Patent ID: 7523041

Claim:
A method in a data processing system for a utility computing environment, the method comprising: setting service level thresholds for the utility computing environment, wherein the service level thresholds are based on a service level agreement with a customer; displaying a view of a current service level for the customer; presenting a view of a promised service level based on service level agreement parameters; identifying a plurality of discrepancies between the promised service level and the current service level, wherein one of the plurality of discrepancies occurs in response to successfully completing a service request using less time than specified in the service level agreement, and wherein another of the plurality of discrepancies occurs in response to breeching to the service level agreement; generating a first rebate in response to successfully completing the service request using less time than specified in the service level agreement based on a completion time and a promised completion time, wherein the completion time is an amount of time used to successfully complete the service request, wherein the promised completion time is an agreed upon amount of time to complete the service request specified in the service level agreement, and wherein the completion time is less than the promised completion time; generating a second rebate in response to breeching the service level agreement; and providing the first rebate and the second rebate to the customer for the plurality of discrepancies, wherein the first rebate and the second rebate assure that the customer pays for service rendered.