ITIL

IT Service Management (ITSM) is a process-based practice intended to align the delivery of information technology (IT) services with needs of the enterprise, emphasizing benefits to customers. ITSM involves a paradigm shift from managing IT as stacks of individual components to focusing on the delivery of end-to-end services using best practice process models. ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) is a globally recognized collection of best practices for information technology (IT) service management.
ITSM audits are based on analysis of four key performance indicators in specific ways:

• Growth and value, which involves tracking revenue growth against investment and utilization.
• Budget adherence, which involves optimizing the use of available funds and avoiding unnecessary expenditures.
• Risk impact, which involves identifying and evaluating the consequences of risks taken or avoided.
• Communication effectiveness, which involves examining customer feedback and gauging customer satisfaction and awareness.

A thorough ITSM audit allows enterprise executives and management personnel to determine the status of various processes and identify potential problem areas. In order to function well, ITSM requires in-house expertise. One way to ensure this is to have key individuals within the organization obtain ITIL Foundation certifications regulated by the ITIL Certification Management Board (ICMB). Third-party auditing is another option, although it carries some risk of product bias because outside auditors may have vendor-specific knowledge or preferences.