The IT Service Management standard, ISO/IEC 20000-1:2005 is in the process of being updated.  Dr. Jenny Dugmore’s recent blog on the ITP Report  gives a first hand account of the progress being made.   

Dr. Dugmore makes reference to the results of a survey requested within the ITSM industry for input on changes and challenges to the current standard.  It is exciting to see that the input of the folks in the trenches can affect change.     It is also pleasing to see that integration of other ISO standards such as ISO/IEC 9001:2000 and ISO/IEC 27001-1:2005 are being seriously discussed and actions are being taken to find more common ground.  As Dr. Dugmore puts it   “We believe that knowing what the IT service management industry wants is hugely important.  When planning what we do to the current editions of ISO/IEC 20000 series we should have a clear view of what is needed (and wanted), not what we decide is a good idea.”

With all that is being written lately about the levels of security or lack thereof in cloud computing, I believe a recent article by Bill Brenner, Computerworld is worth reading. 

More precisely Bill Brenner writes about , “……just how perilous the cloud can be.”   In his article, he puts a focus on recent events in cloud computing where he points out ”….the security concerns smart people have been raising for a very long time” and then quotes other people he trusts that also share those concerns.  The article is a good quick read for summarizing the issues, risks, and concerns surrounding this quickly developing technology.

Click here to read this article.

For some time a debate has ensued regarding the development of a business continuity plan by an organization new to this process.  For the most part,  BC models begin by using a business impact analysis and risk assessment to determine the vulnerabilities that the business faces and the level of threat that these vulnerabilities present.  However, as David Honour, editor, Continuity Central states and asks in his writeup on this issue, “Do the standard BC models leave organizations that are developing their first plans vulnerable for too long?”

Please read David’s article along with the comments to the article for helping each of us determine the best answer to that question and review some of the important elements and points raised in that debate.