ISO/IEC 20000 is the first international standard for IT Service Management. It was developed in 2005, by the BSI Group. It comprises ten sections:

- Scope
- Terms & Definitions
- Planning and Implementing Service Management
- Requirements for a Management System
- Planning & Implementing New or Changed Services
- Service Delivery Processes
- Relationship Processes
- Control Processes
- Resolution Processes
- Release Process.

    ISO 20000, like its BS 15000 predecessor, was originally developed to reflect best practice guidance contained within the ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) framework, although it equally supports other IT Service Management frameworks and approaches including Microsoft Operations Framework and components of ISACA's COBIT framework. It comprises two parts: a specification for IT Service Management and a code of practice for service management. However, ISO 20000 itself is part of a much bigger picture, in that it aligns with ITIL, the IT Infrastructure Library. This relationship is often illustrated via a diagram such as the one below:

    ISO 20000 comprises two distinct documents: a specification for a service management system, and a code of practice. Together, these form a top-down framework to define the features of service management processes that are essential for the delivery of high quality services.