IT Service Level Agreements: Proving the Business Value of Data Protection

IT Service Level Agreement:

IT Service Level Agreement Data protection activities are typically seen as operational, rather than strategic to the business. Proving business value has been difficult because the focus has always been on the procedures of backup rather than the broader goal: to ensure the continued availability and ongoing retention of extremely valuable and vital corporate assets.

When there is uncertainty about whether data is truly protected a strategic business concern the typical remedy is simply to run more backups. When IT departments operate in this reactive mode, the perception is that data protection is an operational 'black hole'. The company throws in money with no certainty or visibility into the outcome or return on investment. And like a black hole, the data protection activities themselves are invisible. The IT department only gains recognition when something breaks a server fails, and then missed or failed backups result in irrecoverable data. Bringing focus only on the failures results in a negative, skewed and undeserved perception of the IT department, and is a situation that is all too common.

IT Service Level Agreement (SLAs)
Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are gaining traction as a way for proactive IT departments to demonstrate and prove the value of their data protection services.

IT Service Level Agreement , SLAs, are essential parts of the contract when enterprises outsource data protection to third-party providers. But more and more, in-house data protection teams are discovering that implementing SLAs for their internal customers is an extraordinarily effective way to not only prove the value of their services, but drive down the cost to the company by matching service cost to data value.

A well-crafted information technology service level agreement assists all parties:

The CIO, who can implement specific standards and practices for data protection squarely focused on business objectives, and demonstrate to business managers the capabilities and limitations of IT systems in meeting those goals.

The executive team, which gains an understanding of the true risk of lost data to the enterprise, and the cost of lowering that risk.

Whether it is an internal agreement or a third-party contract, a data protection SLA delineates specific expectations of service. A standard SLA generally details these areas:

- Client objectives (known as Service Level Objectives, or SLOs) and how a provider promises to meet them
- Specific service(s) to be provided and levels of delivery
- Detailed methodology of delivery
- Delivery performance metrics such as reports of backup successes and failures, restores performed or tapes archived
- Responsibility for delivery measurement and reporting
- Reporting methodology and frequency
- Methods and level of provider responsiveness
- Expectations for future add-ons to the SLA
- Fees to be charged for services delivered
- Client responsibilities and duties
- Penalties for non-delivery or under-delivery of services
- Fortune 500 medical technology company
- Share management view that summarizes success rates and prove the IT department is meeting objectives against

The Key to SLAs: Making Data Protection Measurable
To create an information technology service level agreement and then prove its requirements are being met, there must be some way to objectively measure and verify performance.