BS15000 (“British Standard”) is the only worldwide standard specifically aimed at IT Service Management. It is an integrated set of management processes for the effective delivery of IS/IT Services to the business and its customers. This is applicable to both internally managed IS/IT delivery organizations and to commercial organizations delivering IS/IT Services to their customers and the market place.

BS15000 is aligned with, and complementary to, the process approach defined within the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL®) from the UK Office of Government Commerce (OGC). The Standard was developed by the British Standards Institute (BSI) but the scheme is owned by the itSMF (IT Service Management Forum – International).

For service providers in the outsource and system integration space this will be one of the key marketing advantages a company will have and will enable them to secure more contracts as customers will have the confidence that a BS15000 certified company will be able to deliver consistent and controlled quality service levels.

There is also a compelling argument and competitive advantage for organizations to achieve such a formal certification scheme. The benefits derived from ISO9000x and BS7799 or ISO/IEC17799 are good examples where such certifications have helped to established consistent and reliable products, increased service quality and security assurances to customers, and to establish superior worldwide business leadership.

Whether we like it or not…. BS15000 will become the standard in the world for IT Service Management and will become the “ISO9000” for IT service providers. It has been approved for a fast track approach for ISO and will be officially called ISO/IEC 20000 expected to be completed in mid 2006. Isn't it time for you to get certified?