BizAnalyst Network

Implementing Response Time SLAs - Some Lessons Learned
July 26, 2005 @ 12:30 p.m. Eastern/9:30 a.m. Pacific
Duration: 30 minutes

If you are unable to attend the live event you may still register and will receive an
e-mail when the on-demand version becomes available.

Now that IT organizations are routinely meeting availability SLAs, end users are requesting response time metrics � the next frontier in IT service level agreements (SLAs). Collecting, analyzing and reporting SLA response time data is a challenge for many organizations who must balance the cost to implement SLAs versus the value derived. This webcast will relate valuable "lessons learned" about response time metrics from working with one of the world's largest IT organizations.

Where do you begin? How do you define a response time target, measure it consistently, and implement a meaningful SLA? How do you measure the performance impact of a new application roll-out or infrastructure change? How do you determine normal application performance so you can respond immediately to any degradation? Most importantly, from an executive perspective, how do you do this in a way that requires minimal capital investment and operational expense?

These are the questions that a major IT service provider had to answer for a large client. When deploying response time SLAs to capture the end-user experience, see how the IT provider:

• Found an easier way to measure service levels without installing server or client agent software, replacing the "old" way of using synthetic transactions and "active agents."
• Used a "passive" approach that provides more end-to-end performance information with much less cost and effort � and without placing additional loads on the already strained networks.
• Could proactively measure and report end-user response time for dozens of applications deemed critical by the client.
• Used before and after performance metrics to minimize the impact of new applications and changes to the infrastructure on end users and the business.