ISO/IEC 20000 is the international ITSM (IT service management) standard. It allows IT departments to ensure that their ITSM processes are in line with the needs of the business as well as international best practices. The ISO 20000 standard aids organizations and businesses in benchmarking their managed service delivery, measuring service levels, and evaluating their performance.
ISO/IEC 20000 was first developed in 2005 and subsequently revised in 2011 and 2018. The latest version which is globally used is ISO/IEC 20000:2018.
The New Version ISO/IEC 20000:2018
The High-level Structure (HLS) has been redesigned in the latest edition of ISO/IEC 20000:2018 to better align and interact with other ISO management system standards, such as ISO 27001 which is the Information Security Management System (ISMS) standard.
The HLS specifies the needs of service management processes. The operational processes are divided into seven categories that encompass the complete lifecycle of service creation, delivery, and support, as well as internal and external interactions with customers and suppliers. The structure of the SMS as well as the terms used for its components, however, are not covered by the ISO/IEC 20000:2018.
The Main Differences between the Old and New Version of ISO/IEC 20000
According to Segovia (2019), there is a lot of changes in the new version of ISO/IEC 20000, but some of the most relevant are the following.
1. The Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle is not mentioned in the ISO/IEC 20000:2018 standard; however, businesses and organizations can continue to use it, as long as they keep in mind that it is not the only model for continuous improvement.
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2. Processes for continuity management and availability management are separate in ISO/IEC 20000:2018. It also applies for incident management and service requests (both processes are unified in ISO/IEC 20000:2011).
3. The number of mandatory documents has been reduced in ISO/IEC 20000:2018. A "mandated document" is a document that contains information that is required. The SMS scope, for example, is a mandatory document in the ISO 20000-1 standard, which implies that we need a document with information about the SMS scope.
4. The process about service reports is modified completely. In ISO/IEC 20000:2018, it is not a process, but it is a point in the section “9 Evaluation,” and doesn’t elaborate the information required to be included in the reports.
5. ISO/IEC 20000 has the section “4.2 Governance of processes operated by other parties,” while ISO/IEC 20000:2018 has the section “8.2.3 Control of parties involved in the service lifecycle.”
What 2018 Revision Brings to the SMS
The updates of ISO/IEC 20000:2018 brings 5 main benefits for organizations or businesses who implement it in their ITSM which are as follows.
1. ISO 20000:2018 is easier to integrate with other ISO standards.
2. ISO 20000:2018 provides competitive differentiation by demonstrating reliability and high service quality.
3. ISO 20000:2018 enforce a measurable level of effectiveness and a culture of continuous improvement.
4. ISO 20000:2018 decreases costs of complying with many laws and standards.
5. ISO 20000:2018 assists in the implementation of ITIL practices to optimize resources and processes.
Every business and organization surely aim to have excellent customers’ satisfaction. In this digital transformation era, IT holds an important role in realizing the excellent service for customer. ISO/IEC 20000:2018 aims to provide a clear set of best practice requirements to help businesses and organizations deliver consistent and robust services that continue to evolve with the demands of customers.
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Reference:
IT Governance Ltd. (n.d.). ISO 20000 | International IT Service Management Standard | IT Governance UK. https://www.itgovernance.co.uk/iso20000
Segovia, A. J. (2019, May 9). ISO 20000 version 2018 vs. 2011: Main changes [Infographic]. 20000Academy. https://advisera.com/20000academy/blog/2019/05/09/iso-20000-version-2018-vs-2011-main-changes-infographic/
