The Future of the Standard
Standards & Support Items
Coming Soon

Standards

The concept of standards being published as related pairs is not new. The 'code of practice' and 'specification' formula is very common, particularly with respect to information technology related standards.


The Future of the Standard

It does not take a crystal ball to work out the short term future of the BS 25999 standard.

The publication of the second part of the standard, BS 25999-2, has added impetus to the adoption rate of the initiative. The fact that as a 'specification' the second part of the standard is suited to certification scemes, makes it a prime driver. Assessment and audit schemes themselves are emerging, and the ball is starting to roll.

As operational continuity is so important to many businesses, the need to demonstrate diligence is already clear. As a suitable framework to lend itself to this requirement, BS 25999 will without doubt prove to be popular.


ISO

If and when ISO become involved is unclear. However, what is clear is that many previous BSI standards in the IT sector have eventually been adopted by ISO: Information Security and Information Technology Service Management being two examples.

There is thus some likelihood that BSI's business continuity management standards may take the same sort of route.