SLA (Service Level Agreement)
24/01/2025
8 min reading time
24/01/2025
8 min reading time
24/01/2025
8 min reading time
Every minute of downtime for your application or website can cost you customers and revenue. So you cannot afford uncertainty. A Service Level Agreement (SLA) is more than just a service contract – it is your peace of mind and a guarantee of business continuity.
Imagine this situation: your website stops working during the peak sales season. Customers cannot complete their purchases, and you lose thousands of dollars with every hour of downtime. Or a critical business application crashes at a key moment in negotiations with a potential investor. Without adequate technical support, such situations can turn into serious business crises.
Statistics show that one hour of unplanned downtime can cost a small business up to several thousand zlotys, and a medium-sized enterprise tens of thousands of zlotys in lost revenue and reputation.
Table of contents
A Service Level Agreement is your insurance policy for your company's digital assets. It is a precisely defined agreement specifying the parameters and standards of services you can expect from us as a technology solutions provider.
A properly constructed SLA includes:
Guaranteed response time – from several minutes to a maximum of several hours, depending on the criticality of the problem
Specified problem resolution time – clearly defined time frames for repairing faults
Regular security audits – proactive detection of potential threats before they become a problem
24/7/365 monitoring – constant supervision of the performance and availability of your systems
Regular backups – protection of your data against loss
Dedicated technical support – a person familiar with the specifics of your business and systems
Every minute your website or application is unavailable translates into measurable financial losses.
Instead of unexpected expenses for emergency repairs, you receive a clearly defined monthly cost for maintaining your systems in optimal condition. One of our clients in the financial industry saved over 40% of their annual IT costs by switching to an SLA model instead of responding to failures.
You stop worrying about technicalities and can fully focus on developing your core business.
Regular technical reviews under the SLA allow for the identification of areas for optimization and the gradual implementation of improvements.
You gain access to an entire team of experienced specialists for a fraction of the cost of hiring a single in-house employee.
Before we get into the details, it is worth understanding how an SLA differs from other types of business agreements and why it is an essential part of technological cooperation.
Standard service agreement:
Service Level Agreement:
Warranty agreement:
Service Level Agreement:
Standard outsourcing agreement:
Service Level Agreement:
Companies decide to formalise their cooperation in the form of an SLA for several key reasons:
An example from our experience: A logistics company initially used a standard service agreement. After two serious failures that caused significant financial losses, it was decided to implement a detailed SLA. As a result, the company did not experience a single unplanned downtime during the following year, and IT costs became predictable and easier to budget for.
SLAs are not uniform – they vary depending on the specifics of the industry, the size of the organisation and the criticality of the systems. At Mits, we tailor each agreement to the individual needs of the customer, taking into account the characteristics of their business.
Characteristics:
Characteristics:
Characteristics:
Characteristics:
A key element of an effective SLA is a clearly defined method of communication and problem reporting. At Mits, we offer a variety of contact channels tailored to customer preferences and the criticality of the report.
All requests are recorded in our professional request handling system, which ensures:
For critical incidents, we offer direct phone lines to our specialists:
Depending on customer preferences, we provide various channels for rapid communication:
Our clients receive access to a personalised portal that provides:
At Mits, we do not believe in one-size-fits-all solutions. That is why our SLAs are always tailored to the needs of your business:
We offer three basic levels of SLAs, which can be further customised:
Ideal for small businesses with non-critical systems.
Ideal for medium-sized companies, e-commerce and businesses for which system continuity is important.
For companies whose business critically depends on the efficiency of IT systems.
Medical clinics and telemedicine systems require the highest level of reliability, as patients’ health may depend on them. For this sector, we offer SLAs with the shortest response times and emergency plans that include offline operation modes.
Universities and e-learning platforms require increased support during recruitment and examination periods. Our SLA for the education sector takes into account seasonal system loads and provides additional resources at key moments of the academic year.
Production control and supply chain management systems require specialised SLAs with emergency protocols for critical systems. For our manufacturing customers, we offer additional safeguards in the form of redundant systems and specialised testing procedures.
Streaming platforms and news portals experience sudden spikes in traffic, requiring flexible SLAs with automatic resource scaling. For customers in the media industry, we provide dynamic infrastructure adjustment to current load.
Absolutely not. The market offers flexible SLA packages tailored to the needs and capabilities of companies of all sizes. These packages are used by both small start-ups and large corporations – every business needs stable IT systems.
Each additional hour is charged at the rate specified in the contract. We regularly analyse the use of hours and if we notice systematic exceeding of the limit, we propose an amendment to the contract to better reflect actual needs.
Yes. We understand that business changes, which is why our SLAs are flexible. Typically, parameters can be adjusted one month in advance.
For existing systems that we have developed ourselves, we can begin support almost immediately. When taking over external systems, we typically require 2–4 weeks for auditing and preparation.
The SLA focuses primarily on maintaining stability and troubleshooting. However, minor improvements and new features can also be implemented within the monthly hour limit. Larger development projects are usually agreed and priced separately.
Depending on the SLA package and ticket priority:
For customers with Business and Premium packages, we provide dedicated emergency numbers and a 24/7 ticket system. With the Premium package, our on-call team is ready to respond immediately at any time of the day or night.
President
Mits sp. z o.o.
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