27 Feb 2026

Why now is the right time for
ITIL (Version 5)?

Barclay Rae, reviewer ITIL (Version 5) and David Cannon, Senior Director: ITIL, PeopleCert

Since its inception, ITIL has continuously tracked shifts in digital technology and guided organizations on how to manage them successfully.

However, now is the right time to update ITIL again to reflect the far-reaching changes of cloud and AI that have spread technology management enterprise-wide.

Commoditized IT services in the cloud mean there is less demand for bespoke solutions created by the IT function. Consequently, the traditional, centralized IT management models have become outdated, and the scope of ITSM in many organizations has downgraded the value of IT to technical support.

This is why - in ITIL (Version 5) - you will see how not only ITSM, but now also the digital product and service management profession is restored to its original scope of managing technology services and products through their entire lifecycle to co-create value.

The legacy of ITIL 4

ITIL 4 has been central to helping organizations address the myriad of IT and service management challenges in the first half of the 2020s; providing the necessary framework and guidance for companies to grow digital strategy and manage business technology across multiple business units.

ITIL 4’s guiding principles have resonated with the service management community allowing practitioners to apply ITIL flexibly, malleably and negate the criticism that ITIL was ever too prescriptive or bureaucratic. That claim was simply false and has been completely debunked.

In addition, the individual practice certifications, refreshed practice guides and extension modules offering practical guidance on areas such as sustainability and managing cloud services, meant that ITIL 4 was responsive to an ever-evolving set of problems and challenges.

But the accelerating nature of change in technology in the second half of the 2020s – and increased expectations of digital products and services among internal and external customers – meant that ITIL needed to change too.

ITIL (Version 5) – the key drivers

What you will see in ITIL (Version 5) is an evolution not a revolution – and something built on the success of ITIL 4. But why is now the right time to update ITIL?

Service management underpinned by ITIL has become even more relevant to today’s organizations: the job of managing cloud services, automation, and the increasing presence of AI, offers opportunities but also increased exposure to risk, reinforcing the need for cybersecurity amid the growth of so-called ‘vibe coding’ and associated data risks. It has also placed more focus on the responsibilities and accountability of non-IT professionals who need to make decisions about the acquisition and management of digital products and services.

Effective automation needs good data, configuration, and knowledge management – all key elements in ITIL – while the move to experience management, focused on results and outcomes for customer sentiment and business value, needs greater emphasis in service management guidance.

In addition, it’s become important to treat digital product and service management as interdependent, collaborative, and equally concerned with an end-to-end process that delivers value.

So, while the structure of ITIL 4 was sound, we felt more guidance was needed to address emerging technologies, including AI, and, equally, add another layer of practical implementation guidance – something that now earns greater prominence at the ITIL Foundation level.

Crucially, we saw a need to better integrate the worlds of product and service management.
ITIL (Version 5) has done just that, with specific guidance for the product and service lifecycles.

Understanding the key principles underpinning the ITIL (Version 5) update

So, how have we approached the development of ITIL (Version 5)?

The overriding principle was to ensure its guidance remains relevant and fit for purpose – both today and for the foreseeable future. This meant not only looking in the rear-view mirror at what has worked but also looking ahead to what’s coming.

To achieve this, we agreed that – despite ITIL 4’s practicality – ITIL (Version 5) should be even more practical and accessible, allowing professionals to understand and deploy the concepts from day one.

With the explosion in adoption of AI, ITIL (Version 5) needs to better reflect digital models by, for example, enabling a less tribal and more joined-up and collaborative approach to delivering digital products and services.

How this builds on ITIL 4 is illustrated well by the existing ITIL 4 Specialist: Acquiring and Managing Cloud Services guidance and certification, which has shown leaders how to manage and govern in a cloud-based technology environment. However, the concepts could equally apply to acquiring and managing emerging technologies, notably AI, and whatever comes after AI.

Making ITIL (Version 5) relevant and relatable to both ITIL v3 and ITIL 4 professionals

When thinking about the evolution to ITIL (Version 5), we recognized that some ITIL professionals and organizations never made the transition to ITIL 4.

While some ITIL v3-certified practitioners may have changed careers and discontinued their service management learning journey, others – and the IT departments they work in – have maintained an ITIL v3 approach in their working practices today. But as the role of IT departments becomes less strategic, they can be left exposed as handling only commoditized “break-fix” activities. This puts them in the firing line of managed service providers (MSPs) that provide cheaper and often better commodity IT services.

The management of technology – both by and in business units outside of IT – will continue to accelerate; any ITSM professionals who remain rooted in the mindset of a previous IT world can’t ignore this and procrastinate any longer. In the context of industry today, ITIL v3 has its limitations, and it’s time to revisit what skills, knowledge and approaches are necessary – especially the governance of digital technology.

This is why the latest guidance acknowledges the need to equip practitioners across all previous versions with the competencies necessary to succeed today.

A new learning and qualification pathway

While the designations from ITIL 4 remain – namely ITIL Managing Professional, ITIL Strategic Leader, ITIL Practice Manager and ITIL Master – there are now new modules supporting the work of specific professionals across an entire organization: ITIL Product, ITIL Service, ITIL Experience and ITIL Strategy.

In addition, the ITIL (Version 5) learning journey includes the new ITIL Transformation module – based on the ITIL: How to Implement Official Book, relevant to all practitioners, and providing the most practical and accessible guidance yet for how to use ITIL.

While the knowledge and concepts embraced by ITIL 4-certified practitioners remain fundamentally valid, it still makes sense for them to explore up-to-date guidance as industry trends change with increased velocity – and so strengthen their ability to perform at the highest level in the coming years.

In a digital world that changes all the time, professionals responsible for managing products and services, delivering customer experience, and driving business value, need to have the most current methods and practices at their disposal.

The expert practitioners who have contributed to ITIL (Version 5) have ensured that its various models and management guides are among the best guidance available today, providing what we believe is the most integrated model for the IT product and services industry yet.