Service Level Agreements
Comprehensive Service Level Agreements (SLAs) defining performance guarantees, availability commitments, response times, and service quality standards across all SOLVEFORCE telecommunications and IT services, backed by financial credits and transparent reporting.
π SLA Overview and Framework
SOLVEFORCE Service Level Agreements establish measurable performance standards, availability commitments, and quality guarantees for all services delivered to our customers. Our SLA framework includes proactive monitoring, automated reporting, and financial remedies to ensure accountability and service excellence.
π― Core SLA Principles
Measurable Commitments:
- Quantifiable metrics with specific targets and thresholds
- Real-time monitoring and measurement systems
- Transparent reporting and performance dashboards
- Independent third-party validation and auditing
Financial Accountability:
- Service credits for SLA violations
- Escalating credit structure for repeated failures
- Performance bonuses for exceeding commitments
- Transparent credit calculation and application processes
Continuous Improvement:
- Regular SLA review and optimization
- Customer feedback integration and response
- Performance trend analysis and enhancement
- Proactive capacity planning and investment
π Network and Connectivity SLAs
π‘ Internet and WAN Connectivity
Network Availability SLA:
Service Availability Commitments:
Standard Internet Service:
- Availability: 99.9% monthly uptime
- Credit: 5% of monthly service charges per 0.1% below SLA
- Measurement: 24/7 automated monitoring with 5-minute intervals
- Exclusions: Scheduled maintenance (4-hour monthly window)
Premium Internet Service:
- Availability: 99.95% monthly uptime
- Credit: 10% of monthly service charges per 0.05% below SLA
- Measurement: 24/7 automated monitoring with 1-minute intervals
- Exclusions: Scheduled maintenance (2-hour monthly window)
Enterprise Internet Service:
- Availability: 99.99% monthly uptime
- Credit: 25% of monthly service charges per 0.01% below SLA
- Measurement: 24/7 automated monitoring with 30-second intervals
- Exclusions: Scheduled maintenance (coordinated customer approval)
Mission-Critical Service:
- Availability: 99.999% monthly uptime (5.26 minutes downtime/month)
- Credit: 100% of monthly service charges for any SLA violation
- Measurement: 24/7 automated monitoring with 10-second intervals
- Exclusions: Force majeure events only
Network Performance SLA:
Performance Metrics:
Latency (Round-Trip Time):
Standard Service:
- Target: <50ms within continental US
- Credit: 5% for each 10ms above target (measured hourly)
Premium Service:
- Target: <30ms within continental US
- Credit: 10% for each 5ms above target (measured every 15 minutes)
Enterprise Service:
- Target: <20ms within continental US
- Credit: 25% for each 2ms above target (measured every 5 minutes)
Packet Loss:
Standard Service:
- Target: <0.1% packet loss
- Credit: 10% for each 0.05% above target
Premium Service:
- Target: <0.05% packet loss
- Credit: 20% for each 0.01% above target
Enterprise Service:
- Target: <0.01% packet loss
- Credit: 50% for any measurable packet loss above target
Jitter (Latency Variation):
Standard Service:
- Target: <10ms jitter
- Credit: 5% for each 5ms above target
Premium Service:
- Target: <5ms jitter
- Credit: 15% for each 2ms above target
Enterprise Service:
- Target: <2ms jitter
- Credit: 25% for each 1ms above target
Bandwidth Delivery SLA:
Bandwidth Guarantees:
Committed Information Rate (CIR):
- Guarantee: 100% of contracted bandwidth available 24/7
- Measurement: Automated testing every 15 minutes
- Credit: 10% monthly service fee for each 1% below committed rate
Burst Capability:
- Standard: Up to 150% of CIR for up to 1 second
- Premium: Up to 200% of CIR for up to 5 seconds
- Enterprise: Up to 300% of CIR for up to 10 seconds
Traffic Prioritization:
- Voice Traffic: Highest priority with <1ms delay
- Video Traffic: High priority with <5ms delay
- Data Traffic: Standard priority with best effort delivery
- Backup Traffic: Lowest priority during peak hours
