How Important Is a Service Level Agreement (SLA) in the Cloud?

A Service Level Agreement (SLA) is the contract with the service provider and sets expectations for the relationship. This contract affirms your ownership of the data you store on the cloud service provider’s system and details the security standards and infrastructure the service provider must maintain.

It also codifies specific parameters and minimum levels required for each element of the service. It should also specify your right to continue or discontinue the service. Why is an SLA so important?

Just as any IT project has a roadmap and clearly defined deliverables, the SLA is critical when working with cloud infrastructure. For an SLA to be effective, it needs to cover certain core criteria.

Availability, performance, security, and disaster recovery expectations must be established. The location of data, access to it and its portability are other prime considerations. Processes such as change management, dispute resolution and an exit strategy should also be included.

Make sure data is secure

A company is responsible for its data and any theft or loss that occurs. If the SLA does not address this, there is no recourse when problems like this occur. How a provider handles security and privacy can be an issue.

Strong user authentication, data encryptions, anti-virus/malware and patching as well as intrusion detection are all essential for handling security and privacy. Many compliance regulations require data to be kept in specific regions with strict privacy guidelines and this must go in the SLA.

In contrast to regular mail, secure mail by GoAnywhere means employees can send messages to recipients who receive an email with a link to the message. They can then download it through a secure HTTPS connection. There is no limit to file size or file type restriction.

Define expectations for both parties

The only way to deal with new, unanticipated challenges is to have a strong set of ground rules from the start and anticipate exceptions. The cloud spans systems, networks and geographies, so challenges can arise on many fronts. They may come in the form of regulatory changes, security threats, or storage and software availability.

As the SLA details expectations and reporting, the provider and the customer know exactly what to expect and their responsibilities. For example, if a customer adds 500 new users, the service provider has the right to push back against the performance baseline originally agreed upon.

Provide recourse for unmet obligations

It makes sense to agree on the level of service for your customers and measure the results. This means that when things go wrong, you still have a minimum level of service which is vital for the survival of the business.

If the service provider fails to meet obligations, the SLA can include consequences for not meeting them. For example, financial penalties, such as credits for service time, may apply if the provider doesn’t meet the guaranteed terms. This can help to protect the stability of the service, protect company assets and hold the service provider accountable.

Outline acceptable performance parameters

The SLA defines the partnership between the service provider and the customer and specific, measurable levels of service. This means they can be benchmarked and if the benchmarks are met, this can trigger rewards and if they are not met, this can trigger penalties.

If customers experience problems, it helps if clear response and solution mechanisms are in place. An SLA should include remediation of incidents and disaster recovery. It should specify how issues will be identified and resolved and by whom and within what time period.

In the long run, an SLA benefits both parties in terms of money-saving and satisfaction, and more importantly, it benefits the end-users.