About ISO/IEC 20000

ISO/IEC 20000 is the international standard specifically for IT service management.  Certification against the ISO/IEC 20000 standard allows service providers to show that they are doing service management well, and have been audited to prove this.

ISO/IEC 20000 defines a set of management processes that form a service management system which can be used for the effective delivery of services to the business and its customers.   The standard is applicable to all types and sizes of service provider.

ISO/IEC 20000 is aligned with and complementary to the process approach defined within ITIL, and is supported by other similar control approaches, such as CoBIT.

What are the Benefits of ISO/IEC 20000?

The benefits for an IT service provider organization working towards and achieving certification against the ISO/IEC 20000 standard are many and varied, dependent upon the organization itself and the business and customers it serves. The key benefits are:

  • To establish an on-going culture of continual improvement and learning within an organization, providing a target to achieve and maintain. Embedding continual improvement in the quality of IT services provided will increase business and customer confidence in the service provider and their ability to deliver
  • To ensure that organizations focus on the implementation of a set of integrated processes and solutions, that are appropriate, suitable and effective in meeting the needs of the business processes, the customers and the users they serve
  • To enable an increased rate of change and improve the productivity of staff, including the use of their skills and expertise. This leads to reduced long-term costs and a reduced risk of being unable to meet business objectives
  • To enable organizations to adopt a structured approach to service management based on best practice guidance.  This will allow the service provider to better understand their business and their needs, their roles and their processes, and improve the reputation, relationships, inter-working and communication with their business and customer contacts
  • To enable organizations to internally assess their processes and activities against international standards as a method of identifying and implementing improvements.  Accreditation to the standard requires that the service provider be independently, externally audited for compliance using a scheme and standard that is internationally recognized and respected
  • For current or internal service providers to demonstrate that they are focused on service managementand the quality of service they provide
  • To exhibit a level of effectiveness in service provision, which may provide a competitive differentiator in a tendering situation
  • For outsourcing and hosting organisations to demonstrate that they are serious about service management and the quality of service they provide and that their processes are effective and have been independently audited as such.

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