A service level agreement (SLA) is a contract between a service provider and a customer. Defines the level of services for which it is performed and paid for. An SLA between a network service provider and a customer measurably specifies what services are provided, including information about when services are available, the number of users that can be served, support response time, network change notifications, and service statistics. use, and others.
Customers pay for a service because it is needed and they expect the paid service to work properly. Customers want to know that they receive what they pay for and need proof of service delivery. Because high availability is critical, service providers typically provide reports describing application or system performance, regardless of whether service levels are properly maintained and interruptions have occurred for you, due to a reduction.
Many service providers include a percentage estimate of the operating time provided with their proposal. Due to the need for the service, most providers offer an availability of at least 99.99 percent. This seems ideal, but take into account how many minutes a year is. Even 0.01 percent of unplanned downtime can add up and is unacceptable because availability is essential to a business.
Service providers must take responsibility and be held accountable. Service providers have their own options to ensure that SLAs are complied with. However, if the service provided is essential to the business and the company is at risk if the SLAs are not met, a third-party service level monitoring solution must be used.
A service-level monitoring solution should answer the following questions:
- What percentage of the time is the service available?
- How does the service work?
- What is the main cause of downtime and performance degradation?
IT can have contractual commitments at the service level, and SLA monitoring software can help ensure and document compliance. In addition, the values of the user experience can be correlated with the basic components of the infrastructure that support the related service. Up-to-date display of SLA performance and compliance information keeps customers up to date. In addition, SLA monitoring solutions provide reports on historical service-level agreements to make informed business decisions for the future.
An SLA monitoring solution may be an additional expense, but it provides security and ensures that you receive the service you paid for.
