The truth of how good our choice of provider is only proven at the time when we have a problem with our system.
What is SLA?
SLA (Service Level Agreement) is a mutually beneficial action for a business that needs some IT work done and an IT service provider. The customer gets guaranteed service quality and the service provider works within precisely defined responsibilities and tasks.
Popular support models.
Let’s take a look through some main support models that are currently offered to find the one that fits most of the customer requirements.
(FP) Fixed-monthly fee price model - Limited
This pricing model approach is best suitable for support with a strictly defined scope and requirements that won't change. Any changes will require additional estimation and additional contracts. It guarantees a fixed budget for the support, regardless of the time and expense.
It may include:
- Monthly fee
- Support calendar - Support hours, specific days in a week the support services can be only provided;
- Response time - target time to respond for a support ticket;
- Resolution time - target time to resolve support tickets based on their priority. If possible - try not to include it in your support contract.
- A maximum number of tickets which can be created during the month - good for budgeting but may be difficult to track.
- Scope - what exactly we support. It's always good to be very specific what is the scope of the support.
Pros:
- The budget is clear for both parties.
- Predictability, as far as everything has been discussed and planned beforehand.
Cons:
(FP) Fixed-monthly fee price model - No limit
It offers total Support - built around a fixed monthly cost for maintenance, infrastructure, and unlimited support. The fixed cost is based on the size and scope of your IT system.
It may include:
- Monthly fee
- Support calendar - Support hours, specific days in a week the support services can be only provided;
- Response time - target time to respond for a support ticket;
- Resolution time - target time to resolve support tickets based on their priority. If possible - try not to include it in your support contract.
- The maximum number of tickets which can be created during the month - good for budgeting but may be difficult to track.
- Scope - what exactly we support. It's always good to be very specific what is the scope of the support.
Pros:
- The higher budget which includes the risk of a higher number of incoming tickets
- If the system is stable your margin increases
Cons:
- Risk of going over budget
(T&M) Time & materials
Yes. It's also possible but try to avoid such an approach at all cost.
It may include:
- No monthly fee
- Support calendar - Support hours, specific days in a week the support services can be only provided;
- Response time - target time to respond for a support ticket;
- Resolution time - target time to resolve support tickets based on their priority. If possible - try not to include it in your support contract.
- The maximum number of tickets which can be created during the month - good for budgeting but may be difficult to track.
- Hourly rate
Pros:
- To make sure you cover your expenses hourly rate at such approach is much higher from usual
Cons:
- No tickets - no money
- You need to keep SLA parameters without getting paid for that
Hybrid (T&M + FP) price model
This particular model uses T&M techniques to estimate costs for change requests that initially do not have clear goals or detailed and complete requirements. It then allows customers to pay a small fixed price based on the estimation. This Hybrid model has so far, the best of both T&M and FP models features.
It may include all standard SLA parameters.
Pros:
- You get paid a fixed price for
Cons:
- No tickets - no money
- You need to keep SLA parameters without getting paid for that
How to build an offer?
Make sure both parties have a common understanding of the scope of support. It's also good to agree at the beginning what each Priority actually means. Customers tend to use the highest priority way too often which may lead to a conflict situation. On the other hand, remember that the customer without any tickets sooner or later will leave. It's important to have monthly briefings and if possible to measure the overall customer satisfaction.
- Understand the scope.
- Discuss with your customer SLA parameters.
- Set the escalation route.
- Agree who from the customer side can create support tickets.
- Brief your team with the details of the contract and assign clear roles for everyone.
