Most Common Types of Service Level Agreement (SLA)

Define SLA If you enrolled in ITIL training, you do not need to ask what a Service Level Agreement (SLA) is. However, if you have not yet completed an ITIL online course, we will help you. A service level agreement (SLA) is a contract between an IT service provider and a customer.

Service Level Agreement Example, you are a customer of a bank, and the bank provides services. A service level agreement between you and the bank describes the services provided and the service levels at which they will be provided. For example, the bank will allow you to withdraw money from an ATM and the transaction will not take more than 10 seconds. This is an example of a service level agreement and is part of the service level management.

What is an SLA - There are three types of service level agreements that can be documented. Before defining ITIL service level requirements and agreeing service levels through the SLA, the most appropriate SLA structure must be designed. Depending on the services that will be provided to a client or a company, an SLA structure adapted to this objective is designed. Service Agreement Sample is typically signed during the ITIL service design phase of the ITIL life cycle.

Service Level SLA –

The first type of service level agreement structure is the service-based SLA. A service-based SLA covers service for all customers. Keep in mind that the IT service provider offers a customer request service to many customers. In a service level agreement based on the service, the service level of the customer request service will be the same for all customers using that service. For example, if the finance department and the human resources department are two clients that will use this service, the same SLA Template will be valid between the IT service provider and these two departments because it is a service-based SLA.

For example, if the finance department and the human resources department are two clients that will use this service, the same SLA will be valid between the IT service provider and these two departments because it is a service-based SLA.

Customer-based SLA –

The second type of service level agreement structure is client-based SLA. A client-based SLA Agreement is a contract with a client, which covers all of the services used by that client. Consider the relationship between you and your telecom operator. It uses voice, SMS, data services, and various other services of the telecommunications operator. For all these services, you have only one contract between you and the telecommunications operator. Likewise, if the IT service provider provides multiple services to the business and customers, and if all levels of service are documented in a service level agreement for the services provided, this will be a client-based SLA.

Multilevel SLA –

The third and last type of service level agreement is the multilevel SLA. In the multilevel SLA, aspects of the SLA are defined according to the client's organization, using a type of inheritance with global definitions relevant to all secondary levels. This SLA focuses on customer organization. All services and their relationships with ancillary services are used when defining the structure of the multilevel service level agreement.

Maintaining service level contracts is part of Service Level Management. Whenever a service change or the service level objective of a service change, the service level agreement should be reviewed and reviewed. The new service level agreement should reflect changes in service objectives or service levels. Therefore, managing service level agreements are an integral part of the continuous improvement of ITIL services.

Why It Is Important To Have An SLA –

Without a service level agreement, it is difficult to know what will happen if one of the parties does not fulfill its share of the contract. For example, consider that the goal of a telecommunications provider's service level is to answer all technical support calls in 5 seconds and the calls are responded to in just 5 minutes. They can easily say that they never promised to answer calls in 5 seconds if there is no service level agreement. Having an SLA allows transparency about what the service level objectives are and what happens if the fundamental goals are not met. With a service level agreement, both parties are protected.

The main components of an SLA –

A service level agreement indicates what both parties wish to achieve with their contract, as well as a general description of each party's responsibilities, including expected results and performance measures. A service level agreement generally has a period of the duration specified in the contract. All the services included in the contract are described and may also contain details of the procedures for monitoring the performance of the services, as well as the methods for solving problems.

How to set metrics in an SLA –

Service Level Agreements include measures by which the provider measures the performance of your services. It can be challenging to choose the right steps for both parties correctly. The measurements must be under the control of the supplier. If the provider cannot verify that the metric is working to the specifications, it is unfair to hold it accountable for the parameter.

It is also useful to efficiently and accurately collect measurement data. If data can be captured automatically, this is ideal. It is better to have fewer measures with precision than many measures that no one would have time to analyze.

Finally, it is essential to specify a reference for the measures in the service level agreement. This baseline should be acceptable, but it can be adjusted during the SLA review as more data is collected on this measure.