ISO/IEC TS 38508:2024

Technical
Specification
ISO/IEC TS 38508
First edition
Information technology —
2024-02
Governance of IT — Governance
implications of the use of a shared
digital service platform among
ecosystem organizations
Technologies de l'information — Gouvernance des technologies
de l'information — Implications de gouvernance de l'utilisation
d'une plateforme mutualisée de services numériques dans les
organisations d'un écosystème
Reference number
© ISO/IEC 2024
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© ISO/IEC 2024 – All rights reserved
ii
Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Overview of shared digital service platform among ecosystem organizations . 2
4.1 The purpose of a shared digital service platform among ecosystem organizations .2
4.2 Governance arrangement of shared digital service platform among ecosystem
organizations .3
4.2.1 General .3
4.2.2 Centralized model .3
4.2.3 Consortium model .3
4.2.4 Open platform model .3
4.3 Consortium model — exemplar of an alliance .4
5 Benefits of good governance of a shared digital service platform . 5
6 Governance framework for a shared digital service platform . 5
7 Governance model for organizations participating in shared digital service platform . 6
8 Guidance for the governance of a shared digital service platform . 8
8.1 General .8
8.2 Strategy .8
8.3 Acquisition .8
8.4 Compliance .9
8.5 Performance .9
8.6 Human behaviour and culture .9
8.7 Data quality .10
8.8 Risk governance .10
8.9 Organizational governance oversight .11
9 Guidance for the management of shared digital service platform .12
9.1 Roles of management . 12
9.2 Considerations for management systems . 12
Annex A (informative) Plug and play architecture of a platform and its ecosystem . 14
Annex B (informative) Use case of shared digital service platform .15
Bibliography .16

© ISO/IEC 2024 – All rights reserved
iii
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical
Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that are
members of ISO or IEC participate in the development of International Standards through technical
committees established by the respective organization to deal with particular fields of technical activity.
ISO and IEC technical committees collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other international organizations,
governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO and IEC, also take part in the work.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are described
in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the different types
of document should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the editorial rules of the ISO/
IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives or www.iec.ch/members_experts/refdocs).
ISO and IEC draw attention to the possibility that the implementation of this document may involve the
use of (a) patent(s). ISO and IEC take no position concerning the evidence, validity or applicability of any
claimed patent rights in respect thereof. As of the date of publication of this document, ISO and IEC had not
received notice of (a) patent(s) which may be required to implement this document. However, implementers
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Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) see www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.
In the IEC, see www.iec.ch/understanding-standards.
This document was prepared by Joint Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology,
Subcommittee SC 40, IT service management and IT governance.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards
body. A complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html and
www.iec.ch/national-committees.

© ISO/IEC 2024 – All rights reserved
iv
Introduction
Organizations are increasingly using plug and play architecture on shared digital service platforms to
develop new digital services that can be adapted to meet future needs. This architecture allows organizations
to add new applications and features to the platform without disrupting the overall system. Using a shared
digital service platform also enables organizations to enhance the value they offer to customers by bundling
existing capabilities with new digital capabilities and forming flexible value networks with business
partners and suppliers.
The plug and play architecture of a shared digital service platform can easily add the applications of
suppliers or other ecosystem organizations. For example, a product manufacturer could monitor product
performance data for preventive maintenance by adding applications from their part suppliers and other
ecosystem organizations.
The plug and play architecture of a shared digital service platform also enables independently developed
applications to be combined and integrated into the platform through a standardized interface, thereby
reducing overall adjustment costs incurred in the platform ecosystem. The plug and play architecture of the
platform enables ecosystem organizations to focus on their work relatively autonomously, which ultimately
helps to lower both application innovation costs and system integration costs borne by the ecosystem
organizations.
The plug and play architecture of a shared digital service platform lays the foundation for platform
participants to innovate the platform through application development instead of the platform owner being
fully responsible for application development and thus platform innovation. The plug and play architecture
of the platform and its underlying scalable technologies, with the option of adding additional elements
[technology for Internet of Things (IoT), data storage, application development, analytics and security],
makes it possible for organizations to dramatically enhance value offered to customers by easily expanding
the organizations’ existing capabilities with new digital capabilities in cooperation with the ecosystem
organizations.
The use of a shared digital service platform creates governance and control issues that the governing
body and management have to ensure are addressed. These include ensuring that there is a clear basis
for governance and a governance framework that provides policies and accountabilities that meet the
organization’s requirements.
This document aims to provide guidance to the governing body of organizations that are accountable for
their organization’s adoption of a digital service platform among an ecosystem organization. Thus, this
document focuses on governance and not on the technologies themselves. The technological and managerial
aspects of a "digital service platform" are only covered to the extent that is necessary to understand the
governance implications of their use.
For information on the technological aspects of digital service platforms and cloud computing, please see
ISO/IEC TS 5928 and ISO/IEC 22123-2.
This document is applicable to all organizations, including public and private companies, government
entities, and not-for-profit organizations. This document is applicable to organizations of all sizes from the
smallest to the largest, regardless of the extent of their dependence on data or information technologies.

© ISO/IEC 2024 – All rights reserved
v
Technical Specification ISO/IEC TS 38508:2024(en)
Information technology — Governance of IT — Governance
implications of the use of a shared digital service platform
among ecosystem organizations
1 Scope
This document provides guidance for members of governing bodies of organizations on the effective,
efficient and acceptable use of a shared digital service platform among ecosystem organizations by:
— establishing a vocabulary for the governance of a shared digital service platform among ecosystem
organizations;
— providing a framework for understanding the implications of the use of a shared digital service platform
among ecosystem organizations;
— guiding governing bodies to evaluate, direct and monitor the introduction and use of a digital service
platform, applying the governance principles of ISO/IEC 38500;
— assuring stakeholders that, if the guidance proposed by this document is followed, they can have
confidence in the organization’s u
...