IT service organizations that manage multiple service providers may wish to enter into Operational Level Agreements (OLA) that explain how some parties involved in the IT service delivery process interact with each other to maintain performance. While useful, ALS is only an important part of what you need in your distribution system to succeed. Check out our special sales system page to learn more about some of the other common problems businesses face, as well as our management methods. Customer-based ALS It is created by a company for a particular customer that covers several services. A classic example of customer-based ALS is the fact that a large company engages with a telecommunications company for several services. It can contain a guaranteed operating time of 99.9%, on-site engineers, Scale-up – Scale down within a specified time frame, etc. For businesses and consumers, it is essential for the proper functioning and assistance of ensuring that service level agreements (SNAs) are obtained for certain products. Naomi Karten explains in her work on establishing service level agreements: “A service level contract is a formally negotiated agreement that helps identify expectations, clarify responsibilities and facilitate communication between two parties, usually a service provider and its customers.” As a result, ALS serves as a communication and conflict mitigation tool and as a document for managing expectations as a whole. Due to potential misunderstandings and conflicts, ALS should include at least one list of objectives, a list of services to be provided, the duties of the service provider and client, and all means of conflict resolution.
Depending on the type of service, other elements may include: SLAs first became an essential document for IT service providers. The use of ALS developed with the advent of information technology outsourcing in the late 1980s and is now widespread in many other areas, including project management. SLAs are used as a means of controlling the relationship between service providers and internal and external customers.