A survey conducted by research firm Gartner at its 2004 Data Center Conference indicated that adoption of ITIL has grown significantly. Respondents who said they have applied ITIL in their enterprises have risen from 31 percent in 2003 to 41 percent in 2004.

The number is expected to rise further, according to Forester Research, who stated that the adoption of ITIL best practices by IT departments among billion-dollar companies will continue to increase from 13 percent in 2004 to around 40 percent in 2006, with adoption tipped to reach 80 percent by 2008.

First developed in the late 1980s by the UK government, ITIL is a set of books that documented the best practices for the IT departments within the government. The best practice guideline was soon adopted by private sectors in the UK and Europe. Only in recent years has it made its way to the US and Asia.

Drivers for ITIL

One motivator is regulatory: the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. But more importantly, especially among local enterprises, IT shops are turning to ITIL to reduce the cost of providing IT services, said Terry Ng, technology service manager of BMC Software.