If you’ve ever read a technology services contract (and you do read them before signing, don’t you?), you have undoubtedly encountered a Service Level Agreement, or SLA. SLAs can apply to agreements ranging from basic hosting arrangements to the complex, customized and robust technology systems that facilitate electronic trade matching on financial markets. In law schools and libraries, SLAs appear in a variety of contractual contexts: ILS hosting, course management platforms, automated lecture capture software, and classroom technology maintenance and support, to name a few. In an ideal world, SLAs set customer expectations as to the level of service that can be expected from a technology service provider and provide some remedy if the provider fails to meet those benchmarks. As a practical (and legal) matter, many provider-drafted SLAs provide limited substantive protection to customers.
This session will introduce the basic components of an SLA, including services, common metrics and remedies, and will highlight, from a former practicing licensing attorney’s perspective, common shortcomings in provider-drafted SLAs. It will also provide a basic framework for evaluating SLAs and negotiating them to suit the needs of your institution.
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