ISO 20000-1:2018: Understanding IT Service Management Certification

IT Service Management System (ITSMS) is becoming increasingly important for organizations across industries as they rely more on technology for their operations. An ISO 20000-1:2018 certification demonstrates that an organization has implemented a robust ITSMS as per international best practices. ISO 20000-1:2018 is the latest version that outlines requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining and continually improving an IT Service Management System. In this article, you will understand what ISO 20000-1:2018 Certification involves and how it can benefit Indian organizations.

Understanding the Standard 

ISO 20000-1:2018 provides a framework for the effective management of IT services. It focuses on delivering value to customers through effective planning, design, transition, delivery as well as improvement of IT services. The standard covers 10 key processes:

1. Service Level Management: Service Level Management is a key process defined in ISO 20000-1:2018. It involves establishing service level agreements with customers to formally define the level of service that will be provided. This includes details such as the agreed upon service hours, response in addition to resolution times for incidents as well as service requests. 
2. Supply Chain Management: Supply Chain Management involves the effective governance of all third-party relationships that contribute to internal or external IT service delivery. The standard requires the organization to establish processes for evaluating along with selecting suppliers based on their ability to meet requirements. 
3. Financial Management: Financial Management refers to establishing robust systems and procedures for budget planning, accounting, cost analysis as well as chargeback/billing activities related to IT services. This includes cost modelling and budgeting for new in addition to existing services, tracking actual spending against approved budgets, ensuring correct allocation of costs according to governance guidelines, as well as accurate chargeback of appropriate service usage charges to customers through defined billing cycles.
4. Capacity Management: Capacity Management aims to ensure sufficient IT infrastructure, technology, human resources and environmental resources are in place to meet current and future business demands and service level agreements. 
5. IT Service Continuity Management: IT Service Continuity Management refers to the organization’s ability to prevent, mitigate and recover from disruptions that could impact the delivery of IT services. The standard requires documented business continuity and disaster recovery plans to be developed, maintained and tested on a regular basis.

Benefits of Certification

Here are some key benefits of achieving ISO 20000-1:2018 Certification for an Information Security Services Management System:

• Demonstrates a robust and standardized ITSMS: The certification verifies that your ITSMS processes, documentation, roles as well as responsibilities meet best practice guidelines. It ensures a strong framework for effective service management.
• Improves service quality and customer satisfaction: Following the ISO 20000-1:2018 standard helps deliver more consistent IT services as per agreed service levels. This enhances customer experience along with satisfaction. 
• Gains customer and market trust: Certification builds confidence that your ITSMS is reliable as well as well-managed. It helps win more business from clients requiring ISO certified vendors.
• Proves credibility to potential clients: The certification accredited by a reputed accreditation body like IAF provides more credibility for international clients in addition to prospects. 

Certification Process

The first step in the certification process is a gap analysis. The organization assesses its current ITSMS practices as well as processes against the requirements of ISO 20000-1:2018 standard. This helps identify any gaps or areas of non-conformance. Based on the gap analysis report, the organization establishes the necessary documented processes, procedures, roles and responsibilities as prescribed by the standard. It assigns owners for each process along with provides training to relevant employees on how the new system will operate.

Once the implementation is complete, the organization conducts internal audits of all its ITSMS processes to check for conformance with the requirements of ISO 20000-1:2018. This is done before engaging an external certification body to conduct a stage 1 audit. In stage 1, the external auditor will review all the documentation submitted like policies, procedures, audit reports etc. If documentation is found to be satisfactory, they proceed to stage 2 which involves an on-site audit to verify proper implementation of the documented ITSMS in practice. 

On successful completion of both stage 1 and stage 2 external audits, the certification body will recommend the organization for ISO 20000-1:2018 Certification, which is valid for 3 years. Annual surveillance audits are then required in the subsequent years to ensure the certified ITSMS continues to conform with the standard and identify any corrective actions if needed. This helps the organization maintain the certification over the long term.

Achieving ISO 20000-1:2018 Certification with INTERCERT:

INTERCERT assists organizations in implementing an effective IT Service Management System as per the requirements of ISO 20000-1:2018 standard. They provide comprehensive training in addition to guidance on establishing robust processes for all key areas covered in the standard such as Service Level Management, Information Security Management, Service Request Management etc. INTERCERT experts help organizations assess their readiness for certification through gap analysis as well as internal auditing. They then guide the certification process from documentation to successful completion of stage 1 alongside stage 2 external audits conducted by the certification body. 

Organizations that achieve ISO 20000-1:2018 Certification with the assistance of INTERCERT reap significant benefits. The certification gives international recognition and validation of best practices for managing IT services. It boosts confidence among customers as well as clients that their IT needs will be fulfilled through a standardized, compliant and robust ITSMS. With INTERCERT’s certification, organizations can gain competitive advantage by demonstrating their commitment as well as capabilities for reliable service delivery.

Certification also leads to greater operational efficiency, transparency along with accountability within the organization. Regular reviews and audits help identify improvement areas. This enhances productivity as well as service performance over time. Achieving ISO 20000-1:2018 status with INTERCERT further assures customers along with auditors that legal and compliance obligations regarding IT service management are properly fulfilled.

Conclusion

ISO 20000-1:2018 provides a globally recognized framework for implementing best practices in IT service management. With technology now being central to business operations, having effective processes to manage IT services can provide significant strategic value. ISO 20000-1:2018 Certification validates an organization’s capability to consistently deliver managed IT services that are secure, in addition to reliable along with aligned to customer needs. Achieving certification through INTERCERT provides the stamp of quality as well as assurance from a renowned certification body. This brings several advantages like improved customer confidence, enhanced operational efficiency, risk mitigation and better compliance.