ISO/IEC 20000 is the international IT service management standard that enables IT organisations to ensure that their IT service management processes are aligned both with the needs of the business and with international best practice. According to the
APMG website, at present nearly 700 organisations worldwide have been certified to the standard.
With companies increasingly relying on effective IT Service Management, it is likely that ISO 20000 implementation will become ever more important both for internal IT services and for outsourced IT service providers.
With its roots in ITIL
® best practice,
ISO 20000 helps organisations to benchmark their IT service management while improving services and demonstrating these qualities to customers. It enables them to align their varying service level agreements and consolidate their services to one internationally recognised best practice standard.
How long does it take to implement ISO 20000?
Alan Calder, CEO of
IT Governance, says, “As with other management systems, the timescale for implementing ISO 20000 depends on the type and size of the organisation and the availability of resources. The key challenges are usually related to meeting the needs of the various departments and functions as well as the demands on technology.”
Calder adds, “Implementation time and unnecessary costs can be optimised if employing people with the right set of skills who are able to plan and lead the project. Additionally, IT service providers need to look at what the most time-consuming requirements of the project are. One of them is associated with creating the documentation that describes the ITSM policies, processes and controls. If they can cut this time by half or more they’ll be on track.”
How can IT service providers get started?
Ensure you read and understand the guidance provided in the
ISO 20000-1 Service Provider Requirements. It details the requirements for the service provider to plan, establish, implement, operate, monitor, review, and maintain and operate an SMS.
Deploy the
ITSM, ITIL® & ISO/IEC 20000 Toolkit in order to ensure a trouble-free, rapid implementation approach that will maximise benefits and will minimise delays and cost.
Book on the ISO/IEC 20000 Practitioner Certificate Course to learn how to design and implement an ISO 20000-compliant IT service management system. You’ll be awarded an industry recognised qualification by APMG International when you pass the associated exam. The next sitting takes place on 26-28 June 2013 in London. There are a limited number of places remaining that can be booked immediately at www.itgovernance.co.uk/shop/p-634.aspx.
For more information on ISO 20000 implementation visit
www.itgovernance.co.uk/iso20000.aspx.