Things You Should Look Out For In An It Support Service Level Agreement

Although no two IT support companies will offer the same kind of contract

, there are a few factors that are pretty standard and this includes clear information about their responsibilities as well as their expectations. Below are a few of the things to look out for in any IT support contract you are being offered:

Clear indication of the length of the contract

This includes the start date and the termination date. It is important to have in writing how often payment is required and more importantly, the consequences of either party wanting to end the contract before the termination date. There could be a rebate due to you if you terminate the contract in the form of a pro-rata refund.

What are the conditions of the contract?

The IT support company may require that you abide by certain stipulations in order for the contract to remain valid. This includes payment and other fees being paid at a specified time. Pre-existing problems may have to be rectified and no changes are carried out to systems without the IT support company having prior knowledge and have given their consent to the changes.

Many IT companies also require a company that has their own IT Manager responsible for all IT within the business. Daily backups are performed, such as deleting temporary files and general maintenance like de-fragmenting hard disks. Occasionally closing and then restarting servers could be one of their stipulations too. On top of this, they may require that a company provides adequate protection for the systems they have in place, which means a reliable power supply called a UPS, Uninterruptible Power Supply and all Antivirus Software is kept up to date.

What are the support hours and costs the contract actually covers?

You need to check the number of support hours the contract entitles you to. If you go over these hours then you need to expect to pay for any support thereafter. Are you able to carry over any surplus hours to the following month? You need to be absolutely clear on what you are getting for your money.

What equipment and software is covered under the contract?

Check out the inventory of equipment the contract covers. Does it include PCs, printers, laptops and other equipment you have in your offices? Make sure the contract does not only cover equipment the IT Company has provided. Is there a clause that states older equipment is not covered?

Does the contract include cover for software like Linux, Acceleration Server, Microsoft Exchange Server 2000, Microsoft Back Office Small Business Edition and any Anti-virus software that is installed on the server? And is operating system software covered?

Are the response times fast enough?

This is a vitally important factor to check out. It is acceptable to say that if the response times are quick, then the charges will be more, but the norm is a 4 hour response time to fix a problem with servers and longer ones for any problems involving workstations. There are a few IT support companies that do offer fixed-time responses, but you really need to evaluate an acceptable one for your business.

Other factors of the contract to check out

You need to know about any exclusions in the contract and also the procedures for resolving any disputes or complaints that may occur during the course of the contract. What is the IT support companies' public liability insurance and what is the legal statement of the contract? Is it covered by English law?

by: Keith Horwood

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