Northern Virginia Technology

When the initial word made its way around about ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure library) the wave caught some momentum quite well. The IT best practices concepts, that were non-technical / more procedure and business related, were already a major hit in the UK and the word was starting to get out here in the USA. Many large companies bought into it quite hard, Government agencies adopted policies mandating the practices, people started getting ITIL training and  certification, all was well in the ITIL community.

However, the story changed a little over the last three years and the momentum has died quite a bit. There is still some interest out there for it, but not like it was a few years ago. What happened? Lets dig a little deeper and discuss our theory.

ITIL was an accredited certification by an orginization named Exin. To maintain quality and control over the cert (and to take a larger slice of the revenue pie) no one could achieve the ITIL certification unless they received training from an Exin accredited training provider. Whats more, Exin accredited training providers had to go through a rigorous multi-step and multi-pay approval process. This accreditation process allowed only a limited number of training providers (compared to providers of things like CompTIA A+, EC-Council CEH, etc.) the ability to offer official training.

In order to control too much (quality and revenue) the grip was kept too tight and many training providers didnt bother to offer the certification. This limitation in availability stunted popularity and growth potential. Less access to the training meant that people with loyalties to training companies didnt seek the ITIL certifications.

Over the last year ad a half or so the popularity has really dwindled (via keyword tracking tools online). Less people are seeking the cert than ever. Companies that once thrived by only offering ITIL training started to go under and close their doors. The lack of freedom in ITIL training, killed it here in the USA. It is precisely the lack of overkill control that has allowed other certifications to thrive (A+, CEH, CISSP etc.).

ITIL is no doubt a useful and beneficial certification to have. When its procedures are employed and organizations IT structure is definitively more streamlined. Some of the Government agencies (just under half of the ones that originally bought on to it) still make ITIL certification mandatory for a few project managers etc., but overall the popularity has dropped so far and fast, its more of an example of what not to do. ITIL isn’t the only cert out there like this.