ISO 22237: The international standard for data centers
What is ISO 22237?
The international standard ISO/IEC 22237 (Information technology – Data center facilities and infrastructures) lays the basic groundwork for data centers being planned, built and operated in future based on the same principles worldwide.
As the international counterpart to EN 50600, ISO 22237 – together with ISO 30134 – constitutes a holistic approach to describing all aspects of the installation and infrastructure of data centers. This includes requirements for availability and security (ISO 22237-x) and for energy-efficiency and sustainability (ISO 30134-x) of the physical infrastructure.
To date, parts 1, 3 and 4 of the ISO 22237 series of standards have been published. Further parts are available as technical specifications (TS), and will follow successively.
What benefits does ISO 22237 deliver?
International comparability
The global standard ISO 22237 will in future allow better international comparability of data centers.
A meaningful certificate
Providing a criteria catalog (e.g. TSI. ISO22237) allows the simple, transparent and reliable certification of future data centers.
Clear specifications for high-availability data centers
Whether for planning, construction or operation, ISO 22237 defines holistic requirements for data centers.
In future, it will no longer be a case of comparing apples with oranges
As a shared foundation for understanding, ISO 22237 will strengthen confidence in the availability of a data center..
Reliability during the planning phase for new data centers
With requirements for ISO 22237 conformity, data center operators can achieve valuable competitive advantages during the planning phase.
Continuous improvement process
With its two-year recertification period, the certification ensures high quality and a continuous improvement process are maintained.
What are the contents of ISO 22237?
Structure of the standard
The requirements of ISO 22237 are currently divided into 7 parts:
- ISO/IEC 22237-1: General Concept
- ISO/IEC TS 22237-2: Building Construction
- ISO/IEC 22237-3: Power distribution
- ISO/IEC 22237-4: Environmental control
- ISO/IEC TS 22237-5: Telecommunications cabling infrastructure
- ISO/IEC TS 22237-6: Security systems
- ISO/IEC TS 22237-7: Management and operational information
Parts 1, 3 and 4 have already been published. The remaining parts are currently available as a Technical Specification (TS), and will progressively be transferred into officially applicable parts of the standard. The implementation is however expected to take up to 2 years.
The 4 availability classes of ISO 22237
Just like EN 50600 before it, ISO 22237 draws distinctions between the following four availability classes, which relate to the energy supply, cooling system and cabling:
Availability class 1
Data center with a single, non-redundant supply path.
Availability class 2
Data centers with partial redundancies based on a supply path.
Availability class 3
Data center has multiple independent supply paths.
Solution for maintenance during ongoing operation.
Availability class 4
Data center has multiple independent supply paths.
Fault-tolerant, except during maintenance.
What is the relationship between ISO 22237 and EN 50600?
Since 2015, EN 50600 has been providing the planners, installers and operators of data centers with an integrated approach to the planning, construction and operation of a data center. ISO 22237 builds on this, bringing the requirements to an international level. In relation to the parts of the ISO standard already published, the good work of the EN 50600 committee is reflected in the fact that the requirements have been adopted into the ISO standard practically unchanged from the EN standard.
The two standards compared:
ISO/IEC 22237 | EN 50600 | Topic |
ISO/IEC 22237-1 | EN 50600-1 | General concepts |
ISO/IEC TS 22237-2 | EN 50600-2-1 | Building construction |
ISO/IEC 22237-3 | EN 50600-2-2 | Power distribution |
ISO/IEC 22237-4 | EN 50600-2-3 | Environmental control |
ISO/IEC TS 22237-5 | EN 50600-2-4 | Telecommunications cabling infrastructure |
ISO/IEC TS 22237-6 | EN 50600-2-5 | Security systems |
ISO/IEC TS 22237-7 | EN 50600-3-1 | Management and operational information |
What services does TÜViT offer relating to ISO 22237?
Even though ISO 22237 is only thus far available in part, not yet having been published in full, we can already confirm conformity with the standard on the basis of our existing criteria catalogs. In this respect, we benefit in particular from our active participation in the standardization committee, which enables us to continuously develop and update our TÜViT criteria catalogs.
In preparation for certification under ISO 22237, we provide:
Workshops on requirements & assessment considerations
Concept & planning assessment
Conformity assessments /
gap analyses
Certification under
TSI.EN50600
Do you still have specific questions on ISO 22237, our services, or individual solutions?
We look forward to your inquiry!
FAQ - Frequently asked questions at a glance
Because parts of ISO 22237 are still available only in the form of a Technical Specification and the standard is therefore still in the coordination process, corresponding certification is not yet possible.
However, TÜViT’s own TSI.STANDARD already allows you to optimize your preparations today for certification under ISO 22237. This is because this builds on the requirements of the international standard, allowing us to confirm that you are on the right path for ISO 22237.
ISO 22237 can be considered a supplement to ISO 27001.
While ISO 22237 focuses on the quality and availability of an infrastructure facility, ISO 27001 focuses on general information security and serves as a guideline for the structure of an information security management system (ISMS).
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