How can ITIL® 4 and DevOps work together for better IT service management?

Businesses are continually seeking new ways to optimise operations, improve customer satisfaction and reduce costs. And a way in which organisations can achieve this is by adopting, ITIL® 4 and DevOps.

What are the similarities and differences between ITIL 4 and DevOps?

The main difference between ITIL 4 and DevOps lies in their scope. ITIL 4 is a comprehensive framework for the creation, design and management of digitally enabled products and services. Whereas DevOps is a more flexible approach, primarily focused on the software development and delivery process.

Despite their differences, both ITIL 4 and DevOps can be utilised for the same aim, to improve and speed up the delivery of IT services. As they both place an emphasis on co-creating value, breaking down siloes and promoting collaboration.

While there is a crossover between the ITIL 4 guiding principle ‘optimise and automate’ and DevOps – as one of the key principles for the latter is ‘automate everything’.

How do the two compliment each other?

When used together the two approaches have the potential to benefit an IT professional and an organisation in many ways, including:

• Continuous improvement: By adopting ITIL 4 practices, DevOps professionals can continually refine and optimise their processes allowing them to establish a culture of ongoing improvement within their organisation and ensuring they are constantly evolving to meet changing business needs
• Develop a holistic approach: ITIL 4 will help an individual to better align their DevOps skills with their organisations overarching IT strategy, understanding how their role fits into the wider IT service delivery
• Enhanced collaboration: Both approaches emphasise the need for collaboration and communication across a team. Developing an understanding of ITIL 4 principles can help DevOps professionals to work more effectively within the wider ITSM team
• Improved service delivery: DevOps practitioners can leverage ITIL 4 best practice to improve service delivery processes and ensure they meet customer expectations
• Risk management: ITIL 4 provides guidance on identifying, assessing, and managing risk, that can be used by DevOps professionals to improve risk management practices and ensure the stability and reliability of their software and infrastructure
• And more….

Are you a DevOps professional looking to train in ITIL 4? Visit our ITIL courses for more information and start training today!