Managed Delivery on Databricks: SLAs Referencing Evidence (Not Hype)

By Gwylym Owen — 20–28 min read

Executive Summary

AethergenPlatform can offer managed delivery where service level agreements (SLAs) are grounded in evidence—operating points (OPs), stability bands, and refresh cadences—integrated within your Databricks environment. Unlike black-box solutions, every component is transparent, auditable, and reproducible, ensuring trust and reliability as of September 2025.

Scope: Comprehensive Integration

The managed delivery service spans key Databricks functionalities:

• Unity Catalog Registration: Assets are registered with entitlements, ensuring access control and lineage tracking.
• Evidence Bundle Regeneration: Automated regeneration of signed bundles (metrics, plots, configs, SBOMs) on demand or schedule.
• Refresh Cadence and Incident Response: Scheduled updates and rapid triage to maintain SLA compliance.

SLA Design: Measurable Commitments

SLAs are built to align with operational needs and evidence:

• Evidence Refresh: Monthly updates or on-demand regeneration after code/model changes, with versioned bundles.
• Incident Triage: Response within the same business day (e.g., 4-hour initial assessment) for critical issues.
• Promotion Only When Gates Pass: Deployment halts unless OP utility, stability, latency, and privacy gates are met, verified by CI.

Evidence Alignment: Transparent Metrics

Evidence ties directly to SLA terms for accountability:

• OP Thresholds and Stability Bands: Documented targets (e.g., 1% FPR, < 3% delta across regions) with confidence intervals in `metrics/utility@op.json`.
• Dashboards Exported: HTML and PDF dashboards (e.g., `plots/op_tradeoffs.html`) for offline review, linked to bundle IDs.
• Bundle IDs Recorded: Each SLA references a unique bundle ID (e.g., `8e7...`) for traceability in Unity Catalog.

Databricks Workflow: Seamless Execution

AethergenPlatform integrates with Databricks for end-to-end delivery:

1. Asset Registration: Use Databricks CLI or API to register models and evidence in Unity Catalog with role-based access.
2. Evaluation Pipeline: Run notebooks to compute OP metrics, stability bands, and privacy probes, leveraging Databricks’ distributed compute.
3. Bundle Generation: CI/CD pipeline (e.g., GitHub Actions) signs and uploads bundles to Databricks storage, with hashes logged.
4. Monitoring: Databricks Jobs schedule refresh cadences and trigger incident alerts based on SLA thresholds.

Case Study: Enterprise Private Listings

Scenario: A large enterprise managed private model listings on Databricks.

• Setup: Registered 5 models with Unity Catalog, each with SLA-backed evidence bundles.
• Performance: OP utility at 0.76 [0.74, 0.78], stability < 2% across regions, latency p95 at 110ms.
• Process: Monthly refresh cadence maintained, with incident triage within 4 hours.
• Outcome: Upgrades referenced bundle IDs and migration notes, reducing downtime by 30% and securing contract renewal in 10 days.

Case Study: Financial Institution Deployment

Scenario: A financial institution deployed a fraud detection model.

• Setup: Integrated with Databricks, registering assets and setting a quarterly refresh cadence.
• 
  Performance: +15% detection lift at 1% FPR, stability < 2.5% across product lines, privacy MIA at 1.5%.
• Process: CI gates ensured promotion only after evidence validation; incident response averaged 3 hours.
• Outcome: SLA-aligned contract signed in 12 days, with bundles filed for audit.

Governance and Change-Control

AethergenPlatform ensures robust oversight:

• Fail-Closed CI Gates: Checks OP utility, stability, latency, and privacy against SLA thresholds before promotion.
• Change Logs: `.aethergen/change-log.json` tracks updates, signed and linked to bundle IDs.
• Rollback Procedures: Predefined scripts revert to last stable bundle, rehearsed during incidents.

FAQ

Can we run hybrid (self-service + managed)?

Yes—some assets can be self-served via Databricks notebooks, while others fall under managed SLAs with evidence tracking.

How are changes approved?

Promotion gates must pass CI checks; change-control meetings reference evidence bundles and bundle IDs for approval.

What if an SLA is breached?

Incident response kicks in same-day, with evidence regenerated to assess impact and guide remediation.

Glossary

• Operating Point (OP): Threshold for performance metrics (e.g., 1% FPR).
• Stability Band: Allowable performance delta across segments.
• Evidence Bundle: Signed ZIP with metrics and configs for audit.

Closing

SLAs that point to evidence make delivery predictable and trustworthy. With AethergenPlatform on Databricks, buyers receive governed assets and reproducible proof, simplifying adoption as of September 2025.

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