The following should be basically noted: ITIL® is not itself a standard. In addition, ITIL® can only be used for the accreditation of individuals. Furthermore, the question as to whether an organization has also actually internalized the ITIL® philosophy and whether it adheres to the principles of this philosophy cannot be guaranteed purely through employee training. This is the reason for the existence of ISO 20000, the first and up to now the sole standard for IT service management. Only the issue of the ISO 20000 certificate provides confirmation that an internal or external organization adheres to this service management. A corresponding audit of the organization or the preparations for this audit must be conducted by correspondingly qualified individuals. The qualifications required for this task have been internationally defined on a binding basis by the itSMF.

In the meantime, the ISO 20000 consultant and ISO 20000 auditor are the two emerging posts for which technology and management know-how are in equally demand. In addition to specialist knowledge of all aspects relating to ISO 20000, other requirements have to be met and these can be acquired in conjunction with other training courses or practical activities.

The certificated ISO 20000 consultant can become the key individual for changes in and the continuous improvement of IT processes within the company. The skills of this consultant include implementation, optimization and internal preparation for audits.

Only the certificated ISO 20000 auditor is authorized to conduct corresponding certification audits on behalf of a Registered Certification Body (RCB).

There are today numerous companies offer training courses in this field. However, only accredited training companies such as Glenfis AG (www.glenfis.ch) possess quality-tested training methods and training documentation. These accredited courses are inspected by the audit bodies to determine their compliance with the audit rules.

This ensures that the content taught reflects the principles of ISO 20000. It is therefore vital to pay attention to this quality feature when selecting the training partner..