{"id":33317,"date":"2025-05-13T10:32:44","date_gmt":"2025-05-13T08:32:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.huwise.com\/?post_type=glossary&#038;p=33317"},"modified":"2025-05-13T10:32:44","modified_gmt":"2025-05-13T08:32:44","slug":"data-service-level-agreement-sla","status":"publish","type":"glossary","link":"https:\/\/www.huwise.com\/en\/glossary\/data-service-level-agreement-sla\/","title":{"rendered":"Data Service Level Agreement (SLA)"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is a data SLA?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A data service level agreement (SLA) sets out guaranteed performance levels around quality, reliability and availability for data assets shared between stakeholders. It ensures that all parties are aligned on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.huwise.com\/en\/blog\/2016-05-17-data-quality-second-white-house-open-data-roundtable\/\">data quality<\/a> expectations and includes ways of measuring and monitoring adherence.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Just as service level agreements provide guarantees for the availability and quality of services, such as software uptime, or response times, data SLAs outline publicly and formally what stakeholders should expect from the shared data they access &#8211; and any penalties if they are not met. This approach is vital at a time when data is being created in a more distributed manner, and shared more widely. Data SLAs help to increase communication and build trust and therefore drive greater data usage and value.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Data SLAs can be internal, such as between data producers and consumers, or externally between companies and their customers if they are providing data services. They should be written and formalized to make commitments concrete and clear, using agreed language, such as around timescales for the regularity of data updates.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why are data SLAs important?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Data SLAs deliver a range of benefits:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They set expectations around the supply of data assets, including KPIs around quality, reliability and timeliness<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They reduce conflict and disagreement through clear terms and expectations<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They ensure accountability between data producers and consumers<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They build trust within data ecosystems<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They bring together departments and create a common language and communication channels around data\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What does a data SLA contain?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Data SLAs are normally short (250-500 word) documents shared internally in an accessible way via corporate intranets or Google Docs. They should cover six key elements:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Purpose: Why does this data SLA exist?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Promise: What is being committed to?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Measurement: How will performance be measured and by whom?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Penalties: What happens if data SLAs are breached?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Requirements: What needs to happen for the data SLA to be valid?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Signatures: Who is committing to the SLA?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They are made up of two main parts:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Service Level Indicators (SLIs)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which identify and set quantifiable metrics for data quality<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Service Level Objectives (SLOs)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, these set the agreed parameters that these metrics will meet, such as normal update frequency <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SLAs then combine these two parts and set out any consequences if the SLOs are breached.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What do data SLAs commonly cover?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The type of metrics covered include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Data freshness:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Measured in agreed terms (minutes\/hours\/days\/weeks)\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Data completeness:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> How complete data should be in terms of fields etc<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Data accuracy:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Defining acceptable error rates for data values, including formatting<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Data availability:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Uptime and accessibility for data<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is the difference between a data SLA and a data contract?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While they are connected, data SLAs and data contracts differ in how they support effective <a href=\"https:\/\/www.huwise.com\/en\/blog\/5-myths-on-sharing-data-that-people-believe-but-shouldnt\/\">data sharing<\/a>. Often part of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.huwise.com\/en\/glossary\/data-product\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">data products<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, data contracts are broader documents agreed between data producers and consumers outlining what data they will receive, including its format and schema and how it can be used. By contrast data SLAs set the performance metrics and KPIs around areas such as freshness and quality. Often, a data SLA is included within the data contract itself.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What are data SLA best practices?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To ensure success, the process of creating, agreeing and monitoring data SLAs should<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Involve all relevant stakeholders, especially different departments<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Be formally written, agreed and signed by both sides<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Align with business and compliance objectives<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Be technically possible with existing technology infrastructures<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Be clear in the metrics\/targets set, and use agreed language and terms to describe them\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ensure accountability for non-compliance and assign key roles and responsibilities<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Include monitoring and enforcement mechanisms if SLAs are breached<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Be revisited regularly to ensure they are still relevant and performing in line with expectations<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false},"tags":[],"letter":[351],"class_list":["post-33317","glossary","type-glossary","status-publish","hentry","letter-d"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - 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