ITIL® 4 qualifications
ITIL stands for Information Technology Infrastructure Library. It is a globally recognised framework that offers a series of guidance for IT service management (ITSM).
ITIL is not a formal standard like ISO 20000. Instead, it teaches best practice for ITSM which, when implemented effectively, should help your organisation reach these standards.
Learn more about the difference between ITIL and ITSM.
The history of the ITIL framework
The first edition of ITIL was developed at the end of the 1980s to help develop an efficient IT framework for the British Government’s private sector. This initial framework titled, GITIM (Government Information Technology Infrastructure Management) was quite different to the ITIL we know today, but its core focus was the same: delivering value through IT services.
Throughout the 2000s, versions 2 and 3 of ITIL were released. These additions introduced multiple changes to help improve ITSM practices. Then in 2019, AXELOS launched ITIL 4. This most recent edition of the framework was designed to better reflect today’s business landscape.
ITIL 4 syllabus
There are seven core modules within the ITIL 4 syllabus:
- ITIL 4 Foundation
- ITIL 4 Create, Deliver and Support (CDS)
- ITIL 4 Drive Stakeholder Value
- ITIL 4 High-velocity IT (HVIT)
- ITIL 4 Direct, Plan and Improve (DPI)
- ITIL 4 Digital and IT Strategy
In addition to this, the syllabus also includes a series of practice-based certifications covering areas including Change Enablement, Incident Management, IT Asset Management and more.
ITIL 4 qualification scheme
As shown by the diagram, these modules make up the five levels or designations within the ITIL 4 certification scheme:
- ITIL Foundation
- ITIL Practice Manager (PM)
- ITIL Managing Professional (MP)
- ITIL Strategic Leader (SL)
- ITIL Master
Practice Manager stream
Designed to help professionals improve and validate their skills in a given practice area, each individual course in this designation focuses on a different one of the 34 management practices covered in the ITIL 4 framework.
To become an ITIL Practice Manager, end-learners must complete five of the following modules, plus the ITIL 4: Foundation and ITIL 4: Create, Deliver and Support certifications:
Monitor, Support & Fulfil
- ITIL 4 Incident Management
- ITIL 4 Service Desk
- ITIL 4 Problem Management
- ITIL 4 Service Request Management
- ITIL 4 Monitoring and Event Management
Plan, Implement and Control
- ITIL 4 Change Enablement
- ITIL 4 Deployment Management
- ITIL 4 Release Management
- ITIL 4 Service Configuration Management
- ITIL 4 IT Asset Management
Collaborate, Assure and Improve
- ITIL 4 Relationship Management
- ITIL 4 Supplier Management
- ITIL 4 Service Level Management
- ITIL 4 Continual Improvement
- ITIL 4 Information Security Management
Managing Professional stream
Aimed at IT professionals working within digital teams, ITIL 4’s Managing Professional stream focuses on providing you with all the practical and technical knowledge you’ll need to effectively run IT projects, services, workflows, and how to manage the teams within them.
To become an ITIL Managing Professional, end-learners must complete the following modules:
- ITIL 4 Foundation
- ITIL 4 Create, Deliver and Support
- ITIL 4 Drive Stakeholder Value
- ITIL 4 High-velocity IT
- ITIL 4 Direct, Plan and Improve
View our ITIL Managing Professional bundle.
Strategic Leader stream
The ITIL Strategic Leader stream recognises that ITIL’s value goes beyond just IT operations and can, in fact, be beneficial to all digitally enabled services. Following this stream will show that you appreciate and understand how IT can affect and influence overall business strategy.
To become an ITIL Strategic Leader, end-learners must complete the following modules:
- ITIL 4 Foundation
- ITIL 4 Direct, Plan and Improve
- ITIL 4 Digital and IT Strategy
View our ITIL Strategic Leader bundle.
End-learners must complete the ITIL Practice Manager, ITIL Managing Professional, and ITIL Strategic Leader to be eligible to become an ITIL Master.
Discover the career paths to progress with an ITIL 4 certification.
ITIL 4 modules available from ILX Group
ITIL® 4 Foundation
The Foundation module is the entry level qualification and is for professionals just starting out on their ITIL 4 journey. However, as ITIL 4 marks a step change in the framework, it's also for existing IT service management workers who are looking to update their existing ITIL knowledge.
