A + V

Why is it worth investing in SLA? Service Level Agreement in the AV industry

Organisations such as corporations, hotels, education establishments, or even museums, must have a reliable audio-visual infrastructure to operate effectively. Stability of the AV system and ensuring its correct functioning is key in all circumstances. It is necessary to have additional technical support, which will be able to react in case of emergency and quickly achieve full system recovery. However, employing an additional person to monitor the technology, or a person that would be able to react to malfunctions successfully in timely manner, is very expensive and requires engagement of various departments and broader technical knowledge.

In this case, joining a service and maintenance programme and signing a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with an AV integrator, is the perfect solution. Until recently, such agreement was common in the IT industry, but it has now become popular in the audio-visual world.

What is SLA and what benefits it offers?

What is Service Level Agreement (SLA)?

SLA (Service Level Agreement) is a type of agreement that defines a level, conditions, and technical parameters of service expected from the vendor. It is considered a modern approach to business, which includes general agreed priorities and guidelines between a service provider and a client. In the AV industry, the main aim of this form of service agreement, is ensuring a guaranteed time of the technical problem resolution and bringing the system back to full operational condition, in the shortest possible time.

What should be included in the SLA?

Spectrum and content of the agreement depends mainly on the industry, business model and client’s specific needs. SLA clauses give the client an assurance that ordered services will be delivered according to the business requirements and in the specified time.
SLA for the audio-visual and multimedia systems should include:

• a list of rooms and devices covered by the SLA
• guaranteed system recovery time
• reaction time and the way a failure report would be accepted and processed
• a list of replacement devices offered by the service provider
• a number of technical system health checks included in the term of agreement

What are the benefits of the SLA?

The main benefit of the SLA is access to technical support (i.e. helpdesk) and AV system recovery in a specified time – even in 24 hours! This means that your meeting rooms will not stay empty due to AV system failure. For corporations, this is sustaining effective operation of the office, and in the hotel or museum industry, this means maintaining room hire and movement of visitors – which are the main operational functions of such organisations.

In addition, under this service agreement, there is no need to involve your own staff from various departments (office management, facility management, IT etc.) in the process of system failure diagnostics, preparing devices for transportation under the manufacturer’s warranty, and looking for „ad-hoc” support in an emergency. In order to achieve such a high level of effectiveness of their service activities, companies that are servicing their AV devices on their own, would need to employ a dedicated professional on full time basis – which means a significant increase in costs.

How does SLA work at A+V?

Here at A+V, we are keeping a stock of replacement devices, implement appropriate procedures and maintain a specific internal structure of the service department, so as our clients can have a dedicated team of experts, ready to fulfil the requirements in their SLA. We are prepared to provide the highest level of service to our clients and to bring their AV systems to full operations in as little as 24 hours.

SLA at A+V includes:

• helpdesk available 7 days a week,
• guaranteed reaction time or replacement device installation,
• specified replacement devices and spare parts,
• remote supervision, problem solving and fault removal (thanks to a remote access software)
• telephone support,
• onsite servicing,
• history of repairs.

Every business is different and companies have various service needs. Some clients would focus on the repair and replacement in 24 or 48 hours, others would prefer the shortest reaction time, and others would need lower monthly costs package or regular system health check-up. In order to accommodate a variety of our clients’ needs, we prepared 4 tiers of SLA: Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze.

SLA, thanks to its clear and specific clauses, brings advantages to both the client and the vendor. Service provider’s promises together with the client’s requirements can be easily verified and measured as well. Thanks to a Service Level Agreement you will be sure, that your business is safe, and the vendor will ensure the contract fulfilment.

Does your current SLA meet your needs? Do you need advice in selecting the most appropriate package? We will help!

Contact us: office@aplusv.pl or +48 71 715 62 21.