The Complete Guide to I.T. Service Level Agreements: Aligning It Services to Business Needs

Most suppliers lose around 16% of their customers each year. The reason? Poor service - whether perceived or real. Any technology-based support service, whether in-house, contracted or outsourced, stands to be accused of being insensitive to the requirements of its customers (or users). Equally, customers of a support service may have unrealistic expectations of what can be reasonably provided. Service Level Agreements (SLAs) can overcome these gulfs. A Service Level Agreement can create harmony between parties and can prevent disputes between customers and suppliers. It can justify investment and identify the "right" quality of service. It can mean the difference between business success and failure. SLAs are potentially a strategic tool to align all support services (particularly IT) directly to business mission achievement. In the past, few organizations used them in this way. Armed with this book and the optional companion SLA FRAMEWORK, more and more businesses are now succeeding. Where are SLAs going? Increasingly business-focused. Increasingly measured in real-time. Simple documents that cover complex service infrastructures. Providing a competitive edge. Embracing penalties. The brave, who commit to tight SLAs and perform against them will win the commercial spoils. This book provides the knowledge and tools based on fifteen years of intensive development to ensure your enterprise is among the winners. =============================== Covering all aspects of Information Technology Service Level Agreements (SLA's), this essential manual is a step-by-step guide to designing, negotiating and implementing SLA's into your organization. It reviews the disadvantages and advantages, gives clear guidance on what types are appropriate, how to set up SLA's and to control them. An invaluable aid to IT managers, data center managers, computer services, systems and operations managers.

Andrew Hiles was the founding chairperson of EURIM, the working group supporting the UK all-party Parliamentary Working Party on European IT legislation. He is founder and Chairman of Survive, the international user group for business continuity planning, and was a founding Director of the Business Continuity Institute, the international body for certification of business continuity professionals. He is a founder Director of Kingswell, international consultants. Having commenced his management career with the Royal Air Force, he pioneered IT systems before leaving to take up a position within the Finance Department of London Transport. Subsequently in their Central Productivity Unit he was a Senior Projects Manager and later became responsible for the business re-engineering function, implementing new services and major technical projects. He left to take up a position with the UK Post Office as their first Business Systems Consultant responsible for major projects. Andrew then joined the UK Atomic Energy Authority at the Harwell Laboratories where he managed the supercomputing, mainframe and other bureau and outsourcing services. Andrew is a pragmatic consultant and trainer in the areas of Business Continuity Planning and Service Management

Andrew left Harwell to set up Kingswell, an international training and consulting company specializing in service management, customer ? supplier relationships and enterprise risk management.

He has helped hi-tech, financial, transport and government bodies to develop and enhance Service Management, Customer Support and Service Desk functions and has supported both customers and suppliers in Service Level Agreements, Market Testing and Outsourcing.

Andrew is an international speaker on service management and has featured on conference programs in the USA, Southern Africa, Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific Rim. He has presented workshops and seminars on these topics for Frost & Sullivan (Europe), IIR/ IFF (Europe and Middle East), AIC (South Africa), CEL (Hong Kong), UPOM (Middle East) and other companies having also lectured at Ashridge, Cranfield, GEC Dunchurch and Henley Management Colleges in the UK. He has broadcast on TV, radio and Internet webinars.

He has over 300 published articles on service management and is author of two other books on Service Level Agreements.

Andrew is a Fellow of the Business Continuity Institute, a Member of the British Computer Society and a Freeman of the City of London.