Delivered virtually in U.S. friendly time zones. Class includes exam voucher.

The ITIL^® (Version 5) Strategy certification class is the required course for the ITIL Strategic Leader designation in the ITIL (Version 5) qualification scheme. This course provides practical guidance for developing, delivering, and optimizing strategies to create lasting value. It helps align technology, investment, and execution with business outcomes, empowering you to act with clarity and confidence in complex, AI-driven environments.

Every organization requires four enabling capabilities which must be well-designed and well-executed for successful day-to-day operations and during periods of transformation. These core building blocks include leadership, governance, strategy, and management. Strategy is defined as a set of decisions and plans that enable an organization to fulfil its purpose and progress towards its vision.

Strategy determines long-term direction and competitive positioning for the organization. During Business as Usual (BAU), strategy guides resource allocation, market positioning, and capability development to maintain competitive advantage. During transformations, it identifies new opportunities, defines target operating models, and reshapes the organization's approach to markets and operations.

This certification course explores how strategy evolves in dynamic, complex, and AI-enabled contexts, and how to maintain clarity and direction. Candidates learn how strategic capabilities shape and deliver value-driven strategy and develop the ability to make informed, conscious decisions in uncertain and rapidly changing settings. This course also explores how to governance, risk management, and sustainability support long-term strategic success and how AI governance enables responsible, value-driven strategy development and execution.

“ITIL (Version 5) Strategy empowers candidates to act with clarity and confidence by ensuring every technology investment supports business strategy and outcomes.” — Course Overview

Audience: ITIL Strategy training is designed for individuals involved in defining and continually adjusting a digital strategy to ensure that it is effective, adaptive, responsible, and sustainable.

This includes enterprise executives and product management and service management professionals involved in defining how the organization uses digital technology and in driving the digital transformation. Related roles include Strategy Managers, Digital Transformation Managers, Portfolio Managers, Digital Product Managers, Service Managers, Practice Owners, Solution Designers, Business and IT Consultants, Enterprise or Business Architects, IT Directors, and C-suite roles. This course is also mandatory for individuals striving to obtain the ITIL (Version 5) Strategic Leader designation.

Course Objectives:The learning objectives of ITIL Strategy include an understanding of:

Key concepts of ITIL (Version 5)
Key strategy concepts including digital strategy, vision, values, digital transformation, and strategy in a VUCA environment
Strategic considerations across the four dimensions of product and service management
The ITIL Strategy Management Model and its two lifecycles: strategy development and strategy implementation
How ITIL integrates with DevOps and PRINCE2

ITSM Academy's ITIL Strategy class includes experiential assignments, GAME ON! An Interactive Learning Experience^® and access to ITSM Academy’s Learner Portal.

Memory exercises, study aids, and games are also included to reinforce key vocabulary and concepts and familiarize learners with the exam question style. They include fill-in-the-blank, matching, and exam prep questions. Some are completed as interactive in-class exercises, and some are utilized as homework.

Enhanced in-house by the ITSM Academy content team, our course covers all the material specified in the ITIL (Version 5) Strategy syllabus and prepares attendees to successfully achieve their ITIL Strategy certification. See the full class outline below.

Course / Student Materials:

Access to ITSM Academy's Learner Portal - my.itsmacademy.com - extends the classroom experience with online content and tools

Digital learner manual (excellent post-class reference)
ITIL (Version 5) Strategy Reference Card
ITIL Strategy Reference Guide
Research Paper - WhatIs? ITIL (Version 5)
Learner Personal Action Plan
Memory exercises, study aids, and sample exams
Instructor-led education and exercise facilitation

GAME ON! An Interactive Learning Experience^®
Participation in unique in-class assignments
In-class exam preparation
Exam voucher, which includes access to the official digital eBook (upon redeeming voucher)
PeopleCert Plus Annual Membership (optional)

Prerequisites:

ITIL 4 Foundation or ITIL (Version 5) Foundation

Even if your ITIL Foundation certificate is expired, you can still attend any higher level ITIL (Version 5) course from ITSM Academy. Every successful pass of an ITIL PeopleCert exam will extend the previous expired certificates to the renewal date of the most recent ITIL PeopleCert exam.

Attend accredited training course (mandatory)
Complete pre-class reading assignment
Familiarity with some aspect of IT management, product management, or service management is recommended.

ITIL (Version 5) certification courses prepare professionals to lead digital product and service management (DPSM) in AI-enabled, value-driven organizations.

