I have ITIL, do I need KCS®?

2 minute read

Upland Admin

When people first hear about KCS®, they often ask: “Do I need KCS if I already have ITIL?”

The answer is quite simple: “Yes!” And here’s why:

Firstly, let’s remind ourselves of the basics.

ITIL® is a framework of best practices to help IT support organizations align themselves to business needs. It describes processes, procedures, tasks and checklists that can be applied to your organization to achieve predictability and efficiency.

KCSSM – or Knowledge-Centered Support – is a methodology and set of practices that focuses on knowledge as a key asset of the support organization.

So what does ITIL say about knowledge management? Knowledge management is one of the 26 ITSM processes making up ITIL v3. As part of that process, ITIL refers to the primary purpose of knowledge: to improve efficiency by reducing the need to rediscover knowledge and improving decision-making through the service lifecycle. What ITIL does not go on to say, is how that should be done, how to really manage knowledge. This is where KCS fits in.

Although some of the terms and language might be a little different, ITIL and KCS are aiming for the same thing: efficient reuse of knowledge. KCS goes into detail about how this can be achieved, whereas ITIL does not.

KCS provides guidance on topics such as knowledge processes for your agents, how to check knowledge quality, practices for maintaining a healthy knowledge base, and how to measure performance and communicate progress. KCS also provides details on how to adopt the methodology and importantly, how to keep it working well and delivering results for your organization through the different phases of adoption and proficiency.

In summary, ITIL is a framework that recognizes knowledge management as a key requirement in ITSM, and highlights the areas on which a support organization should focus. KCS is a knowledge management methodology that complements the ITIL framework and goes into detail on how to achieve success through knowledge.

If you are looking for knowledge to decrease your time to resolve issues, increase your self-service adoption, improve your customer satisfaction and agent satisfaction – then yes, you need KCS!

For more on this topic watch our insightful webinar, Ensure Your Long-term Success with KCS, co-hosted by Greg Oxton, Executive Director of the Consortium for Service Innovation.

ITIL is a registered trademark of AXELOS Limited.
KCS® is a service mark of the Consortium for Service Innovation™

Author: Laura Yeomans

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