IT service level agreement

[strawb]

Hello everyone,

Hoping to receive some advice. I have just received a quote for our IT services and i would appreciate some advice, especially on the cost and how a SLA agreement works. WE have never had a service level agreement but we have just installed a server and feel more comfortable knowing someone is looking after our IT. Should our SLA be cheaper to have than standard callouts and hourly rates or it is more expensive. The reason that i ask is that i received a quote with 3 three different levels of support.
option 1
10 hours support which includes 5 hours for maintaining the server and running checks on a monthly basis and informing us of any issues . The other 5 hours are for onsite and any remote assistance. The cost for this is £450 per month and the response time is 4 hours either by remote or onsite. Does this seem like a fair quote.

I have been told that this is their minimum option. We are a new company and have no idea what to expect to go wrong.
Can someone plaese advise. I am interested to know what other people receive as a SLA.
Thanks

 

[Leo-InstallingIT]

Hi

The cost of a support agreement greatly varies with the number of computers/users etc.

If you could give us these details I will be more than happy to give you some advice.

Out of interest where abouts are you located?

Many Thanks

Leo

 

[strawb]

Hello
Thanks for replying.

We are a firm of architects and have 11 employees, 11 PCs and just had a server installed. The server will do back ups etc. WE have managed in the past without too much support, the odd callout etc. We feel that we need to know that the IT is being looked after as the server is too much and we dont have same time to dedicate to the IT ourselves.
WE asked for the provider to have full control of our system when required and as quickly as possible.

Do different companies offer differenet packages or are they the same but with different prices !

Hopefully this is sufficient information.
We are based in Scotland.

 

[Leo-InstallingIT]

Hi

If the server is simply handling file sharing and possibly email then 5 hours a month for just maintenance is probably a bit over the top.
To be honest if the server is setup correctly on new hardware and you are not doing anything really complicated you shouldn't need anything near 5 hours of support.

Different companies do provide different packages, and obviously prices do vary depending on the quality of the support you are getting.
I would imagine being architects you rely heavily on your computers for your work (drawings etc), therefore a 4 hour SLA is probably appropriate.

Obviously we are to far away to offer you any decent level of support but if we did do 10 hours of work a month we would probably be a bit more expensive than that. However on the surface I would estimate that we would not need that much time.


I hope this helps.

Many Thanks

Leo

 

[Leo-InstallingIT]

Hi

Just a thought, Although we are in the North West if you would like me to have a look at your server remotely and let you know how much we would charge for remote monitoring then just let me know. It might give you an idea how much you would have left over for call outs etc?

Many Thanks

Leo

 

[strawb]

Thanks,

I will mention this when i am in the office tommorrow
thank you

 

[calibra]

Hi

I support an architect company with 10 users. Their IT support costs come no where near 400 pounds a month.


If your system is setup correctly and all computers patched up, you shouldn't need 5 hours support

James

 

[Dwebs-Ltd]

Yikes £400p/m for 10hrs must be a top notch firm.

I'd love to know exactly what they will do in those 10hrs.

If the 4hrs response time is 24x7 then its not to bad but if its 9-5 there having a laugh.

If a system is setup correctly it shouldn't need that much work i would assume they will setup monitoring on server resources to keep an eye on things, thats what we do anyways plus network monitoring if the switches support it.

 

[itaufait]

10 hours support which includes 5 hours for maintaining the server and running checks on a monthly basis and informing us of any issues . The other 5 hours are for onsite and any remote assistance. The cost for this is £450 per month and the response time is 4 hours either by remote or onsite. Does this seem like a fair quote.

Stay clear of anyone who gives you a description like that and without actually discussing your requirements with you - service costs depend on many factors.

PS: "maintaining the server and running checks" really should be automated and done way more frequently than 5 hrs per month

PPS: In any service industry there are two types of providers - those who will charge you a larger amount to begin with and a tiny maintenance fee with a hope of not hearing from you ever again (because they've done such a wonderful and hope you'll be recommending them left right and centre) and those who will make sure that you have enough issues to keep a steady cash flow from you. Never go with the latter!

