Simpler, faster and better ISO standards with IT
Date : 7 December 2011
How information technology (IT) can make the development of ISO standards "simpler, faster and better" was the subject of the first IT Forum organized by ISO, the worlds largest developer of voluntary International Standards (nearly 19 000), for its worldwide membership of national standards institutes.
The three-day event (29 November-1 December 2011) attracted more than 80 participants and experts from 35 countries who discussed ITs contribution to achieving ISOs strategic objectives. They also discussed:
IT-related trends that raise new paradigms or opportunities for standards organizations to consider as the ISO community concentrates on its customers, products and processes
How to understand better the IT tools and services that ISO offers, how they affect current projects and will provide improved assistance to customers,creating new standardization products and contributing to shorter development times.
David Ratcliffe, ISO Director of Information Technology and Electronic Services, and Pekka Järvinen, Chairman of the ISO IT Advisory Group, opened the forum. They highlighted the importance of communication and the exchange of experience within the ISO community to make ISO members more aware of the benefits of ongoing IT projects and to encourage them to incorporate ISOs IT innovations into their own work.
Rob Steele, ISO Secretary-General, explained the links between IT and the seven key objectives of the ISO Strategic Plan 2011-2015. "Without IT", he said, "how could ISO develop and deliver standards in the short timeframes needed by customers?"
