Standards — A Strategic Business Issue

The basic strategic decision your company must make is whether it wants to follow standards or to actively participate in, and perhaps lead, the standards-making activity in a particular area. Whichever is chosen, a company needs to take a proactive stance to standards activities.

To be effective, a company needs to identify one or more people who have, as part of their job description, responsibility for the management of the company’s involvement in standards. This person must identify the standards development work that may impact the company; participate in key technical work on standards that may impact the company and its products; help to drive the standards development process to reflect the company’s business interests; adopt and implement standards that are consistent with the company’s business direction; and maintain a consistent, visible presence in the standards development arena.