من قبل
Qazzafi Ashraf , IT Network Manager , Oxford University Press, Pakistan
Yes! ITIL certification is one of the most valuable certifications available till date for IT professionals. Its huge number of benefits which have been experienced by ITIL certification holders worldwide such as considerable professional recognition, higher salary hikes and better job prospects contributes to its added importance.
According to Computerworld ITIL Certification is one of the top5 certifications, the other four are1. VMware Certified Professional,2. Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist,3. Cisco Certified Architect,4. CompTIA Strata Green IT.
Any certification process involves some study followed by demonstration that you know something about the material. I am not suggesting the individual is an expert in the subject matter, just that they spent study time and passed the test. In fact, this is the source of my concern about most certifications―it's possible to pass the test and still not know anything of practical or real-world value about the subject matter.
ITIL is different because certification is not about specific job related skills. It doesn't mean you know how to program or that you know anything about infrastructure. Instead, at the Foundation level, it says that you've learned a common vocabulary and varying levels of application to a service lifecycle. At the intermediate, or Lifecycle level, the certifications indicate the candidate knows what and why, and Capability certifications indicate the candidate knows when and how.
Because ITIL is not prescriptive, the certification process isn't about doing, it's about knowing. Adopting ITIL requires that people have a base-level understanding about what ITIL represents for the IT Service Lifecycle. It takes buy-in from every level in the organization; buy-in aided by a reasonable understanding about what ITIL is and what it represents. Make no mistake, ITIL is as much about a cultural shift as it is about IT good practice and IT service management. That's another reason certification makes sense. The certification suggests the individual knows something about the vocabulary, about the process, and about the goals for ITIL.
For ITIL adoption to succeed, the people involved in the change need both a common language and a common basis for success in the small, iterative and incremental projects that are part of the effort. Adopting ITIL involves a learning process as continual improvement is applied. The certification indicates someone is learning about ITIL. That knowledge is a component of successful ITIL adoption.