For service providers in the channel, service-level agreement (SLA) compliance defines the level of service you expect from a vendor, laying out the metrics by which service is measured, as well as remedies or penalties should agreed-on service levels fail to be achieved. It is a critical component of any technology vendor contract that protects customers who rightly expect a certain level of quality in what they pay for. As a result, it is paramount that service providers comply with SLAs in order to keep up in an incredibly competitive industry.

Compliance is therefore king for any partner wanting to provide the most consistent, industry-leading, cutting-edge, secure and professional IT services to the channel. Customers expect the best service that they can get, and cutting corners can cost valuable business for service providers. In addition to the penalties which can be issued when the terms of an agreement aren’t met, this can often cause further challenges for channel partners. Worst case scenario, a loss of confidence amongst customers in their ability to deliver value-add to the end customer and a resulting loss of business are amongst the pitfalls that can arise when this quality of service is compromised.

Assess customer needs regularly

For resellers, the need to show value-adds is vital for remaining competitive in an ever-changing IT landscape. Naturally, every customer comes with different hardware and support needs, and it’s critical that VARs evaluate the requirements of every end user, tailoring support to fit seamlessly around them. A good SLA strategy can accelerate business opportunities for service providers. However, it is important to find the right balance between offering a high quality service which meets every customer’s needs and spreading operations too thinly in an effort to serve more customers.

SLAs can no longer have rigid terms and providers must offer a certain degree of flexibility to ensure their agreed service levels fit the needs of each customer – an objective which can be met by creating more specific, bespoke SLAs to fit any business requirements.

Drive value with a support network

Customer service has become a big part of the channel and resellers need to be able to offer a service that is both reliable and efficient. There are many ways that resellers can lay the foundations for delivering these services to end users and maximise SLA compliance. Resellers need to be able to trust that the support they are delivering to their customers is based on vast practical experience and expertise in managing IT hardware on a business-wide scale. Should they fail to do so, the quality of service can naturally depreciate and maintaining compliance with any set SLAs can quite quickly become an uphill struggle.

At Cameo, we are proud to maintain 98.6% SLA compliance rate over the last 12 months, delivering a premium service with a complete focus on meeting customer requirements. With every service area delivered entirely by in-house teams, we guarantee peace of mind for resellers through a controlled and guaranteed hardware support service. Our team of qualified engineers offer a range of premier support and maintenance services, such as Hardware Support, Secure Data Disposal, UPS Services and Inventory Management.

Our SLAs are consistently completed in a timely manner, filling each customer with confidence from the first point of contact that support is there. Being focused on our customers every step of the way and exceeding SLAs allows our customers to maximise uptime. We offer a wide range of agreements that fit most customer needs, but we also have the ability to create more specific, bespoke SLAs to fit any business requirements.

 

To find out more about how our services can help you, please get in touch at info@cameoservices.com, or call us on +44330 0584 224.