In the midmarket, however, the problem is that ITIL implementation can be pricey and has no definitive end point. So companies can't achieve "compliance" with ITIL as they can with, say, Sarbanes-Oxley or Gramm-Leach-Bliley (although critics counter that they are moving targets as well). This means the cost of ITIL efforts can skyrocket from a hundred thousand dollars to tens of millions, especially when changes require investments in new technology or the redistribution of existing equipment.

For some CIOs, the specter of high-priced expenditures goes hand in hand with a need for consulting firms to manage expectations. Service management-specific solution providers such as Pink Elephant, Service-now.com, Getronics and TraverseIT LLC all help companies implement ITIL.

"Until recently, there were few companies in the midmarket [that] thought about ITIL or even knew what it meant," says Frank Guerino, TraverseIT's CEO and founder. "Before we even get into specifics of how and why this might work, we spend a lot of time explaining the possibilities."