Siemens IT Solutions & Services announced today that its North American Global Production Centers have achieved a triple crown of ISO certification. Siemens has now officially achieved the following certifications:
-- ISO 9001:2000--Quality Management System
-- ISO/IEC 20000-1--IT Service Management in accordance with ITIL(R)
Processes
-- ISO/IEC 27001--Information Security Management
This triple certification is a rare achievement for any company and reflects a rigorous approach to these three important IT service management disciplines. It also represents a considerable trajectory of achievement for Siemens, which went from a single ISO 9001 certification at their Toronto Data Center to all three certifications at their Mason, Ohio, Toronto and Chicago Centers. In all, Siemens IT Solutions & Services has achieved this triple ISO certification at 65 locations in 17 countries around the world, including 11 out of their 14 Global Productions Centers.
"With this achievement, our North American operations have been integrated even more seamlessly into the Siemens global delivery network," said Michael W. Somers, Vice President, Operations for Siemens IT Solutions & Services. "Collaborating based on common standards in this network enables us to effectively leverage our global capabilities for the North American market."
"These are the three ISO Certifications we set out to achieve as a company and we've accomplished it," said Lisa Davis, the National Director of Quality and Continuous Improvement for Siemens, North America. "Some companies achieve this by dedicating a few people to document process but they are not really lived. I'm confident that we can say that we achieved these certifications because this is 'how we do business'," said Davis.
These Siemens' ISO certifications were achieved by an independent audit conducted by DQS GmbH. Siemens IT Solutions & Services spent a year preparing for the review. The preparation culminated in a 10-day site visit by DQS auditors. The audit focused on highly detailed analyses of the Siemens Global Production Centers in Chicago, Mason, and Toronto and covered everything from verifying the quality and use of industry standard processes for IT service delivery, resolution, control, release and relationship management, to data center security and risk areas such as insuring the use of non-combustible materials in the data centers.
"This is an important milestone for Siemens," said Somers. "The ISO benchmark is an important competitive differentiator in the IT marketplace. It assures our clients around the world that Siemens adheres to a very high set of quality standards. It is," he said, "a strategic and a tactical reality and that quality is reflected in everything we do."
"The triple ISO certification provides Siemens with a unique asset in the IT marketplace. From a customer perspective," said Davis, "this combination of external certifications allows us to integrate quality throughout our service offerings. For instance, we can use ITIL(R) Best Practices to achieve a certain level of quality and then bring in our Six Sigma Black Belts to advance to an even higher level of service."
The achievement of ISO certification is far from an end to the process, noted Davis. While an important achievement, it represents a corporate commitment to quality. ISO-accredited auditors will continue to monitor Siemens processes and procedures to ensure ongoing achievement of their standards. They will conduct at least annual "no-knock" audits of Siemens facilities.
The certifications provide a powerful road map for continuous improvement and assures clients that Siemens adheres to a global benchmark of quality. "That quality manifests itself in the processes and services that we offer our customers," noted Somers. "It provides our customers with a sense of security and requires that we have both internal and external procedures in place that ensure that we deliver what we promise."
