ITIL 4

Key Message Matrix

AXELOS.com

Sept 2018

COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE
2 ITIL 4 COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE

This document is intended to support you in preparing for the launch of ITIL 4 Foundation
in the first quarter (Q1) 2019.

Please use the matrix below when preparing messages to your customers. You can localise
and adapt it into your own house style. The messaging is designed to help you to prepare
your customers for ITIL 4 while still promoting the benefits of ITIL v3 to protect revenue
throughout the rest of 2018.

Please note that these messages are intended for ATOs to use in their generic customer
communications when talking generally about ITIL.

COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE
 COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE ITIL 4 3

ITIL Value Proposition

• ITIL supports organizations and individuals to gain optimal value from IT and
digital services. It helps define the direction of the service provider with a clear
capability model and aligns them to the business strategy and customer needs.
ITIL, a professionally recognised certification scheme, provides comprehensive,
practical and proven guidance for establishing a service management system,
providing a common glossary of terms for businesses using IT enabled services.

ITIL 4 Value Proposition

• We are in a time of unprecedented change, known as the ‘Fourth Industrial

Revolution’. It is characterised by the digital transformation of our world and the
unavoidable interaction between humans, digital technologies and physical assets.
It is an increasingly fast paced and complex environment, requiring organizations
to be more agile, better equipped to adapt what they do and ready to adopt new
ways of working to succeed. ITIL 4, through its framework, helps organizations to
connect and align these different challenges that are relevant not only to ITSM
professionals, but also by a wider range of professionals working in the digital
world.

• ITIL 4 expands previous versions by providing a practical and flexible basis to

support organizations on their journey to the new world of digital transformation.
It provides an end-to-end IT/digital operating model for the delivery and operation
of tech-enabled products and services and enables IT teams to continue to play a
crucial role in wider business strategy.

• ITIL 4 supports the existing investment that people and organizations have made
into ITIL, as it is an expansion on the existing framework. That investment is
protected because ITIL 4 provides a practical and flexible transition that helps
organizations adopt the new ways of working brought by the modern digital world.

COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE
4 ITIL 4 COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE

1 ITIL Message Matrix

1.1. RELEVANCE
Relevance ITIL is used by millions of professionals
globally. Businesses are built on ITIL.
The fact that ITIL remains relevant is key. Every year, organizations invest heavily
We would like to help you to reaffirm the in adopting and adapting ITIL into their
proven relevance of ITIL today and its business practices and upskilling their
current and ongoing impact within workforce with ITIL qualifications.
organizations.
Extensive research by AXELOS, among a
We also want to help you reassure your diverse group of stakeholders, has
customers that their current certifications consistently shown that ITIL is
remain relevant and to encourage fundamental to businesses, enables
professionals to continue on their ITIL transformation and helps organizations
journey to Expert. realise value.

We understand the need for a smooth

transition from ITIL v3 to ITIL 4 and
recognise the need to ensure that your
investment in ITIL continues to drive and
enhance your business’ performance.
Therefore, you can feel reassured that
ITIL 4 has been developed to be
compatible with the existing
certification scheme.

Further, all current certifications for ITIL

will remain valid following the update,
and all credits gained can help you
continue your ITIL journey in the new
certification scheme.

The core fundamentals of ITIL will

continue to be as relevant to you and
your businesses as they are today
following the release of ITIL 4. This next
evolution of ITIIL is a transition from an
organizations existing investment in ITIL
and its current way of working, to a
faster, more flexible and adaptive
approach.

1.2. ITIL V3
ITIL v3 ITIL continues to support organizations
and individuals to gain optimal value
We understand that you want to defend from IT and digital services. It equips a
your sales of ITIL v3 throughout the coming service provider with a clear capability

COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE
 COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE ITIL 4 5

months. We want to help you to show the model, aligning them to the business
value of ITIL overall, both now and in its strategy and customer needs.
updated version to ITIL 4.
ITIL, a globally recognised framework,
provides comprehensive, practical and
proven guidance for establishing an IT
service management system,
encouraging consistency and continual
improvement for businesses using IT
enabled services.
• The ITIL Best Practice framework
provides a common language and
tools that power collaboration
within IT teams, to deliver value
across a business.
• ITIL is the global standard in IT
best practice, and is used globally
by millions of practitioners. It is
relied upon by 90% of the FTSE
500 to run their IT operations.

While ITIL Foundation level gives a high-

level overview, and Practitioner focusses
on how to practically adopt and adapt
the ITIL framework, those who want to
demonstrate knowledge of the entire
ITIL scheme should work through the
Intermediate credit system to become an
ITIL Expert.

