Introduction
This document was prepared
in order to detail the mechanics behind an Service Level Agreement
between a fictitious Company ABC and an outsourcing vendor. Several
specific requirements have been assumed and documented in this article.
You will want to replace the requirements of company ABC with your
company's specific requirements. My goal was to product a template that
other companies could use to begin work on their own SLA.
There are two major
parts to an SLA: the governing document and the process.
-
The SLA Document is usually
legally binding between a company and an outsourcing vendor(s). The
document describes the exact services and service levels, with details
about all agreements.
-
The SLA Process represents
the methods that the outsourcing vendor will use to support the SLA
document. The methods of supporting the SLA document are usually left to
the outsourcing vendor to identify. These processes should be discussed
and possibly identified during SLA contract negotiation. It is important
that both parties understand the processes and methods of support as
well as the management and reporting tools.
The SLA process represents a
third of the total solution. It is up to the outsourcing vendor and your
company to ultimately choose the correct people to manage the systems
and the best technology for implementation. The people involved in
managing the process must also manage the technologies and understand
the importance of reporting and monitoring the entire system.
System management and
service desk automation technology can provide a supporting environment
for tracking, escalation, and management of service metrics. End user
satisfaction surveys can also provide input that will help target
appropriate service levels and cost controls.
Service Level Agreements are
often categorized in the following manner:
-
Basic: A single level service agreement is in place. Metrics are
established and measured, possibly requiring manual collection of data
for management reporting. Objective is to justify the technical support
operation.
-
Medium: The automation of metrics data enables more comprehensive
less labor intensive reporting of service level achievement.
Introduction of cost recovery that maps to market rates and supported by
service level reporting. Possible multi-level service agreements by cost
per services rendered. Objective is to match service and cost levels
with long term goal to increase service levels while decreasing costs.
-
Advanced: Service levels are embedded in overall service desk
processes enabling dynamic allocation of resources either external or
internal to meet changing business conditions. Goal is to provide a
seamless mix of services, costs and service providers at better than
competitive rates. Often enterprises at this level are ready to extend
services to the open market.
For purposes of discussion,
the remainder of this paper examines the considerations of a company
evaluator who must complete an SLA document of the support requirements
for Exchange/Outlook systems. We will call this company “ABC Company.”
The evaluator works with one or more outsourcing companies to negotiate
the final agreements recorded in the document. Recommendations and
suggestions, which are based upon industry standards and project
management experience, are provided throughout.
Objectives
The primary objective of the
SLA document is to correctly identify the support requirements for
Company ABC in regards to supporting the Outlook/Exchange
infrastructure.
The ABC company evaluator
alone cannot determine the appropriate details for the SLA. The
outsourcing vendor’s industry experience and project management
capabilities will provide required information and guidance. In many
cases, it will be required for Company ABC and management within Company
ABC to conduct workshops on the issues to determine specific objectives.
Moreover, we should all use our best judgment in collecting ideas and
suggestions from the appropriate people. For example, for specific
questions regarding helpdesk requirements, the outsourcing vendor may
need to be involved in order to correctly identify a requirement unknown
to the Evaluator.
Service Level
Agreement Document
The processes in creating
the SLA are broken down to ease the management of the project. The first
four sections require the input of ABC Company management and, in some
cases, end-user surveys. The next group of tasks may require the input
of the current out-sourcing company in order to ensure all requirements
have been identified. Next, the
evaluator
assembles the data in a document that can be easily read
and understood.
The last sections take place
during the negotiations with outsourcing vendors. Usually, a legal
instrument will be created to bind both parties to a final Service Level
Agreement. While the final SLA will be based upon the evaluator’s SLA
document, it is likely that sections will be added or removed as
negotiations dictate.
|
