The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations.

Founded on 23 February 1947, the organization promotes worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial standards. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and as of March 2017 works in 162 countries. It was one of the first organizations granted general consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

ISO, the International Organization for Standardization, is an independent, non-governmental organization, the members of which are the standards organizations of the 163 member countries. It is the world's largest developer of voluntary international standards and facilitates world trade by providing common standards between nations. Over twenty thousand standards have been set covering everything from manufactured products and technology to food safety, agriculture and healthcare.

98% of companies with ISO certification rated it either a good or very good investment, according to a 2009 United Nations survey.A 2012 review of 82 studies on ISO found that certification had “clear benefits” in terms of operations, customer satisfaction and employee engagement.

Bellow are benifits of ISO certification

• Promotes best practices—ISO and other standards give you access to internationally recognized best practices across your business. Standards exist for everything from quality management to environmental performance, information security, food safety, risk management, and health and safety.
• Helps you become more productive—Adhering to standards requires you to clearly define, document and monitor your business processes. You also need to set objectives for your company and measure your progress. This work is critical to building a lean, productive business.
• Keeps customers happy—Standards help keep customers satisfied by improving complaint management, quality control and client satisfaction monitoring. Research indicates one of the top benefits from certification is reduced customer complaints.
• Improves revenues—Certification can help your bottom line. Three in five companies that adopted ISO increased their revenues, according to a 2015 analysis of 92 studies. The revenue increase was significantly higher than for non-certified companies.
• Opens doors to new markets—Standards gives your business access to new markets. For example, you may be eligible for government contracts that require adherence to certain standards. Or, maybe, you’ll be able to join the supply chain of a larger company or a megaproject. Many standards are recognized worldwide and can increase your credibility with customers in international markets.
• Fosters team commitment—Meeting ISO standards can help you foster a more engaged and productive workforce. Certified businesses report better job satisfaction, turnover, absenteeism, employee motivation and manager-employee communication, according to the 2012 research review.
  The process of certification brings together managers and employees to work toward common objectives, using consistent processes. “Managers and employees develop more commitment to improving the business.
• Applies to all sizes—Certification is useful for business of all sizes, even those with only a few employees. Smaller businesses sometimes pursue certification because of supply chain requirements or when they want to adopt best practices in their operations.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) defines a standard as a "document, established by consensus and approved by a recognized body, that provides – for common and repeated use – rules, guidelines or characteristics for activities of their results, aimed at the achievement of the optimum degree of order in a given context."

Standards serve many purposes, including:

• Determining the fitness of an object or process for a specific purpose or its compatibility and interchangeability with other objects or processes
• Contributing to safety
• Providing protections for the environment
• Providing for product protections against climatic or other adverse conditions

The registered organizations eligible to issue ISO certificates to Companies adhering to ISO standards.