SLA

Service Level Agreement. A contractual commitment that defines the minimum performance standards an MSP must meet, including response times, resolution times, uptime guarantees, and escalation procedures. SLAs are typically included in or attached to the Master Service Agreement and are enforced through the PSA. Common SLA tiers include P1 (critical, 1-hour response), P2 (high, 4-hour response), P3 (medium, next business day), and P4 (low, 3 business days).

Common SLA metrics

TTFR (time to first response), TTR (time to resolution), FCR (first call resolution), uptime percentage.

Enforcement

PSA platforms track SLA compliance automatically. Breached SLAs trigger escalation alerts and appear in QBR metrics.

Why it matters

SLAs define the floor of your service delivery obligation. Clients benchmark their experience against the SLA, not against industry averages.