Running until Christmas, the sale includes discount prices on an extensive range of IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL®) service management titles, PRINCE2® (PRojects IN Controlled Environments) project management books and examination guides.

Alan Calder, Chief Executive of IT Governance, says: ‘Even at the best of times, companies have to compete fiercely to survive and thrive. In the current economic climate, and in the tough times we know will be ahead, this challenge becomes even harder. Businesses become more vulnerable. IT service and project failures can destroy a company’s value fast.

‘Conversely, however, effective technology investment and implementation boosts a company’s chances of sustained success. Deployment of the best practice principles of ITIL and PRINCE2 dramatically increases a company’s resilience.

‘To achieve best practice, though, you need access to top-quality guidance from books that are not always available at budget-friendly prices. That’s why we’re slashing our prices until Christmas. We want to ensure ITIL and PRINCE2 best practice is available to, and affordable for, every organisation. Furthermore, we want to use this sale to showcase ITG’s improved fulfilment service and our reduced UK shipping costs.

‘If companies act now, they can find unbeatable prices en route to service and project management excellence in 2011.’

The complete ITG Autumn Sale range can be found at: http://www.itgovernance.co.uk.

Constantly seeking to develop the way in which the US space and aeronautics agency conducts IT business and service delivery, NASA champions positive changes through the adoption of ITIL Version 3. This strategic evolution is essential to help deliver the outstanding IT services needed by NASA’s scientists and engineers.

NASA acknowledges that the ITIL framework is the agency’s springboard for improving service delivery, mitigating disruptions, increasing productivity and enabling the achievement of IT business objectives. Additionally, ITIL helps NASA to meet the reporting requirements of the US Office of Management and Budget.

As the official ITIL publisher, TSO is delighted that ITIL forms such an essential part of NASA’s best practice IT service management and delivery.

Janine Eves, OGC Contract Manager and Publisher at TSO, says: “We’re thrilled that an organization of NASA’s stature understands the value of ITIL. Whether in the public or private sector, ITIL is the proven solution for IT service management across the world. Earlier this summer, for example, we were able to announce our support for a new project to increase the use of ITIL in China, so we are consistently seeing evidence of ITIL’s global value.”

ITIL Version 3 provides the best practice for modern IT service management. Five titles – ‘Service Strategy’, ‘Service Design’, ‘Service Transition’, ‘Service Operation’ and ‘Continual Service Improvement’ – now form the core of ITIL practice. OGC will continue to update the core ITIL Version 3 guidance through controlled releases in the future.

The Gaochun Nanjing Regional Government has formed a joint venture with Goalsoft (Shanghai) and AIM Tech (UK) Limited to set up an IT Science Park that will include a training centre offering ITIL and PRINCE2 training.

Janine Eves, OGC Contract Manager and Publisher at TSO, says: “There are 13m project managers to be trained in China, so the potential for this initiative is enormous. We fully support the goals of the new centre in spreading the word about ITIL and PRINCE2 across China.”

Representatives of TSO, the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) and the official ITIL accreditor APMG met with a delegation from the Nanjing Regional Government earlier this year, at the Treasury Building in Westminster, London, to discuss the project. The meeting included a presentation from Nigel Smith, the OGC’s chief executive officer, outlining the goals and values of the OGC and describing key commercial products such as ITIL and PRINCE2.

OGC and TSO joined the delegation in the afternoon to attend the ‘UK-Nanjing Business Connecting Seminar on Financial and Creative Industries’ held at the Park Plaza Riverbank Hotel, London.  During the seminar a number of protocols were signed between British companies and various Chinese entities.  One of the protocols signed was to commemorate the Gaowin joint venture that will be responsible for the growth of ITIL and PRINCE2 training throughout China.

Since it was launched in 1989, ITIL has been respected worldwide as an industry-standard source of IT service management (ITSM) guidance. Initially consisting of more than 40 books, ITIL Version 1 covered a variety of IT practices. Streamlining allowed ITIL Version 2 to be released as 10 books and the best practice framework for ITSM. ITIL Version 3 updates best practice for ITSM with five titles – ‘Service Strategy’, ‘Service Design’, ‘Service Transition’, ‘Service Operation’ and ‘Continual Service Improvement’ – now forming the core of ITIL practice. OGC will continue to update the core ITIL Version 3 guidance through controlled releases in the future.

PRINCE2 (meaning ‘PRojects IN Controlled Environments’) is an OGC project management methodology. The latest PRINCE2 edition was released in 2009.