π MPLS and Private Network Services
MPLS Network SLA:
MPLS Service Commitments:
Network Availability:
- Standard MPLS: 99.95% monthly availability
- Premium MPLS: 99.99% monthly availability
- Carrier-Grade MPLS: 99.999% monthly availability
Performance Guarantees:
Latency:
- Intra-Metro: <5ms one-way
- Regional: <25ms one-way
- Continental: <65ms one-way
- Credits: 25% monthly service fee for SLA violations
Packet Delivery:
- Packet Loss: <0.1% under normal conditions
- Packet Sequence: 99.99% in-order delivery
- Credits: 50% monthly service fee for violations
Jitter:
- Voice Traffic: <1ms jitter guarantee
- Video Traffic: <2ms jitter guarantee
- Data Traffic: <5ms jitter target
- Credits: 25% monthly service fee for violations
Quality of Service (QoS) SLA:
Traffic Class Guarantees:
Real-Time Traffic (Voice/Video):
- Bandwidth: Guaranteed 100% allocation
- Latency: <150ms end-to-end
- Jitter: <30ms variation
- Packet Loss: <1% under all conditions
Mission-Critical Data:
- Bandwidth: Guaranteed 95% allocation
- Latency: <300ms end-to-end
- Packet Loss: <3% under congestion
Business Data:
- Bandwidth: Guaranteed 80% allocation when needed
- Latency: Best effort with <500ms target
- Packet Loss: <5% under extreme congestion
Best Effort Traffic:
- Bandwidth: Remaining available capacity
- Latency: No guarantee
- Packet Loss: May be dropped during congestion
βοΈ Cloud Services SLAs
π Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
Compute Service SLA:
Virtual Machine Availability:
Standard VMs:
- Availability: 99.9% monthly uptime
- Credit: 10% of compute charges for each hour below SLA
- Measurement: VM availability monitoring every minute
Premium VMs:
- Availability: 99.95% monthly uptime
- Credit: 25% of compute charges for each hour below SLA
- Measurement: Continuous health monitoring
Enterprise VMs:
- Availability: 99.99% monthly uptime
- Credit: 100% of compute charges for any downtime
- Measurement: Real-time availability tracking
High-Availability Clusters:
- Availability: 99.999% monthly uptime
- Credit: 200% of compute charges for violations
- Measurement: Application-level health checks
Storage Service SLA:
Storage Performance and Availability:
Block Storage:
Standard:
- Availability: 99.999% monthly
- IOPS: Guaranteed baseline with burst capability
- Latency: <10ms for random read/write operations
- Credits: 10% monthly storage fees per violation
Premium:
- Availability: 99.9999% monthly
- IOPS: Guaranteed sustained high performance
- Latency: <1ms for random read/write operations
- Credits: 25% monthly storage fees per violation
Object Storage:
- Availability: 99.999999999% (11 9's) data durability
- Accessibility: 99.99% API availability
- Performance: 99% of requests <100ms response time
- Credits: Sliding scale based on performance degradation
Backup and Archival:
- Recovery Time Objective (RTO): <4 hours for standard restore
- Recovery Point Objective (RPO): <15 minutes data loss maximum
- Availability: 99.9% backup service availability
- Credits: 50% backup service fees for SLA violations
Network and Security SLA:
Cloud Network Performance:
Inter-Region Connectivity:
- Latency: <100ms between major regions
- Bandwidth: Guaranteed 1Gbps minimum between regions
- Availability: 99.99% network path availability
Load Balancer Service:
- Availability: 99.99% monthly uptime
- Performance: <1ms additional latency
- Health Check: 30-second maximum detection time
Security Services:
- Firewall: 99.99% availability with <1ms latency impact
- DDoS Protection: Automatic mitigation within 60 seconds
- WAF Service: 99.99% availability with <5ms latency
π± Platform as a Service (PaaS)
Application Platform SLA:
Application Runtime Environment:
Standard Platform:
- Availability: 99.95% monthly uptime
- Deployment Time: <5 minutes for standard applications
- Scaling Response: <2 minutes for auto-scaling events
- Credits: 25% platform charges for SLA violations
Enterprise Platform:
- Availability: 99.99% monthly uptime
- Deployment Time: <2 minutes for any application size
- Scaling Response: <30 seconds for auto-scaling events
