Category: Uncategorized

SLA = shared goal

One of the best uses of a Service Level Agreement (SLA) in our eyes is its use as a way of setting goals for the vendor. When implemented successfully, an SLA can be a means to manage risk, and create accountability on both the part of the vendor and your own obligation to the technology investment.  We have seen many SLAs with built in penalties for vendors for non-performance, and/or missed deadlines. This can certainly work in your favor in […]

Oracle waiving extended support fees (temporarily)

Oracle is making moves again to help customers battle the recession. At COLLABORATE, Oracle announced that it will delay for customers the maintenance increases they would’ve started to pay next year on aging software products, as rates moved from the premier to the extended support stage of product life cycles. Extended support rates have been waived for the following products: Oracle® E-Business Suite Release 11i10 – through November 2011 JD Edwards EnterpriseOne 8.11- through December 2010 Siebel CRM 7.8 – […]

Details, details, details…

Without a comprehensive and effective Service Level Agreement (SLA) in place when purchasing hardware or software, your investment runs the risk of being ineffective, and/or costing more than originally planned. The key to a successful SLA is all about the details. The four components of an SLA should be: Description: A descriptive overview of the task at hand Target/Deadline: When the project/term is complete and what should have been completed at this point Measurement: How you will measure against the […]

Microsoft and Linux Foundation playing nice in the sandbox?

Microsoft and the Linux Foundation have recently teamed up against the American Law Institute (ALI). These two parties, who have a reputation of always being on opposite sides, have joined forces and sent a joint letter to the ALI regarding their concerns with the group’s draft Principles of the Law of Software Contracts. They both believe the new Principles will do more harm than good and should be revised. Their main concern is a non-disclaimable “implied warranty of no material […]

Good time for companies to consider reviewing SLAs

The ending of a financial quarter or year-end have been traditionally good times to review and re-up software licensing agreements. Though not always the case, it is still a time when many SLAs are reviewed and discussed between the corporate enterprise and the software vendor. Dependent on the degree of concessions and “value-add” placed into your contract, the timing will make a difference. We’ve been encouraging many of our clients to begin reviewing their Oracle and Microsoft assets and SLAs now so that any contract […]

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