The goal of availability management is to guarantee agreed service availability by implementing the specifications in the service level agreement (SLA) through a plan to maintain service availability. This is achieved through predetermination of possible breakdowns or interruptions, an evaluation of these risks, and by taking appropriate service architecture measures to ensure required availability.

Benefits of Availability Management:

• availability is specifically aligned with the requirements of the business
• it is measurable and achievable, and it is defined and agreed in a way that is understandable for everyone
• internal and external performance can be monitored and steered through the measurability of the availability objectives
• responsibility for availability is identified and appropriate roles are assigned
• frequency and length of interruptions and breakdowns are reduced
• the IT organisation is recognised as added value for the business, because it ensures the performance quality and thus increases customer satisfaction