ITIL^®4 certification scheme

The ITIL^®4 certification scheme has been designed to provide you with knowledge on how to meet the ever-increasing demands of the current digital environment. However, before we go further, let us understand what ITIL is, why ITIL is important, then eventually, the ITIL 4 certification scheme.

What is ITIL?

ITIL is an acronym for Information Technology Infrastructure Library. As Information Technology is an essential part of every business in today’s world, ITIL was originally developed to provide a consistent yet best practice framework for IT service management.

Why ITIL 4?

The digital environment of the world today is becoming increasingly Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous. The purpose of the ITIL^®4 is to reflect this fast-paced and complex environment, and the new ways of working and emerging practices in IT service management.

Now, ITIL 4 through its framework aims to provide organizations with comprehensive guidance on how to manage information technology in the modern service economy.

Want to know more about ITIL 4? Visit our ‘what is ITIL 4?’ page.

ITIL 4 Certification Levels

The ITIL 4 certification scheme consists of five levels and they are:

1. ITIL Foundation
2. ITIL Specialist:
1. a. ITIL Specialist: Create, Deliver & Support
2. b. ITIL Specialist: Drive Stakeholder Value
3. c. ITIL Specialist: High-Velocity IT
3. ITIL Strategist: Direct, Plan & Improve
4. ITIL Leader: Digital & IT Strategy
5. ITIL Master

One major characteristic of the new ITIL 4 certification scheme is that it is formed by two different designation streams namely:

1. ITIL Managing Professional (MP)
2. ITIL Strategic Leader (SL)

The goal of the ITIL Managing Professional and the ITIL Strategic Leader streams is to provide you with clarity on how and where you can improve on your skills and stand out amongst your peers. Both streams comprise of five modules altogether.

NOTE: To obtain the ITIL Managing Professional (ITIL MP) or ITIL Strategic Leader (ITIL SL) designation, you must complete all modules in each stream, with ITIL Strategist being a universal module for both streams. If you complete all the modules in both streams, you will be eligible for assessment to become an ITIL Master.

The image below gives an overview of the ITIL 4 Levels and Designation streams:

ITIL Foundation

The ITIL 4 Foundation certification is the entry-level certification, it provides you with a general awareness of the key elements, concepts, and terminology used in ITIL 4. The objective of the ITIL 4 Foundation is to introduce you to modern IT-enabled service management

Target Audience

Entry level IT professionals
Those who need a basic understanding of ITIL, or would like to progress to higher levels within the ITIL 4
certification scheme.
Anyone who is interested in the ITIL certification

NOTE: Irrespective of the designation (for both ITIL Managing professional and ITIL Strategic Leader ) you are interested in. You are required to start with ITIL Foundation to gain a basic understanding of the core concepts and principles of ITIL 4.

ITIL Managing Professional

The Managing Professional (MP) stream provides you with practical and technical knowledge on how to run successful IT projects, teams and workflows.

To become an ITIL Managing Professional, you must complete the following modules

1. ITIL Specialist Module:
1. a. ITIL Specialist: Create, Deliver & Support
2. b. ITIL Specialist: Drive Stakeholder Value
3. c. ITIL Specialist: High Velocity IT
2. ITIL Strategist: Direct, Plan & Improve

You can take each of them independently, however, the ITIL Managing Professional integrates the three specialist modules and the ITIL Strategist Direct, Plan & Improve module. Therefore, you must complete all the listed modules to obtain the ITIL Managing Professional designation. After achieving the ITIL Managing Professional designation, if you are interested in pursuing the ITIL Strategic Leader stream, you only need to complete the ITIL Leader Digital & Strategy module.

NOTE: The ITIL Managing Professional modules require that you complete the ITIL 4 Foundation as a prerequisite.

ITIL Strategic Leader

ITIL Strategic Leader recognises the importance of ITIL, for IT Operations, and for all digitally enabled services. Therefore, becoming an ITIL Strategic Leader (ITIL SL) demonstrates that you have a clear understanding of how IT influences and directs business strategy.

To become an ITIL Strategic Leader, you must complete the following modules

1. ITIL Strategist: Direct, Plan & Improve
2. ITIL Leader: Digital & IT Strategy

Both modules are valuable independently. However, the ITIL Strategic Leader integrates the two listed modules (ITIL Strategist and ITIL Leader).

NOTE: The ITIL Leader module requires that you have 3 years of managerial experience and an ITIL 4 Foundation certification before you can obtain the designation

ITIL Master

You must have both the ITIL Managing Professional and the ITIL Strategic Leader designations before you can be eligible for an assessment to become the ITIL Master.

More details on the ITIL Master will be released at a later date