A service-level agreement (SLA) is a contract between two parties — typically a customer and vendor — outlining expectations for overall service quality. These agreements often define clear metrics centered on performance, reliability (including error rates), support response windows, and solution delivery time.
These SLAs often define the vendor-customer relationship — sometimes determining how different business units will interact throughout the contract duration. It also outlines each party's obligations if that agreement isn't met.
How does a service-level agreement (SLA) work?
Aside from the aspects mentioned above, an SLA starts with a deep conversation between a customer and service provider. It requires understanding of the customer's needs, then taking an honest look at one's capabilities to determine if those goals are realistic. This process can involve some deliberation before terms are fully drawn up.
An SLA negotiation may include the following questions:
When does the contract begin, end, or renew?
What services are available, and how are they being used?
What granular service-level objectives (uptime, etc.) are important?
What are the expectations around security and data privacy?
What if disasters strike?
How do both parties navigate early termination or amendments to the agreement?
What penalties or service credits will there be if the agreement isn't met?
A company can't set performance or reliability guidelines without a performance baseline to compare results against, for example. Both parties bring important information to the discussion, and the process should feel as collaborative as possible while teams craft an agreement that's mutually beneficial.
That said, there are three common types of service-level agreements:
Customer-level SLAs – Outlining all services a customer uses, this SLA covers information on those services, and what level of service, performance, or reliability an individual might expect.
Service-level SLAs – Often governed internally, this SLA determines each business unit's responsibilities, how these units interact with each other and the vendor, and what deliverables are expected. This type of agreement can even be fully internal between teams within an organization.
Multi-level SLAs – Complex and intricate, these SLAs cover all facets of an agreement for each business unit within an organization, their relationships with outside vendors, and even rules and responsibilities for individual users. Not all sections of this agreement are relevant to all teams, which means terms and conditions can be flexible enough to encompass specific departmental needs.
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Does HAProxy offer SLAs?
Yes! HAProxy One application delivery platform customers get authoritative, around-the-clock support from the experts in load balancing and security, backed by G2's highest customer satisfaction rating. Our support SLAs define target response times by issue severity, from 30 minutes for critical issues, and our median response time is under nine minutes.
See the full SLA details on our support options page to learn more.