ISO/IEC 20000 The International Standard for Service Management
ISO/IEC 20000 is the international standard for service management. Part 1 of the ISO/IEC 20000 standard lays out a specification for a service management system (SMS). Part 2 provides guidance on SMS implementation.
On this page you'll find information on the ISO/IEC 20000 standard itself, plus the relevant books and resources.
On this page:
What is ISO 20000?
ISO/IEC 20000 (often referred to as just ISO 20000) is the international IT service management standard that enables IT organisations (whether in-house, outsourced or external) to ensure that their IT service management processes are aligned both with the needs of the business and with international best practice.
ISO/IEC 20000 helps organisations benchmark how they deliver managed services, measure service levels and assess their performance. It is broadly aligned with, and draws strongly on, ITIL
This site offers a wide range of books, tools, professional services and information to assist you with your ISO 20000 project:
Benefits of ISO 20000
ISO 20000 can assist your organisation in benchmarking its IT service management, improving its services, demonstrating an ability to meet customer requirements and create a framework for an independent assessment.
These are some of the most common uses of ISO 20000 by organisations:
-
An organisation seeking services from service providers and requiring assurance that their service requirements will be fulfilled.
-
An organisation that requires a consistent approach by all its service providers, including those in a supply chain
-
A service provider that intends to demonstrate its capability for the design, transition, delivery and improvement of services that fulfil service requirements
-
A service provider to monitor, measure and review its service management processes and services
-
A service provider to improve the design, transition, delivery and improvement of services through the effective implementation and operation of the SMS
-
An assessor or auditor as the criteria for a conformity assessment of a service provider's SMS to the requirements in ISO/IEC 20000-1:2011
ISO 20000 Parts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
ISO 20000, which has two main parts both with the general title Information technology - Service management, enables IT service providers to identify how to enhance the quality of service they deliver to their customers, both internally and externally.
-
Part 1: Specification (ISO/IEC 20000-1:2011) provides requirements for IT service management and is relevant to those responsible for initiating, implementing or maintaining IT service management in their organisation. It provides an SMS specification.
-
Part 2: Code of practice (ISO/IEC 20000-2:2012) describes the best practices for service management processes within the scope of ISO/IEC 20000-1.
ISO 20000 uses the process-based approach of other management system standards such ISO 27001:2005, ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14001:2004, including the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle and requirement for continual improvement.
Organisations can have their IT service management systems independently certified as conforming to the requirements of ISO/IEC 20000-1:2011.
The two mains parts of ISO 20000 are not clear on scoping. They say, simply, that ‘the requirements for a service provider to deliver managed services of an acceptable quality for its customers.’ This is where ISO/IEC 20000-3:2012 comes in.
ISO 20000-3 provides vital information on writing a scope for a service management system (SMS) as well as providing information on implementing an ISO/IEC 20000-1 SMS.
ISO 20000-4 will help you to develop a a process assessment model according to ISO/IEC 15504 process assessment principles.
The final part of the ISO 20000 standard, ISO 20000-5, provides an implementation plan for an SMS that meets the requirements of ISO/IEC 20000-1.
The ISO/IEC 20000 2011/2012 Update
New versions of Parts 1 and 2 of the ISO/IEC standard were released in 2011 and 2012 respectively. Find out what has changed with the update by reading our blogs on the subject:
ITIL & ISO 20000
There is an important and close relationship between ISO 20000 and ITIL, the IT Infrastructure Library®. You can read all about ITIL, and the relationship between ITIL and ISO 20000 in the web's largest library of ITIL and IT service management books, tools, training and learning resources.
Need Assistance with your ITSM, ITIL or ISO 20000 Adoption/Implementation?
If the answer to the above question is yes, IT Governance now offers an extensive ITIL, ITSM and ISO 20000 consultancy service.