You've heard the application service provider (ASP) hype, and you're finally getting around to considering using one of those outsourcing services. But you're well aware of the risks; you'll be ...

Q: Our agency has been selected to handle business travel for a major corporation in our area. The corporate travel manager has told us that the corporation wants a written contract with a "service ...

This excerpt from the upcoming book, SQL Server 2008 Administration in Action, introduces the role of service-level agreements (SLAs) as part of a DBA's overall strategy to maintaining reliable ...

Before you sign on the dotted line and commit to an ASP, be sure you know exactly what kind of service you'll be guaranteed You've heard the application service provider (ASP) hype, and you're finally ...

Over a career in information technology spanning multiple decades, I have observed that many IT organizations have focused process improvement and measurement almost exclusively on software ...

In this era of outsourcing, many organizations have realized significant cost reductions from disaster recovery (DR) infrastructure outsourcing. Often, this goal has been achieved at the expense of ...

Service Level Agreements are used to define what’s an acceptable level of service delivered by IT to the business unit. In theory, and too often in practice, if the SLA numbers are good, by definition ...

When it comes to cost savings, discounts and credits for poor service most people operate on a “more is better” principle. Is this really the best approach for service-level agreement credits? Most ...

It is essential that OH providers and those in need of OH services are clear on their specific requirements. Service level agreements can help to clarify such information in order to ensure smooth ...

Companies often have multiple internal groups that all provide support in some way. These groups work under a basic service-level agreement, or SLA, which describes the overall support goals and ...