A service level agreement is a proven method for establishing expectations for arrangements between a service provider and a customer. SLAs involve identifying standards for availability and uptime, problem response/resolution times, service quality, performance metrics and other operational concepts.

SLAs streamline operations and allow both parties to identify a proper framework for ensuring business efficiency and customer satisfaction. Businesses can identify where problems lie if SLAs are not adhered to, then make the necessary decisions to find additional budget funding, impose penalties or seek alternate providers and staff.

From the policy:

SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENT ELEMENTS
To define components of an appropriate service level, establish the following:

• The type of service that is to be provided along with the components involved
• Stakeholders involved
• Expectations for service performance levels, which can be based on uptime, application response time, human response time or some other quality
• Responsibilities for both providers and customers
• The manner in which service issues must be reported
• Problem incident resolution timeframes
• How often agreements should be reviewed/modified
• Monitoring and reporting of service performance
• Repercussions for SLA breaches