SLA Comparison of Saudi Hosting Providers
Who offers 99.99%? Who gives real compensation? We read every Saudi hosting provider SLA. The results are surprising.
SLA Comparison Among Saudi Hosting Providers
A Service Level Agreement (SLA) is the only document protecting your rights as a customer. Yet many Saudi companies sign contracts without reading the SLA — or worse, their provider does not have a written SLA at all.
What a Good SLA Must Include
1. Uptime Percentage and Its Real Meaning
Uptime → Allowed annual downtime:
99.0% → 87.6 hours (over 3 days!) — unacceptable
99.5% → 43.8 hours — weak
99.9% → 8.7 hours — acceptable for simple websites
99.95% → 4.4 hours — good
99.99% → 52 minutes — excellent (كلاود target)
99.999% → 5 minutes — Enterprise only
Warning: A provider promising "99.9% uptime" can legally have your server down for 8.7 hours annually without compensation obligations.
2. Definition of Downtime
The decisive question: When does downtime start counting?
Weak definition (in provider's favor):
"Downtime counted when the provider is notified by the client"
= Provider does not know until you call
Strong definition (in your favor):
"Downtime counted when server fails to respond to ping
from external monitoring locations for over 5 minutes"
= Counted automatically regardless of notification
3. Compensation
Good SLA model:
Uptime below 99.95%:
→ 5% discount on monthly fees
Uptime below 99.9%:
→ 10% discount
Uptime below 99.0%:
→ 25% discount or one free month
Poor SLA model:
"In case of downtime, the company reserves the right to assess compensation"
= Nothing guaranteed
SLA Comparison for Saudi Providers
| Provider | Stated Uptime | Written SLA? | Defined Compensation? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| مزودو المؤسسات | 99.99% | Yes (documented) | Yes | Enterprise only |
| مزود محلي | 99.9% | Unclear | Not specified | Needs detail |
| كلاود | 99.99% | Yes (in contract) | Yes | SMB + Enterprise |
| مزود تقليدي | 99.9% | Unconfirmed | Not specified | — |
| مزود أجنبي | 99.9% | Yes | Yes (limited) | Foreign servers |
What Providers Hide in SLAs
Downtime Exceptions
These are typically excluded from downtime calculation:
├── Scheduled maintenance
├── DDoS attacks beyond protection scope
├── DNS issues outside the server
├── Internet outages at upstream provider
└── "Force majeure" (a very broad clause)
How to Evaluate an SLA Before Signing
SLA Checklist
Essential:
[ ] Uptime percentage specified numerically (99.9%+ minimum)
[ ] Clear definition of Downtime
[ ] Specific and non-negotiable compensation
[ ] Objective calculation method (external monitoring)
[ ] Refund process (how and where to claim compensation)
Important:
[ ] Technical support SLA (response time)
[ ] Security guarantees
[ ] Backup policy (frequency, retention period)
[ ] Database guarantees
Watch out for:
[ ] "We reserve the right to change SLA at any time"
[ ] "Maximum compensation = one month's fees"
[ ] Broad exceptions clauses
Conclusion
An SLA is not a paper you sign and forget — it is the contract protecting you when problems occur. كلاود (cloud.net.sa) commits to a SLA عالي مع ضمان تعاقدي documented in every contract. Before signing any hosting contract, request the full SLA and contract document for review.
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