ISO/IEC 20000-1:2018 is the international standard for IT service management systems: service portfolio, SLAs, incident and problem management, change and release, capacity, continuity, supplier management and continual improvement, aligned with ITIL practice. Managed service providers, data centres, software support teams and in-house IT functions use it to win and retain enterprise, BFSI and government contracts where certified service management is a tender condition.
Legal basis: ISO/IEC 20000-1:2018 (voluntary international standard), aligned with ITIL 4 practices; frequently required in MeitY, PSU and BFSI IT outsourcing tenders and in customer master service agreements
Who needs it
- Managed IT service providers, cloud and hosting companies and data centre operators
- Software companies providing support, maintenance and SLA-backed services to enterprise customers
- IT departments of banks, insurers, hospitals and manufacturers that run services for the business and need to demonstrate maturity
- BPO / KPO and IT-enabled service providers bidding for e-governance and PSU contracts
- Companies pursuing ISO 27001 that want service management certified in the same cycle
Documents required
- 1Service catalogue or list of IT services with customers and SLAs
- 2Organisation chart of the IT function and service desk, with roles and shifts
- 3ITSM tool exports: incidents, problems, changes and releases for the last six months
- 4Contracts, SLAs and OLAs with customers and underpinning contracts with suppliers
- 5Capacity, availability and continuity plans, backup and DR test records
- 6Configuration management database or asset list
- 7Customer satisfaction surveys and complaint records
- 8Existing policies, procedures and internal audit reports, if any
Missing something? We help you obtain or regularise supporting documents before filing.
How we get it done
- 1
Scoping and gap analysis
Day 1–10We define the services and locations in scope and assess current processes and tooling against ISO/IEC 20000-1.
- 2
Service management plan and process design
Day 7–30Service portfolio, SLAs, incident, problem, change, release, capacity, continuity and supplier processes are designed to fit your tool and team.
- 3
Documentation and tooling alignment
Day 25–55Policies, procedures, workflows and reports are documented and configured in your ITSM tool so records are produced as a by-product of work.
- 4
Operation, measurement and internal audit
Day 50–85Processes run for several months, service reports and reviews are held, and our auditor conducts the internal audit and management review.
- 5
Certification audit
Day 80–110We attend the Stage 1 and Stage 2 audits, close findings and the ISO/IEC 20000-1 certificate is issued.
If you skip certification
No statutory penalty attaches to the absence of ISO/IEC 20000-1, but service providers without it are screened out of tenders that specify it, struggle to prove SLA compliance in disputes and lose renewals to certified competitors. Missed surveillance audits lead to suspension of a certificate that customers may rely on contractually.
Why MYDA Group
Specialists, not generalists
Environmental compliance is our only practice, so your file is handled by people who do this every day.
Fixed fee, written scope
You know the professional fee and the statutory fees before we start. No surprise add-ons.
Inspection and audit-ready
We prepare your site and team for the board visit or certification audit and attend it with you.
Lifetime reminders
Every condition, return and renewal goes into your compliance calendar with alerts.
Frequently asked questions
Is ISO 20000 the same as ITIL?
ITIL is a body of best-practice guidance; an organisation cannot be certified to it. ISO/IEC 20000-1 is the auditable standard that specifies what a service management system must do, and it is designed to be met using ITIL practices.
Should we do ISO 27001 and ISO 20000 together?
If you handle customer data and run services, yes. The two standards overlap in asset, incident, change, supplier and continuity management, so a combined implementation and audit is substantially cheaper.
Does our ITSM tool need to be a specific product?
No. The standard is tool-agnostic. It requires records of incidents, problems, changes and service requests; a spreadsheet can technically comply, though a ticketing tool makes the evidence far easier to produce.
How long does certification take?
Typically 60 to 110 days, because the certification body needs to see processes operating for several months with real records before the Stage 2 audit.