Itil qualifications explained

ITIL Qualifications Explained

ITIL is the most widely adopted approach to IT Service Management. This White Paper explains the structure of ITIL Version 3 training and qualifications that are available

ITIL Certification

ITIL certification is for individuals and it signifies different levels of awareness and capability with regard to ITIL

ITIL training is undertaken in the UK by over 30 specialist training companies- All accredited on behalf of the OGC. They use approved course materials based on the official ITIL manuals ? and they prepare delegates for exams which are usually included in the training course.

ITIL Qualification Structure

There are 4 levels within the ITIL Version 3 qualification structure, providing a systematic route from Foundation through to higher level management qualifications

— Foundation

— Intermediate

— ITIL Expert

— ITIL Master

The new ITIL qualifications scheme recognises the value of existing v2 qualifications and introduces a system that gives credits for both ITIL v2 and v3 courses.

To achieve the ITIL Expert qualification, candidates must achieve at least 22 credits, two of which can be gained at Foundation level. (Full details of the credits system, examinations and pre-requisites can be found via the www.best-management-practice.com website.)

ITIL Foundation

This is the first step on the ITIL v3 education programme. The course explains the basics of ITIL, its terminology and common processes. It also travels through the Service Lifecycle, defining the roles and responsibilities involved.

Who should attend: Anyone involved in IT or the business

Duration: 3 days

Exam: 40 Questions multi choice ? pass mark 26

Credits: 2

ITIL Intermediate

At the intermediate level there are 9 modular courses from which students will typically need to acquire 15 credits in order to move on to the «cap-stone» Managing Across the Lifecycle Course and achieve the ITIL Expert qualification

The courses are grouped into 2 streams. It will be possible to «pick and mix» from these various modules to suit the requirements of you and your organisation. There are some constraints to ensure a good mix of topics is covered.

The Service Lifecycle courses (each worth 3 credits) align to each of the 5 core ITIL manuals.

Service Strategy

Service Design

Service Transition

Service Operation

Continual Service Improvement

The Service Capability courses (each worth 4 credits) focus on ITIL processes:

Planning, Protection and Optimisation

Service Offerings and Agreement

Release, Control & Validation

Operational Support & Analysis

Who should attend: IT professionals interested to develop specific ITSM skill sets and those who seek to achieve ITIL Expert status

Duration:Service Lifecycle ? 21 hrs minimum (3 or 4 day course), Service Capability ? 30 hrs minimum (4 or 5 day course)

Exam:90 minute graduated multiple choice with scenario based questions. Pass mark 65% (75% for a Distinction)

Credits:Service Lifecycle ? 3, Service Capability ? 4

ITIL Expert

The ITIL Expert will replace the current ITIL Manager certification which distinguishes experienced IT service leaders who have studied the application of ITIL in depth.

The version 3 ITIL Expert qualification is obtained upon achievement of 17 or more credits from the Foundation, Intermediate, Bridge or v2 Courses — followed by the broad and high level course — «Managing Across the Lifecycle».

Managing Across the Lifecycle

The purpose of this module is to consolidate and test the content of the 5 core guidance ITIL manuals. The focus is on business, management and supervisory aspects, with attention given to the interactions between the different ITIL processes.

Who should attend: CIOs, IT Managers, IT Professionals

Duration: 5 days

Exam: 8 multiple choice, scenario based, gradient scored questions.

Pass Mark 28 marks (70%)

In addition, candidates must be able to demonstrate at least 5 years of IT experience and have at least 2 years of experience in an IT service Management environment in a supervisory, managerial or consultancy role.

ITIL Master

Candidates for this level will be required to have achieved the ITIL Expert certification and to have demonstrated practical application and experience. They will be assessed on the broader issues of ITSM implementations including:

?Managing cultural and organisational change

?Responding to industry change

?Continual improvement of ITSM capability

?Preparing organisations for audit and certification

This qualification will not be associated with an accredited course.

