Service Level Agreements with Managed (IT) Service Providers

What Service Level Agreements (SLAs) should your organization look for in a Managed Service Provider (MSP)? Fundamentally, the SLA should provide and define specific details of the agreement in terms of what is covered, how, when, and by whom.

What is a Service Level Agreement (SLA)?

SLAs hold MSPs accountable when delivering an expected standard of IT Services. The core goal of an SLA between a company and the provider is to outline both parties' payment structure and service responsibilities. And that includes specifically defining and documenting exactly what services the MSP will offer, including:

• The hardware and software being covered
• Details of the monitoring services (if applicable)
• Troubleshooting services in emergency situations
• Response times
• Revision and Termination, and more.