 

[n7 Studios]

I think you need to find out what their SLA entails in far more detail. For what you've specified, £450 sounds too much (daft question, but are we talking ex. VAT or inc. VAT here?)

I would expect perhaps a one off cost for them to set up the server to deal with Windows Updates, backup software and any other software that may be needed in your case, and again the same for your existing PC's (they may have already charged you this when setting the server up?) Then it would simply be a case of offering either a SLA to cover on site and remote support for your server and PC's, or alternatively a break/fix pay per job basis. You sound like you want to go with an SLA, which is fine, as it means you have a guarantee of someone to fix the problem and keep your business going.

Even today's servers and PC's, when setup properly, are not immune to needing some troubleshooting and fixing from time to time. Microsoft may fire out a dodgy Windows Update that causes problems to a couple of your PC's. Users may install some additional software that causes issues, requiring troubleshooting + fixing. Of course, this all depends on your setup - I am just picking a couple of hypothetical situations to consider.

If it makes you feel more comfortable, have a chat with the IT support company, and try to find out in more detail what their SLA will include. If you're then unsure about anything, either ask them or ask us, as I'm sure someone can then better advise on whether you're getting value for money or not.

 

[strawb]

Hello, thanks for your reply.
The IT company has told us that a SLA covers for the unforeseen, better to have time/hours in place than not, abit like an insurance policy, better to have it than not to have it ! Basically they will take over all IT issues and deal with them promptly.

 

[strawb]

Thank you for your reply, i appreciate your comments. Basically I would be charged £45 per hour ex vat for upto a 4 hour response rate. What would you charge ?
thanks

 

[n7 Studios]

Okay, well you might want to ask a few questions, including:

1. What the SLA *exactly* includes. Servers and PC's, yes - but what about networking equipment? Hardware swapouts? Replacement parts? Don't assume it's a complete cover one stop solution, only to find that when a problem occurs, the IT support company turn around and point out that it's not in the SLA.
2. What their response and availabilty are. You mentioned a 4 hour response time, but when are they available? How do you contact them? If the issue can be fixed remotely, will the response be quicker? If it's a hardware fault, how long to get a new part ordered and installed?
3. How long the contract lasts for, and when a review is possible. You don't want to be paying lots of money for a long time, when a 3 monthly review would let you see that not much work was needed!

You need to think about everything to do with your IT, and then pose these questions to your IT support company. Of course, the support company should have experience of what they're doing, and should cover most of the bases already. But it's always better to ask.

You're right in your suggestion that it's an insurance policy of sorts - but you don't want to be paying over the odds. For a small comparison, one client I provide IT support for pays around £25 + VAT per desk per month for IT support (although this includes 8 Lotus Domino servers, backups, networking kit and some telephony too - and lots more that I can't think of right now!). It's not truly £25 per desk, but hopefully it gives you some sort of comparison to what you might be paying (and we don't do it on an hourly basis for this particular client, it's fixed per month regardless of how much or little work there is, and it's reviewed regularly). Plus the IT support company have to factor in how much work there might be - some months they may do less than 10 hours work, other months they may do more.

With your setup, it sounds as if you're paying more than this, but if you're able to get a review + option to redo contract after a couple of months and see some reports on the amount of work done, you might then be able to get a more accurate cost.

 

[calibra]

My customers very rarely have 4 hours worth of support time. One of my customers have the following

- Windows Domain
- Exchange
- Users working from home 90% of the time (VPN's and VoIP)
- Terminal Server
- Blackberry server / handhelds
- Their own web server

Windows has improved so much over the years that it's now a very stable system if implemented right that it requires little support.

Companies I take over tend to be setup as a workgroup rather than a domain. They also tend to be non-consistant setups, ie every PC is setup different. Consistancy is a key for good reliable IT.

You need to find out if the contract covers…

1)Setting up new computers, equipment and installing all the required software
2)Creating new users and email accounts
3)Checking AntiVirus is up to date
4)Ensuring all Microsoft products are patched each month (They need to send you proof)
5)What happens if you go past 5 hours? Does the price per hour rocket up?
6)What kind of monitoring do they do and how do they do it

The end goal should be, you don't worry about the IT they do.

