Do you need readiness assessment or certification? SAGE Terminal is not ISO/IEC 42001. Understand where each fits.
SAGE Terminal is not ISO/IEC 42001 certification. ISO/IEC 42001:2023 is an international standard for an AI Management System (AIMS), published in December 2023 by ISO and IEC. Certification is performed by an accredited body and is valid for three years. SAGE Terminal operates upstream: it helps organisations assess readiness and identify gaps before pursuing certification. An organisation may need both, and the correct sequence is to assess readiness, identify gaps, remediate, implement an AI management system, then pursue certification.
ISO/IEC 42001:2023 is an international standard published in December 2023 by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). It specifies requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and continually improving an Artificial Intelligence Management System (AIMS) within an organisation. It is designed for entities providing or utilising AI-based products or services.
An AI management system, as specified by the standard, is a set of interrelated or interacting elements of an organisation intended to establish policies and objectives, and processes to achieve those objectives, in relation to the responsible development, provision, or use of AI systems. The standard uses ISO's Harmonized Structure (clauses 4 to 10), so it integrates with existing management systems like ISO 27001.
Source: ISO, iso.org/standard/42001, accessed September 2026.
ISO/IEC 42001 certification is issued by an accredited certification body following a Stage 1 and Stage 2 audit. The certificate is valid for three years, with annual surveillance audits. It provides third-party assurance that an organisation has established, implemented, and is maintaining an AI management system that meets the standard's requirements.
Certification is a formal, external process. It is not something a diagnostic platform can provide or replace. SAGE Terminal does not certify organisations against ISO/IEC 42001.
Readiness assessment measures where an organisation stands across the structural dimensions that determine whether AI can be deployed productively and responsibly. It identifies gaps, scores them, and prioritises remediation. Readiness assessment runs before certification: it tells an organisation what needs to change before investing in a formal AI management system and the certification process that validates it.
An organisation that pursues certification without first assessing readiness risks implementing an AI management system on top of unremediated gaps. The system exists on paper, but the workforce, processes, and infrastructure beneath it cannot support it.
An organisation that assesses readiness but never formalises governance through certification lacks the external assurance that regulators, partners, and customers increasingly expect.
The correct sequence is: assess readiness, identify gaps, remediate, implement an AI management system, then pursue assurance and certification.
SAGE Terminal operates at the Assess and Identify Gaps stages. Certification is a separate function performed by an accredited body.
No. SAGE Terminal is not ISO/IEC 42001 certification, and ARETE does not position it as a replacement. ISO/IEC 42001 certification is performed by an accredited certification body. SAGE operates upstream, helping organisations assess readiness and identify gaps before pursuing certification.
ISO/IEC 42001:2023 is an international standard published in December 2023 by ISO and IEC. It specifies requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and continually improving an Artificial Intelligence Management System (AIMS). Certification is performed by an accredited body and is valid for three years.
An organisation may need both. Readiness assessment identifies the gaps that should be remediated before certification. Certification provides third-party assurance that an AI management system is in place. The correct sequence is: assess readiness, identify gaps, remediate, implement an AI management system, then pursue certification.
SAGE Terminal operates at the Assess and Identify Gaps stages. It helps organisations understand where they stand and what needs to change before they invest in implementing an AI management system and pursuing certification. SAGE does not replace the certification process.
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