25 Years of Compliance
Expertise, Now AI-Powered
TheArtOfService has helped professionals in 160+ countries navigate compliance frameworks since 2001. Our platform distils that expertise into an AI-powered intelligence system.
Our Story
From Best-Practice Publishing to AI Compliance Intelligence
TheArtOfService was founded in 2001 by Ivanka Menken and Gerard Blokdyk in Queensland, Australia. What began as an IT service management training and publishing company has evolved over 25 years into an AI-powered compliance advisory platform.
Over two decades, we published 1,500+ compliance and management guides — indexed on Google Scholar and cited 275+ times across compliance and IT governance research. Bestselling titles cover ISO 27001, NIST CSF, AS9100, and cybersecurity risk management.
In 2024, we began the transformation: structuring 25 years of accumulated knowledge into a machine-readable knowledge graph. The result is a platform with 2.1 million interconnected data points spanning 692 compliance frameworks,14,190+ controls, and 819K+ cross-framework mappings.
Founded
Ivanka Menken and Gerard Blokdyk establish TheArtOfService in Queensland, Australia — focused on IT service management training and best-practice publishing.
Publishing & Training
Published hundreds of compliance and management guides, serving professionals across 160+ countries. Built a library spanning ITSM, cybersecurity, governance, risk, and compliance.
Platform Development
Began building the AI compliance advisory platform — structuring 25 years of knowledge into a machine-readable knowledge graph with 2.1M+ nodes and 3.2M+ relationships.
AI Advisory Launch
Launched the compliance intelligence platform: 692 frameworks, 14,190+ controls, 819K+ cross-framework mappings, AI-powered advisory, and adaptive diagnostics.
Founders
Built by Practitioners, Not Consultants
TheArtOfService was co-founded by Ivanka Menken and Gerard Blokdyk in 2001. Together, they bring 50+ combined years of hands-on experience in IT governance, compliance, and organisational change.
Ivanka Menken
Co-Founder & CEO
Ivanka Menken brings 20+ years of management consultancy experience spanning The Netherlands, USA, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. With a double degree in applied science and education, she transitioned from teaching to corporate ICT training before co-founding TheArtOfService.
An ITIL Expert and ISO 20000 Expert, Ivanka was a founding member of EXIN's expert panel on quality assurance for the ISO/IEC 20000 certification scheme. She has authored 186+ published works including the ITIL Foundation Complete Certification Kit and the ISO/IEC 20000 Foundation Certification Kit.
In 2016, Ivanka was named one of Australia's 50 Influential Women Entrepreneurs by Inspiring Rare Birds. She has served as Leadership Director for the Entrepreneurs' Organization (APAC) and has been a guest lecturer at Queensland universities on IT Service Management and Organisational Change.
Gerard Blokdyk
Co-Founder & President
Gerard Blokdyk is the architect behind TheArtOfService's compliance knowledge graph and AI advisory platform. Over 25 years, he has built a body of work that sits at the intersection of compliance frameworks, governance standards, and technology.
With 1,500+ published works indexed on Google Scholar and 275+ academic citations (h-index 6), Gerard is one of the most prolific authors in the compliance tools space. Bestselling titles include the NIST Cybersecurity Framework Complete Guide, ISO 27001 Complete Guide, AS9100 Complete Guide, and the Cybersecurity Risk Management Complete Guide.
Gerard led the platform's transformation from a publishing catalogue into a structured knowledge graph with 2.1 million nodes and 3.2 million relationships — enabling the AI advisory engine to deliver compliance guidance grounded in real framework data rather than generalist language models.
The Platform
Built on 25 Years of Compliance Knowledge
Every data point in the platform comes from real compliance frameworks. No synthetic data, no hallucinations — just structured expertise.
Knowledge Graph
2.1 million nodes and 3.2 million relationships connecting frameworks, controls, domains, and assessments into a single queryable structure.
AI Advisory
Compliance guidance grounded in real framework data — not hallucinations. Every answer cites specific controls and standards.
Agentic Workflows
Define a compliance goal — gap analysis, remediation plan, coverage report — and the AI agent executes it autonomously, calling tools against the knowledge graph in real time.
Policy Document Mapping
Upload a security policy PDF and the AI maps its contents control-by-control against any framework, producing coverage reports with covered, partial, and gap status.
Adaptive Diagnostics
824 structured assessments with 1-5 maturity scoring, radar charts, gap analysis, and personalised learning paths.
Cross-Framework Mapping
Compare any two frameworks side-by-side. 819K+ pre-computed control mappings show exactly how standards align.
Compliance Portfolio
Track the frameworks you care about, save cross-framework comparisons, and manage remediation tasks — all from a single portfolio dashboard.
API Access
Programmatic access via API keys for CI/CD pipelines, security tooling, and custom integrations. Manage keys from your Settings page.
Team Collaboration
Create organisations, invite team members, share assessments and self-assessments, and track team-wide compliance maturity from a shared dashboard.
Company
A Real Company, Real Expertise
Registered Business
ABN 19 095 825 308. Registered and operating in Queensland, Australia since 2001.
Global Reach
Customers and readers in 160+ countries. Publications available through major global retailers.
Compliance Focus
692 frameworks including ISO 27001, NIST CSF, SOC 2, FedRAMP, CMMC, GDPR, Essential Eight, and more.
Framework summaries on this platform are AI-assisted interpretations for educational and compliance planning purposes. They do not reproduce or replace the official standards. Refer to the authoritative source for the definitive text. Framework names and trademarks belong to their respective organisations.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What is TheArtOfService?
TheArtOfService is an AI-powered compliance intelligence platform founded in 2001 in Queensland, Australia. It provides 692 compliance frameworks, 14,190+ controls, and 819K+ cross-framework mappings to help organisations map, assess, and manage their compliance posture.
Who founded TheArtOfService?
TheArtOfService was co-founded by Ivanka Menken (CEO) and Gerard Blokdyk (President) in 2001. Ivanka is an ITIL Expert and ISO 20000 Expert, named one of Australia's 50 Influential Women Entrepreneurs in 2016. Gerard has authored 1,500+ compliance publications indexed on Google Scholar with 275+ academic citations.
How much does TheArtOfService cost?
TheArtOfService offers a Free tier with full platform access (no credit card required) and a Professional tier at $49/month with unlimited AI advisory, agentic workflows, PDF policy mapping, exports, portfolio management, API access, and team collaboration.
What compliance frameworks does TheArtOfService support?
The platform supports 692 compliance frameworks including ISO 27001, NIST CSF, SOC 2, GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS, CMMC, FedRAMP, Essential Eight, DORA, EU AI Act, and hundreds more spanning 35+ jurisdictions worldwide.
Ready to See It in Action?
692 frameworks. 819K+ mappings. AI advisory grounded in real data.
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