ITIL originated as a set of book publications describing the well-proven instruction to manage IT services and ICT infrastructure based on practical experience. It is an acronym for "Information Technology Service Management".
It is necessary to realise that ITIL as such is not a standard but only a set of practical instructions to be implemented in an organisation since they are very likely to be necessary for the organisation based on other companies' experience.
At present, ITIL is an independent field of activity and enterprising that involves:

• a library of the aforementioned publications (8 volumes)
• an elaborated field of training and expertise certification
• provision of consultancy services
• development and implementation of software tools to support ITSM processes

One of the publications that describes ITSM is a book dedicated to Software Asset Management - a description of management, control and protection processes for software assets in all stages of their life cycle.

ITSM
is an acronym for "Information Technology Service Management".

Every living organisation - company, enterprise, office - needs a controlled system of processes that will help it perform its strategic objectives in the course of its life. These are trading, customer relation management, financial and other processes.

In the vast majority of cases the processes are either completely built on the use of information and communication technology (ICT) or, at least, are closely related to it. The ICT infrastructure must be reasonably planned and controlled.

Usually the control is a task of the information and communication services department (IT or ICT). Then, not only the development, purchasing, utilisation and maintenance of the technical part of the equipment but also related services are managed. The management of IT services, or, to be correct, of ICT services, is shortly called ITSM.

ITSMF (www.itsmf.cz)
IT Service Management Forum - is an independent and non-profit organisation with international scope that is dedicated to all aspects of information and communication technology service management. The world-wide standard for the field is ITIL and the subsequent ISO/IEC 20000 standard; itSMF is perceived as a forum of the users of the standard at the same time. itSMF was established in 1991 in Great Britain and at present has national branches in 34 countries.

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