ITIL vs. PMP: what you need to know about the industry standards

Regarding project management, professional certifications hold more significance than standard degrees in the current job market. PMP and ITIL are the two most common Project Management certifications. While both certificates are distinctive, individuals are often confused about which to select.

ITIL vs. PMP: what you need to know about the industry standards
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Simply put, the answer to many of these questions varies depending on your profession. 

What's ITIL certification?

ITIL, which refers to Information Technology Infrastructure Library, is a certification program that teaches experts the standard IT Management concepts for organizations. Individuals receive hands-on training and instruction in the basic IT Service Management frameworks. This assists them in gaining knowledge of the best industry practices and standards linked with IT service management. 

After acquiring the ITIL 4 certification, experts are fully prepared with the necessary skills to perform IT tasks and provide better IT and IT-related services to their customers through their firms.

What's PMP certification?

The Project Management Institute (PMI) offers PMP. This certification helps project managers learn the best practices and essential concepts of project management as outlined in the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK)

The PMBOK is an official and internationally acknowledged handbook for project management. The comprehensively structured framework focuses on optimal approaches, procedures, and technologies for various business projects.

What are the similarities between ITIL and PMP?

Before digging into the variations between ITIL and PMP, here's a quick look at the similarities between the two frameworks:

Both certifications rely significantly on a rigorous set of procedures and technologies to assure efficient and uniform execution of activities, leading to an increased project- or industry-wide productivity.

Most PMP and ITIL procedures complement or overlap one another. Thus, by combining the strengths of both frameworks, a project manager may maximize the chances of a project's success.

Although ITIL wasn't initially designed as a project management outline, PMP and ITIL contain significant project management concepts that could increase productivity.

How do ITIL and PMP compare?

There are several distinctions between ITIL and PMP certification that you must consider when selecting a solid professional course for your job, including:

The PMP test covers broad project management knowledge, whereas ITIL focuses on IT service management, implying it's only appropriate for persons in the Information Technology field.

There are no requirements for undertaking the ITIL 4 test, unlike the PMP exam, which demands 35 Contact Hours and a minimum of 36 months /4500 activity hours of project management experience.

ITIL 4 Certification does not expire, but PMP certification requires recertification every three years through the acquisition of 60 PDUs.

The PMP Exam is more challenging than the ITIL Exam because it's longer and has more questions.

Wrap up

Both ITIL and PMP provide enormous knowledge and value. Nonetheless, PMP is somewhat advanced with its consistent application of optimal practices in project management, which is in greater demand in the contemporary setting of generating new income by corporations worldwide. 

However, if you're passionate about IT operations and continuous improvement, acquiring the ITIL certification is a terrific way to broaden your career horizons.