When you sign on with any managed services provider, you should be getting to choose a package and sign a clear IT outsourcing service level agreement. A good agreement covers which services you can expect from the company based on whatever package you choose.
In order to be effective, your agreement needs to be transparent, comprehensive, and personalized to your company’s IT needs. Any added service and its pricing needs to be included in this IT support service level agreement document.
Your agreement acts as a contract, protecting you from added charges and fees when you access the services of your IT provider.
Who Needs a Thorough Service Level Agreement?
Any company that is outsourcing its IT department needs a thorough SLA. You will be able to refer to this agreement and see which services are covered in the event of an internal disaster, routine repairs, project management, and more.
Importance of a Service Level Agreement for Any Company
Your service level agreement is a binding document; there are no surprises when you have this agreement. You can expect that you won’t be thrown a curveball when you have so much else to concern yourself with in terms of daily business operations. Your IT services provider respects that you are busy and knows exactly what is covered under the agreement—and your business will know exactly what to expect in the face of a tech-related issue.
Choosing the most appropriate services package and signing the SLA are the first steps in ensuring your business’s tech needs are met.
What Could Happen If You Don’t Have a Service Level Agreement
You would never give your mechanic your car and tell him “just fix it” without having a solid idea of what the breakdown of charges might look like first. Likewise, you don’t choose a doctor without knowing that your insurance will cover your visit to their office.
With the “break-fix” service option that some MSPs have, you will be billed over and over again for every little thing—service calls, equipment updates, hourly charges—and you can’t budget for services when you aren’t sure what you will be charged if you run into an issue. Even with standard MSP packages, the fine print in your contract can cost you more money than you expect.
