A vendor stipulates it will provide incident response within - CompTIA CLO-002

Correct Answer: D. Service Level Agreement (SLA)

A Service Level Agreement (SLA) is a contract between a service provider and a customer that defines the level of service expected from the provider. It typically includes specific performance metrics, such as response times, availability, and resolution times. In this case, the vendor has committed to providing incident response within two hours for a severity level A incident, which is a typical SLA condition.

• Why it’s correct:

  • The SLA specifies the response time (two hours) for addressing a specific severity level A incident, which is a core component of SLAs.
  • SLAs set clear expectations for both parties about service levels, performance, and penalties for non-compliance.

• Example:
  An SLA between a cloud service provider and a customer might specify that for a critical system outage (severity level A), the provider must respond within two hours to begin mitigation efforts.

Why the Other Options Are Incorrect:

Maintenance Agreement (Incorrect)

A maintenance agreement typically covers the terms for regular maintenance, updates, and support of systems or software, but it does not specifically define response times for incidents.

• Why it’s incorrect:
  • While maintenance agreements can include support, they generally do not focus on specific response times for incident severity levels as SLAs do.

Managed Service Agreement (Incorrect)

A managed service agreement (MSA) is an agreement where a service provider takes over the management of IT services for a customer. While it can include incident response and management, it is broader in scope than a specific SLA, which is more focused on measurable performance standards.

• Why it’s incorrect:
  • An MSA is a higher-level agreement that may include SLAs, but the specific stipulation about response times for severity level A incidents is typically an SLA, not an MSA.

Operating Level Agreement (Incorrect)

An Operating Level Agreement (OLA) is an internal agreement within an organization that defines the responsibilities of internal departments to support service delivery. While OLAs can support SLAs, they are not external agreements with customers and usually do not address specific customer-facing response times.

• Why it’s incorrect:
  • An OLA is an internal agreement and does not typically define the response times or service levels for customer-facing incidents like an SLA does.