Service level agreement (SLA)

The service level agreement, often designated by the acronym SLA, is the part of an IT contract that sets the measurable commitments of the provider. Those commitments concern the quality of the service: availability, performance, response and resolution times for incidents. It is found in SaaS agreements, hosting agreements and outsourcing contracts. It also appears in IT maintenance contracts. In short, it turns a general promise of quality into verifiable obligations.

The content of the service level agreement

First, the agreement defines the indicators: monthly or annual availability, response times, support hours. It also sets the guaranteed intervention and restoration times, according to the severity of the incident. Second, it specifies the measurement method: tools, reference period, reports, dispute procedure. Third, it lists the exclusions: planned maintenance, incidents attributable to the client or to third parties, force majeure. Fourth, it settles the consequences of a breach: penalties, service credits, termination in the event of repeated or serious breaches.

The legal scope of the penalties

In general, these penalties are analysed as a penalty clause within the meaning of Article 1231-5 of the French Civil Code. The judge may therefore moderate or increase them if they are manifestly excessive or derisory. The contract moreover often stipulates that the penalties are in full discharge and capped, excluding any other compensation for the same breach. The client therefore has an interest in reserving additional damages in the event of gross negligence, and in providing for a right of termination. The provisions are available on Légifrance.

Key points

In practice, a service level agreement is only worth what is measured and monitored. The client must therefore demand reports, contest the measurements in time and document the incidents. The provider, for its part, aligns its commitments with those of its subcontractors and hosts. The firm drafts and negotiates these clauses and acts in service level disputes, as presented on the page contracts.