An ITG training passport is a single purchase that can then be drawn on for any combination of discounted training courses and products to be used now or in the future. Each passport brings discounts on:

• every classroom course available through ITG, ranging across the company’s vast expertise;

• every computer-based training (CBT) or e-learning course available through ITG and;

• every examination guide, subject manual or other training material available through ITG.

In fact, an ITG training passport covers every course available through ITG in the UK, from the acclaimed ITG masterclasses in ISO27001, business continuity and digital forensics, through the whole range of professional certifications to the accredited ITIL and PRINCE2 courses.

Alan Calder, Chief Executive of IT Governance, says: “There are so many benefits to one of our passports. You can plan ahead with confidence, knowing the money for training has already been invested and cannot be lost. Equally, the discounts are locked in, which helps you to maximise the value of your budget.

“You also minimise your administration time and cost, because you simply receive one invoice for the training passport of your choice, covering multiple courses and products. We keep a running total of usage, so, at any time, you can identify how much money remains to be drawn on and which bookings have been made.”

An ITG training passport also allows an organisation to keep on top of the latest technologies and business needs. Any new products and courses added to the ITG range during the life of a passport automatically become available at the discounted prices.

The passports offer enormous flexibility. There is no need for an organisation to finalise delegate details until the ideal course and location have been identified. Furthermore, passport-holding organisations access volume booking discounts without having to advance book multiple places or courses.

There are three types of ITG training passport – Bronze (costing £5,000, excluding VAT), Silver (£15,000, ex. VAT) and Gold (£25,000, ex. VAT). All three types cover ITG’s own-brand courses; third-party courses; CBT, e-learning and distance learning; and examination guides, training manuals and training packages/kits.

“The levels of discount naturally depend on the type of passport bought,” concludes Calder, “and we’re talking serious savings. If you hold a Gold passport, for example, you can secure a 30% discount on all ITG’s own-brand courses.

“But it’s not all about money. When you buy an ITG training passport, you also know that you will be served by eager, friendly and efficient consultants, devoted to maximising the benefits of your training. Our coordinators take all the hassle of dealing with multiple training vendors away from you.”

Full details of the ITG training passports, including a breakdown of the discount rates and details of how to place an order, can be found at: https://www.itgovernance.co.uk/training-passports.aspx.

David Wheeldon, Colin Rudd, Shirley Lacy and Ashley Hanna are now working alongside industry-leading publisher TSO in their new roles in the ITIL update.

The task of the mentors is to coach, advise and review the work of the authors updating the five core ITIL publications and the ‘Introduction to the ITIL Service Lifecycle’.

Wheeldon is mentoring the authors working on the ITIL volumes ‘Service Strategy’ and ‘Continual Service Improvement’. He was author himself of several of the original ITIL Version 1 books, joint author of the Version 2 ‘Service Delivery’ publication and joint author of the current Version 3 ‘Service Operation’ book.

Rudd takes on the role of mentoring the authors updating the remaining three core ITIL volumes: ‘Service Design’, ‘Service Transition’ and ‘Service Operation’. Director of IT Enterprise Management Services, Rudd was co-author of the ITIL Version 3 ‘Service Design’ publication and has delivered IT service management (ITSM) training and consultancy worldwide.

Lacy becomes the project mentor, in an overarching role to ensure consistency throughout the books. She will also directly mentor the author of the ‘Introduction to the ITIL Service Lifecycle’ update. Managing Director of ConnectSphere, Lacy was co-author of the ITIL Version 3 ‘Service Transition’ book and she has been an active contributor to the development of international standards.

As technical continuity editor, Hanna will mainly be responsible for ensuring the correctness and consistency of diagrams and definitions throughout ITIL. Hanna will therefore not only liaise with the authors but will also work with the TSO editorial, production and graphic design staff. Hanna contributed as an author to ITIL Version 2 and was co-author of the ITIL Version 3 ‘Glossary of Terms, Definitions and Acronyms’.

The new, updated editions of all the ITIL Version 3 core publications will be released in early 2011. There are no current plans for ITIL Version 4.

Janine Eves, OGC Contract Manager and Publisher at TSO, says: “Choosing the right mentors for this project was a vital task. We needed to find people with experience and understanding of the ITIL materials to date, as well as a knowledge of the ITIL community and environment. As such, we are delighted to welcome David, Colin, Shirley and Ashley into their new roles.

“In each case, there needs to be a strong relationship between the mentor and the author. The mentor is there to support, motivate and encourage, as well as asking questions and providing insights.

“This update process will help to ensure that TSO’s core ITIL Version 3 publications continue to offer the highest quality guidance for ITSM.”

More information about the update to ITIL Version 3 can be found in the ‘OGC Mandate for Change’.