Will ITIL certificates benefit for an entrepreneur?

JayTheCracker

hi guys, i'd like to know a few things about ITIL... Thanks in advance guys........

1) Will ITIL certification benefit for an entrepreneur (who is from IT field also)?
2) will it develop management (&)(or) leadership skills ? and, soft skills... ?
3) how many years of experience is recommanded for an entrepreneur for each exam (foundation, intermediate, Managing accross life circle & Expert) ?
4) is ITIL Alumni/Community is active ?

Claire Agutter

Hi Jay

These answers are based on my own experience, hopefully they will be helpful.

1) It depends what type of business you are looking to set up I started an ITIL training business in 2007 based on my education and consultancy experience, so for me it's been very useful. If you're looking to do consultancy, then ITIL certification is very well thought of. Have a search on the job boards and industry press for the areas you wish to work in and see if ITIL is mentioned.
2) ITIL is a framework based on the management of a service lifecycle. It includes management concepts and soft skills that you can use along with your own experience
3) The foundation exam has no pre-requisites. At the intermediate level you will benefit from 2 or more years of IT experience, but I have known people pass the exams with much less
4) Yes, very! As well as this forum which is excellent, take a look at the ITIL groups on linkedin.com and you'll see what I mean.

I hope that helps,

Claire

JayTheCracker

Thanks, Claire! +1

yes, planning to do vocational education business(offering certificate training, arranging bootcamps, corporate training etc.)...
it's set. ITIL Expert would be my personal goal then
i'll take foundation exam after my ccna

just one more quick question....

Most affordable & good Online Accredited Training Program for ITIL Intermediate ??

i found the free videos for ITIL Foundation
for ITIL Intermediate, i can't find ><

Claire Agutter

Hi Jay

Most online training providers will show you samples of their online Intermediate training. There are many online training providers including my own company IT Training Zone (site ITILTrainingZone.com), Mountainview, Gogo Training and the Art of Service. Everyone offers something slightly different so it's worth doing your research to check that the training will suit your learning style as well as your budget.

Some key areas to compare are length of access to the courses, whether core volumes are included, price of exams, access to tutors etc. You can check if an organisation is accredited here: http://www.itil-officialsite.com/TrainingOrganisations/ATOListing.aspx but most training organisations will also display their accreditation on their site.

Recent studies have shown that online learning is most effective if it's been built specifically for online delivery, rather than just using video to replicate a classroom environment.

Please feel free to message me if you have any questions.

Kind regards

Claire

charlemagne

Hi Claire,
I wanted to get your opinion. I'm new here. I am scheduled to take the Project+ exam on December 6. I'm well prepared for it. I have two masters degrees....one being in Information Science BUT I received that way back in 2001 and never used it. Instead, I taught history for 11 years. Now, I'm going to build on the Library and Info science degree since. Know a great deal about "knowledge management" and wonder: Would ITIL foundations be beneficial? I have some study material but want to get past Project+ fist as the terminology is similar and don't want to get side tracked. But, after project+...what would you recommend for study material for the 2012 ITIL foundation exam? Looked at Thoughtrock but....not impressed. What other exams/certs would be a "good fit" with ITIL? I'm a member of PMI and don't want the CAPM right now. Your advice will be most appreciated.

Thanks!

Claire Agutter

Hi Charlemagne

An easy way to decide if ITIL is going to be helpful for you is to start with some free material - try our site www.freeitiltraining.com which gives you a comprehensive introduction for no cost. If you decide that ITIL is going to be of interest to you, you can then progress on to study for the Foundation qualification.

There are a number of routes to Foundation available to you - you can self-study (there are lots of books available), take an online course or take a classroom course. Following a structured course might show you more of the benefits of ITIL than self study does, but there is nothing wrong with self-study, particularly as you already have lots of IT experience.

Qualifications and areas that complement ITIL will then include ISO/IEC20000, COBIT, OBASHI, Business Analysis....there is lots to choose from depending on your focus.

Good luck with your project+ and please message me if you have any questions.

Kind regards

Claire