Service level agreement
SLA · A contract defining the service provider's measurable targets, such as uptime and response and resolution times, and what happens if those targets are missed.
- 01
Why it matters
A service level agreement turns vague promises such as “fast support” into measurable commitments. What matters is not only the percentages but how measurement is done, which situations are excluded and what happens on a breach. For critical systems, separate times should be set by priority level.
- 02
Example
A maintenance contract sets one hour for the first response and four hours for resolution of critical bugs, and two business days for low-priority requests. When an outage happens, who responds when is not up for debate.
- 03
Common mistake
Looking only at the uptime percentage without reading response times and exclusions. If planned maintenance and “third-party” outages are excluded, a high percentage means little.
- 04
Related terms
Related services and guides
Let's talk about your project.
Tell us what you need; we will define the scope together.