Service Level Agreement (SLA)

O que é

An SLA sets quantified performance targets for a service (availability, response and resolution times, capacity) and the consequences if the provider falls short, usually service credits. It turns vague quality promises into measurable obligations.

Porque é importante

For SaaS and managed services, performance is the product. A clear SLA aligns expectations, gives the customer a remedy short of termination, and protects the provider by capping that remedy at agreed credits.

Como aplicar

• Define each metric, its measurement method and the measurement window.
• Set service credits as a percentage of fees, tiered by severity of the breach.
• Carve out planned maintenance and force majeure from availability calculations.
• Add an escalation path and, for chronic failure, a termination trigger.

Exemplo de redação

The Provider shall maintain 99.9% monthly availability of the Service. For each 0.1% below target, the Customer receives a service credit of 5% of the monthly fee, up to a maximum of 50%.

Dicas de negociação

• • Customers should make chronic SLA failure a ground for termination, not just credits.
• • Providers should make service credits the sole remedy for missed targets.

Erros frequentes

• • Setting metrics with no agreed measurement method, making breach impossible to prove.
• • Forgetting to exclude scheduled maintenance from uptime calculations.

Referências jurídicas

• BW 6:74 Damages for non-performance Direito neerlandês
• BW 6:248 Reasonableness and fairness Direito neerlandês

Salvo indicação em contrário, as referências remetem para o direito neerlandês (Burgerlijk Wetboek, o Código Civil neerlandês); os instrumentos da UE, como o RGPD, aplicam-se em toda a UE. Esta é informação geral, não constitui aconselhamento jurídico. Outras jurisdições tratam estes conceitos de forma diferente. Verifique o texto em vigor e a sua situação com um advogado qualificado.