A Service Level Agreement (SLA) defines the measurable service levels a supplier commits to deliver - typically uptime, response times, or quality metrics - with defined remedies (usually service credits) if commitments are missed.
Common SLA metrics
Uptime percentage (typically 99.9% or higher), incident response time by severity, resolution time, throughput, and quality thresholds. Each metric requires a measurement mechanism and a defined remedy for shortfall.
The service credit invocation gap
Service credits owed for missed SLAs are commonly under-claimed because they require the buyer to detect and quantify the shortfall. Structured contract data plus operational monitoring converts service credits from a theoretical remedy into a captured entitlement.
