APMG-International to Launch New Complementary ITIL V3(R) Qualification

HIGH WYCOMBE, England - APMG-International (APMG) announces the release of a Qualification for Service Catalogue. The qualification initiated by market leaders newScale, headquartered in San Francisco and Pink Elephant in Toronto, Canada, has been developed over the last several months and is the second complimentary qualification for the ITIL(R) Qualification Portfolio.

The Service Catalogue qualification was subject to independent review and scrutiny by the International Qualifications Committee of itSMF International, the leading Service Management movement with 52 different Chapters.

Colin Rudd, itSMFI Director of Professional Qualifications and Certifications said, “The importance of an accurate Service Catalogue cannot be underestimated. Candidates can now gain a recognized qualification in this discipline whilst working towards their ITIL Expert Certification.”

Service Catalogue is a new qualification that looks at new ways to control demand, publish and track service pricing and cost, and automate service request management and fulfilment. Service Catalogue also looks at ways to help reduce cycle time. Implementing workflow can reduce the time it takes to fulfil services, saving numerous hours per request. Organizations can thus reallocate precious staff time to more strategic initiatives.

Rodrigo Flores, CTO and Founder of newScale says “The Service Catalogue is the engine that drives IT Service Management and we are delighted to support the launch of a global certification programme establishing professional credential for this core process. Based on our experience, organisations are saving millions of dollars a year through effective Service Catalogue and this will be critical for organisations as we move out of recession.”

AVP of Product Strategy at Pink Elephant, Troy DuMoulin says, “Having spent many years teaching and assisting organizations in adopting IT Service Management, we’re pleased to be associated with the launch of this new certification. Our experience and client feedback confirms that the Service Catalogue is the cornerstone of any ITIL initiative. We’re encouraged by this exciting development in the professionalism of Service Management.”

Richard Pharro, CEO of APM Group says, “We are thrilled to have been chosen by newScale and PINK to take over the Service Catalogue Certification and to create an international standard for one of the key tools in service management.”

Sharon Taylor, ITIL V3 Chief Examiner says, “qualifications which help further promote specialized knowledge from within ITIL practices will be a welcomed addition to the overall Qualifcation Scheme. We are pleased to continue to offer more choices for ITIL certification.”

The qualification will be developed over the next few months and will be trialled by Global Knowledge, headquartered in Cary, N.C, and PINK Elephant. APMG-International will be inviting training companies to apply for accreditation from September 2009 and, having gone through the rigorous assessment process for which APMG is known, they expect to have a number of training providers active in the market place in the last quarter 2009, first quarter 2010.

Further information on this exciting new qualificationwill be available from APMG-US at the itSMF Dallas event in September and APMG-UK at the itSMF UK event in November. More information can be seen on Rodrigo Flores’ and Troy DuMoulin’s blogs at servicecatalogs.typepad.com/ and blogs.pinkelephant.com/troy.

About ITIL V3

ITIL is the only consistent and comprehensive documentation of best practice for IT Service Management. Used by many hundreds of organizations around the world, a whole ITIL philosophy has grown up around the guidance contained within the ITIL books and the supporting professional qualification scheme.

ITIL consists of a series of books giving guidance on the provision of quality IT services, and on the accommodation and environmental facilities needed to support IT. ITIL has been developed in recognition of organizations’ growing dependency on IT and embodies best practices for IT Service Management.

About APMG-International

APMG-International is an Examination Institute for ITIL. All approved Examination Institutes are assessed by independent auditors appointed by The APM Group in accordance with the principles of international best practice standards.

For more details on our accreditation services please visit: www.apmgroup.co.uk

Source: APMG-International

Further press information: Kate Winter, Kate.winter at apmgroup.co.uk, T +44(0)20-8549-5110