{"id":16530,"date":"2024-01-24T16:27:34","date_gmt":"2024-01-24T16:27:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/acora.s.nomatter.dev\/?post_type=resources&p=16530"},"modified":"2024-09-25T11:31:31","modified_gmt":"2024-09-25T11:31:31","slug":"a-guide-to-slas-xlas-and-everything-in-between","status":"publish","type":"resources","link":"https:\/\/acora.s.nomatter.dev\/nltest\/insights\/a-guide-to-slas-xlas-and-everything-in-between\/","title":{"rendered":"The ultimate guide to SLAs, XLAs and Everything in Between"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/span>Our Ultimate Guide to SLAs, XLAs and Everything in Between<\/span><\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The Experience Level Agreement, or XLA, is one of the IT industry\u2019s hottest topics \u2013 and one we\u2019ve been talking about here at Acora for longer than most. In this guide, we\u2019ve set out some of the background to the XLA, how it differs from and adds to Service Level Agreement (SLA) metrics, the practical, commercial, financial and wellbeing benefits of focusing on experience and why we believe it\u2019s the way forward. We also consider the different elements of an XLA and how they\u2019re implemented, and the extra, much-needed security, cultural alignment and adoption dimensions our own Experience Led Approach\u2122 builds in by design.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Read Article<\/a><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Index<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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  1. In The Beginning: SLAs<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
  2. So What’s Wrong with SLAs<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
  3. Putting People First: The Experience Level Agreement<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
  4. Its Better to Travel: SLAs vs XLAs<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
  5. A Change for the Better: The Benefits of an Experience Level Agreement<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
  6. Same Difference: Does XLA Replace SLA?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
  7. A Measured Response: Fit for the Experience Economy<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
  8. The Pursuit of Perfection: How XLAs Drive 100% Service<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
  9. The Power of Three: The Primary Components of an XLA
    <\/a><\/strong><\/li>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
  10. The Missing Links: Making the XLA Even Better<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
  11. Measuring Adoption with the Experience Level Agreement<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\r\n\r\n
  12. A New Definition of XLA: Experience Led Approach\u2122<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
  13. Re-Thinking: Developing the Experience-led Mindset<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
  14. A Common Cause: The Need for Partnership<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
  15. All Onside: The Importance of User Engagement<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
  16. Known Unknowns: Embracing the Subjectivity of Users’ Experience<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
  17. Shared Ownership: Pulling Suppliers’ and Their Data Together<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
  18. Experience Led Approach\u2122 Benefits<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\r\n
  19. Making the Experience Led Approach\u2122 work for you<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\r\n\r\n\r\n<\/ol>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
    \"\"<\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    <\/span>In the beginning: SLAs<\/span><\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    The SLA has been the bedrock of managed IT service provision for as long as the industry has existed. It\u2019s still very much used, and for good reasons. The main one is that the SLA provides a straightforward way for providers and customers to monitor and measure performance, fix issues and, where necessary, enforce improvements. There\u2019s very little nuance: a service criterion is either being met, in which case everything just continues as normal, or it isn\u2019t, which triggers some kind of resolution. If problems persist, the contract may ultimately be terminated.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    And for years, no one seriously questioned the SLA or its supremacy. There was no real need: it had been around for years, everyone was familiar with it, and it undoubtedly served a purpose, albeit a fairly limited one. Perhaps more to the point, no one had come up with a viable alternative.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    But arguably, the main reason the industry stuck with it for so long was that no one had the courage to call out its obvious flaws in the world we now live and work in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    \"Read<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    <\/span>So what\u2019s wrong with SLAs?<\/span><\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    An SLA basically measures how well a technology service is meeting its agreed level (or not) using static data based on parameters for specific issues and responses. For example, an SLA might commit a service desk to respond to 94% of calls<\/strong>. That sounds like a reasonable level of response until you consider the reverse: the service desk can happily allow 6% of calls<\/strong> to go unanswered, knowing there won\u2019t be any contractual or financial consequences.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    Similarly, many contracts stipulate an SLA for first-time fix of 70%<\/strong>. What this really means is that the customer accepts around a third of user-reported problems will require further contact or escalation, or are never resolved at all.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    And this is the great weakness of an SLA. All suppliers have to do is meet its minimum requirements: there\u2019s no incentive for them to go any further. If they don\u2019t meet the SLA conditions, the emphasis is purely on getting things back up to the agreed level, even if this still means condemning a proportion of users to a less-than-perfect service. The supplier may pay a penalty, but is under no obligation to actually make things better than they were before.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    What you have in effect is mutually agreed and approved mediocrity; a sub-optimal user experience is baked in from day one. In fact, you could argue the SLA isn\u2019t a measure of IT success at all, but of failure.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    Worse, the parties are effectively agreeing that users and their experience don\u2019t count: all that matters is the SLA being met. Unsurprisingly, users gradually stop calling the service desk: they just \u2018learn to live with it\u2019. This creates the widely recognised \u2018watermelon effect\u2019<\/strong>: all the SLAs are a placid sea of green<\/strong><\/span>, but behind them is a seething cauldron of red<\/strong><\/span>, with users grumbling and unhappy, productivity and wellbeing sliding and IT\u2019s reputation and credibility on the floor.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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    The \u2018watermelon effect\u2019 is what happens when servicemetrics appear to be\u2018green\u2019 and on target\u2026
    Yet underneath the surface, it\u2019s all \u2018red\u2019 indicating poor service and unhappy people!<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    Gradually, the industry realised a vital truth:<\/strong> it was good at measuring how technology is working, but much less in tune with how the people using it are doing. Providers and customers recognised an urgent need for a more holistic, user-centred approach \u2013 one in which users\u2019 voices were heard, their contributions recognised and individual needs met.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    \"Read<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    PUTTING PEOPLE FIRST<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    <\/span>The Experience Level Agreement (XLA)<\/span><\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    Led by Acora, the managed IT services sector has developed a new model – the Experience Level Agreement, or XLA. This measures IT performance in terms of user experience and outcomes \u2013 in other words, how well the service is working for the people who actually use it. It enhances the traditional, purely quantitative measures provided by SLAs and KPIs with qualitative data from users, who are (or should be) the ultimate judges of the experience they receive.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    An XLA constantly tracks what the user experience (UX) looks like now and how it\u2019s changed since yesterday. Instead of waiting for users to raise tickets, IT support proactively informs them it knows there\u2019s a problem, and what\u2019s being done to resolve it \u2013 or, better still, the problem gets fixed before the user is even aware of it. Crucially, XLA also measures how users are feeling in real time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    Combining device and system data with digital experience (DEX) and user sentiment measurements gives the organisation a complete 3D picture of its IT landscape \u2013 and, crucially, how users are interacting with and responding to it minute by minute.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    \"Putting<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
    \"\"<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    IT\u2019S BETTER TO TRAVEL<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    <\/span>SLAs vs XLA<\/span><\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    The critical difference between a Service Level Agreeent and an Experience Level Agreement is their respective approach to and regard for users.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    \"the<\/figure>\r\n\r\n

     <\/p>\r\n

     <\/p>\r\n\r\n

    The SLA is a destination. As long as the service provider meets the agreed thresholds, which are generally fixed for the term of the contract, you\u2019ve arrived: there\u2019s no incentive to go the extra mile and actually deliver a better service. And because SLAs deal strictly in percentages – 70% first-time fix<\/strong>, for example \u2013 users are merely numbers under this model.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    By contrast, the Experience Level Agreement is a journey whose objective is to give every user a great experience. Under an XLA, there are no thresholds: the aim is to achieve 100% in all metrics<\/strong>. This isn\u2019t achieved overnight; customer and provider need to work together, adding and investing in tech, training, services and support as required. Unlike the SLA, it encourages a real sense of partnership and joint enterprise between the two parties.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    More fundamentally, the Experience Level Agreement\u00a0 treats users as human beings with needs, feelings and emotions. Rather than accepting mediocrity, service provider and customers seek to improve the experience for everyone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    \"Read<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    A CHANGE FOR THE BETTER<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    <\/span>The benefits of an Experience Level Agreement<\/span><\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    Providing a consistently positive experience for all users produces numerous commercial and practical benefits. In Acora\u2019s 2023 CIO Report, which surveyed over 100 UK-based IT decision-makers, each with an average of around 6,600 users, respondents gave their top three as greater productivity (82%) increased revenue (69%) and staff retention (60%).<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    More broadly, focusing on experience can help IT leaders and decision-makers to:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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