ISO/IEC 20000 is the first standard for IT service management that is internationally recognized, which makes it an important and beneficial standard for businesses and companies to adhere to. The standard is published in two parts: ISO/IEC 2000-1, which describes the requirements for developing and implementing a proper IT management system, and ISO/IEC 2000-2, which describes and explains the best practices and processes to be applied for service management in relation to the IT management system of the business.

ISO/IEC 20000 was originally based on BS 15000, developed by the BSI group, which was formulated to reflect and implement the best practice guidance set by the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) framework. But ISO/IEC 20000 also supports other IT service management frameworks such as the Microsoft Operations Framework and some of the components of ISACA's COBIT framework. Like most ISO standards, businesses and organizations need to be certified in order to be recognized, whereas individuals can be certified as experts in implementing the standard through various exams and seminars.

The aims of ISO/IEC 20000 include the following:

• Achieve best practice standards that are accepted internationally
• Develop IT services that are driven by as well as supported by business objectives
• Implement controls that maintain consistent levels of service
• Integrate processes and technology with the people who work on them in order to fully support business goals
• Achieve compatibility with ITIL for promoting continuous improvement