System and method for analyzing and coordinating service-level-agreements (SLA) for application-service-providers (ASP)
The present invention describes a system for automatically monitoring and managing Service Level Agreements on behalf of Service providers (such as Application Service providers). The system is based on a specialized SLA language that can translate complex or simple Service Level Agreements into measurable and controllable criterion. The system enables Application Service providers to set up customized Service Level Agreements with customers, and monitor, modify and control all aspects of these agreements, including billing, sales, Customer Relation Management, customer support and Quality of Service. The technology on which the present invention is based is a formula driven language that translates Service Level Agreement details into commands. As such these details can be tracked and processed to produce detailed reports and summaries.
1. A method, comprising:
receiving a measurement for a service;
calculating, using a processor, a service level value from the measurement, the service level value calculated according to a formula indicated by a Service Level Agreement;
applying an aggregation rule to the service level value to yield an actual service level;
comparing the actual service level to a target service level of the Service Level Agreement;
returning an amount of deviation between the actual service level and the target service level; and
calculating a penalty if the amount of deviation indicates the actual service level fails to meet the target service level, the penalty calculated from a penalty formula that includes the amount of deviation as an input.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the measurement describes the status of a resource, a performance level of a process, or a status of a trouble ticket.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the aggregation rule includes a time period and an aggregation function; and
the applying the aggregation rule comprises aggregating the service level value with one or more other service level values according to the aggregation function, the one or more other service level values corresponding to the time period of the aggregation rule.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the aggregation rule includes an aggregation function selected from the group consisting of a sum, an average, a weighted average, a minimum, a maximum, and a count.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the Service Level Agreement includes:
an application supported by the service; and
a timeslot indicating when to apply the target service level.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the Service Level Agreement includes:
one or more timeslots indicating when to apply the target service level, at least one of the one or more timeslots including weekday daytimes, weekday evenings, weekends, or holidays.
7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
selecting the Service Level Agreement from a plurality of candidate Service Level Agreements by mapping the measurement to a requirement of the Service Level Agreement.
8. A method, comprising:
receiving a measurement for a service;
calculating, using a processor, a service level value from the measurement, the service level value calculated according to a formula indicated by a Service Level Agreement;
applying an aggregation rule to the service level value to yield an actual service level;
comparing the actual service level to a target service level of the Service Level Agreement;
returning an amount of deviation between the actual service level and the target service level; and
upon a determination that the actual service level deviates from the target service level by more than an optimal amount, allocating or deallocating resources to optimize the amount of deviation between the actual service level and the target service level.
9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
reporting a penalty if the amount of deviation indicates the actual service level fails to meet the target service level.
10. A system, comprising:
an interface operable to:
receive a measurement for a service; and
one or more processors operable to:
calculate a service level value from the measurement, the service level value calculated according to a formula;
apply an aggregation rule to the service level value to yield an actual service level;
compare the actual service level to a target service level of a Service Level Agreement;
return an amount of deviation between the actual service level and the target service level; and
calculate a penalty if the amount of deviation indicates the actual service level fails to meet the target service level, the penalty calculated from a penalty formula that includes the amount of deviation as an input.
11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the measurement describes the status of a resource, a performance level of a process, or a status of a trouble ticket.
12. The system of claim 10 , wherein:
the aggregation rule includes a time period and an aggregation function; and
applying the aggregation rule comprises aggregating the service level value with one or more other service level values according to the aggregation function, the one or more other service level values corresponding to the time period of the aggregation rule.
13. The system of claim 10 , wherein:
the aggregation rule includes an aggregation function selected from the group consisting of a sum, an average, a weighted average, a minimum, a maximum, and a count.
14. The system of claim 10 , wherein the Service Level Agreement includes:
a timeslot indicating when to apply the target service level.
15. A system, comprising:
an interface operable to:
receive a measurement for a service; and
one or more processors operable to:
calculate a service level value from the measurement, the service level value calculated according to a formula;
apply an aggregation rule to the service level value to yield an actual service level;
compare the actual service level to a target service level of a Service Level Agreement;
return an amount of deviation between the actual service level and the target service level; and
upon a determination that the actual service level deviates from the target service level by more than an optimal amount, allocate or deallocate resources to optimize the amount of deviation between the actual service level and the target service level.
16. The system of claim 15 , the one or more processors further operable to:
report a penalty if the amount of deviation indicates the actual service level fails to meet the target service level.
17. A method, comprising:
receiving a measurement for a provided service;
accessing a plurality of Service Level Agreements, each Service Level Agreement including:
a target service level for one or more agreed services; and
a formula for calculating an actual service level;
repeating for each Service Level Agreement:
determining whether the provided service corresponds to one or more of the agreed services, and if the provided service corresponds to one or more of the agreed services:
inputting the measurement into the formula to calculate the actual service level;
comparing, using a processor, the actual service level to the target service level;
returning an amount of deviation between the actual service level and the target service level; and
calculating a penalty if the amount of deviation indicates the actual service level fails to meet the target service level, the penalty calculated from a penalty formula that includes the amount of deviation as an input.
18. The method of claim 17 , the determining whether the provided service corresponds to one or more agreed services further comprising:
determining whether the formula of the each Service Level Agreement includes the measurement as an input.