Service Level Management
Establish rules to maintain appropriate service levels
Service Desk simplifies Service Level Management
The Service Level Management feature will allow you to define and monitor service targets. It can also provide alerts and reports on any missed SLA IT targets, enabling you and your team to stay on top of everything and take action quickly when necessary. Without SLAs and a quality SLA management system to help you keep track of your contracts, you might find yourself in a tricky situation with other parties breaching your agreements or your organization failing to provide the pre-arranged acceptable level of service.
SolarWinds Service Desk, an ITSM product, includes this powerful ITIL service level management tool capable of quickly simplifying service level agreement monitoring and informing you of any ITIL SLA breaches.
Improve employee satisfaction and trust
Utilizing a tool that offers a robust service level management system, such as SolarWinds Service Desk, can make a significant difference in employee satisfaction and trust. By clearly defining and communicating the expected response times, resolution procedures, and service quality, SLAs bring greater transparency and reliability. Not only can an SLA management tool ensure any issues are quickly addressed and minimize workflow disruptions for employees, but it can also increase employees’ confidence and trust in their organization’s support capabilities.
Set SLAs and monitor the quality of your services on an ongoing basis
SLA monitoring doesn’t have to be complicated. You can set SLAs with the Service Desk by heading to Setup, then Service Desk, and finally Service Level Management. Find the Add icon on the All SLAs index page, define your SLA rule by filling out the rule fields, and click Create.
Once your SLAs are established, you can continuously monitor the quality of your services. You can view any breaches at a glance on the All Open Incidents index page, making SLA monitoring faster and easier than ever. Incidents will have color-coded timers indicating which items require immediate action.
Establish alerts and create clear reports
Alerts for SLA IT breaches are an essential part of all SLA management solutions, as you’ll be able to tell when vendors aren’t fulfilling their obligations and can speak with them to resolve the problem quickly. In Service Desk, SLA alerts are easy to create. You can fill out the SLA rule fields, define your target, set a timer indication threshold, define the scope, and set an action to occur when an SLA breaches.
The Service Level Management feature can also quickly generate comprehensive yet easily understandable reports, making it easier to determine whether your vendors deliver an acceptable service level. Access to these reports can provide stakeholders with the information they need to make informed decisions regarding renewals, upgrades, or downgrades, based on customer needs and key performance indicators (KPIs). You’ll also know when to contact a vendor about ongoing issues.
Monitor SLAs from the level of each incident
The Service Level Management functionality of SolarWinds Service Desk is designed to simplify SLA monitoring.
The color-coded timers under the SLA Breaches and the Next Breach columns can give you a quick understanding of breaches in seconds. Items with a green timer have not met pre-breach criteria, whereas those with an orange timer have passed the initial pre-breach indicator but have not reached the final pre-breach indicator. Incidents with a red time risk breach your SLAs.
You can also view the time until the next breach, enabling you to prioritize queues according to which tickets will breach next. However, it’s worth noting that recategorizing an incident won’t restart the timer or change the breach date or time, as timers start upon incident creation, not updates.
Get More on SLA Management
Some common FAQs are…
A service level agreement, also known as an SLA, is an agreement between a customer and an IT service provider laying out service expectations for both parties. It’s essentially a contract promising certain service levels to the client—with specific and measurable minimum services—in return for payment. The agreement can be either legally binding or informal, but in either case, the expectation is that the service provider will uphold their end of the agreement.
There are three different types of SLAs, all of which are designed and negotiated through a process called SLA management. The specific contents of the SLA depend on the type of agreement and the services provided in each case. However, the components typically included in most SLAs include:
- Detailed information on the scope of the services promised. This includes detailing the guarantees, priorities, and responsibilities of the service provider.
- Guidelines for tracking and reporting on provided services.
- Procedures for problem management and disaster recovery.
- Information on the customer’s duties.
- Details on the fees and expenses for the services provided, as well as clauses addressing termination of the SLA.
It’s important to remember an SLA isn’t meant to be unchanging. One central element of service level management is reviewing and revising SLAs following any change or update to the service. Depending on the type of SLA you have in place, it may require updates at a different rate than other types.
With an SLA in place, the relationship between a customer and an IT service provider can run far more smoothly, thanks to a clear record of expectations for both parties.
A service level agreement, also known as an SLA, is an agreement between a customer and an IT service provider laying out service expectations for both parties. It’s essentially a contract promising certain service levels to the client—with specific and measurable minimum services—in return for payment. The agreement can be either legally binding or informal, but in either case, the expectation is that the service provider will uphold their end of the agreement.
There are three different types of SLAs, all of which are designed and negotiated through a process called SLA management. The specific contents of the SLA depend on the type of agreement and the services provided in each case. However, the components typically included in most SLAs include:
- Detailed information on the scope of the services promised. This includes detailing the guarantees, priorities, and responsibilities of the service provider.
- Guidelines for tracking and reporting on provided services.
- Procedures for problem management and disaster recovery.
- Information on the customer’s duties.
- Details on the fees and expenses for the services provided, as well as clauses addressing termination of the SLA.
It’s important to remember an SLA isn’t meant to be unchanging. One central element of service level management is reviewing and revising SLAs following any change or update to the service. Depending on the type of SLA you have in place, it may require updates at a different rate than other types.
With an SLA in place, the relationship between a customer and an IT service provider can run far more smoothly, thanks to a clear record of expectations for both parties.
Simplify SLA Management and track the quality of your services on a daily basis
Service Desk
- Establish SLAs and monitor the quality of your services on a daily basis.
- Use built-in reports or create your own to track ticket status, technician performance, opportunities to optimize, and customer service needs.
- Create a consolidated knowledge base to inform your IT solutions, so you can continuously improve your services.