What is a Service Level Agreement?
A Service Level Agreement is a document that defines the obligations that a service provider and a client have to each other. Usually, the document outlines key details of the service provided, such as the service level (minimum quality of service as agreed upon by the parties), service credit, and the expected incident response times. The agreement also includes key performance Indicators, which serve as a benchmark for the parties to know that the service is being provided as agreed. A Service Level Agreement can stand on its own, or it can be used as a supplement to a Master Services Agreement or a Statement of Work.
When to use a Service Level Agreement:
- You would like to set a benchmark for service quality.
- You would like to agree to a certain amount of uptime.
- You would like to set expectations for customer support.