Certification: Learners earn their ITIL (Version 5) Strategy certificate by achieving a passing score (70%) on a 90-minute, 40-question open-book examination. Read more about the open book exam experience.

>>Official ITIL publications are available for learners who would like access to the reference materials for their open-book exam. You can purchase them here.<<

Professional Education Hours: Individuals attending this class will earn 24 professional education hours (e.g., CPDs, PDUs, CPEs, CEUs) upon completion of this course. These professional education hours can be submitted to associations such as the Project Management Institute and ISACA, if applicable. Successful candidates with a PeopleCert Plus Annual Membership can log continuous professional development (CPD) points against their certificate in PeopleCert's Continuing Professional Development (CPD) program to satisfy the program’s renewal requirements.

Let's Go Green: Materials for this course are provided as downloadable soft copy files that can be viewed on a variety of devices. Attendees may print a hard copy of the files in whatever format best meets their needs and can use the files under the ITSM Academy Terms of Use as indicated on the material.

Instructors: As with all ITSM Academy training, our instructors are all IT product and service management experts, and ITIL Managing Professionals with years of hands-on IT practitioner experience, enabling them to effectively intertwine theory and real-world stories and scenarios. Utilizing the highest quality content, this training style encourages active group participation. Alumni complete class prepared to pass the exam, but more importantly, with a wealth of practical knowledge.

Course Logistics:

Live, Virtual Classroom: Log in with the instructor and the other students - no travel!
Available through our Courseware Licensing Program
All ITSM Academy courses, including this one, can be presented at your location - Contact Us, or phone 954. 491. 3442 or use the chat below

Learners should only commit to classes they are prepared to attend. ITSM Academy Open Enrollment Class Terms and Conditions.

ITIL^® (Version 5) Strategy Certification Course Outline

ITIL (Version 5) Strategy introduces the core ITIL principles, practices, and terminology that underpin effective strategy development and alignment.

This course covers how organizations can plan, execute, synthesize, and reflect to translate strategy into actionable initiatives and sustained value

Module 1: Key concepts of ITIL (Version 5)

The characteristics of digital products and services
How digital products and services create value
The purpose and structure of the ITIL Product and Service Lifecycle Model
The lifecycle management activities of a digital product
The value chain activities and how they create value through products and services
The relationships between products, services, value co creation, and lifecycle management

Module 2: Key concepts of ITIL Strategy

The key concepts of ITIL Strategy, including strategy, digital strategy, vision, purpose, values, and digital transformation
Digital transformation and the role digital strategy plays in enabling it
The key characteristics of strategy
How strategy operates within a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous (VUCA) environment
Business and operating models and how they connect to and support strategy

Module 3: Strategy Across the ITIL Four Dimensions of Product and Service Management

Strategic considerations related to organizations and people, including culture, structure, and capabilities
How strategy shapes relationships with partners and suppliers and influences sourcing decisions
The strategic role of information and technology in guiding innovation, data use, and digital capability
How strategy influences value streams and processes, including design, optimization, and value creation

Module 4: The ITIL Strategy Management Model

The purpose of the ITIL Strategy Management Model
The structure of the model, including its two cycles (strategy development and strategy implementation) and how they work together

Module 5: The ITIL Strategy Development Lifecycle

The purpose and key outputs of the four strategy development lifecycle activities
How the ITIL Guiding Principles support effective strategy development
How PESTLE factors influence strategy
How internal capabilities and resources affect strategy
Applying each step of the strategy development lifecycle

Module 6: The ITIL Strategy Implementation Lifecycle

The purpose and key outputs of the four strategy implementation lifecycle activities
How the ITIL Guiding Principles support effective strategy implementation
How strategic objectives translate into implementation initiatives
Applying each step of the strategy implementation lifecycle
How execution approaches are selected during implementation planning

Module 7: Sustainable Strategy Management

How strategy implementation balances change with daily operations
How organizations ensure ongoing relevance and success of strategy

Module 8: Strategic Capabilities

The role of leadership, communication, and governance in strategy
How innovation and AI governance contribute to strategic value
How OCM, digital ethics, and complexity thinking support strategic change
How portfolio and risk management guide strategic decisions
How sustainability enables long term value creation

Module 9: ITIL and Other Frameworks

How ITIL and DevOps complement each other across the product and service lifecycle
How ITIL practices can effectively collaborate with DevOps ways of working
Why project management is important when applying ITIL practices
How ITIL can be combined with PRINCE2 to deliver products and services effectively

➤ Press Release: ITSM Academy Announces Launch of ITIL (Version 5) Foundation Training in the United States