ITIL Bridging Courses

An interim set of Bridging Courses has been introduced for those who have already undertaken training under earlier versions of ITIL and who wish to update their knowledge to reflect the latest release.

Foundation Bridge

Who should attend: Existing holders of the Foundation Certificate. Active members of Service Management teams.

Duration: 1 day

Content: An overview of the lifecycle approach to ITIL ? highlighting key changes and explaining the benefits

Exam: 30 minute multiple choice paper with 20 questions ? 65% pass mark

Credits: 0.5 (which can be added to the 1.5 earned from version 1 or version 2 foundation certificates)

Manager Bridge

Who should attend: Existing holders of the Manager’s Certificate who wish to upgrade to the new ITIL Expert qualification. It is not necessary to have taken the Foundation Bridge. CIOs, IT Managers, IT Professionals

Duration: 4 or 5 days

Content: In depth coverage of the lifecycle approach to ITIL ? highlighting key changes and explaining the benefits

Exam: 90 minute multiple choice paper with 20 questions ? 80% pass mark

Credits: 5 (which when added to the 17 earned from version 1 or version 2 Service Manager certificates result in the 22 credits required to qualify as an ITIL Expert)

Practitioner Bridge

Those with at least 12 credits from v2 Practitioner courses but who do not hold the Manager’s Certificate may achieve ITIL Expert status by:

?First completing the Manager’s Bridge course and exam

?Then completing the Managing across the Lifecycle Course and Exam

This enables part qualified individuals to obtain ITIL Expert certification without the need to study at the new Intermediate level.

Benefits of ITIL

Investments in information services have frequently been characterised by over spend, under delivery, and a lack of transparency. ITIL provides a maturity path for IT which is not technology based ? providing practical management tools which are accessible to a wider audience.

Benefits of adopting ITIL can include:

— Increased productivity

— Higher levels of customer satisfaction

— Reduced costs

— Improved communications between the IT function and its customers

— Improved morale of service delivery staff

— Lower costs of training

— Better asset utilisation

Savings in total costs of ownership of 48% have been reported in case studies. P&G has attributed savings of 10% of their total IT costs to adoption of ITIL.

Total Cost of Ownership studies by Axios and others suggest 75% of your IT costs are associated with Service Management rather than acquisition and commissioning. ITIL training and certification can help you understand and optimise the effectiveness of this spend.

ITIL Training and ISO20000

ITIL embodies the methodologies which underpin the ISO/IEC20000 quality accreditation for organisations with respect to their information systems. This is displacing BS15000 in the UK and is rapidly being adopted as the definitive international standard for IT Service Management.

ISO/IEC20000 is an auditable standard which specifies five key service management processes:

? Service Delivery Processes

? Relationship Processes

? Resolution Processes

? Control Processes

? Release Process

Internet marketing strategy that works;

Internet Marketing Strategy That Works;

Why Erik Rides a Limo: His Internet Marketing Strategy

In 2003, Erik brought his first laptop home without a hint of what he exactly wanted to do, except to follow what others have been doing: chat online. He was sold to the idea of online dating, and believing that chatting online is a cheaper alternative than downing bottles of beer at the local pub, at exactly 9 AM, Eastern Standard Time, he hit off his first key: www…

The rest was history.

Today, Erik owns 120 websites and a vibrant company employing 12 people in a plush condominium he also calls «home». His online dating was a success, having found Jane, but he hit «jackpot» with online marketing. What turned out to be a pastime became a lucrative endeavor for a guy who was not computer savvy to start off with, and whose only concept of a mouse was that little pest chewing up his shoe lace.

Jason, also hit his keyboard in 2003, precisely with the same line of thought, but with a little twist: to charm an Asian. He has a leaning towards Asian women because his mother was half Taiwanese. However, when he got online, he found something he loved to do, so he ventured into online marketing, too.

Four years later today, Jason is still driving his old and weather-beaten pick-up truck, while Erik drives around town in a shiny limo. Did Erik hit the online lotto?

