International Committee for Information Technology Standards

INCITS is guided by its executive board. The INCITS executive board established more than 50 Technical Committees, Task Groups and Study Groups that are constantly developing standards for new technologies and updating standards for older products.

More than 750 standards have been created and approved through the INCITS process, with another 800 in development. American National Standards are voluntary and serve U.S. interests well because all materially affected stakeholders have the opportunity to work together to create them. INCITS-approved standards only become mandatory when, and if, they are adopted or referenced by the government or when market forces make them imperative.

Given the responsibilities and the expenditures associated with U.S. participation in international standards activities, INCITS considers participation as a "P" member of ISO/IEC JTC 1, as a declaration of support for the international committee's technical work. INCITS policy is to adopt as "Identical" American National Standards all ISO/IEC or ISO standards that fall within its program of work, with exceptions as outlined in our procedures. Accordingly, INCITS will adopt as "Identical" American National Standards all ISO/IEC or ISO standards that fall within its program of work. Similarly, INCITS will withdraw any such adopted American National Standard that has been withdrawn as an ISO/IEC or ISO International Standards.

INCITS was established in 1961 as the Accredited Standards Committee X3, Information Technology'and is sponsored by Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), a trade association representing providers of information technology products and services then known as the Business Equipment Manufacturers Association (BEMA) and later renamed the Computer and Business Equipment Manufacturers' Association (CBEMA). The first organizational meeting was in February 1961 with ITI (CBEMA then) taking Secretariat responsibility. X3 was established under American National Standards Institute (ANSI) procedures. The forum was renamed Accredited Standards Committee NCITS, National Committee for Information Technology Standards in 1997, and the current name was approved in 2001.