ITIL describes processes, procedures, activities and checklists that are neither organization nor technology specific, but can be applied by an organization to strategy, value creation and maintenance of a minimum level of competence. It enables the organization to establish a baseline from which to plan, implement and measure. It is used to demonstrate compliance and measure improvements. There is no formal independent assessment of ITIL compliance by an independent third party in an organization. Certification in ITIL is only available to individuals. ITIL has been owned by AXELOS, a joint venture between Capita and the UK Cabinet Office, since 2013. AXELOS licenses organizations to use ITIL's intellectual property, accredits authorized test institutes and manages framework updates. Organizations wishing to implement ITIL in-house do not need this license.

ITIL 4 pdf

Although ITIL underpins ISO / IEC 20000 (formerly BS 15000), the international service management standard for IT service management, there are some differences between the ISO 20000 standard, the IFGICT ICT standard and the ITIL- Framework.

In response to increasing reliance on IT, the UK Government's Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA) developed a series of recommendations in the 1980s to standardize IT management practices across all government functions based on a vision based on an operations management and A control process model is often attributed to W. Edwards Deming and his Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle.