Your company is finalizing a contract with a third-party cloud file-storage provider. To ensure the external SLA protects the business if the vendor fails to meet the promised 99.9 % availability, which element should you insist be included in the agreement?
An informal statement that outages will be addressed "as quickly as possible"
A reminder that users must reboot their PCs before calling the help desk
Performance penalties or service credits when the vendor misses uptime targets
Escalation procedures for tier-1 and tier-2 internal support staff
External, third-party SLAs should not only define performance targets such as uptime or response time, but also state what happens if those targets are missed. A well-written clause that specifies penalties-typically monetary credits or refunds-gives the customer clear, enforceable remediation when the provider fails to meet its obligations. Internal escalation paths, vague statements, or user reminders do not obligate the vendor to compensate the customer and therefore do not protect the business in this scenario.
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