IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is a set of vendor-independent best practice guidelines for IT service support and IT service delivery. The IT Infrastructure Library is the world de facto standard for IT service support and IT service delivery.

Adaptation

The IT Infrastructure Library has also been adapted as the foundation of some of the vendor-specific frameworks such as the Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF) and Control Objectives for Information and related Technology (COBIT). IT Infrastructure Library best practice guidelines enable organizations to deliver IT services more efficiently, and reduce costs, by improving management processes across IT departments that support IT Infrastructure.

Public Domain

ITIL is publicly available. This means that any organisation can use the framework described by the OGC in its numerous books.

Best practice framework

ITIL focuses on providing guidance rather than explicit step by step approaches. IT The IT Infrastructure Library instead focuses on best practice that can be utilized in different ways according to need. Thanks to this framework of proven best practices, the IT Infrastructure Library can be used within organisations with existing methods and activities in Service Management.

Using ITIL doesn't imply a completely new way of thinking and acting. It provides a framework in which to place existing methods and activities in a structured context. By emphasizing the relationships between the processes, any lack of communication and co-operation between various IT functions can be eliminated or minimized.

Quality approach

ITIL focuses on providing high quality services with a particular focus on Customer relationships. This means that the IT organisation should provide whatever is agreed with Customers, which implies a strong relationship between the IT organisation and their Customers and partners.