Often when we talk with IT managers about Service Level Agreements, or SLAs, their first reaction is “I don’t have any use for SLAs because I don’t have any formal Service Level Contracts.” But we believe every IT organization can utilize SLAs, and in times like these when everyone’s budget is stretched to the limit, SLAs can make a big difference in how - and how well - you manage your mission critical applications.

Traditionally people tend to think about SLAs as measuring the availability of discrete services - can I ping this server, is this web site up or down. Today, with IT organizations now focused on delivering business services, it’s important to view performance and availability from a higher level. Whether the underlying cause is the network, a server, a router, a database, or a web site, you need to know what business activity is compromised so you can respond appropriately and focus on what’s most important to your company’s business. Furthermore, nowadays most IT organizations need to be able to report to management on performance from a business perspective.