ITIL vs Traditional ITSM Approaches
For years, organizations relied on traditional IT Service Management (ITSM) approaches to keep systems running smoothly. These models focused heavily on processes, documentation, and rigid workflows. While effective in stable environments, they often struggled to keep pace with today’s fast-moving digital businesses. This is where ITIL steps in and evolves. Traditional ITSM approaches are typically process-centric. The primary goal is operational stability: follow predefined steps, minimize deviations, and ensure compliance. While this structure reduces risk, it can slow down innovation. Teams often work in silos, changes take longer to approve, and customer experience may take a back seat to internal efficiency. ITIL, on the other hand, has continuously evolved to align IT services with business value. The comparison of ITIL v3 vs ITIL 4 vs ITIL (Version 5) clearly shows how the framework has shifted from rigid process control to flexible, value-driven service management. ITIL ...