Home » ISO IEC 20000 Certification
The world’s renowned hub for Technology, Silicon Valley, is home to the headquarters of many of the world’s largest high-tech companies. During the World Economic Forum, Marc R. Benioff said, “Speed is the new currency of business.” Companies face the biggest challenge in maintaining their momentum and profitability. Is there any provision or tool to fuel business continuity?
It is significant to safeguard an organization from unprepared incidents or events, such as power cuts, IT breakdowns, equipment failure, and supply chain issues. ISO IEC 20000-certified organizations implement appropriate tools to protect their business and enable it to thrive in the long run. In this blog post, we will learn what is ISO IEC 20000 Certification and how it helps organizations to obtain business continuity.
An organization’s ability to respond effectively to the unexpected determines its capability to survive in the long term. ISO IEC 20000 standard measures an organization’s level of preparedness to maintain critical functions even during a crisis or unexpected incident.
ISO IEC 20000 certification outlines the requirements for a Business Continuity Management System (BCMS). It provides a comprehensive and systematic process for organizations to incorporate adaptive and proactive measures to eliminate the potential factors that might cause disruptions.
ISO IEC 20000 standards follow a dynamic approach to identify the amount and type of impact it is willing to accept following a disruption and tailor a business continuity plan sized correctly for the organization’s needs. It is a set of interrelated elements that provide a holistic framework for organizations to build resiliency and agility.
A Business Continuity Management System (BCMS) is based on the organization’s legal, regulatory, organizational, and industry requirements to ensure that a business is not vulnerable to disruptions. ISO IEC 20000- Certified organizations follow a High- Level Structure (HLS) and incorporate the Business Continuity Management System standard into core business processes to achieve the desired outcomes. It consists of four components.
1. Formulating a business continuity policy.
2. Assigning roles to competent people and defining responsibilities.
3. Defining management processes relating to -
Policy
Planning
Implementation and operation
Performance Assessment
Management Review
Continual Improvement
4. Documented information supporting operational control and enabling performance evaluation.
These components help organizations to determine the needs and the necessity to establish business continuity policies and objectives. It addresses the cause of disruptions to prevent business failure. BCMS standards offer ten clauses that are part of the requirements to maintain consistency.
| TOPIC | CLAUSE |
|---|---|
| Scope | Clause 1-3 Introductory |
| Normative References | |
| Terms and Definitions | |
| Context of the Organization | Clause 4-6 Plane |
| Leadership | |
| Planning | |
| Support | Clause 7-8 Do |
| Operation | |
| Performance Evaluation | Clause - Check |
| Improvement | Clause 10 Act |
ISO IEC 20000-certified organizations follow the Plan-Do-Check-Act methodology that provides a simple and effective approach to managing changes and problems. It is an effective management tool used to improve the performance of organizations.
ISO IEC 20000 is not a sector-specific standard; moreover, it seeks to strengthen the resilience and ability of an organization through the effective application of the Business Continuity Management System (BCMS). A list of organizations that can go for ISO IEC 20000 Certification:
Manufacturing Industry
Construction Industry
Food Industry
Automobile Sector
Healthcare Sector/p>
Educational Organizations
Information technology Industry
Transport and Logistics
Pharmaceuticals
Any organization can become ISO IEC 20000 certified, and the cost of ISO IEC 20000 certification varies from organization to organization. The advantage it offers to an organization outweighs the cost incurred to achieve an ISO IEC 20000 certificate.
In order to maintain compliance with the ISO IEC 20000 certification, an organization requires to keep a check on the following things:
It requires implementing, maintaining, and improving a BCMS
It measures compliance with the business continuity policy
It reviews the preparedness and ability of an organization to continue its services during a disruption
Product is indeed the most significant element of any business, and it becomes essential to maintain business continuity to deliver goods and services to customers. ISO IEC 20000 certification provides tools and techniques for organizations and strengthens an organization’s ability to manage the unexpected.
