The Tool Vendor tiering model
The Tool Vendors achieve different levels of ITIL accreditation depending on the two main factors:
- The number and a set of ITIL best practices implemented in their tools, which is verified against a set of specially designed criteria
- The number of specialists with relevant ITIL certifications
By achieving higher accreditation levels tool vendors invest in maintaining the relevant skills and certifications of professionals creating software for IT management.
This approach is intended to provide a sound basis for the tool selection process. This will enable end-customers to make more informed decisions and reduce risks due to a better understanding of the market.
| Level | Bronze | Silver | Gold | Platinum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Requirements | ||||
| Number of high-level ITIL designation for team members: – ITIL Practice Managers OR – ITIL Managing Professionals OR – ITIL Strategic Leaders |
1 | 5 | 10 | 20 |
| Number of ITIL practices supported by the tool | 1 | 3 | 9 | 12 |
| Mandatory ITIL practices for the tool | – | – | CMDB | CDMB, SCM and SLM2 |
| Benefits | ||||
| The only official ITIL accreditation | • | • | • | • |
| Using ITIL brand and materials for product sales and promotion | • | • | • | • |
| All-inclusive PeopleCert Plus subscriptions | 1 | 5 | 10 | 20 |
| Special conditions for upskilling | • | • | • | • |
| Access to the Accredited Consulting Partner (ACP) scheme with no extra payments | • | • | • | • |
(1) Configuration Management Database, Service Catalogue Management and Service Level Management.
Software assessment
Tools are assessed against a set of functional criteria, supporting the business needs of modern enterprises:
- The criteria are developed by leading subject matter experts with over 20 years’ hands-on experience in ITSM consultancy and process automation.
- To align with ITIL evolution and technological innovations (including AI, predictive analytics, and other developments), the criteria are revised and updated annually. The current criteria were updated in 2023.
- The criteria evaluate not only out-of-the-box functionality, but also recognize the flexibility of today’s software platforms accounting for further customization based on all sorts of process and organizational requirements.
The actual set of criteria is based on ITIL 4, but PeopleCert is also currently working on criteria for assessing project management tools based on the PRINCE2 framework and DevOps tools.
Currently, there are over 650 criteria for the following ITIL 4 practices:
- Availability Management
- Capacity and Performance Management
- Change Enablement
- Deployment Management
- Incident Management
- Information Security Management
- IT Asset Management
- Knowledge Management
- Measurement and Reporting
- Monitoring and Event Management
- Problem Management
- Relationship Management
- Release Management
- Service Catalogue Management
- Service Configuration Management
- Service Continuity Management
- Service Financial Management
- Service Level Management
- Service Request Management
- Supplier Management
There are mandatory (core) and optional (enhanced) criteria for each practice. To become certified, the tool must fit all the mandatory and at least 70% of all criteria for the assessed practices.
As the software assessment criteria are regularly updated and new tool versions are released every 6-24 months, software tools need to be re-assessed every two years to maintain vendor accreditation.