US Uptake of ISO20000 Confirmed

19 September 2010

US Government Agencies to Require ISO20000 Certification from Service Providers

ISO20000 is now a mandatory requirement for all service providers who wish to work with US government IT services.

The US Airforce recently confirmed this when they requested an ISO20000 certification from those sourcing providers involved with their Enterprise Integration and Services Management (EISM) system.

The US Government has put in place several regulatory positions that will accompany their decision to operate with ISO20000.

In order to make sure a service provider remains up to date with ISO20000 and cannot claim ISO20000 certification when they only have one team or one service with certification the US Government has stipulated: "The prime contractor shall have evidence of ISO/IEC 20000 certification throughout the life of the contract, inclusive of options. The Government will evaluate (confirm) the offeror's certification(s) based on the documentation provided in the proposal."

The statement goes on to say: "This certification must be held at the organisational level of the legal entity performing the contract." This makes clear that possession of the certificate must be company wide.

The US Department of Defense have announced plans to publish a Request for Proposal (RFP) in February which, it is expected, will require ISO20000 certification.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology have also intimated ISO20000 requirements for an upcoming proposal and the US Department of Veteran's Affairs has shown a considerable interest in the need for ISO20000 for their upcoming Help Desk proposals.

These developments confirm the uptake of ISO20000 in the US.

Source: http://www.itsmportal.com/news/breakthrough-iso20000-now-required-us-government-agencies