Skip to content
Knowledge Hub/Article
Article

What Is ITIL? ITIL Version 5 and IT Service Management

ITIL is a good-practice framework for managing IT services. What Version 5 changes, the core practices, ISO/IEC 20000 and the certification path.

Oğuzhan Gerçek··8 min read
What Is ITIL? ITIL Version 5 and IT Service Management

Short answer: ITIL is a good-practice framework that describes how IT services are designed, delivered and improved. It is not a standard or a rulebook; it is guidance that organizations adapt to their own structure. The framework is owned by PeopleCert, and as of 2026 the current version is ITIL (Version 5). Incident, problem and change management, together with the service desk, are among its core practices. Organizations that want their service management certified look not to ITIL but to the ISO/IEC 20000-1 standard.

What is ITIL, and where does it come from?

ITIL stands for Information Technology Infrastructure Library. PeopleCert, the framework's current owner, presents it as the world's most widely used framework for IT service management. IT service management (ITSM), in Red Hat's definition, is the set of activities an organization performs to design, build, operate and maintain its IT services.

The framework began as work by the CCTA (Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency), a UK government body. According to IBM, the first version came out in 1989, the second in 2000 and the third in 2007. What followed:

How ITIL 4 is structured: value system, principles and 34 practices

Version 5 builds on the structure of ITIL 4. At the center of that structure sits the service value system; as PeopleCert's ITIL architects describe it, it covers governance, the value chain, practices and continual improvement. ITIL 4 also turned the process-based model of earlier versions into a set of practices. The other building blocks are:

  • Seven guiding principles: First seen in ITIL v3 Practitioner in 2016, the principles became a central element of ITIL 4.
  • 34 practices: Separate guidance for each area of work, from incident management to service level management.
  • Four dimensions: Organizations and people, information and technology, partners and suppliers, and value streams and processes.

What did ITIL (Version 5) change?

PeopleCert describes the new version as an evolution rather than a revolution. The changes fall under three headings:

How Foundation handles practices has changed as well. PeopleCert acknowledges that ITIL 4's 34 practices proved overwhelming for some learners at this level; the new Foundation gives definitions of practices such as problem, change and incident management, and leaves the detail to the ITIL Practice Guides.

Incident, problem and change management, and the service desk

Here is a short description of these three practices and of the service desk:

  • Incident management: In Red Hat's description, the process set up to respond to an unexpected disruption or an unplanned service interruption.
  • Problem management: Finding and fixing the root cause of one or more incidents. Incident management gets the service running again; problem management aims to keep the same incident from recurring. The fault management entry in our glossary rests on the same distinction.
  • Change management: Putting every change to the IT infrastructure through a standard operating procedure.
  • Service desk: Where incident tickets and routine service requests, such as hardware upgrades, come in. PeopleCert's ITIL architects describe it as the main communications conduit between a service provider and its users. We describe how it runs day to day on our end user support page.

How ITIL differs from ISO/IEC 20000

ISO/IEC 20000-1 is a requirements standard: it specifies what an organization needs in order to establish, implement, maintain and continually improve a service management system. The current edition dates from 2018; ISO reviewed and confirmed it in 2023 and published a climate action amendment in 2024.

The real difference shows up in certification. ITIL certifications are awarded to individuals. An organization's service management is certified against ISO/IEC 20000-1, and the certifying is done not by ISO itself but by independent certification bodies.

The two are not rivals. ISO/IEC TS 20000-11, which ISO published in 2021, explains the relationship between the standard and ITIL 4 and describes how ITIL can support demonstrating conformity to it. In short, ITIL tells you how to do the work, and ISO 20000 tells you what has to be in place.

ITIL certifications

In Version 5 the path starts with ITIL Foundation (Version 5): 40 multiple-choice questions, 60 minutes, closed book, pass mark 65%. The advanced modules lead to three designations, and according to PeopleCert's FAQ the ITIL Transformation module is common to all three:

  • ITIL Practice Manager: Foundation, one of the three practice modules, and Transformation.
  • ITIL Managing Professional: Foundation, ITIL Product, ITIL Service, ITIL Experience and Transformation.
  • ITIL Strategic Leader: Foundation, ITIL Strategy and Transformation.
  • ITIL Master: The top designation, open to those who hold all three.

ITIL AI Governance is an extension module with no prerequisite and no link to the designations. Certificates carry a three-year renewal date; one way to renew is to log 20 continuing professional development (CPD) points a year for three years. ITIL 4 certifications remain valid prerequisites for the Version 5 advanced modules, and the one-day Foundation Bridge course is an optional upgrade route. PeopleCert's current plan is to retire all ITIL 4 modules on 31 December 2027.

How do organizations adopt ITIL?

ITIL is not a rulebook to be applied cover to cover. PeopleCert describes the framework as practical, adaptable guidance that can be applied across industries, and Red Hat notes that organizations often adapt ITIL and sometimes ignore entire sections of it. A sensible order for getting started:

  1. Map where you are today: Where are incident, request and change records kept, and who makes the decisions?
  2. Start with continual improvement: In an article on itil.com, practitioners recommend a continual improvement register as the foundation for adopting other practices.
  3. Work from the pain points: Incident and problem management if outages are frequent; change management if changes keep causing trouble.
  4. Choose the tool last: The same article warns that expecting a tool to fix problems without a clear vision is a mistake.

Mapping and simplifying processes is what our process optimization service covers.

ITIL's role when you work with an MSP

When part of IT operations moves to a managed service provider (MSP), ITIL becomes the common language of both sides. The framework already treats suppliers as part of the service: one of its four dimensions is partners and suppliers. Before the contract is signed, these points should be settled:

  • Shared definitions: What counts as an incident, what counts as a service request and how priorities are set should be the same on both sides.
  • Escalation and decision rights: Who gets called during an outage, and who decides on a rollback or a failover, should be written down. We give a template in our incident escalation matrix article.
  • Change approval: Which changes can the provider make on your systems without approval?
  • Service levels: ITIL's service level management practice aims to set clear, business-based targets for services. We explain how to read the availability percentage in an SLA in our uptime article.

You will find the questions to put to a provider in 10 questions to ask when choosing a managed service provider, and the model itself in our managed services article.

Frequently asked questions

What does ITIL stand for? Information Technology Infrastructure Library. Today it is the name of a good-practice framework for managing IT services and digital products.

Is ITIL 5 out? Yes. Under its official name, ITIL (Version 5), it is the current version as of 2026. PeopleCert plans to retire the ITIL 4 modules on 31 December 2027.

How many questions are in the ITIL Foundation exam? The Version 5 exam has 40 multiple-choice questions. It lasts 60 minutes and the pass mark is 65%.

What is the difference between ITIL and ISO 20000? ITIL is guidance on how to do the work, not a standard. ISO/IEC 20000-1 sets out the requirements for a service management system, and organizations are certified against it.

Sources