What's in an SLA and what should be in it? What's an SLA and why is it improtant? Get answers to these questions from Cloud Accounting Experts and customers who have benefited from a comprehensive SLA. http://roseasp.com/

1. What’s in an
SLA? QUESTIONS TO
ASK YOUR CLOUD
SERVICE PROVIDER
NINENINE
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NINE
QUESTIONS TO
ASK YOUR CLOUD
SERVICE PROVIDER
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NINE
QUESTIONS TO
ASK YOUR CLOUD
SERVICE PROVIDER
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R o s e A S P . c o m
Data Ownership
Data Confidentiality
Pricing Increases
What’s Next?
Disaster Recovery
Scheduled Downtime
Backup and Restore
Data Encryption
Support Severity and Response
SLA Non-Compliance Refund

3. What is an
SLA?When discussing service level agreements (SLAs) for cloud based business
software, people usually want to know about the level of uptime that the
cloud service provider (CSP) guarantees for the system. But there is more
to SLAs than system availability.
An SLA is an important legal document that addresses a variety of issues
around people, security, compliance, data ownership and other service
related commitments.
Moving enterprise software to the cloud through a CSP has its many
advantages, but not all providers are created equal and neither are their
SLAs. When choosing a hosting provider for your enterprise system, a
comprehensive SLA is a guarantee that you will get the most value possible
out of your subscription and it will ultimately play a critical role when
determining return on investment for the hosting service.
To help you get the most comprehensive SLA possible, this eBook includes
9 critical questions to ask about SLAs.
R o s e A S P . c o m

4. Do I get a money
back guarantee?
Nothing works perfectly 100-percent
of the time, especially when it comes
to IT systems. In the event that your
provider is unable to meet their uptime
guarantee, you need to know that it is
backed by financial reimbursement to
your organization. You also should
know how reimbursement is handled.
A comprehensive SLA is a
guarantee that you will get
the most value possible out
of your subscription and it
will ultimately play a critical
role when determining return
on investment for the hosting
service.
R o s e A S P . c o m

5. In the age of big data and cloud
computing, information is a highly
valued commodity. For companies
that have to comply with regulations
like SOX and HIPAA rules, data
confidentiality is a critical part of any
cloud or hosting agreement. Be sure
your company’s needs are met by
clearly stated confidentiality policies in
the SLA.
How will
you keep my
data confidential?
“Governance is about protecting
the organization without disrupting
business. Beyond offering much
higher levels of security than most
in-house systems, a great hosting
provider will work to build a cloud
solution that helps align information
security processes with business
requirements.”
Linda Rose
CEO and Founder
RoseASP
R o s e A S P . c o m

6. OneofthegreatvaluesofahostedERP
solution is that your provider maintains
the system for you. But sometimes
maintenance requires system down-
time. You need to know that downtime
will not conflict with your business and
that your CSP includes notification pol-
icies that allow you to prepare for any
scheduled downtime.
Will I be affected
by scheduled
downtime?Rural/Metro, an emergency
services provider, uses hosted
ERP and achieves 99.9% uptime
while maintaining HIPAA and SOX
compliance requirements.
Read the full Story >>
99.9%
R o s e A S P . c o m

7. “It’s been my experience
that the system is much
more secure with someone
who makes security a core
part of their business.”
Richard Jensrud
CFO, BRIX Holdings
Hosted ERP Customer
How is my
data encrypted
and how is it
monitored?
As your data moves through cyber-
space it is protected by encryption.
This includes financial data, client
data or even patient data. Protect your
business from breaches and non-com-
pliance by choosing a provider whose
encryption standards meet your com-
pany’s compliance and security re-
quirements.
R o s e A S P . c o m

8. Whether you are struggling to perform
a task in the system or your auditors
need documentation, a fast resolution
can save money, time and headaches.
Make sure the SLA includes support
severity level responsibilities and re-
sponse time guarantees that meet
your company’s requirements.
What are support
severity levels
and guaranteed
response times?
60% of cloud-using
businesses adopt
cloud to free up in-
house IT resources to
focus on more strategic
initiatives.
60%
Grow Your Business on
Your Terms >>
R o s e A S P . c o m

9. Is my data
protected by
backup and
restore routines?
The ability to backup data is one of
the top reasons businesses choose
to host their systems in the cloud. To
gain the full benefit of moving to the
cloud, you need to know and under-
stand your provider’s policies around
backups, recovery point objectives
and recovery time objectives.
“If you’re a public company or
heavily regulated in any way,
your cloud provider needs to
have controls both at the data
center and internally among
their own IT staff to ensure
that you remain compliant.”
Glen Medwid
Chief Compliance Officer
RoseASP
R o s e A S P . c o m

10. How is my data
protected against
disaster events?
Even the most temperate climates are
not guaranteed against catastrophic
events like floods, tornados or even
fires. Be sure you and your hosting
provider have a clear understanding
about who is responsible for data
should such an event occur, and what
measures are in place to protect your
data.
“As so-called ‘100-year floods’ and
cyberattacks grow more frequent, and
as governments, healthcare providers,
and businesses become completely
dependent on complex technology,
business continuity preparedness
becomes a cornerstone of a resilient
organization.”
Forrester >>
R o s e A S P . c o m

11. Today a hosted cloud solution might
meet your needs, but what if you want
to change or expand your system in
the future? To avoid surprises, con-
flicts and unnecessary costs, your pro-
vider’s data ownership policies should
be clearly stated in the SLA, including
who retains data ownership should
you decide to cancel the subscription.
Will I still own my
data?
“Some people don’t
realize how IT impacts the
entire company. If your
systems are inadequate, it
can affect every aspect of
business.”
Pete Hagan
IT Director at PurFoods
Hosted ERP Customer >>
R o s e A S P . c o m

12. Predictable costs are a critical part of
cloud ROI, so it is important to pro-
tect yourself against unexpected costs
and fees. Your SLA should provide a
clearly defined cost structure and pol-
icies around increases, frequency of
increases, increase limitations and ad-
vanced notification of increases.
Will I be hit with
hidden costs or
price increases?45% of IT budgets
are now dedicated to
the cloud.
45%
Turning Business Data
Into Insight >>
R o s e A S P . c o m

13. Takeaways
A comprehensive service level agreement guarantees more than
technology performance and uptime.
A solid SLA will protect your business by assuring that the services
are aligned with your security, continuity and risk management
requirements.
It can be difficult to find personal service in the digital world. An
SLA should assure you that your company will receive a level of
personalized service from your hosting provider that will help drive
the growth and success of your business.
What’s next?
Compliance Officer, Glen Medwid
addresses the importance of SOX
compliance for Cloud.
A growing company uses the
cloud to support compliance
for SOX and HIPAA.
Read Cloud Compliance Story >> Watch Compliance Discussion >>
R o s e A S P . c o m

14. How much does it cost
for a complete ERP Cloud SLA?
Click for Quote

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About RoseASP
Microsoft Dynamics Cloud Hosting
RoseASP works closely with clients to draw up a
comprehensive service level agreement that meets
the needs of your business and provides assurance
that compliance, performance and system availability
requirements will be met.
The RoseASP team delivers compliance validated
hosting environments and services for Microsoft
Dynamics AX, GP, NAV, SL and CRM. RoseASP
delivers 24/7/365 support for any connectivity, backup,
restore, password reset or other application readiness
issues and works closely with customers and Dynamics
Partners. As a former Microsoft Dynamics VAR,
RoseASP is committed to strong relationships with
Microsoft Dynamics Partners to ensure that Dynamics
ERP customers get the application support they
need with internal controls and backstops to support
requirements for SOX, HIPAA and FDA rules.