Underpinning contracts
Where an external supplier provides services that underpin the delivery of an IT service, it is essential that the provisions of the contract with the external supplier are consistent with the targets built into any SLA that depends on the external supplier. SLM must avoid making commitments in SLAs that cannot be guaranteed because the underpinning contract with an external supplier offers a lower standard. For example, it would make little sense for SLM to base an SLA availability target on a projected server availability of 99.9 per cent when the support and maintenance contract for the server guarantees no better than 98 per cent. It is the responsibility of SLM to ensure consistency, seeking to renegotiate UCs where contractual commitments fall short of
customer needs.
The ongoing relationship between the IT service provider and its suppliers is covered
in Chapter 14 on supplier management, but it is important to recognise here that UCs must always be kept in line with the needs of the business. This means that as business requirements change, the IT service provider must ensure that UCs are renegotiated or replaced, if cost-effective to do so, to ensure they continue to serve the business.