If you work within your company's IT function and need to understand the key concepts of IT and digital service delivery, then this is where you want to start. The ITIL 4 Foundation module has been designed to introduce you to IT service management via an end-to-end operating model for the creation, delivery, and continual improvement of digital products and services.
This module needs to be completed before you can go on to take any of the higher-level modules.
ITIL® 4 Foundation training is available as:
ITIL® 4 Foundation and ITIL 4 Direct Plan and Improve Bundle
If you're an IT or digital manager responsible for ensuring work is aligned to the strategic objectives of the business, or if you're in charge of the ongoing management, development, and improvement of digital teams and services, this is the module for you.
The DPI module supports change management and will help you with driving and managing organisational change, while minimising disruption. You will learn how to lead IT teams, create optimised, modern digital services, and innovate while remaining compliant. It will teach you how to encourage a culture of continual improvement and turn decision making into an easier task.
The ITIL® 4 Foundation and ITIL 4 Direct Plan and Improve Bundle is available as:
ITIL® 4 Create Deliver and Support (CDS)
Developed to help IT professionals responsible for service delivery, this module looks at the cultural and team management aspects involved in the process and how to incorporate these into end-to-end value streams.
CDS will teach you how to effectively manage IT teams, improve existing processes, and optimise value streams and workflow. You'll be taught how to adopt the ITIL practices to align your organisation's digital services with the overall business strategy and how to use the ITIL guiding principles to embed ways of working from agile, lean, and DevOps frameworks. You will learn how to integrate new technologies, such as AI, robotics, advanced analytics, and machine learning, and will be shown how to focus on developing services to meet demand.
ITIL® 4 Create Deliver and Support (CDS) training is available as:
ITIL® 4 Direct Plan and Improve (DPI)
If you're an IT or digital manager responsible for ensuring work is aligned to the strategic objectives of the business, or if you're in charge of the ongoing management, development, and improvement of digital teams and services, this is the module for you.
The DPI module supports change management and will help you with driving and managing organisational change, while minimising disruption. You will learn how to lead IT teams, create optimised, modern digital services, and innovate while remaining compliant. It will teach you how to encourage a culture of continual improvement, and turn decision making into an easier task.
ITIL® 4 Direct Plan and Improve (DPI) training is available as:
ITIL® 4 Drive Stakeholder Value (DSV)
This module is aimed at those responsible for designing or managing user journeys and experiences, teaching you how to guide stakeholders through the ways in which services can co-create value.
DSV will teach you how to effectively manage all your stakeholders and build trusted relationships, so that you can target them with the right services and value propositions. You will learn how to embed effective design thinking, optimise the user and customer experience, and shape customer demand, so that you can ensure high customer satisfaction.
If your role involves communicating and building relationships with stakeholders, or designing and shaping customer journeys and experiences, then the DSV module is for you.
ITIL® 4 Drive Stakeholder Value (DSV) training is available as:
ITIL® 4 High Velocity IT (HVIT)
For those involved in IT service delivery or digital transformation projects, the high-velocity IT (HVIT) module helps you understand how to co-create products and services at speed, without compromising on value. It is ideal for people who work on digital transformation projects, deliver digital products and services within their role, and those who work in environments that are highly automated.
As the name suggests, with the high-velocity IT module, you will be taught to understand the rapid nature of the digital enterprise and will learn how to deliver effective digital services in high-velocity environments, as well as increasing the speed and quality of services.
HVIT also shows you how to bridge the gap between operations and development, converge business goals with IT, and embed complex and adaptive systems. It teaches you how to make digital and IT investments that create value, and improve performance with lean, agile, and DevOps methods.
ITIL® 4 High Velocity IT (HVIT) training is available as:
ITIL® 4 Digital and IT Strategy (DITS)
The Digital and IT strategy (DITS) module will help both existing and aspiring IT leaders to develop and implement effective IT and digital strategies that can handle digital disruption and drive success. It provides guidance on how to create a digital vision that helps to shape IT and business strategies.
The DITS module covers how disruption from new technologies is affecting businesses in every sector, looking at the best ways to respond and adapt. Not just for your senior IT team, DITS is about developing digital leaders for the future, and is also well suited to senior management across the business, including department heads, directors, and C-suite leaders.