Of course, not. Erik merely uncovered a marketing truth, which Jason and his peers saw, but dismissed as something less relevant. They followed the trail where all others have gone, while Erik stayed and pondered on what was already there, until he found an
Internet Marketing Strategy that works!

Common mistake in marketing online is in believing that traffic is the end-all and be-all of online success. Nothing can be farther from the truth! Long queue of online visitors to your site is a good indication that you have struck the right formula in getting them there where you want them, but becoming popular is NOT the way to go. At some point it can help a lot, however, the litmus test on real online success is on being profitable (while remaining popular).

WORK ON YOUR CONVERSION.

Combine traffic competitiveness with high conversion results and it is game over — in your favor. Unless you learn how to convert as high as you invite traffic to view your site, you won’t rake in success like Erik did.

Conversion is leading your online visitors from point A (just viewing your site) to point B (deciding to make a purchase). The initial challenge is on how to get them over to your site, but the killer punch is on making them buy! This is the surest way to make money.

Erik shares these two easy-to-do steps to Internet Marketing for Online Business:

1.) BUILD TRAFFIC REGULARLY. Get more people to view your site; by law of numbers, more viewers = the greater is the possibility for online conversion. Building traffic however is not a spur of the moment activity. It should be a life-long (for as long as you want to build and develop your online business, that is) process. It should have a well-thought of plan — a master plan.

2.) CONVERT AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY. Present your website in such a way that leaving it becomes difficult. Enthrall your online visitors with your designs, but do not be carried away too much. No matter how attractive your graphics are, it’s content that can sustain your online viewers’ interest, which will make them pay you another visit.

Content however must not only be entertaining but persuasively interesting. It must drive home the point that it is to your viewers’ advantage if they follow your «calls to action».

Build trust. Your website should not «oversell» its message, as this gives rise to skepticism. Provoke interest by providing facts they can check out with other online sources.

Is your site easy to navigate? Nothing else can drive your online visitor away faster than not being able to accomplish a particular task on your site, because of navigational problems.

Track improvements on regular basis. You will only know how far you have gone if you compare yesterday’s performance to today’s gain. Adjust when necessary. Flexibility has its own power.

In the final analysis, unless you convert effectively, you cannot expect to create a lucrative source of income from online business. Traffic alone, though very helpful, cannot cut the chase from online obscurity to online success.

Best Internet Marketing Strategies proven by successful people who cracked their own online success, dictate that every factor should interplay harmoniously with one another, like strings of a guitar. To focus on traffic alone won’t help; in the same token, conversion can’t be helped without traffic.

That’s how Erik did it, which Jason had to learn, unless he loves to drive in his beat-up truck
a little longer.

How can you be the next einstein by implementing this twenty minutes strategy to become more creatively wacky in life

How can you be the next Einstein by implementing this Twenty minutes strategy to become more creatively wacky in life?

People seem to have the misconception that only a select few are able to unleash a steady flow of creative genius. That is totally absurd. The fact is, creativity is very much like a muscle that needs to be exercised in order to consistently give out great results. If you don’t practice harnessing creative thinking, this skill will very much atrophy into inexistence. But keep working and this skill will soon come to you in a snap.

So how do you unleash your creative thinking? Well, the first thing is to become a human leech. No, we’re not talking about just sucking the blood out of every living being available, we’re saying that you should take in as much knowledge and learning you can find. Read everything available — good and bad, and keep your mind open like a dry sponge waiting to soak up the essence of the good stuff you have read. The more you know, the more you’ll want to know, and the more your faculty of wonder will be exercised. The most creative people I have known are great readers.

