The Professional Framework - IT Services & Best Practices

Setting Expectations: What is a Service Level Agreement (SLA)?

A Service Level Agreement (SLA) is a formal, documented agreement between an IT service provider and a customer (the end-user or business department). It identifies the specific IT services to be provided and defines the measurable standards and expectations for those services. An SLA's primary purpose is to set clear, mutual expectations and provide a standard for measuring service performance.

Key components of an SLA typically include:

• Service Description: A clear definition of the service being provided (e.g., "Email Service," "VPN Access").
• Availability: The percentage of time the service is expected to be operational (e.g., 99.9% uptime).
• Performance Metrics: Specific, measurable targets. For a help desk, this often includes:
  • Response Time: How quickly IT will acknowledge a new request (e.g., "All critical tickets will be responded to within 15 minutes").
  • Resolution Time: The maximum amount of time it should take to resolve an issue based on its priority (e.g., "Critical issues will be resolved within 4 hours").
• Responsibilities: Clearly defines the duties of both the IT provider and the customer.