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Implementing and maintaining an efective and efcient Service Level Management process provides many benefts to the IT organization. Primarily, via its coordination and relationship building with the customer and creation of a measurable SLA, Service Level Management provides an accurate picture of what needs to be delivered to the customer and when. Likewise, the customer is provided with an understanding of the products and services provided by the IT department that best suit their needs and how they will be delivered.

Customer relationship building and maintenance of customer relationships is a big focus for the Service Level Management process. When managed efectively, Service Level Management also positions the IT Service Provider for success with a detailed and insightful view into the customer’s world and requirements, enabling the IT organization to target customer satisfaction and enhance the customer experience. The result will be improved customer loyalty, with a customer base that has clear and realistic expectations of service delivery.

The efective performance of the Service Level Management process is invaluable to the entire organization and to the IT department specifcally. The organization gains an alignment between its IT investments and organizational goals, an alignment that can improve revenues and proft margins and support the organization’s growth. For IT, alignment with their customer enables clear priorities and higher

visibility for IT’s contribution to the organization. As with all Service Management processes, Service Level Management must be given the correct resources and levels of authority to succeed. The lack of a well implemented Service Level Management process can cause confict and dissatisfaction between IT and the customer.

• Lack of good communications with customers • The SLAs are too technically focused and are not measurable, thus, failing to fulfl their primary objective

• The Service Level Agreements are based more on the customer’s wishes rather than the products and services that the IT infrastructure can ofer with an adequate level of quality

• IT services are not properly aligned with the customer’s business processes

• Insufcient resources are dedicated to Service Level Management as the management views it as an extra cost and not an integral part of the service ofered

• Compliance with SLAs is not monitored

adequately or consistently, making it difcult to improve the quality of service and report back to the customer

• There is no genuine commitment in the

organization to the quality of the IT service ofered • Service Level Management is not given the correct level of autonomy to negotiate, make decisions, and agree SLAs with the customer