WORKSHOP SLA SPECIFICATION

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WORKSHOP SLA SPECIFICATION

• BY
• ETIENNE WERY
• Lawyer at the Paris Brussels Bar, Partner
• ULYS
• IT OUTSOURCING SUMMIT 27/11/2003

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OVERVIEW OF WORKSHOP

• General theory about the SLA
• Duration 1/2hour
• SLA workshop
• Duration 1hour
• Workshop discussion and correction
• Duration 1/2hour
• Questions
• Duration 1/2 hour

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TABLE OF CONTENT

• General concepts about the SLA
• General concepts about the ASP
• The SLA inside an ASP
• Writing of an SLA
• ASPIC best practices
• Main subjects to cover
• SLA failures
• Workshop
• Lessons learned
• SLA specification Challenges
• Questions

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TABLE OF CONTENT

• General concepts about the SLA
• General concepts about the ASP
• The SLA inside an ASP
• Writing of an SLA
• ASPIC best practices
• Main subjects to cover
• SLA failures
• Workshop
• Lessons learned
• SLA specification Challenges
• Questions

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DEFINITION OF THE SLA

• Service Level Agreements (SLA) are
• An SLA is a legal contract that specifies the
  contractuable deliverables, terms and conditions
  between the service provider and the end-user
• The SLA is a formal, legally binding, statement
  of expectations and obligations between a service
  provider and its customer or customers

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USE OF THE SLA

• AN SLA is used in outsourcing contracts
• An SLA answers to the following questions
• Who delivers which service when?
• What happens if problems arise?
• What is the service and how is the service
  quality assessed?
• How to work changes into the SLA?

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PURPOSES OF USING AN SLA

• Identifies and defines customers needs
• Provides a framework for understanding
• Simplifies complex issues
• Reduces areas of conflict
• Encourages dialog in the event of disputes
• Eliminates unrealistic expectations
• Plays as a marketing instrument
• Plays as a partnership instrument
• Transforms a best effort obligation into an
  obligation of result

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TABLE OF CONTENT

• General concepts about the SLA
• General concepts about the ASP
• The SLA inside an ASP
• Writing of an SLA
• ASPIC best practices
• Main subjects to cover
• SLA failures
• Workshop
• Lessons learned
• SLA specification Challenges
• Questions

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DEFINITION OF AN ASP
Classicaloutsourcing
ASP

• An ASP is a company that delivers and manages
  applications and computer services to
  subscribers/clients via the Internet or a private
  network

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ASP vs. CLASSICAL OUTSOURCING

• Transfer of personnel
• Higher level of maintenance
• Supplies mostly standard applications
• Hardware belongs to/hired by the ASP
• Hardware located at ASP

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ASP CHAIN
Customer
ASP
ISV
.
VAR
BO P
IAP
SI
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TABLE OF CONTENT

• General concepts about the SLA
• General concepts about the ASP
• The SLA inside an ASP
• Writing of an SLA
• ASPIC best practices
• Main subjects to cover
• SLA failures
• Workshop
• Lessons learned
• SLA specification Challenges
• Questions

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ZONE OF INFLUENCE OF SLA
Customer
Zone of influence of SLA
ASP
ISV
.
VAR
BO P
IAP
SI
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SLA DOMAINS

• NETWORK SLA
• HOSTING SLA
• APPLICATION SLA
• SUPPORT SERVICE SLA

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TABLE OF CONTENT

• General concepts about the SLA
• General concepts about the ASP
• The SLA inside an ASP
• Writing of an SLA
• ASPIC best practices
• Main subjects to cover
• SLA failures
• Workshop
• Lessons learned
• SLA specification Challenges
• Questions

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ASPIC BEST PRACTICES
Application service providers consortium (ASPIC)
and World Intellectual Property Organization
(WIPO) set up best practices

• To build up good relationship between ISP and
  customer
• To avoid conflicts

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ASPIC BEST PRACTICES (I/III)

• Data Center
• Server
• Load balancing
• Clustering
• Geographic Redundancy

Infrastructure

• Network architecture
• Scalability
• Connectivity Options

Connectivity

• Authentication
• Access Control
• Integrity
• Confidentiality
• Non-repudiation
• Security of Hardware
• Security of Software

Security
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ASPIC BEST PRACTICES (II/III)

• Application management
• Intellectual Rights Property
• Databases
• Pricing
• Application Preparation
• Sharing of liabilities
• Sharing of tasks
• Maintenance of the Application

