The product of four years’ work by The Open Group, the IT4IT standard was released in October 2015.
The IT4IT framework does not replace anything. It complements and enhances an organization’s current IT structures and addresses something that other existing frameworks, up until now, have failed to utilize.
Models such as ITIL and COBIT offer process-level standards, but give nothing prescriptive. They do not tell you how to manage your service models and life-cycles, or what kinds of systems to put in place. The IT4IT standard is the natural next step.
Since its conception, more than a trillion dollars has been spent on training, certification, and the implementation of IT frameworks, with important work being done with ITIL and COBIT. But the recovery of this value can sometimes be elusive.
Other mature industry verticals, such as retail or telecom, along with professionalized management functions, such as HR and Finance, all have a standard approach and reference architecture. The lack of such in IT is driving up costs.
IT4IT is the Solution. It is a Prescriptive IT Reference Architecture
IT4IT reduces the costs of, simplifies, and brings end-to-end trace-ability to your IT production. However, in designing the IT4IT framework, the Open Group decided that it wasn’t enough to look at just the operational side of IT.
As all IT managers know, IT starts with planning. Business process modeling can identify problems that businesses have, which leads to new demands being registered with IT. IT will then translate these demands into requirements before planning how best to meet them.
The project is created. Products are developed. Defects are found.
IT is also becoming increasingly production-oriented, producing and delivering services that meet demands from business stakeholders.
So, what kind of method would a production-organized business employ to increase efficiency and drive down costs? There’s one obvious answer: value chains. The Value Chain concept is well-tested and proven across multiple industries, sectors, and locations. It is business-based and can be measured quite efficiently and effectively.
IT4IT provides the structure and tools for organizations to manage their IT functions as if they were businesses in their own right, shaping them with the same level of discipline, predictability, and efficiency as other key business functions
IT4IT enables IT management to be applied across the entire value chain in a quicker, cheaper, and more effective way, all while encountering fewer risks. It is also less disruptive, as there will be fewer requirements for large-scale organizational change. Any IT landscape can be mapped onto IT4IT, with the sheer size of the framework’s user base demonstrating how virtually any type of organization can adopt it.
It is not just theoretical. It is very do-able. And it works!
Good e-Learning was one of the first Open Group-accredited suppliers of online IT4IT training. Our IT4IT Foundation and IT4IT Awareness courses offer a self-paced approach, with six months of access via any web-enabled device. Students can even download free materials for studying on commutes.
Our online courses are designed with help from highly experienced IT4IT practitioners and industry experts. This allows us to not only prepare students to sit and pass the IT4IT Foundation certification exam, but also begin applying their training in real-world companies. Each learner can even enjoy both a free exam voucher and free resits via Exam Pledge.
Visit the Good e-Learning website for a free introduction to our IT4IT courses. You can also access our online resource library for free IT4IT online training materials.
