The Complete Guide to IT Service Level Agreements: Aligning IT Services to Business Needs

Andrew Hiles, Hon FBCI, EIoSCM

Jun 2016 · Rothstein Publishing

About this eBook

Most suppliers lose around 16% of their customers each year. The reason? Poor service — whether perceived or real. Any technology-based support service, whether in-house, contracted or outsourced, stands to be accused of being insensitive to the requirements of its customers (or users). Equally, customers of a support service may have unrealistic expectations of what can be reasonably provided. Service Level Agreements (SLAs) can overcome these gulfs. A Service Level Agreement can create harmony between parties and can prevent disputes between customers and suppliers. It can justify investment and identify the "right" quality of service. It can mean the difference between business success and failure. SLAs are potentially a strategic tool to align all support services (particularly IT) directly to business mission achievement. In the past, few organizations used them in this way. Armed with this book and the companion SLA FRAMEWORK, more and more businesses are now succeeding. Where are SLAs going? Increasingly business-focused. Increasingly measured in real-time. Simple documents that cover complex service infrastructures. Providing a competitive edge. Embracing penalties. The brave, who commit to tight SLAs and perform against them will win the commercial spoils. This book provides the knowledge and tools based on fifteen years of intensive development to ensure your enterprise is among the winners.

About the author

Andrew Hiles, FBCI, EIoSCM, is known internationally as a business continuity (BC) practitioner, trainer, author, and consultant to corporations and governments. As a trainer of new generations of BC leaders, he was among the first to provide truly international training in enterprise risk management, BC, and IT availability management in some 60 countries, as well as successfully pioneer BC training in Africa, the Middle East, China, Pakistan, and India. Hiles has authored, edited, or contributed to 15 books and has written over 250 published articles on BC topics for leading international magazines. He is founding director, first fellow, and Honorary Fellow of the Business Continuity Institute (BCI). In 2004, he was inducted into the Business Continuity Hall of Fame by CPM Magazine.