ISO IEC 20000 Certification sets down the requirements for Business Continuity Management System BCMS. It enables an organization to take adaptive and proactive measures to ensure the survival and sustainability of the core business activities in the long run.
ISO IEC 20000 : 2012 was developed as the first international standard by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for helping organizations develop a Business Continuity Management System (BCMS). The purpose of this standard is to ensure the operational continuity of the business even in the face of external threats, such as catastrophic weather conditions, Cyber threats, and so on. Recently, we have all been witness to the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic for businesses across the globe. Its impact on the global supply chain has impaired the economies of a majority of nations. This has hurt many businesses and even led to the closure of some of them.
By adopting the requirements of ISO IEC 20000, you can make your organization resilient against any such risks and assure your customers and shareholders regarding the robustness of your processes. A Business Continuity Standard – ISO IEC 20000 Certification is proof that your organization has a management plan in place that assigns roles and responsibilities to your staff in order to hold your fort in times of emergencies. The global acceptance of this standard ensures all interested parties that the international best practices have been incorporated.
The business continuity Management System standard consists of ten Clauses. Out of these ten clauses, three clauses are introductory in nature, while the rest seven clauses define the mandatory requirements for ISO IEC 20000 Certification.
Determining the scope of the Business Continuity Management System BCMS and ensuring compliance with all the legal and regulatory requirements. An organization shall identify both external and internal factors that might cause disruptions and affect its ability to achieve intended outcomes.
The senior management should ensure the implementation of the business continuity policy and business continuity objective within the organization. The organization shall assign roles and responsibilities to employees and implement an effective communication system to measure ISO IEC 20000 compliances.
An organization shall determine potential risks and opportunities to design appropriate plans and policies to address them accordingly. It requires an organization to establish its business continuity objectives and formulate policies to achieve them.
An organization requires determining and providing the needed resources to implement BCMS successfully. It shall give necessary training and education to employees to increase their competency. ISO IEC 20000 directs organizations to establish an active and productive communication system.
Clause 8 and Clause 6 go hand in hand. Clause 6 comes in the domain of planning, while clause 8 is associated with the action. An organization shall conduct a risk assessment to detect weak areas and implement significant changes where required.
An organization shall monitor, measure, analyze, and evaluate its BCMS performance. It requires an organization to conduct internal audits to identify non-conformities and eliminate them.
It requires organizations to take corrective actions and implement necessary changes to achieve the desired outcomes. It follows the principle of continual development that promotes the sustainability, adequacy, and effectiveness of a BCMS.
We all have witnessed how Coronavirus has changed the dynamic of world economies and how business operations can be stopped due to incidents or crises. In such scenarios, ISO IEC 20000-certified organizations manage to pave their way and maintain a minimum level of output. Let’s understand the other benefits offered by ISO IEC 20000 Certifications:
It provides a comprehensive approach to ensure a minimum level of production even during a crisis.
ISO IEC 20000-certified organizations save a significant amount of money and time by eliminating the negative impacts of a disruptive event.
It improves cyber security and aligns with ISO 27001 Certification to attain business continuity in the Information Technology Industry.
ISO IEC 20000 Certification compliance protects an organization’s brand value and helps in winning new businesses, clients, and customers.
It enhances an organization’s assets, profitability, marketability, turnover, and reputation.
OUR PROCESS
Step-1
Get Compliant as per the requirements of the standard.
Step-2
Application Form needs to be filled.
Step-3
Certification agreement needs to be signed as per ISO\/IEC - 17021-1
Step-4
Review of documentation, scope verification & site verification.
Step-5
Review of implementation as per the requirements of standard & documentation system.
Step-6
The closure of the gaps identified in the audit needs to the closed.
Step-7
Internal review of the closures & audits done for decision for issuance of the certificate.
Step-8
The certificate is issued with the certification cycle of 3 years.
Step-9
Mandatory audits to be conducted at equal intervals to verify the continued compliances.
Step-10
Renewal of certification after completion of 3 years of cycle.
Our experienced consultants will guide you through the renewal process, ensuring continued compliance and effectiveness of your occupational health and safety management system.
