IT leaders are often caught in a tug-of-war between advancing technology and managing costs. In 2024, the state of the economy is only highlighting this divide. For business and IT leaders alike, this begs the common question: how can we reduce IT costs? Demands for IT continue to spike—especially as the cybersecurity landscape shifts and the appetite for remote work increases.

The cornerstone of every successful relationship—business or otherwise—is a clear, mutual set of expectations. In IT, this plays out in the form of service level agreements (SLAs). But really, SLAs are only the first step in the journey to a happy customer relationship. The real key to maintaining happy customers over the long term is SLA management. Knowing how important SLAs are raises several questions: How do you create one, what should it contain, and how do you manage them?