A service level agreement (SLA) is a formal commitment between a provider and a customer that specifies what service level is promised, how it is measured and what happens if it is not met. Typically the remedy is a service credit, not a cash refund or damages.
Why it matters
An SLA tells you what a vendor will and will not stand behind. The fine print decides its value: the measurement window, what counts as downtime, excluded events and the claim process often matter more than the headline percentage.
Example
A typical clause: "Monthly uptime of 99.9%. If uptime falls below 99.9% but at or above 99.0%, the customer receives a credit of 10% of the monthly fee." At 99.9%, you allow roughly 43 minutes of downtime in a 30-day month. Exact tiers and credits differ by vendor, so read the actual contract.
Common mistakes
- Assuming the SLA guarantees uptime. It only defines compensation when the target is missed.
- Missing claim deadlines. Many SLAs require you to file within a limited number of days with evidence.
- Not checking exclusions such as scheduled maintenance, customer-caused issues or force majeure.
- Promising customers a stricter SLA than your own upstream providers give you, so you pay credits you cannot recover.
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यह पेज सामान्य जानकारी है, जिसे हमारी संपादकीय टीम ने लिखा है और दस्तावेज़ीकरण बदलने पर अपडेट किया जाता है। सर्वर और प्रदाता अलग-अलग होते हैं, इसलिए बदलाव पहले सुरक्षित तरीके से जाँचें। देखें: संपादकीय नीति और अस्वीकरण.