- Credits: 100% platform charges for SLA violations
Database as a Service SLA:
Managed Database Performance:
Standard Database Service:
- Availability: 99.95% monthly uptime
- Backup Success: 99.9% automated backup completion
- Recovery Time: <1 hour point-in-time recovery
- Performance: 95% of queries complete within baseline
Enterprise Database Service:
- Availability: 99.99% monthly uptime
- Backup Success: 100% automated backup completion
- Recovery Time: <15 minutes point-in-time recovery
- Performance: 99% of queries complete within baseline
Mission-Critical Database:
- Availability: 99.999% monthly uptime
- Backup Success: 100% with real-time replication
- Recovery Time: <1 minute failover capability
- Performance: 99.9% of queries complete within baseline
π Communication Services SLAs
π― Voice Services (VoIP/UCaaS)
Voice Quality and Availability SLA:
Call Quality Metrics:
Mean Opinion Score (MOS):
- Target: MOS score >4.2 for all calls
- Measurement: Continuous call quality monitoring
- Credit: 10% monthly service fee for scores <4.0
Call Completion Rate:
- Target: >99.9% successful call completion
- Measurement: End-to-end call tracking
- Credit: 25% monthly service fee for rates <99.5%
Post-Dial Delay:
- Target: <3 seconds for all call types
- Measurement: Automated testing every 15 minutes
- Credit: 15% monthly service fee for delays >5 seconds
Call Setup Time:
- Local Calls: <2 seconds average setup time
- Long Distance: <3 seconds average setup time
- International: <5 seconds average setup time
- Credits: 20% monthly service fee for SLA violations
System Availability SLA:
Voice Platform Availability:
Standard Voice Service:
- Availability: 99.9% monthly uptime
- Emergency Services: 99.99% availability (911/emergency)
- Feature Availability: 99.5% (voicemail, conferencing, etc.)
- Credits: 10% monthly service charges per hour of downtime
Enterprise Voice Service:
- Availability: 99.99% monthly uptime
- Emergency Services: 99.999% availability
- Feature Availability: 99.9% for all features
- Credits: 25% monthly service charges per hour of downtime
Mission-Critical Voice:
- Availability: 99.999% monthly uptime
- Emergency Services: 100% availability guarantee
- Feature Availability: 99.99% for all features
- Credits: 100% monthly service charges for any downtime
Voice Feature Performance SLA:
Unified Communications Features:
Voicemail System:
- Availability: 99.9% system availability
- Message Delivery: <30 seconds for notification delivery
- Storage Reliability: 99.999% message retention
Conference Bridge Service:
- Availability: 99.95% bridge availability
- Connection Time: <10 seconds to join conference
- Audio Quality: MOS >4.0 for all participants
Auto-Attendant Service:
- Availability: 99.99% system availability
- Response Time: <1 second menu navigation
- Accuracy: 99% speech recognition accuracy
Call Recording Service:
- Availability: 99.9% recording system availability
- Recording Success: 99.95% successful capture rate
- Retrieval Time: <5 seconds playback initiation
π§ Messaging and Collaboration Services
Email Service SLA:
Email System Performance:
Message Delivery:
- Internal Email: 99.9% delivery within 5 seconds
- External Email: 99.5% delivery within 30 seconds
- Large Attachments: 99% delivery within 2 minutes
- Credits: 15% monthly email service charges for violations
System Availability:
- Email Server: 99.99% monthly availability
- Webmail Access: 99.95% web interface availability
- Mobile Access: 99.9% mobile app/ActiveSync availability
- Credits: 25% monthly charges per hour of downtime
Anti-Spam and Security:
- Spam Detection: 99.5% accuracy with <0.1% false positives
- Virus Detection: 99.99% malware detection rate
- Phishing Protection: 99.9% malicious email blocking
- Credits: Service credits for security failures causing data loss
Collaboration Platform SLA:
Team Collaboration Services:
Instant Messaging:
- Availability: 99.9% service availability
- Message Delivery: 99.99% successful delivery within 1 second
- File Transfer: 99.5% successful completion for files <100MB
