIL v3 Expert from UK, explains:

“It enabled me to frame my experience in terms of the business

perspective and allowed me to develop much more fruitful, actionable
discussions with my peers and managers.”

Most ITIL Experts become well connected to peers within their own
companies and also within the industry that leads to continuous learning
through which the organization benefits. By sharing of best practices
between industry peers, the chances of success of ITIL implementation goes
up. The common sentiment among ITIL Experts is - why make mistakes when
others have already made them and shared their learnings?

Investing in ITIL Expert Certification gives your organization a

competitive advantage over organizations without certified
ITIL professionals

91% of the Experts say they stand

out amongst non-certified
91% of ITIL Experts state that ITIL
advanced certification is a competitive
differentiator. They say that the 9%
certification helps them gain confidence Doesn't make
and makes them stand out amongst non- any difference
certified people.

91%
Certification makes
me stand out

For a company with an internal IT service provider, this helps to create

centers-of-excellence who are the Subject Matter Experts for any Service
Management related issues. Organizations with such Experts can set
themselves up against the competition much better.

An ITIL v2 Service Manager who works for the US government and wishes to
remain anonymous says:

“The knowledge and certification put me into a position where the

organization would look up to me for input and for setting up and running
some of the ITIL processes”.

© Copyright 2010 ITpreneurs – ‘Benefits of Investing in ITIL Certification’, http://www.itpreneurs.com/expert, info@itpreneurs.com

 Similarly, for a company that provides consulting services to other firms, ITIL
certified professionals translate to building the corporate résumé, which
leads to more and better contracting opportunities. Having certified
professionals make project bids more credible in a competitive marketplace.

Antonio Valle Salas, ITIL Service Manager and Owner of his Consulting firm
argues:

“The certification improved the marketability of my consulting firm. The

big customers were specifically asking for people with ITIL advanced
certifications. With such people on my team, it was possible to make a bid
for projects and also the value of services provided by my company to its
customers increased.”

Even after winning those projects, some consulting firms use ITIL concepts in
their solutions about how ITIL can bring value to business. As Robert
Pattacini, an ITIL Expert from Belgium, explains:

“I regularly use ITIL in my presentations to customers about solutions, and

customers are immediately able to point out their pain-points in relation to
Service Management.”

ITIL Experts feel that certification makes them feel more

valued as professionals

83% of the respondents say that their expertise is more valued by

management after they became ITIL Experts. 87% say their expertise is more
valued by peers inside or outside the organization. These two statistics
correspond to the respect and recognition factors that professionals crave in
their work environments and thus contribute to improving staff morale.

To quote Steve Borrett, an ITIL Expert from UK:

“The rewards of certification for me have been focused on ability, pride and
respect.”

On his new found enthusiasm after certification, James Autton, an ITIL

Service Manager and consultant, who lives in Spain comments:

“The certification and knowledge made me a lot more enthusiastic about my

job because I could buy into the concepts.”

© Copyright 2010 ITpreneurs – ‘Benefits of Investing in ITIL Certification’, http://www.itpreneurs.com/expert, info@itpreneurs.com

 Both technical and non-technical IT personnel share the feeling that the
qualification finally provides them with an opportunity to assert their
capabilities in a tangible way. This is a major shift from the old mindset that
IT is run out of a garage and IT people do not understand business. Allen
Ureta, an ITIL v3 Expert from USA, explains:

“It has allowed me to express the view that IT needs to be managed as a

business, which business sponsors appreciate more than my technical skills.”

Finally, the essence of the benefits of ITIL advanced certification to an

individual and the organization is captured in the following quote by Silvia
Prickel, ITIL Service Manager and IT Director at United Airlines:

“The ITIL certification knowledge has helped me to understand at a much

higher level all about ITSM, whether it is from an organizational change
aspect to implementing individual disciplines to integrating all those
disciplines from an end-to-end solution perspective. Professionally, I have
leveraged almost every aspect of my certification in my career as a
technician or a Project Manager or a Program Manager or in my current role
as an IT Director. I truly believe that ITIL certified professionals are of great
value to any IT organization in any industry.”

