One of the most commonly misused terms in the Information
Technology ("IT") industry, even amongst
IT professionals and even sometimes lawyers, is that of
"SLA" or "Service Level Agreement". Not all IT
contracts are service level agreements even though the term is used
loosely and incorrectly to describe almost any type of IT
contract.
We differentiate Service Level Agreements from general terms and
conditions/contracts/agreements. Both may typically have common
elements such as boilerplate clauses, warranties, indemnities,
liability provisions, force majeure and the like. However, an
agreement which does not contain certain specific elements is
not a service level agreement.