Video Conferencing:
- Platform Availability: 99.95% service availability
- Connection Success: 99% successful meeting connections
- Audio/Video Quality: MOS >4.0 for 95% of sessions
- Screen Sharing: 99% successful screen sharing sessions
Document Collaboration:
- File Sync: 99.9% successful file synchronization
- Real-time Editing: 99.5% conflict-free collaborative editing
- Version Control: 100% version history preservation
- Storage Reliability: 99.999999999% (11 9's) data durability
π‘οΈ Security Services SLAs
π Managed Security Services
Threat Detection and Response SLA:
Security Monitoring Performance:
Threat Detection:
- Detection Time: 99% of threats detected within 15 minutes
- False Positive Rate: <5% of security alerts
- Coverage: 100% of monitored infrastructure and applications
- Escalation: Critical threats escalated within 5 minutes
Incident Response:
- Initial Response: <15 minutes for critical security incidents
- Investigation: <2 hours for complete incident analysis
- Containment: <1 hour for confirmed security breaches
- Resolution: 95% of incidents resolved within 4 hours
Vulnerability Management:
- Scanning Frequency: Weekly automated vulnerability scans
- Critical Patches: Deployed within 72 hours of availability
- Risk Assessment: Monthly comprehensive risk reports
- Remediation: 95% of high-risk vulnerabilities patched within 30 days
Security System Availability SLA:
Security Infrastructure Uptime:
Firewall Services:
- Availability: 99.99% monthly uptime
- Throughput: Guaranteed line-rate performance
- Rule Processing: <1ms additional latency
- Credits: 50% security service charges for violations
Intrusion Detection/Prevention:
- System Availability: 99.95% IDS/IPS uptime
- Detection Accuracy: 99% threat detection rate
- Response Time: Automated blocking within 1 second
- Credits: 25% security charges for missed threats
Anti-Malware Services:
- Signature Updates: Real-time signature distribution
- Scanning Performance: <5% system performance impact
- Detection Rate: 99.9% malware detection accuracy
- Credits: 100% monthly charges for successful malware execution
π Identity and Access Management SLA
Authentication Services SLA:
Identity Management Performance:
Single Sign-On (SSO):
- Availability: 99.99% authentication service uptime
- Authentication Time: <2 seconds for standard login
- Token Lifetime: Configurable with 99.99% token validity
- Credits: 25% IAM service charges per hour of downtime
Multi-Factor Authentication:
- Delivery Success: 99.5% MFA token/push delivery success
- Verification Time: <30 seconds end-to-end authentication
- Backup Methods: 100% availability of alternative MFA methods
- Credits: 15% IAM charges for authentication failures
Directory Services:
- LDAP/AD Availability: 99.99% directory service uptime
- Query Response: 95% of queries completed within 100ms
- Replication: <5 minutes directory synchronization
- Credits: 50% directory service charges for violations
Access Control SLA:
Privileged Access Management:
Session Management:
- Session Recording: 100% privileged session recording
- Session Monitoring: Real-time monitoring of all privileged access
- Session Termination: Automatic termination based on policies
- Audit Trail: 100% session audit log preservation
Password Management:
- Password Rotation: Automated rotation per policy schedule
- Vault Availability: 99.99% password vault accessibility
- Check-out Performance: <5 seconds password retrieval
- Credits: 25% PAM service charges for access failures
π§ Support Services SLAs
π Technical Support Response Times
Support Tier Definitions and Response SLAs:
Priority Level Definitions:
Critical (P1):
Definition: "Complete service outage affecting business operations"
Response Time: 15 minutes
Resolution Target: 4 hours
Escalation: Immediate management notification
High (P2):
Definition: "Significant service degradation impacting productivity"
Response Time: 1 hour
Resolution Target: 8 hours
Escalation: Management notification within 4 hours
Medium (P3):
Definition: "Moderate impact with workaround available"
