The need for an international standard for IT service management has been evident for many years. As information technology has evolved, and quality service has become a prime business differentiator, it was surely only a matter of time before such a standard evolved.

As is often the case, BSI read this situation very early, and developed their own standard in the late nineties. This was BS15000, which was published in 2000. It was significantly revised in 2002. This was the basis of ISO 20000, which was finally published at the end of 2005.

ISO 20000 comprises two distinct documents: a specification for a service management system, and a code of practice. Together, these form a top-down framework to define the features of service management processes that are essential for the delivery of high quality services.

WHERE TO OBTAIN THE STANDARDS

The standards can be ontained stand alone, or as part of the ISO 20000 Toolkit. We have identified official sources of these and listed them on our ISO 20000 Download Page

ISO 20000 BACKGROUND & INFORMATION

A range of information and background is provided via the pages listed on the left hand menu. These include a potted history of the standards, the contents of the stands and the relationship with ITIL. Please feel free to navigate as appropriate.