Everyone talks about IT Service Management (ITSM) and Information Technology Infrastructure Libraries (ITIL®), but people aren’t always clear on what these concepts mean. This is even though most IT shops use some form of ITSM strategies and ITIL® tools every day, whether they realize it or not. To help clarify what ITSM and ITIL are, here’s a simple primer that explains what each term means and how they enable IT service delivery.

ITIL® processes are grouped into five stages that make up the concept of the service lifecycle structure shown here. The service lifecycle defines all the processes and procedures an organization uses to define, create, deliver, and manage IT services from birth through retirement.