Response Time: 4 hours
Resolution Target: 24 hours
Escalation: Standard escalation procedures
Low (P4):
Definition: "Minor issues or general questions"
Response Time: 8 hours
Resolution Target: 72 hours
Escalation: Automatic escalation after 48 hours
Support Channel Performance SLA:
Support Channel Commitments:
Phone Support:
- Answer Rate: 95% of calls answered within 3 rings
- Queue Time: Average <30 seconds during business hours
- First Call Resolution: 80% of issues resolved on initial call
- Escalation: Technical escalation available within 5 minutes
Email Support:
- Response Time: Initial response within SLA timeframes
- Resolution Updates: Progress updates every 2 hours for P1/P2
- Tracking: Unique ticket number assigned within 15 minutes
- Quality: 95% customer satisfaction rating target
Live Chat Support:
- Availability: 24/7/365 chat support coverage
- Response Time: Initial response within 2 minutes
- Concurrent Sessions: Support for multiple simultaneous chats
- Transfer Success: 95% successful escalation to phone support
Online Portal:
- Availability: 99.9% support portal uptime
- Knowledge Base: 24/7 access to documentation and tutorials
- Ticket Management: Real-time ticket status and updates
- Self-Service: 60% of common issues resolvable via portal
π Professional Services SLAs
Implementation and Deployment SLA:
Project Delivery Commitments:
Standard Implementation:
- Project Planning: Complete project plan within 5 business days
- Resource Allocation: Dedicated resources assigned within 3 days
- Timeline Adherence: 95% of milestones completed on schedule
- Quality Assurance: 100% testing completion before deployment
Complex Integration Projects:
- Discovery Phase: Requirements gathering within 10 business days
- Design Approval: Technical design approval within 15 business days
- Implementation: Phased deployment with milestone checkpoints
- Go-Live Support: 24/7 support for 72 hours post go-live
Migration Services:
- Migration Planning: Detailed migration plan within 7 business days
- Data Integrity: 100% data integrity verification and validation
- Cutover Time: 95% of migrations completed within planned window
- Rollback Capability: 100% rollback capability during migration
Training and Knowledge Transfer SLA:
Training Service Commitments:
Administrator Training:
- Course Availability: 95% of scheduled training sessions delivered
- Instructor Quality: Certified trainers with 5+ years experience
- Material Currency: Training materials updated quarterly
- Certification: Completion certificates within 5 business days
End-User Training:
- Session Scheduling: Training scheduled within 15 business days
- Class Size: Optimal class sizes for effective learning
- Hands-On Labs: 80% hands-on practical exercises
- Follow-Up Support: 30 days post-training Q&A support
Documentation Delivery:
- User Guides: Customized documentation within 10 business days
- Video Tutorials: Professional video content for complex procedures
- Quick Reference: Laminated quick reference cards provided
- Updates: Documentation updates within 30 days of changes
π SLA Monitoring and Reporting
π Performance Measurement and Monitoring
Real-Time SLA Monitoring:
Monitoring Infrastructure:
Automated Monitoring Systems:
- 24/7/365 automated monitoring across all services
- Real-time alerting for SLA threshold breaches
- Predictive analytics for proactive issue identification
- Independent third-party monitoring validation
Performance Data Collection:
- Granular metrics collection every 30 seconds
- Historical data retention for 24 months minimum
- Real-time dashboard access for customers
- API access for customer monitoring integration
Alert and Notification Systems:
- Immediate notification of SLA violations
- Escalation procedures for repeated violations
- Root cause analysis for all SLA breaches
- Preventive action plans for trend identification
SLA Reporting and Transparency:
Reporting Framework:
Monthly SLA Reports:
- Comprehensive performance against all SLA metrics
- Trend analysis and historical comparison
- Service credit calculations and applications