1.3. ITIL 4
ITIL 4 ITIL 4 will help businesses navigate the
new technological era, commonly known
as the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The
We appreciate that your customers would
speed of current breakthroughs is
like to know some of the content and themes
of ITIL 4 and that you want to share disrupting almost every industry on a
something with them – even if it is at a high global scale. The Fourth Industrial
level. Revolution is marked by emerging
technology in fields including robotics,
We have therefore produced these messages artificial intelligence, nanotechnology,
so that you can share some of the changes to quantum computing, biotechnology, The
ITIL and the challenges the update Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing,
addresses, as well as some thought autonomous vehicles and much more.
leadership which has been produced by ITIL
Ambassadors and Lead Architect Team ITIL 4 will provide a practical and
members. flexible basis to support organizations on
their journey into the new world of
digital transformation by helping them

COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE
6 ITIL 4 COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE

align their human, digital and physical

resources to compete within the modern
complex landscape and adopt this
emerging technologies into their IT
operations.

The context of ITIL, with the release of

ITIL 4 is now much bigger, with an
emphasis on the business and technology
world, how it works today, and how it
will work in the future with Agile,
DevOps and digital transformation.
ITIL 4 will be much more relevant to
developers, practitioners and businesses
as a whole through promoting a holistic
view of delivering products and services.
Right from Foundation level, ITIL 4 will
emphasise the importance of
collaboration, transparency, automating
where possible, and working holistically.

ITIL 4 retains many of the core elements

that makes ITIL so valuable to individuals
and organizations today. Change is a
constant state and organizations are
struggling to navigate it. ITIL 4 is best
practice that supports organizations in
navigating this ongoing change.

ITIL 4 is the next iteration that

incorporates all of the best things from
ITIL as it is known today and expands IT
and service operations to a new level.
Moving from traditional process lead
delivery, ITIL 4 supports faster, quality
and value driven delivery for people and
organizations.

1.4. VALUE
Value ITIL v3 is as relevant as ever and
continues to be in demand globally by
You customers want to know that ITIL v3 hundreds and thousands of IT
and ITIL 4 will continue to establish value practitioners.
for their organization.
All certifications for ITIL will remain
valid following the update and will

COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE
 COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE ITIL 4 7

It is important to encourage professionals to continue to be recognized as valuable

protect their existing ITIL investment and certifications globally.
continue with ITIL to maximise the value of
that investment. ITIL 4 retains many of the core elements
of good IT service management, that is
continuing to give value to millions of
people and businesses around the world.

ITIL 4 is an evolution from ITIL v3,

providing a practical and flexible
transition that allows organizations to
adopt the new ways of working required
by the modern digital world.

1.5. DEVELOPMENT OF ITIL

Community Engagement - Development ITIL 4 is the result of feedback and insights

of ITIL 4 from thousands of professionals and
organizations globally. It has been
In case your customers want to know how developed by a team of industry experts
we have updated ITIL, you may want to from around the world, including 150
tell them about the community that has content writers, reviewers and
helped develop ITIL 4 and give them an contributors from the wider IT industry.
opportunity to feed into the ongoing
development of ITIL. AXELOS has engaged a diverse range of
people in the development of ITIL 4. They
have assembled a Global ITIL Development
Group, which is made up of over 2,000
professionals. Those in the Group
participate in pulse surveys and debates
on a private community group, and take
active roles in reviewing the update.
Their insights and feedback have been key
to the development of ITIL 4.

We have also brought together a top

architecture team from around the world
to collaborate on the development of ITIL
4. You can see introductory videos of this
team by clicking here or via the Global
ITIL Development Group.

We will continue to engage the Global ITIL

Development Group throughout
development. We encourage anyone who
is interested in the ITIL update to sign up
at: www.AXELOS.com/ITIL-research

COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE
8 ITIL 4 COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE

1.6 MY ITIL

My ITIL Anyone who takes an ITIL certification is

entitled to one year’s subscription to My
My ITIL is AXELOS’ subscription platform ITIL which is included with their exam. A
and those who have an ITIL qualification My ITIL subscription is intended to support
can join. a candidate beyond their certification.

It is important that your customers • There are case studies, practical

understand how My ITIL is beneficial to guidance and examples that can be
them. You can also help them to used, as well as further deep dives
understand the role of the supplementary into the current and new guidance.
content that can be found on My ITIL and • Today there is a very complicated
how it can assist them in their careers and and complex business context to IT
help their business. enabled services, and there is no
single path to navigate it, but the
further supplementary content and
CPD activity on the site will help
with that navigation.
• The supplementary content and
supporting CPD activities are
extremely useful to candidates as
they provide further clarity on
specific areas of knowledge when
using ITIL.

COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE