What SLA really means

Written By Marc Straus

The Real Meaning of SLA (and How to Choose the Right One)

“SLA” gets thrown around a lot. Here’s what it actually means in day-to-day operations — and a simple way to pick the right SLA for each asset without overspending.

What an SLA Really Covers

  • Coverage hours: 8×5 business hours or 24×7.
  • Response time: 4-hour response vs. next business day.
  • Onsite vs. advanced replacement: engineer rolls vs. ship-ahead parts.
  • Parts sparing strategy: on-prem, regional, or on demand.
  • Escalation path & engineer level: direct L3 triage matters.

Good SLAs map to your RTO/RPO targets and the real business impact of downtime.

Common Hardware Support SLAs (Explained)

SLA Type What It Means Best For Cost Impact
8×5 NBD (Next Business Day) Business-hours coverage; parts/engineer next business day. Non-critical systems, dev/test, DR with failover. $$ — most economical.
8×5×4 Business-hours coverage; 4-hour response for parts/engineer. Steady-state production with workday impact. $$$
24×7×4 Around-the-clock coverage; 4-hour response any time. Critical workloads without easy failover; retail/healthcare. $$$$ — premium for anytime dispatch.
Advanced Replacement Parts ship immediately; you swap or schedule install. Remote sites, simple FRUs, capable local hands. $$ — cheaper than onsite.
Onsite Spares Critical FRUs staged on-prem or nearby. High-impact systems; remote regions with logistics lag. $$$ — adds inventory, lowers downtime.

SLA Chooser: A 5-Minute Framework

Answer these 6 questions per asset:

  1. Business impact: If down 4–8 hrs, what’s the cost (revenue, compliance, safety)?
  2. Redundancy: HA/failover available? If yes, step down one SLA tier.
  3. Access window: Can fixes wait for business hours? If no, choose 24×7.
  4. Location constraints: Remote sites may need onsite spares or advanced replacement.
  5. Local skill: If hands-on talent exists, advanced replacement can beat onsite dispatch.
  6. Lifecycle stage: Near EOSL? Keep it safe longer; match SLA to remaining role.

Rule of thumb: If hourly downtime cost > SLA premium, step up. Otherwise choose the lowest SLA that meets RTO.

4 Common SLA Mistakes (and Fixes)

  • Same SLA for everything. Fix: tier by business impact (gold/silver/bronze).
  • Confusing response with restore. Fix: verify if “4 hours” means arrival or fully fixed.
  • Ignoring parts logistics. Fix: ask where spares live; consider onsite spares for remote sites.
  • Overpaying under OEM pressure. Fix: compare TPM—often 50–70% lower with same targets.

Get the Right SLA with ETS

ETS aligns SLAs to business impact with direct L3 engineers, staged spares, and visibility via the ETS Partner Portal and XTEKPROTECT™. Start with a quick coverage map across your servers, storage, and network.

See Maintenance Options     Get a Right-Sized SLA Quote

Keywords: SLA explained, 24×7×4, 8×5 NBD, hardware maintenance SLAs, third-party maintenance, TPM vs OEM, RTO/RPO, onsite spares, advanced replacement, ETS Partner Portal, XTEKPROTECT.