During the last 18 months ITIL has been the focus of two major projects: it has been undergoing a major refresh and it was also included in the scope for a major procurement to provide supporting publishing and accreditation services. Updates on project progress have been provided throughout but, inevitably, there are periods where there is no information available.
Essentially, both projects result in some kind of change and as many will know, this often gives rise to speculation.

Myth number 1. OGC is planning to sell ITIL

OGC has no intention to sell its best practice portfolio. It recognises that much of the value in these products comes from its vendor-neutral status and that they should remain Crown Copyright. The new five-year contracts for accreditation and publishing services have been put in place to support users and ensure that the products remain fully accessible.

Myth number 2. Everyone will need to be re-certified when the new ITIL (V3) is released

Rest assured, this is not the case. ITIL qualifications will remain valid and training already undertaken will not be undermined by the introduction of new material. There will be opportunities for candidates to upgrade their qualifications and short conversion or update courses are likely to be provided.

Myth number 3. All the processes I know today will be gone

The processes you are working with today will continue to be part of the refreshed ITIL. You will notice, however, that the Service Support (SS) and Service Delivery (SD) processes will be integrated into a service lifecycle. This will better reflect how service management is applied in everyday practice and so your implementation of them is likely to become easier.
A significant portion of the current version of ITIL will be refined and included in ITIL V3. This includes the parts that are still widely practised and usable in the IT service management community.

Myth number 4. V3 is simply an add-on to V2

The refreshed ITIL will replace the current version and this is part of an ongoing process to enhance and improve OGC’s Best Practice in service management. This is the essence of ‘current best practice’, ensuring that it continues to meet the evolving demands of customers. The refreshed ITIL will help service providers remain competitive and effective in providing value to their customers.

Myth number 5. My current software support tools will no longer be useful

The main functional elements of most IT service management tools will still be required for V3 since the main process elements from V2 remain. We do expect, however, that some vendors will want to make enhancements to their tools to capture the additional power of new functions that V3 will introduce.
You can continue to use V2-based tools and practices until you are ready to (and if you wish to) make improvements. OGC is confident that V3 will entice you with compelling opportunities to improve your IT service management practices, but has been very diligent in making sure that this transition can occur for you with ease and in your own time.