SLA, or in its long form, service level agreement, is what formally defines a service contract.
This contract is made between a service provider and an end user who is the one that lays down what he/she expects from that same service provider.
SLAs were introduced by telco service providers and cloud computing providers.
Click next to read more about SLAs and Internet Service Providers.
According to Palo Alto Networks, the metrics that define levels of service for an Internet Service Provider should aim to guarantee: a description of the service being provided, reliability, responsiveness , procedure for reporting problems, monitoring and reporting service level, and consequences for not meeting service obligations.
In addition it should also include escape clauses or constraints, circumstances under which the level of service promised does not apply.
Though the exact metrics for each SLA vary depending on the service provider, the areas covered are uniform: volume and quality of work (including precision and accuracy), speed, responsiveness, and efficiency.
