Free consultation

ISO/IEC20000-1

IT Service Management System (SMS)

ISO 20000-1 Consulting
IT Service Management

Make your IT services measurable, deliver to your SLAs, and prove it to customers with an international certificate — for IT service providers and IT departments serving many users.

Core edition (+ Amendment 2024 on climate)
2018
Measurable service level agreements
SLA
Compatible practices available
ITIL v5
Certificate cycle + annual surveillance
3 yrs

What is ISO 20000-1?

ISO/IEC 20000-1 is the international standard for a Service Management System (SMS), widely used for IT services. It sets out how an organisation plans, designs, delivers and improves services to meet its customers’ needs.

The core requirements are clauses 4 to 10; clause 8 covers service operation — SLAs, incident and service request management, problem management, change and release management, and service continuity. The 2024 amendment adds a requirement to consider whether climate change impacts your services.

ITIL (currently Version 5), DevOps and SRE describe practices; ISO 20000-1 is a certifiable set of requirements about service outcomes and management capability. Organisations already using these approaches can build toward certification, since the standard focuses on delivering services against agreements, not prescribing one method.

Deliverables

What you get

  • A service catalogue and a defined scope for the service management system
  • Measurable service level agreements (SLAs) and reporting to customers
  • Incident, service request and problem management processes
  • Change, release and configuration management processes
  • Service availability and continuity plans
  • Team training, internal audit and preparation for certification

ISO/IEC 20000-1

The main groups of service processes

Auditors look for evidence in real tickets and reports, not just written procedures.

Relationships and agreements

Service level management, business relationships and the suppliers involved in delivering the service.

Resolution and fulfilment

Handle incidents, service requests and underlying problems, restoring service within agreed times.

Design and transition

Control changes, new service design and releases to reduce the risk of disruption.

Service assurance

Monitor availability, service continuity and information security.

An ISO 20000-1 certificate means the organisation runs an operating service management system, not that it complies with all relevant data protection, privacy, employment or procurement law. Confirm that the certification scope, service maintenance costs and limits on liability are clearly defined.

Our Process

From day one to the day the auditor walks in

Every project follows these five steps. Timing depends on your size and scope — you’ll get a firm timeline once the readiness assessment is done.

  1. Gap analysis

    Compare your current practice with the requirements and define the certification scope.

    ~2–4 weeks
  2. System design

    Write policies, procedures, forms and a risk register people will actually use.

    ~1–3 months
  3. Rollout & training

    Train your team and build up complete records and evidence.

    ~1–3 months
  4. Internal audit

    Audit internally, fix nonconformities and hold the management review.

    ~2–4 weeks
  5. Certification audit

    We stand beside you through the certification body’s or assessor’s audit until you’re certified.

    per auditor schedule

Consultants cannot issue certificates — certificates come from an independent Certification Body. We help you choose one and make sure everything is ready.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

We already use ITIL. Do we need ISO 20000-1?

ITIL certifies individuals, not organisations. When customers want evidence that your organisation manages IT services to a standard, ISO 20000-1 is the certificate that provides it — and almost all your ITIL processes carry over.

Can it be combined with ISO 27001?

Yes, and it often is. Both share the clause 4–10 structure, and the information security requirements within ISO 20000-1 can reference your existing ISMS.

Do we need a ticketing system or a specific tool?

The standard does not mandate tools, but you need traceable records of incidents, requests and changes. We help configure the tools you have to capture that evidence, or build one if you have none.

Contact

Start with a free one-hour ISO 20000-1 readiness assessment

Address
42/135 Chit Aree Ville 5, Lampang–Ngao Highway Rd., Chomphu, Mueang Lampang, Lampang 52100, Thailand

Call or email us and tell us where your organisation stands. We’ll tell you which standard to start with, roughly how long it will take, and what you need to prepare.

Tax ID
0525568001095