CU*Answers Network Services, a West Michigan-based technology solutions provider, today announced that it has added ITIL Foundation to its list of growing professional certifications. ITIL is a mature, well thought-out approach for providing IT service management and uses a practical framework for identifying, planning, delivering, and supporting IT services to business. ITIL seeks to align IT to business needs and provides guidance for using IT to facilitate business change. These skills are now available to CU*Answers’ credit unions.

Both Fred Damstra, Manager of Network Engineering, and Nathan Loding, Manager of Client Support and Operations at CU*Answers Network Services, earned the ITIL Foundation level certification. “As we work with various organizations, we often see that IT is all over the map and doesn’t understand the priorities of the business,” explains Fred. “This framework helps set up the standards which will improve the productivity and effectiveness of IT because services are more reliable and work better for business users.”

Implementing ITIL concepts can also drive transparency into the IT budgeting process. Nathan adds, “Having known and manageable IT costs through an intentional service strategy and design allows the business to better plan its finances.”

Network Services is currently refining its internal service management design to more closely align with ITIL concepts and is available to work with credit unions interested in adopting the framework internally to improve their IT service design strategies.