Building a computing network is a somewhat daunting task, but effectively running or managing one over a long period of time is a much more difficult and involved process.    What makes it difficult is the fact that things are constantly changing, being added, removed, breaking down, or used in an inappropriate manner; IT managers are certainly not strangers to problem solving (or at least shouldn’t be).  Add to this, the fact that businesses are demanding more and more of their IT department(s), and it’s clear that even the most dedicated and enthusiastic IT squad / manager could use a little assistance.  This is why service level management of IT assets is such a brilliant institution; it literally provides a plan for managing IT with regards to the larger concerns of a business or organization.

But what exactly is it that businesses are asking those in IT to perform (these days)?  There is an abundance of businesses right now that are using computing technologies to perform critical in-house activities as well as interface with the public at large.  If these organizations want to continue generating a profit they must not only provide things like web services, they must also keep them up and running at all times, and in perfect order.  What service level management does provide IT personnel with is a much better understanding of the needs, goals and requirements of their parent organization; a business perspective(s), if you will.  But it’s much more than that; service level management is also about ensuring that IT is still accountable and doing everything within its power to facilitate and encourage further profits.

So, what is service level management actually comprised of?

SLM (service level management) is just the process of tending to the IT-related needs of the system and business it provides for.  To achieve both of these means effectively SLM enlists the assistance of a customized SLA, or service level agreement.  It is the service level agreement that actually outlines what the expectations, requirements and eventual goals of any organization are with regards to IT assets.  Once these items have been ascertained, it is simply a matter of performing a complete evaluation of current abilities and assets and devising an implementation strategy for both stabilizing and further developing IT properties.   This isn’t a easy-going simplistic process; devising a SLA is a very intensive and revealing process that seeks to uncover not only what the current standards are, but also plan ahead for any number of changes (internally and externally).

What do service level managers actually do?
The duties of service level managers are many, they include:

• Negotiating and conversing with relevant persons about how to best establish, run, and maintain any number of IT assets.  This is especially important if the products, goals and abilities of a parent business organization are constantly changing.
• Overseeing specific duties like customer service and support.  This would also extend into the area of in-house support and service.
• Acting as a network administrator for the entire system.
• Monitoring all process and IT assets on a continual basis to ensure proper functionality.
• Gathering statistical data to determine if certain business objectives are being met.  This of course would be followed up by both analysis of said data and formulation of sound strategies for fostering the best end results (from the point of view of the business itself).
• Planning for the addition/removal of components as well as upgrades/expansions; they might also be responsible for making sure that certain assets are available at certain times to meet specific business demands.
• Synchronizing multiple IT assets and personnel in such a way that everything continues to run smoothly and at peak potential.

To put it simply, a service level manager has to “wear many different hats” in order to accomplish their duties.  Appointing a service level manager should not a light undertaking.   Inexperienced individuals or those lacking the necessary insight into SLM will not be effective as a service level manager; in fact, one of the biggest mishaps that are often made is hiring the wrong person for the job.  The tasks performed by service level mangers are multiple, with each one of them being complex (in and of itself).  Only the most knowledgeable, trustworthy and intelligent individuals should be considered for the position of service level manager.

Great tools and ideas are useless unless they are directed by a skilled hand.  You could be in possession of the absolute best IT system / infrastructure, and have a dynamite business concept, and still fail to deliver to your constituents if you aren’t meeting service level management expectations.

What does service level management entail, specifically?

Service level management is an umbrella concept which seeks to ensure the functionality and viability of IT assets with regards to a pre-established service level agreement.   In layman’s terms, service level management is simply a way of taking stock of what your IT department is actually doing and pushing it toward what it should be doing.  A service level agreement is basically a blueprint for running and managing any IT department.

For example, a typical service level agreement will include items like;

• Warranty information
• System for dealing with disagreements and cancellations
• Management and ongoing monitoring of assets
• Support and problem solving
• Security
• Information confidentiality concerns
• Property rights
• Legal compliance issues / concerns
• Extent and nature of the work being performed
• Actual performance (in real time)
• Troubleshooting

Once all the necessary areas of interest and duty have been outlined via the service level agreement, a service level manager can use said info to define and perform their duties.  In most cases, it is the duty of those directly involved in service level management to actually construct an agreement; this makes perfect sense too because it will also be their duty to monitor the system once it’s up and running.

But the main goal of SLM (service level management) should be to give IT the power to bring the ideas, concepts and productivity of any business to life.  That is to say that (through implementation of Service Level Management) an IT department should be doing everything within its power to enhance and facilitate the business processes of its parent organization.  This is becoming increasingly important as well, because technology continues to grow at an alarming rate.  Today’s businesses are often entirely dependent on (not only) their internal computing infrastructure(s), but also web-deployments and services as well.

How service level management is formally established:

First, it is necessary to review all existing services in order to determine what, if any, changes must be made.  This also allows you to clearly identify what is working, and what isn’t.

Then, those providing the IT services / management will enter into a dialogue or conference with their customer, or employer, in order to establish expectations and add additional components as needed / required.  At some point it will be necessary to also take a detailed look at any and all existing contracts between the client and third party vendors / service providers.  This is simply to ensure that there are no obvious qualms and that any existing contractual limitations / obligations won’t trigger a lapse in service (downtime = loss of profits, after all).

Afterwards, a SLA (service level agreement) can be formally established and used to further assist in designing a SLM setup.  Once everything has been covered, it might also be beneficial to summarize client expectations with regards to any future improvements to specific / individual services.  This of course goes hand in hand with creating a detailed plan of action for future growth as well.

It is also important for any SLM agreement to clearly indicate what its priorities, or chief concerns actually are.  This not only helps the client to better understand how they will benefit, but also clearly underlines the role that IT management should be playing in the business.

Finally, after everything is laid out, formal projections should be made and data should be gathered which would detail how SLM services are financially viable (as a general rule, it’s always a good idea to try and make friends in the accounting department).
If service level management properly defines every relevant aspect of a business’ IT assets it can only improve their sales and standing.  SLM is really a system for streamlining IT processes so that an organization is able to utilize its available technologies in the absolute best (and most profitable) manner possible.