Service Level Agreements Vs. Framework Agreements...

What's the difference? 

I have been in Sales and Design of Infrastructure solutions for over 20 years now and it still amazes me that companies do not want to sign any type of SLA linked to cabling and or WIFI solutions, but many are very happy to look at Framework agreements for sometimes 3 to 5 years at a time!

I believe this is down to 2 main thoughts; 1. Cabling isn’t important to have any type of agreement linked to it and 2. They can simply call their incumbent supplier or get 3 or 4 quotes and decide the best course of action from there.

However, neither is the best practise, as Cabling/WIFI solutions really are the 4^th utility in a building and as important as the 1^st 3. What can you do if there are issues with your cabling/WIFI? Your business stops or the user/s cannot work. Due to the pandemic, we are seeing a shift towards SLA agreements, so it gives your business the peace of mind with both response times and quality of works.

Unfortunately, we have seen many other companies in our industry losing their businesses, which of course leaves gaps in the marketplace to support businesses, healthcare, education and government locations. The Service Level Agreements we are signing simply guarantee servicer levels, not quotes/installations. So whether you have 1 site or 1000 sites, we have the engineering resource to look after the service and installation requirements you may have. Whether they are small or large projects, we are here to help.

Framework agreements are very good for any business use included, as there is a level of business to come from this based on previous years or planned projects. But these agreements don’t just guarantee Service levels, best price also needs to be linked to much better document standards in my opinion, as customers and some installation companies alike don’t seem to be aware of the latest standards in the cabling industry. Again, this is linked to how important cabling is to a business/building if designed and installed correctly.

David Jackson,

Managing Director, The Cabling Company