- Executive summary with key insights
Real-Time Dashboards:
- Customer portal with live SLA performance data
- Color-coded status indicators for all services
- Historical performance charts and trends
- Mobile-friendly responsive dashboard design
Annual SLA Review:
- Comprehensive annual performance review
- SLA target optimization recommendations
- Customer feedback integration and response
- Continuous improvement plan development
π° Service Credit Calculation and Application
Service Credit Framework:
Credit Calculation Methodology:
Percentage-Based Credits:
- Credits calculated as percentage of monthly service charges
- Pro-rated based on actual service impact duration
- Cumulative credits for multiple SLA violations
- Maximum monthly credit cap of 100% service charges
Automatic Credit Application:
- Automated credit calculation and application
- Credits applied to next monthly billing cycle
- Detailed credit explanation in billing statements
- Customer notification of all applied credits
Credit Request Process:
- Customer-initiated credit requests accepted within 30 days
- Response to credit requests within 5 business days
- Dispute resolution process for credit disagreements
- Escalation path to executive management if needed
Service Credit Examples:
Sample Credit Scenarios:
Internet Service Outage:
- 2-hour outage on 99.9% SLA service
- Availability achieved: 99.72% (below SLA)
- Credit calculation: 5% of monthly charges
- Automatic application: Next billing cycle
Voice Quality Degradation:
- MOS score 3.8 for 4 hours (target 4.2)
- Performance below SLA threshold
- Credit calculation: 10% of monthly voice charges
- Additional monitoring: Enhanced quality monitoring implemented
Cloud Service Performance:
- VM availability 99.85% (99.95% SLA)
- Multiple short outages throughout month
- Credit calculation: 25% of compute charges
- Remediation: Infrastructure upgrade scheduled
π SLA Management and Support
π€ Customer SLA Management
SLA Consultation Services:
- Custom SLA Development: Tailored SLA terms for specific customer requirements
- SLA Optimization: Regular review and optimization of SLA terms
- Performance Consulting: Expert guidance on performance improvement
- Compliance Mapping: SLA alignment with regulatory and compliance requirements
SLA Governance:
- SLA Review Meetings: Quarterly customer review meetings
- Performance Analysis: Detailed analysis of SLA performance and trends
- Improvement Planning: Collaborative improvement planning and implementation
- Executive Reporting: C-level reporting and strategic discussions
π SLA Support Team
SLA Management Contacts:
- SLA Program Director: Jennifer Walsh (jennifer.walsh@solveforce.com)
- Performance Analytics Manager: Robert Chen (robert.chen@solveforce.com)
- Customer Success Manager: Sarah Johnson (sarah.johnson@solveforce.com)
- Technical SLA Specialist: Michael Rodriguez (michael.rodriguez@solveforce.com)
Contact Methods:
- SLA Questions: sla@solveforce.com
- Credit Requests: servicecredits@solveforce.com
- Performance Issues: performance@solveforce.com
- SLA Disputes: sla-disputes@solveforce.com (escalation path)
π SLA Resources and Documentation
Available Resources:
- SLA Quick Reference Guide: Summary of key SLA terms and thresholds
- Performance Dashboard Training: Customer training on dashboard usage
- SLA Best Practices: Industry best practices for SLA management
- Integration APIs: Technical documentation for SLA data integration
Regular Communications:
- Monthly Performance Newsletter: Industry trends and performance insights
- Quarterly SLA Webinars: Educational sessions on SLA optimization
- Annual Customer Conference: In-person SLA and performance discussions
- Expert Roundtables: Peer-to-peer discussions with other customers
Your Performance Partner β SOLVEFORCE Service Level Agreement Program.
Comprehensive SLA framework with measurable commitments, transparent reporting, financial accountability, and continuous improvement ensuring exceptional service delivery and customer satisfaction across all telecommunications and IT services.