This specification defines the requirements for an organization to deliver managed services of an acceptable quality for its customers. It may be used: a) by businesses that are going out to tender for their services; b) by businesses that require a consistent approach by all service providers in a supply chain; c) by service providers to benchmark their IT service management; d) as the basis for an assessment which may lead to a formal certification; e) by an organization who needs to demonstrate the ability to provide services that meet customer requirements; and f) by an organization which aims to improve service through the effective application of processes to monitor and improve service quality. This standard specifies a number of closely related service management processes, as shown in Figure 1. The relationships between the processes depend on the application within an organization and are generally too complex to model and therefore relationships between processes are not shown in this diagram. The list of objectives and controls contained in this specification are not exhaustive, and an organization may consider that additional objectives and controls are necessary to meet their particular business needs. The nature of the business relationship between the service provider and business will determine how the requirements in this Standard are implemented in order to meet the overall objective.