Posted by: Michael Disabato
I've had several dialogues about service level agreements (SLAs). Most of these calls have been about how to create a SLA. Most of the callers overly complicated things. Let's take some simple steps:
1. Define the business requirements. (That's right, network diagrams later.) If you don't have a business driver, just why are you trying to measure the service? For that matter, why are you running the service? Establish a service level consistent with operational and cost constraints.
2. Examine the components of the entire service chain. (No, not yet. Put the network diagram away.) For those of you not familiar with this concept, either read my report on IT Service Management or stay tuned for the next post. Determine how each interact and where the major failure points are.
3. Establish service levels for each component. (Yes. Now. Get that diagram out). Ensure you include minor things like the application and server. And don't claim you're just a network person. You aren't. You're part of an IT service delivery organization and just happened to be good with networks. You're not delivering network; you're delivering a service.
Service Levels aren't all that hard, but they can be complicated. Focus on the SERVICE, not the technology. That's the key for getting from geekspeak to business integration.
Michael
