What is SLA(Service Level Agreement)

A SLA(Service Level Agreement) – SLA stands for Service Level Agreement – is a contract between supplier and customer that stipulates, on the one hand, the specific and detailed service and, on the other, quality commitments for the provision of the service.

This document is necessary to avoid misunderstandings and negligence that could be shielded in the absence of information or documentation. It is about writing down all the commitments such as deadlines, quality of service, exceptions and, in short, any concept that allows the client to understand what he will get, and whatnot, with the contracted service.

What types of SLA(Service Level Agreement) can we find?

Depending on the service we are referring to, one or the other quality indicators are taken into account. Let’s look at the most common examples:

Activity time

It refers to the time when the service will remain available to the customer . Typically, in services such as those offered by an ISP, an availability commitment of, for example, 99.99% of the time is offered – which in a year corresponds to just over 52 minutes of unavailability. In fact, the percentage of availability is usually higher, especially for professional services.

Customer Satisfaction

Help desk services clearly specify – and guarantee – customer satisfaction ratios.

Maximum Time To Complete A Task

This is the time that is required to complete an activity and is usually considered as the average or maximum time. This is typical of logistics and courier services, which can guarantee delivery in, for example, 48 hours, and return the money if it has not been delivered after 72 hours, for example.

Quality of Service

To express a commitment to quality of service, it must be easily measured. This measurement can be, often, subjective by the end customers, as in the case of a customer service department, or a home repair service.

Average Recovery Time Before an Incident

This would be the average time it takes to recover the service in case of incidents that may harm it, cause unavailability or some type of loss for the customer. Logically, the smaller this parameter, the better it will be. Something similar happens, but vice versa, for the average time between incidents.

Also Read : What is Edge Computing?

What should an SLA(Service Level Agreement) include?

• Definition of the service to be provided and quality levels It must be a clear and unambiguous statement, written with precision and simple language.
• Support, help, and advice. You must specify the conditions under which technical support will be given or maintenance will be offered to customers, so that they have their rights in mind, just as the supplier will have clear obligations.
• Data management, confidentiality. It is critical, and more with the new regulations increasingly restrictive. It must be well specified what happens in terms of security of transmission, maintenance, and confidentiality of the data, as well as making it clear if there is a third company involved.
• Guarantees and deadlines. The minimum and maximum deadlines will be established, the expected quality at the end of the tasks … all the necessary quality parameters.
• Clauses on compensation for breach of service. It is important since, in the event that any of the SLA points are violated, the supplier must compensate the customer in some way.