A symbiotic relationship is one where two or more parties / entities share resources and / or rely on each other for survival or operations.   A good example of a symbiotic relationship would be the microscopic life-forms which resides in the human digestive system, without them, we couldn’t break down food in the way that we do.  In effect, our survival is dependent on the duties these tiny organisms perform.

You’re probably wondering what this has to do with service level management (SLM) or a Service level agreement (SLA), right?    If you haven’t already made the connection; the relationship between SLM and a SLA is essentially a symbiotic one.  For example, service level management procedures cannot be instituted without first establishing a service level agreement (which is to serve as the blueprint of sorts).  By the same token, a service level agreement is simply an outline of goals, inventory of assets, accord between parties, and a series of strategies for carrying everything out.  Like service level management however, a service level agreement cannot be instituted without the assistance of (in this case) SLM.  This is because service level management is actually the active entity responsible for instituting any SLA policies.

In many cases, the same individuals that are ultimately going to be responsible for performing the duties of the service level management are going to actually craft the service level agreement.  In fact, it would be considered odd at this point if the proposed (or current) service level manager didn’t participate in the design of their organization’s SLA.   This is because a quality service level manager is an individual that is often highly skilled, qualified, and experienced; meaning, they should have intimate knowledge about what actually works and what doesn’t.

Of course one should also keep in mind that not every situation is the same.   There’s a surprising amount of deviation and diversity present when you look at all IT departments as a whole.  Sure, they may be operating on similar principles, certifications, and systems, but everything becomes much more complex when you factor software and application into the mix.  This is just one example of why a designated service level manager must be extremely able.   After all, their parent organization(s) is depending on them to not only keep their IT systems up and running, but also to assist in devising ways of utilizing available technological assets to actually begin fulfilling “big picture” business goals and generating profits.

Anything that’s immediately relevant to current operations, goals, projects and/or aspirations will be included in a comprehensive service level agreement.  Care is also taken to explore those items / events which have the potential to become relevant in the future.

The main concern of any service level agreement is to create strategies and contingencies for every aspect in the operation of IT assets.   This is valuable not only for those directly participating in the monitoring and maintenance of IT systems, but also to the people who are involved the decision making processes of the business (or the business that an IT organization is servicing).

Things become even more crucial when you factor in that many of today’s businesses are utilizing IT in exciting new ways.  They are essentially treating IT as another department for generating profits.  This is in sharp contrast to the way IT previously functioned, which was mostly in a maintenance capacity.  Why are business leaders interested in IT as money maker, in and of itself?  It’s largely because today’s public is trending toward utilizing web services.

Almost every type of business organization these days is employing some form of internal and external web service(s).  (Internal meaning, for in-house operations and external meaning, services that customers might use).    However, an organization can’t assess their IT goals or ensure continuous operations without SLA and SLM, respectively.  Likewise, it would be nearly impossible for even the most intrepid, intelligent and daring service level manager to single-handedly formulate a strategy for achieving their bosses’ business goals while also having no idea of what might be required (hardware, software and personnel) to actually achieve them.  What SLA actually does is provide a forum for allowing all involved parties (business and tech-related) opportunity to raise their concerns and add their desires to the fold.  These ideas are then used to formulate strategies and identify components for executing them.

Service level management and a comprehensive service level agreement are the only two components needed to build a bridge between the desires of an organization and what they’re actually capable of accomplishing.  These two revolutionary concepts in establishing, monitoring, maintaining and utilizing IT services are perfect for meeting the requirements and challenges facing the modern business.

In order to claim progress in any endeavor (from a scientific perspective) one has to be able to present evidence clearly showing that positive effects are being produced.   This is often done in many situations by demonstrating some particular action’s beneficial residual effect on adjacent, related or connected components.  In service level management CSF (critical success factors) are among the most obvious watermarks one can use to gauge overall effectiveness of the practice itself. 

But just what are critical success factors, and do they pertain to?     Critical success factors (in SLM) are basically benchmarks in several categories that must be met in order to ensure that IT is not only fulfilling its duties to its constituency, but also working toward realizing the larger business goals of the parent organization.   Service level management itself is a bit of a departure from established IT duties, but it is a necessary process.   This is largely due to the fact that modern businesses are increasingly relying upon the services of their IT departments to not only run their organization internally, but to also generate additional profits and/or interface with the public at large.  All of this adds up to the fact that we have already entered into an era in which a new form of business is emerging, one in which web services are becoming vital components in profit generation / retention.  What critical success factors actually seek to do is essentially make sure that the needs of clientele are being met and that the system itself is being constantly monitored for stability.

What are some specific instances of Critical Success Factors in SLM?
There are a number of critical success factors for service level management which are fairly obvious and must be taken into consideration if long term success is to be achieved.  Arguably, the biggest CSF with regards to SLM is probably ability to meet the demands of an established service level agreement.  (For those that might be unaware; a service level agreement, or SLA, is a set of pre-agreed upon boundaries and logistics that are negotiated and set up by an IT division.  The desires outlined in any SLA are meant to reinforce the business concepts and aspirations of the parent organization and provide an organized, detailed and reasonable plan for achieving them.)  At its heart, the SLA is meant to simply align the goals of any business with the processes and resources of its IT department.

It is also important that an IT department and service manager be able to present their services in a way that is both cost effective to their entire company/organization as well as the customers they might be interfacing with.  For many businesses the web services provided by IT are meant to assist in profit generation, this should always be taken into consideration. 

The most obvious CSF for service level management is probably the ability of IT to actually provide services that are meeting the needs of their parent organization’s customer base.  Through judicial application of SLM, many organizations are beginning to interface with their IT managers on business grounds, not just technical ones.  For many individuals in upper management, service level management is a way of assigning complex and crucial tasks to those in their IT departments who have the tools and experience to complete them.

Having a solid strategy in place that also allows an IT division to keep their entire system under constant surveillance is also a well recognized critical success factor.  This also goes hand in hand with the concept of cost effectiveness; after all, how can you generate profit if the system isn’t operational?  This is also true of the level(s) of IT standards and compliance present at any given time.  As a general rule, those IT organizations that are more in line with established standards for IT quality are much more likely to keep their system fully operational (for a longer duration of time with no mishaps), thereby assisting in profit generation.

It is also important that an IT organization engaging service level management practices attempt to foster an IT service society.  This not only engenders employees to participate more fully in their duties and engage in creative decision making, but also to maintain long term stability.