ITIL Service Strategy – What are Retired Services

Once a service has been used and a contract between a service provider and a client has been terminated, it will likely end up being phased out by the service provider. Retiring a service is a normal event in a service lifecycle.

Retired services are not available for use by present customers, but if they provide a strong and special business case, the service providers can reinstate and revamp the phased out service.

Although these services are fully terminated, the information and data accumulated while it was under operation might prove valuable as they are stored in the knowledge base of the company.

ITIL Service Strategy Questions To Answer

Successful Service providers must have the capability to think, plan, act and enhance their activities strategically.

ITIL V3 guidance, specifically in the V3 Service Strategy Core text, provides guidance on the achievement of strategic goals or objectives that require the use of strategic assets.

The ultimate goal is to transform IT service management into a strategic asset that adds real value to the Service Provider.

ITIL Service Strategy helps Service Providers to answer:

What IT Services should we provide?

Who should we provide these services too?

How do we genuinely differentiate from competitors?

How do we create lasting business value for our customers?

How can we make a case for ROI and other investments?

How should we best define and measure service quality?

How do we choose between different paths for improving service quality?

How do we efficiently (re)allocate resources across a portfolio of services?

How do we resolve conflicting demands for shared resources?


ITIL Service Strategy contains guidance and knowledge from many other disciplines such as operations, engineering, marketing,finance, program management, organizational development, supplier management and process dynamics.

A broad, but direct approach from experienced and qualified professionals is necessary to obtain and take action on the above questions. The answers must form the starting point for a 'body of knowledge' to be created and acted on.