Semantic Service Level Agreements Improving Smart Contract Usability in the Service-Based Digital Economy

Abstract

Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are formal contracts that define the expected level of service between a provider and a consumer. They are utilised in various domains, including cloud computing and IoT. With the advent of blockchain technology, SLAs have been integrated into smart contracts – self-executing contracts with terms directly written into code. However, unlike traditional cloud and IoT services, the functions of smart contracts on the blockchain are typically not monitored through SLAs, leaving potential violations undetected during execution. In a digital economy context, where efficiency, transparency, and trust are paramount, this gap poses significant challenges. Existing SLAs often lack semantic depth, being simple documents without enrichment or flexibility. This paper proposes a semantic SLA for smart contracts, enhancing the traditional SLA with ontological descriptions. This work aims to provide a more robust and flexible SLA model (SC-SLA) for monitoring smart contracts, ultimately enhancing trust and performance in blockchain-based systems. By addressing these issues, the proposed model contributes to the broader goal of optimising service delivery and reliability in the digital economy. The paper evaluates the quality of the ontology, validates the effectiveness of this approach through a detailed ontology, and demonstrates its application with a specific use case.