If you already understand SLAs from an ITSM perspective but feel lost when you see how ServiceNow actually implements them, you’re not alone. One of the first real hurdles for new ServiceNow practitioners is translating familiar concepts like SLA, OLA, and underpinning contracts into how the platform tracks time on an incident ticket.

This guide is built specifically for ITSM professionals transitioning into ServiceNow. Using real incident use cases, it breaks down what an SLA really means in ServiceNow, how it differs from OLAs and vendor commitments, and why understanding these distinctions is critical to making sense of breaches, escalations, and reporting.