The Link between Technology and Strategy: Why Is ITIL So Successful?

Innovation is the driving force for competition throughout many different organizations. Without it, service, strategy, and technology become stale, and customers get bored.

So, how do organizations implement new innovations into their organization? Incorporating technology into a company’s strategy positions it to innovate and succeed.

In the modern economic environment, organizations must constantly seek ways to reinforce their competitive position and improve their productivity. One notable practice to do so is ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library). ITIL describes processes, procedures, tasks, and checklists that are not organization-specific. Instead, organizations can choose which processes to implement while maintaining the goals and mission of the organization. This allows organizations to integrate technology into their strategy, delivering value, increasing competition, and improving customer interest.

The following are the top three benefits of ITIL:

1. ITIL Framework is neutral: ITIL is not industry-specific, so many different organizations can implement the framework. The Walt Disney Company implemented the customer-focused tool to provide availability, reliability, and maintainability to verify the IT systems were performing at a level to improve guest’s experience. The IRS (Internal Revenue Service) also implemented ITIL to improve enforcement and service to meet business goals
2. Best Practice: ITIL offers the best of the collected knowledge from around the world in IT Service Management. The core to ITIL’s approach of service management involves using the same strategic approach to the management of a wide variety of services, making only minor adjustments to meet the specific requirements of each business
3. Creation of value for customers: Frameworks like ITIL are usually customer-focused. Organizations are more successful when they are customer-focused rather than focusing too much on technology

Implementing ITIL services adds value to a business no matter the service. For ITIL to be successful, it must be implemented from the top down. Management must buy into the ITIL framework, and the framework must be integrated into the organization’s strategy to improve its competitive advantage.