Glossary
Service level agreement (SLA)
Short answer
A service level agreement (SLA) is the part of a contract that defines measurable performance standards for a service, such as uptime, response and resolution times, how they are measured and reported, and what remedies apply if they are missed, usually service credits and sometimes a right to terminate.
By Pactinel editorial teamReviewed on October 22, 2026
An SLA turns "reliable service" into numbers both sides can check.
Typical components
| Component | Example |
|---|---|
| Metric | Monthly uptime, support response time |
| Target | 99.9% monthly uptime |
| Measurement | By supplier monitoring, excluding scheduled maintenance |
| Reporting | Monthly report within 10 days |
| Remedy | Service credits, termination for repeated failure |
| Exclusions | Customer-caused problems, force majeure |
Example
A 99.9% monthly uptime target in a 30-day month allows about 43 minutes of downtime (30 × 24 × 60 × 0.001 = 43.2). Anything above that is an SLA miss.
Things to check
- How the supplier calculates availability and what it excludes.
- Whether the customer has to claim a credit within a time limit.
- Whether credits are the sole remedy, which links to limitation of liability.
- Whether chronic failure gives a termination right.
Many SLAs require the customer to notify the supplier within a short window, often 30 days, so SLA reviews should be part of the monthly routine.
This is general information, not legal advice.