TOP THREE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM ITIL EXPERTS

Successful ITIL implementation requires commitment from all

key stakeholders of an organization to be trained in ITIL

ITIL Experts were unanimous in their recommendation that the basic ITIL
Foundation certification should be taken by everybody working in the IT
field - from the Technician to the Director, primarily for the purpose of a
common language spoken throughout the organization. A lot of times, the
middle management is on board while not all the upper management is in,
or vice versa, which results in the initial efforts running out of steam over
the years.

“We have made foundation level almost a mandatory job requirement for
those who work in IT in the company” says Jim Howard, an ITIL Expert from
USA, with 33 years of IT experience, in support of the basic certification.
Some of the ITIL Experts even suggested that it should be part of college
curriculums that prepare professionals for the IT industry.

© Copyright 2010 ITpreneurs – ‘Benefits of Investing in ITIL Certification’, http://www.itpreneurs.com/expert, info@itpreneurs.com

 Advanced certification recommended for those moving into IT
leadership positions

The full benefits of ITSM implementations can be realized in an organization

only if you have qualified people who can lead IT transformations. Richard
Oliver, ITIL Expert and Service Management Consultant, makes his point that
Foundation certification is good, but not enough for guiding
implementations –

“There are an awful lot of people out there who are just trying to consult
with just a Foundation certification and they have no knowledge or
experience how to implement Service Management. So if you want to lead
ITSM initiatives, get advanced certifications like Service Manager or Expert,
while building experience.”

Julie Mohr, ITIL Expert and Principal Research Analyst & Author at
BlueprintAudits.com, a best practice consulting organization, sums it up:

“If you are a consultant or a Project Lead or somebody who wants to

manage the big picture, get the Expert level because you can no longer be
isolated in your knowledge; you have to understand how it all fits together to
be able to manage the big picture to put the value network together.”

The training is as important as the certification itself

Almost all the ITIL Experts stressed the importance of training that was part
of the certification experience. The training allowed them to develop a more
comprehensive understanding of the value of good practices and increased
their capability to lead improvement initiatives. This amplifies the need for
good trainings and trainers while getting advanced certifications. As Jean-
Claude Beaudry, an ITIL Expert from Canada, says:

“The training accompanying the certification is an eye-opener on the good

practices which can be applied to our daily IT challenges.”

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 CONCLUSION

Building a valid business case for implementing ITIL in an organization has

always been tough, as the numbers are not always easy to demonstrate.
Beyond the easiest processes like incident and change management, the
overall benefits for an organization are cultural/behavioral and sometimes
spread over years that it is hard to put a monetary value on it. After all, how
does one measure aspects such as keeping the customer commitments
consistently, servicing customers at the right quality/price, learning from
mistakes others made, ensuring that things don’t go wrong when services
are changed and establishing a clearer relationship between user, supplier
and client? There’s no question about the impact these aspects could have
on the company’s bottom-line.

IT Service Management is something that all IT organizations do deliberately

or otherwise. If the purpose of the IT organization is to provide ‘service’ to
the business, then Service Management is something that needs to be
performed anyway. And if it needs to be done, then why not do it properly
through qualified ITIL professionals? Through this research, 160 ITIL Experts
explained how they make significant contributions to the success of their
organizations. If the research results are anything to go by, these IT
professionals attribute much of this success to their ITIL training and
certification in no uncertain terms, thus revealing the significant value of
getting ITIL Expert certified.

*ITpreneurs thanks all those professionals who participated in the online

survey and the interviews for the completion of this project. For any
questions/comments, contact Jenson Davis at jenson.davis@ITpreneurs.com

© Copyright 2010 by ITpreneurs Nederland B.V. All rights reserved

ITIL® is a Registered Trademark of the Office of Government Commerce in

the United Kingdom and other countries.

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