ITIL vs BS 15000-1:2002

[wolfhard]

Ladies and gentlemen,

Could somebody please explain to me what the difference is between ITIL and BS 15000-1:2002 ?

Why the one and not the other? Or maybe both?

Thank you very much.
Wolfhard Aring

[govinds]

In the context of differentiation, let me share with you what my understanding is:

ITIL:

1. The repository of ITIL is contained in 40 books, published by Office of Government Commerce, UK.

2. ITIL is a set of processes and NOT standards. Obviously, it is NOT a Certification Standard, while it can still be implemented by a Company on its own initiative and even get it audited by a third party.

3. ITIL came into being as early as in 1980s'. The scoping of Version 3 of ITIL has been completed, taking into account a lot of changes in technology capabilities and constraints, which have got manifested of late.

4. ITIL has a certification schme for individuals (professionals), who would like to become Certified Consultants. ISEB (UK) and EXIN (Netherlands) are the 2 bodies conducting ITIL Certification Examinations.

5. There are 3 graded ITIL Certiification for Professionals, viz.,
(a) FOUNDATION
(b) PRACTIONER'S
(c) MANAGER's


BS 15000

1. BS 15000 is a set of standards owned by BSI.

2. BS 15000 is aligned with and complementary to the process approach defined within the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) from The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) in UK.

3. BS 15000 does NOT make a mention about ITIL explicity, for historical reasons. It so happened that the Office of Government Commerce, UK didn't want to make any departure from the way of ITIL processes have been positioned. So, I believe that even BSI, which is also an UK born institution, has not been able to take ownership of ITIL and maintain it. As a result, BSI coined the term INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICE MANAGMENT (ITSM). BS 15000 thus implements ITSM.

4. BS 15000 is an Implementation Standard and an Organization can opt for a Certification body Audit (3rd Party Audit) and get certified as a BS 15000 Certified Organization.

5. There is a neutral organization, by name, ITSMF (Information Technology Service Management Forum) which is gained roots now, that is evangelizing BS 15000 standards now in the market. ITSMF is getting greater clout these days in the US and it is possible that what ITIL has not been able to do along, solo, may be achieved by ITSMF. ITSMF is present in about 15 countries and more country chapters are on the anvil.

Govind Srinivasan
CEO, Paramount Dataware Pvt. Ltd.
23-B, 11th Avenue, Ashok Nagar
Chennai 600083

Work:
91 44 2471 3493
91 44 2474 1436

[snbattle]

BS15000 has now become an international standard (ISO 20000). Would it be redundant for ITIL to become an international standard? It is my understanding that BS15000 is a standard for service management and ITIL reaches farther. Please clarify.

[ITILadmin]