James

 

[leemason]

Hello everyone,

option 1
10 hours support which includes 5 hours for maintaining the server and running checks on a monthly basis and informing us of any issues . The other 5 hours are for onsite and any remote assistance. The cost for this is £450 per month and the response time is 4 hours either by remote or onsite. Does this seem like a fair quote.

I have been told that this is their minimum option. We are a new company and have no idea what to expect to go wrong.
Can someone plaese advise. I am interested to know what other people receive as a SLA.
Thanks

This is not an SLA. Things some missing:

1. Hours/Days covered (i.e. 09:00-17:00 Mon-Fri, excl Bank Holidays)
2. What is the 4 hours response time (is it for someone on the helpdesk to speak to you, or a techie who know what they are doing to be onsite or connect into the server and start fixing the problem)
3. How does the response time work (if you report a call at 16:00 on Friday does this mean they will work on the call that day [by 20:00] or does the clock stop at 17:00 and only start again on Monday at 09:00? This means no guaranteed response until 12:00 on Monday)
4. Is there a guaranteed fix time (sometimes difficult but if this is a critical server then it might be possible)
5. What is the escalation process/path?
6. Are they providing end user support or do you handle the users and they only accept contact from your onsite IT person?
7. Is hardware and software covered?

and more...

 

[Ukfatboy]

I think there is a lot of good advice in the thread.

If it is just 1 server they are looking after then you are at risk of being ripped off.

Assuming that it is a windows server , on the server your support agreement should include :-

!) hardware support , on top of warranty they should attend within x hours, diagnose failure, source part , install part and ensure server is operational before leaving.

2)server operating system should be maintained in healthy state with patching of latest updates. Patches should be applied after 30 days of testing and blacklisted if issues are identified.

3)Monitoring :- they should have a remote monitoring platform that should check every 5 minutes 24/7/365 that the server is available , services are running, diskspace and hundreds of other thresholds. They/you should be alerted when a threshold is exceeded and they should take proactive steps to remedy issue .

4)Applications , if possible and with things like MS Exchange it is , your applications should be monitored as above.

5)Security :- anti virus, anti spyware , backups status should also be monitored and actioned if not updated , completed.

6)Configuration , is adding a new user etc included or chargable.

7)Other areas :- is a disaster recovery plan required ? , etc

Thats the type of service you should have and be getting

Remember patching, virus updates , scans etc can all be automated with the right platforms and do not require man hours.

How much ?

normal office hours :- best guess ( and it does depend on hardware type, age operating system, applications, number of users , blah blah blah )

£150 a month upwards.

Hope this helps

 

[strawb]

Thank you for your advice, it is very much appreciated. Can you give me an indication of how much you would charge your customer on a monthly basis for all the support you have suggested. You said that you charge £25 per desk , so would you charge £250 + VAT if you had 10 PCs and a server.

 

[strawb]

I can forward an example of the actual support agreement if that of interest to anyone

 

[Ukfatboy]

Glad it helped,

I think it was somebody else on the forum who said £25 per desktop.

Different providers use different charging models.

Some charge per server and per desktop + network infrastructure + remote users etc.

Some charge per user and base this cost on the amount of servers etc.

To complicate it even further some charge for gold , silver , bronze levels of service etc.

Finally, some providers offer whats called a fully managed service . A fully managed service would include , everything as I stated on servers , the same replicated across desktops, spam filtering/virus/spyware filtering on your internet connection, online backup every night, standby server incase of failure and mail server replication in a data centre.

Thats what we would provide . Cost for 1 server and 10 desktops about £950 per month.

The real question is how much is you network costing you to run at the moment ? and will spending £950 a month ( and maximize uptime and productivity ) actually save you money ?

I have a very cool spreadsheet that calculates how much your current network is costing you . i will mail you if you pm me your email.

 

[n7 Studios]

Yes, that was me that said £25 per desk. But this is just a rough guide - for example, some desks may need no or little work in a month, with others requiring more. But to give you an idea of cost, yes, I think £250 + VAT for 10 desks is reasonable, perhaps a little more for a server, networking etc, depending on the many factors listed on this thread (e.g. software being supported, hardware being supported etc).