Term · Security & infrastructure
SLA (service level agreement)
An SLA — service level agreement — is the part of a contract that defines measurable service commitments: how available a system will be, how quickly the provider responds to and resolves problems, during which hours support is provided, and what happens if commitments are not met.
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Explained
Typical contents for website and IT support
- Scope: which systems and services are covered.
- Availability target: often expressed as a percentage of uptime per month, with how it is measured and what is excluded (planned maintenance).
- Severity levels: for example, critical (site down, payments failing), high, normal, low.
- Response time per severity: how quickly someone starts working on the issue.
- Resolution or workaround targets per severity.
- Support hours and channels: working hours, 24/7 for critical issues, how to report.
- Reporting: monthly summaries of incidents and performance.
- Remedies: service credits or other consequences when targets are missed.
- Customer obligations: access, contacts, timely approvals.
Setting realistic targets
Higher availability and faster responses cost more — they require monitoring, on-call staff and redundant infrastructure. Match targets to business impact: an online store's checkout deserves stricter terms than a blog.
SLA and monitoring
An SLA is only meaningful with monitoring that detects issues and measures performance objectively. See 24/7 monitoring and website maintenance.
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FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Does a small business need a formal SLA?
A one-page agreement on response times, support hours and priorities is enough for many small businesses, and prevents disputes during incidents.
What does "response time" mean?
Usually the time until the provider acknowledges and starts work, not until the problem is fixed. Clarify both.