Focus on a creative activity everyday. Yes, it’s an effort. Even doodling is a creative activity. Don’t let anything hinder you. Mindlessness may be a creative activity, but for people who are just starting out to unleash a little bit of creative thinking in their lives, it is helpful and encouraging to have concrete evidence, that, «hey, what I’m doing is getting somewhere.» So why don’t you try it. Practice drawing for a couple of minutes each day. Bring out your old camera and start snapping photos like crazy. Keep a journal and make a point to write in it religiously. Another cool idea is to write by describing something with your five senses. Try to avoid vague adjectives like «marvelous,» «amazing,» and «delicious.» Before you know it, you’ll have built yourself a tiny portfolio, and you’ll be amazed at the growth you’ve undertaken after amassing all those works of art. Who knows, you might actually take to liking those things you do everyday. Pretty soon those things will become a part of you and you’ll be addicted to these creative exercises.

Think out of the box — or don’t. Sometimes, constraints are actually a good thing. Limitations discipline you to work within your means. It enables you to be more resourceful. Creative freedom is great, but limitations enforce discipline.

Try something-new everyday and let your experiences broaden your perspective. Read books that you normally don’t read. Give seminars a try. Seminars are beaming with positive and energetic people. Meet and talk to new people. They will broaden your perspective, adds depth to your knowledge database as well. Go a step even further by participating in team events. A powerful team event is a Mastermind group. Great thinkers and achievers have the habit of coming together to exchange and share their knowledge and experiences. Synergy breeds the sparking of new ideas and breakthroughs in life and business. And you are just one step away from thinking at 100 miles per hour.

Remember being creative does not take a good deal of work and time. It can be learned. Remember, also, that it is not about just you. It is about you and the people around you.

Start now. Take your stand and be creative today. Be the next Einstein in the making.

How come that mastering is for everyone

How Come That Mastering is for Everyone

The process of DVD mastering is best left to professionals with large scale business operations. Businesses that want to create high-quality video recordings should have the service of DVD mastering engineers to ensure the production of high quality recordings. Some companies can afford to have DVD mastering engineers in their staff. Small businesses can also rely on the help of Boston DVD mastering services to do the job for them.

People who want to produce a few DVDs for hobby purposes can also complete DVD mastering at home if they have the right equipment. The process of DVD mastering is very timely for someone to do at home if they need hundreds or thousands of discs made, though, so DVD printing services should be utilized in those cases.

For the purposes of a hobby, anyone with the right kind of knowledge can complete the DVD mastering process at home using a personal computer and DVD mastering software. DVD mastering programs are available at Boston electronics stores and online, a great option for people who want to do their own DVD mastering from the comfort of their own homes.

DVD Mastering is a very important step in the production of video discs. DVD mastering is the final polishing and editing process where creative finishing touches are applied to the “tracks” on the DVD before it is sent for DVD replication. DVD mastering uses a wide range of techniques that both refine and finish the video recording before it is ready to be replicated. DVDs must undergo mastering to ensure that the finished product has excellent picture and sound quality.

The DVD mastering process is generally done by professional mastering engineers who work in state-of-the-art studios with advanced DVD mastering equipment. This type of DVD mastering involves a series of steps, starting with the assembly editing, which involves arranging the tracks in the proper order on the disc. DVD mastering also involves making sure the spacing between songs is properly adjusted.

The sweetening process of DVD mastering refines the overall quality of the digital video. Then the intensity and arrangement of the sound and graphics are enhanced so that the final master disc will look and sound much better than the mix. The last step of DVD mastering is where the output is transferred onto the media needed for DVD replication.

DVD mastering programs are often inexpensive and can sometimes be downloaded for free, but these are only useful for very small-scale DVD mastering jobs. Some good at-home DVD mastering features and options that are found in professional mastering software are available, but only one disc can be mastered at a time at home. Mastering DVDs for hobbies is a lot easier and more cost-effective these days with these DVD mastering applications.

Businesses that need professional looking DVD mastering can rely on the service of a Boston DVD printing company. A reputable DVD printing company should be able to complete a large-scale DVD mastering job of hundreds or thousands of discs within a week or less.

For more info about cd duplication or even about cd replication and especially about dvd duplication please review these links.