What are Service Level Agreements for Leased Lines?

Ever since clients were given the benefit of providing feedback, businesses have consistently tried to upgrade their operational management to deliver better results. This mutual understanding has helped businesses reinvent the way they work within and outside their management, resulting in systematic methods like a Service Level Agreement (SLA). 

In terms of telecommunications and internet services, an SLA refers to a contract that is signed and acknowledged by both the client and the service provider. This contract includes detailed requirements of the expected services, the optimal delivery timeline, pricing, and other related conditions of a dedicated internet for business. 

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Importance of Service Level Agreements (SLAs) 

Similar to how a well-structured guide enables a user to navigate an unknown product, an SLA provides the required steps to navigate a set of client requirements. The service providers can deliver the best results accordingly, while the clients will have the guarantee of a dedicated internet line, reliability, and assurance that their business is in safe hands. 

Key significance and importance 

• Transparent goals

SLAs include elaborate details regarding leased line connection services, providing both parties with a clear set of goals that must be fulfilled. This allows them to establish priorities and assign expectations within a timeline, minimizing miscommunication and misunderstanding. 

• Reduced downtime

SLAs include details regarding the expected uptime percentages and offer the required procedures to handle such outages. Since downtime disruptions can be expensive and affect the workflow of the business, having a proper solution reduces the risk of additional issues and helps businesses with seamless operations. 

• Guaranteed assurance

SLAs are legal contracts between two parties that include all the required expectations that must be delivered within a timeline. If failed to do so, service providers are held accountable and expected to face consequences. This assures businesses that their leased line internet needs will be met while providers gain trusting clients after a successful delivery. 

• Risk mitigation

SLAs offer details regarding the security measures that will be followed to maintain and assess any security threat. This helps businesses get a clear view of the potential risks and allows them to prepare accordingly. Similarly, providers can avoid penalties that do not fall under their mentioned security criteria. 

Common SLA metrics for leased lines

Although the Internet and telecommunication industry offer more or less the same services, many providers similar to Airtel provide unique resources that can be customized according to the client. The details of such additional services are also included in the SLA along with the standard agreements. However, each agreement is interconnected with the others, making it critical for businesses to pay close attention to the standard metrics or benchmarks. 

Outlined below are some standard Service Level Agreements metrics: 

Negotiating SLAs with Service Providers

Undoubtedly, finding the right service provider is crucial for a thriving business. However, it is also necessary for clients to invest in providers that share the same goals and consider each requirement as their own. SLAs are partnerships between both parties. Therefore, clients must feel free to negotiate any conditions offering excellent dedicated internet for business. 

Below are some points to consider for a smooth negotiation process: 

• Define clear goals: Clients must understand their requirements and set clear goals regarding their results. Specifying critical points and reasonable developments can help service providers deliver better results. 
• Request for customization: Due to a business’s unique requirements, clients must customize Service Level Agreements according to their know-how instead of following the traditional systems. If a service is missing or can be added, the same should be tailored into the final contract. 
• Create realistic targets: Clients must understand the level of quality a service requires to deliver better results and provide realistic targets accordingly. There should be enough time for the service’s development, testing, and deployment. 
• Impose penalties: To ensure all services are appropriately delivered within the given timeline, legal penalties for SLA breaches must be imposed. This will motivate providers to hit target goals before the deadline. 

Monitoring and enforcing SLAs 

With evolving technical demands, SLAs are prone to changes within the contract duration. New strategies may often be implied to resolve a recurring issue in the development phase, or new regulations may be included based on legal notices. Irrespective of the reason, routine review and monitoring of the SLA ensures both parties adhere to compliances and receive the expected results. 

Key benefits: 

• Continuous progress: Routine check-ups allow businesses to identify issues and take mandatory actions to improve the dedicated internet line. 
• Customer satisfaction: Frequent reviews enable clients to ensure that the services are meeting their standards and improving according to customer needs. 
• Contract adherence: Routine monitoring also enables both parties to adhere to the signed agreements and offers opportunities to clear doubts or misunderstandings. 

These days, businesses can automate their monitoring systems and use tools to track project progress. Some of these tools include Datadog, EmailAnalytics, SuperOps.ai, and more. 

Case studies and best practices 

Proper SLAs in a business shape the future of operational efficiency and offer a clear path to success. These contracts define delivery goals and present a framework that establishes trust and a strong partnership between two parties. To understand how it helps align businesses according to their requirements, here is an example case study of a banking company utilizing SLA – 

Case study: 

Challenge: The bank faced issues regarding its security measures for inter-branch communication and ATM connectivity. 

Solution: The bank partnered with a reliable service provider and established strategies to improve inter-branch communication and ATM connectivity with the help of different SLAs. Relevant metrics and a dedicated internet line were set according to the same to improve uptime, resolution, etc. 

Result: The bank saw improved customer experience with seamless transactions and resolved future threats by preventing frequent outages. 

Now, when it comes to the success of an SLA, most companies make some mistakes that disrupt the structure of priorities. Therefore, to ensure that SLAs benefit the business, given below are a few best practices:

• Create separate SLAs for different services. 
• Monitor and update SLAs regularly. 
• Avoid misunderstandings through proper communication. 
• Prioritize customer experience and development phase. 

Conclusion

With the growing number of operations in various industries, Service Level Agreements are becoming more relevant. Businesses that depend on leased line services for their communication goals are investing in proper SLA-driven providers due to their reliable connectivity and low-disturbance services. 

As the future of SLA is expected to improve with the implementation of AI and machine learning, service providers like Airtel Business are leading the way in offering tailored solutions to modern businesses.