IT certification in Europe

Abstract

The establishment of a European market for IT products requires not only the development of standards but also an adequate system for certification of conformity to these standards. Certification is particularly needed in the area of open systems interconnection to protect users against incompatibility of equipment. Certification of IT products differs from other forms of product certification. For instance test specifications are very often purposely not included in IT standards. In the IT certifications schemes the development and approval of test methods have also to be dealt with. A proposal for a European IT certification scheme has been developed by CEN/CENELEC/CEPT. This proposal contains on the one hand the actions to be taken to set up IT certification activities in particular in the OSI area; on the other hand the organisational structure required to ensure mutual recognition of IT certificates throughout Europe. IT certification will furthermore be stimulated by the EEC funded programme for the development of IT testing services. The main aspects of these developments and proposals will be explained and the progress on the policy discussion will be given.