As far as I know, this it not possible if you purchase the standard directly from ISO or from BSI; however, your local standardization body might have some subsidized rates.
Can the risk be accepted and the control not applied?
Answer: You shouldn't mix the terms here - the ISMS scope refers to which information you are protecting and which information is not protected (it is out of the scope); within the ISMS scope you can decide which controls to apply and which not to apply.
To answer your question - if you have identified a risk which is low and decided to accept it and not to apply the related control, this is something you are allowed to do. The certification auditor shouldn't object to that, but the auditor can object if you didn't take into account all the vulnerabilities and threats, and if you didn't apply the assessment scale systematically. From my own experience, companies very often bend their own risk assessment approach in order to avoid certain controls - this is what the certification auditors are allergic about.
Setting the ISMS scope for data center
Yes, in this situation (where there is a clear boundary) you could set the developers out of the ISMS scope.
Which controls to apply?
Answer: None of the controls from Annex A are mandatory - any control can be excluded if there are no risks or other legal or regulatory requirements; however, it is extremely rare to see a company that has excluded control A.11.3.1.
The control 11.3.1 suggests that I have a system that chaise passwords. Once I apply the control, I have to use all suggestions, or can I do it my way, for example I generate passwords instead of a system?
Answer: There is no such requirement in ISO 27001:2005 A.11.3.1 - perhaps you are reading ISO 27002? In any case, any requirement that doesn't exist in ISO 27001 is not mandatory. This means you can apply your rules as long as they are not conflicting with ISO 27001 and that they reflect your risk assessment.
When I apply a control that refers to another, should I use this one too?
Answer: I'm not sure if I understood your question well, but you have to apply all the controls where there are risks or legal or regulatory requirements. Of course, you can implement couple of controls together.
Certify against ISO 27001 2005 or 2013?
You can certify against the old ISO 27001 2005 revision until September 25, 2014, but in that case you will have to make the transition to the 2013 revision until September 25, 2015.
The point is to assess which resources will be needed when - e.g. you may have 10 employees in your activity, and 4 of them will be needed immediately when the recovery begins, 1 will be needed 2 hours after that, and remaining 5 employees will be needed 24 hours after.
How to implement all policies and procedures for stage 2
I've received this question:
We have passed Stage 1, Could you please suggest how to implement all policies and procedures for stage 2 and what exactly they check on Stage 2.
Answer: At Stage 2 audit, the certification auditors will check if you really operate according to your policies and procedures - so for example if you have written that you will perform backup every 2 hours, then the auditor will check if this is really done so.
So the answer to your question is: you have to observe all the rules you have documented.
Change in risk assessment methodology in ISO 27001:2013
Answer: Basically, there are two changes regarding risk assessment in ISO 27001 2013 revision: (1) it is not required any more to identify threats and vulnerabilities related to assets - you can identify risk in some other way, and (2) you need to identify risk owner for each risk.
As in 2005 revision, there are no requirements on how to calculate risks - every company can develop it's own method of calculating risks.
Process approach in ISO 27001:2013
As long as a standard demands establishment and maintenance of a system of interrelated processes, their implementation, their control based on measurable results and continual improvement, it is based on process approach, in my opinion. Also, the process approach should prove to be an enabler to achieve business objectives, including customer satisfaction/ delight.
Reasonable prices for ISO 27001:2013 and ISO 27002:2013?
Thanks Dejan for such a prompt response! None of the national standardization bodies seem to be offering these standards for the time being. Shall update as soon as I come across a suitable one with reasonable prices.