Buyer guide
IT contracts and SLAs explained
The commercial terms decide how much leverage you keep, and they are usually skimmed. Nine terms account for nearly every dispute between a business and its IT provider. Here is what each one means and where the traps sit.
Read this clause first
Exit assistance and data ownership.
It is the most consequential paragraph in the document, it is invisible until the day it matters, and it is the one most often left deliberately vague.
Nine terms, in plain language
| Term | What it means | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Term | How long you are committed forTwelve months is standard. Longer terms should buy something concrete, such as waived onboarding or a rate freeze. | Twelve months is standard. Longer terms should buy something concrete, such as waived onboarding or a rate freeze. |
| Notice period | How far in advance you must say you are leavingThirty to 90 days is normal. Anything longer than 90 combined with auto renewal can trap you for a full extra year. | Thirty to 90 days is normal. Anything longer than 90 combined with auto renewal can trap you for a full extra year. |
| Auto renewal | The agreement continues unless you actively cancelCommon and not unreasonable, but the renewal window and the notice period interact. Diarise the date the day you sign. | Common and not unreasonable, but the renewal window and the notice period interact. Diarise the date the day you sign. |
| Response time | How long until a person starts working on your issueShould be defined from ticket creation to human action, not to an automated acknowledgement. | Should be defined from ticket creation to human action, not to an automated acknowledgement. |
| Resolution time | How long until the issue is fixedRarely guaranteed, and honestly it cannot be for every fault. A provider quoting one number for both is blending them. | Rarely guaranteed, and honestly it cannot be for every fault. A provider quoting one number for both is blending them. |
| Covered systems | The specific assets under the agreementShould be a named schedule, updated annually. General descriptions cause disputes. | Should be a named schedule, updated annually. General descriptions cause disputes. |
| Service credits | What you get back when a target is missedUsually a small fee credit. Treat it as a signal of seriousness rather than meaningful compensation. | Usually a small fee credit. Treat it as a signal of seriousness rather than meaningful compensation. |
| Escalation path | Who you call when normal channels are not workingShould name a role and a timeframe. If it does not exist in writing, it does not exist. | Should name a role and a timeframe. If it does not exist in writing, it does not exist. |
| Exit assistance | What happens when the relationship endsThe most important clause in the document and the one most often left vague. | The most important clause in the document and the one most often left vague. |
What must be yours
This is the list that determines whether switching providers takes two weeks or six months. The agreement should state plainly that each item belongs to you and give a timeframe for handing it over.
- Network diagrams, asset inventory and system documentation
- Administrative credentials, held somewhere you can access rather than only in their vault
- Backup data, and a stated format and timeframe for handing it over
- Domain names, DNS control and SSL certificates registered in your name, not theirs
- Microsoft or other tenant ownership, with your organisation as the legal owner
- Any licences purchased in your name rather than resold under their agreement
Pay particular attention to domain names and tenant ownership. Providers who register these in their own name, usually for convenience rather than malice, create a genuinely painful problem at exit.
Response and resolution are not the same
A provider promising a four hour SLA has said almost nothing until you know which of the two they mean.
Response
The time from a ticket being raised to a person beginning work on it. This can and should be committed to, because it is entirely within the provider's control.
Resolution
The time until the issue is fixed. This cannot honestly be guaranteed across all fault types, because a failed motherboard depends on a supplier and a corrupted database depends on how much data there is to restore.
A credible agreement commits firmly to response, reports on resolution as a measured average by priority, and does not pretend the second is a promise.
Common questions
Answered before you ask.
Is a twelve month contract reasonable?
Yes. Onboarding a new client is front loaded work, and a provider recovering that investment over a year is normal commercial practice. What matters more than the length is what happens at the end: the notice period, whether it renews automatically, and what you receive on exit. A twelve month term with a 30 day notice period and clean exit terms is a better deal than a month to month agreement that leaves documentation ownership unstated.
What is a realistic response time to expect?
Fifteen minutes to a live person during business hours is a strong commitment and achievable for a well staffed provider. An hour is common and reasonable. Four hours suggests either a thin team or a provider who prefers not to be measured. What matters as much as the number is whether it is contractual, how it is measured, and whether performance against it is reported to you monthly without being asked.
Should we insist on service credits?
Ask for them, but do not weight them heavily. The credit is usually a small percentage of one month's fee, which will never approximate the cost of a real outage. Their genuine value is as a signal: a provider willing to put money against a commitment believes they will meet it. A provider who refuses any consequence for missing a target has told you how firm the target is.
What if we want to leave before the term ends?
Most agreements allow early termination for cause, meaning a material failure to deliver, usually after written notice and a cure period. Leaving without cause typically means paying out some portion of the remaining term. Read that clause before you sign rather than when you are unhappy, and check whether repeated missed response targets constitute cause, because in many agreements they do not unless it is written in.
Who should review the agreement?
Someone with commercial experience should read the term, notice, renewal and exit clauses, and it does not have to be a lawyer for a standard agreement. Where there is a compliance obligation involved, or where the provider will hold regulated data, counsel is worth the cost. The technical schedule should be reviewed by whoever knows your environment best, because that is where scope gaps hide.
Read next
The rest of the evaluation.
How to choose an IT provider
The questions to ask, the red flags, and a scoring sheet.
What is included in managed IT services
A line by line scope, including the exclusions most contracts hide.
What managed IT services cost in Tacoma
Per user pricing bands, what moves the number up, and how to read a quote.
IT support and help desk
Tiered support with published response targets, remote and onsite.
IT compliance and risk
HIPAA, CMMC, PCI DSS and cyber insurance requirements.
Ask us for the agreement before the proposal.
Read the commercial terms first and the pricing second. If the exit clause does not satisfy you, the price is irrelevant.