The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is a worldwide non-governmental autonomous body for setting various global standards for quality management. It comprises of representative standardization organizations from various nations. ISO members are national standards organizations that collaborate in the development and promotion of international standards for technology, scientific testing processes, working conditions, societal issues, and more. Established in 1947, the ISO frames and promotes worldwide industrial and commercial standards.

Accreditation is the process of independent evaluation of entities against specified benchmarks to ensure their excellence and competence. Through the application of global standards, government, suppliers and consumers can gain trust in the validity of the audit, examination reports and ISO certification thus provided.

Accreditation bodies do the accreditation process. On the basis of those clearly defined guidelines, different types of ISO certification in India are conferred to the applicant entities by the Accreditation bodies. These bodies strictly adhere to the directives of the ISO and make sure that the same is duly implemented by the certified entities.

There’s a global federation for all the accreditation bodies worldwide, that regulates these accreditation bodies, which is known as International Accreditation Forum or IAF.
The task of IAF is to check any sort of negligence by an accreditation body while implementation of the quality specifications and carrying out the ISO certification process.

There are specific spheres where the preference is given only to the IAF approved ISO certificate. One such instance is of application for government tenders. Very importantly, the government and administrations approve civic work projects only to the IAF approved ISO certified companies, as they are deemed to be consistently compliant with global quality standards and fit for such works

ISO does not do certifications, its Committee on Conformity Assessment works on the standards related to the certification process. The third-party certification bodies certify conformity that a service, product or system meets the requirements of the ISO standards.

ISO certification process gives an authentic recognition to an organization as regards quality management and efficiency. It should be noted that every kind of recognition is considered authentic or genuine only if it is accredited by a globally recognized autonomous body. The task of accreditation of the business organizations worldwide is carried out by some highly acclaimed institutions called as accreditation bodies.

The organizations pursue certifications in order to:
• Meet the Regulatory requirements.
Some businesses and products require certification that they meet common standards.
• Meet Commercial standards.
When certification is not a regulatory requirement, products and services that are certified to meet minimum standards are a necessity for some industries.
• Meet Customer requirements.
Even where there is an industry-standard or regulatory requirement for certification, some customers such as government agencies, may prefer or require certification.
• Improvised consistency.
Certification can help large organizations deliver consistent quality assurance across business units as well as across international borders.
• Gain Customer satisfaction.
Enterprise customers that use a product or service in different contexts and countries appreciate consistent performance. Compliance with standards can also help the certified organization resolve customer issues.

The certification process for ISO standards varies, depending on the standard and the certifying body. For popular standards, organizations may need to first review and select a suitable certification body.