Ace the ITIL 4 Foundation Exam 2025 – Level Up Your IT Skills with Confidence!

A 'major incident' in IT service management is defined as an incident that causes significant business impact and requires urgent resolution. This classification is important because it dictates the response and resources allocated to managing the incident. Major incidents typically disrupt critical business functions, affect a large number of users, and can result in substantial financial losses or reputational damage if not resolved quickly.

The urgency associated with major incidents necessitates a more rigorous response process, often involving a dedicated major incident management team, communication to stakeholders, and expedited resolutions to restore services as quickly as possible. This highlights the need for organizations to identify and categorize incidents accurately to ensure effective management and minimize impact on the business.

In contrast to this, an incident with minimal impact on business does not constitute a major incident, as it would not require the same level of urgent attention or resources. Similarly, an incident reported by users does not automatically qualify as major unless it meets specific criteria regarding its impact. Scheduled maintenance events are planned activities and are not classified as incidents in this context, as they do not represent an unexpected disruption to services.