3/6/2006 -- It looks as if enterprises are -- at long last! -- starting to demand greater accountability from wireless service providers. That's the conclusion of new research by market watcher In-Stat, which says enterprises are taking a tried-and-true approach to wireless service -- i.e., insisting on service level agreements (SLA) during the wireless selection process.

SLAs haven't yet become decisive factors in wireless selection, In-Stat researchers stress, but such agreements are starting to factor more prominently in the selection calculi of many enterprises. Slowly, very slowly, the importance of the SLAs among all other service attributes increased in rank from seventh in a 2004 user survey to sixth in 2005. But that's just the beginning, In-Stat says.

"While SLAs may not be of the highest importance today, it is likely that within the next five years SLAs will be an expected service feature, at least for the large enterprises of 1,000 or more employees," said In-Stat analyst Allyn Hall, in a statement. "Sprint may have set the ball rolling by making the SLA a known option in every contract negotiation. However, significant refinement is required to make SLAs relevant to most corporate buyers."

Right now, Hall says, there's little if any correlation between CIO involvement and the importance of SLAs in the buying process. That could change, however, as customers increasingly adopt Service Quality Management (SQM) tools, which permit a more granular view into wireless performance.

Finally, as data services become ever more important components of the wireless service packages, SLA will correspondingly grow in importance. -Stephen Swoyer