What is a service level agreement (SLA) vs operational level agreement (OLA)?

Question

Accepted Answer

**SLA** — external agreement with customer. **OLA** — internal agreement between teams.

**SLA:**
- External document.
- With customers/vendors.
- Legal binding.
- Penalties for breach.

**OLA:**
- Internal document.
- Between departments.
- Supports SLA.
- Not legally binding.

**Example:**
```
SLA (with Customer):
99.9% uptime, 4-hour response for critical issues

OLA (Internal):
IT Team must respond to Help Desk within 1 hour
Help Desk must escalate to Engineering within 30 minutes
```

**Key differences:**
- **SLA** — external, customer-facing.
- **OLA** — internal, team-to-team.

Business Analyst: What is a service level agreement (SLA) vs operational level agreement (OLA)?