Application

• Maintenance of the application
• Maintenance of the system
• Maintenance of the Network
• Reports
• Help-Desk

Maintenance
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ASPIC BEST PRACTICES (III/III)

• Choice of application
• Preparation of the Platform
• Installation
• Configuration and Customisation
• Conversion / migration of data
• Reports
• Tests
• Integration
• Training of the customer

Implementation
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TABLE OF CONTENT

• General concepts about the SLA
• General concepts about the ASP
• The SLA inside an ASP
• Writing of an SLA
• ASPIC best practices
• Main subjects to cover
• SLA failures
• Workshop
• Lessons learned
• SLA specification Challenges
• Questions

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Main subjects to cover (I/III)

• Introduction and purpose
• Service to be delivered
• Uptime
• System response time
• Lost data
• Customization
• Change control
• Billing responses
• Report generation
• Other issues

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Main subjects to cover (II/III)

1. Performance, tracking and reporting
2. Problem management
3. Fees and expenses
4. Customer duties and responsibilities
5. Warranties and remedies
6. Security

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Main subjects to cover (III/III)

1. IPR and confidential information
2. Legal compliance and resolution of disputes
3. Termination
4. Examination of clauses- descriptions

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SERVICE LEVELS
Bonus price
Target level
Negotiated price
Minimum acceptable level
Price reduction
Unacceptable level
Contract termination
Service level
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TABLE OF CONTENT

• General concepts about the SLA
• General concepts about the ASP
• The SLA inside an ASP
• Writing of an SLA
• ASPIC best practices
• Main subjects to cover
• SLA failures
• Workshop
• Lessons learned
• SLA specification Challenges
• Questions

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MAJOR SLA FAILURES

• Negotiation problems
• Specification of efforts versus specification of
  results
• Unclear service specification
• Incomplete service specification
• Incomplete cost management
•  Dead-end  SLA documents
• Exit Management

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TABLE OF CONTENT

• General concepts about the SLA
• General concepts about the ASP
• The SLA inside an ASP
• Writing of an SLA
• ASPIC best practices
• Main subjects to cover
• SLA failures
• Workshop
• Lessons learned
• SLA specification Challenges
• Questions

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WORKSHOP (I/II)

• Aim of the workshop
• Identify major problems when writing an SLA
• On service provided
• On service levels based on the organisations
  specificity
• Costs
• How to handle major issues

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WORKSHOP (II/II)

• Workshop process
• Divide audience in 3 groups, each group
  represents a major SLA party
• Customer
• Service provider
• Parallel service provider
• Each group will react towards different given
  clauses
• Analyse clauses and try to find major issues
  about the SLA

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CLASSIFY MAJOR ISSUES
SLA failures
Negotiation problems
Efforts vs. Results
Unclear service specification
Incomplete service specification
Incomplete cost management
Dead-end SLA
Exit Management
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TABLE OF CONTENT

• General concepts about the SLA
• General concepts about the ASP
• The SLA inside an ASP
• Writing of an SLA
• ASPIC best practices
• Main subjects to cover
• SLA failures
• Workshop
• Lessons learned
• SLA specification Challenges
• Questions

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LESSONS LEARNED

• Does your SLA include
• A specified level of customer support?
• Provisions for system and data security?
• A guaranteed level of system performance such as
  sub-second response time?
• Continuous system availability?
• In case of failure to deliver, is there a
  designated contact person who can address the
  issue?
• Enforcement procedure? Refund? Termination and
  choice of new ASP without penalty?

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TABLE OF CONTENT

• General concepts about the SLA
• General concepts about the ASP
• The SLA inside an ASP
• Writing of an SLA
• ASPIC best practices
• Main subjects to cover
• SLA failures
• Workshop
• Lessons learned
• SLA specification Challenges
• Questions

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SLA SPECIFICATION CHALLENGES

• Scope and Methodology
• Pre-understanding
• Service level management service process
  management
• Knowing the actors and following a structured
  approach

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TABLE OF CONTENT

• General concepts about the SLA
• General concepts about the ASP
• The SLA inside an ASP
• Writing of an SLA
• ASPIC best practices
• Main subjects to cover
• SLA failures
• Workshop
• Lessons learned
• SLA specification Challenges
• Questions

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QUESTIONS
I would be pleased to answer your questions