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New Service Level Agreement
Welcome to the new Certus Technologies SLA Package
– Fixed Price IT your business can rely on.
Executive
Summary
An unprecedented approach has been undertaken by Certus
Technologies to provide you with customer orientated Service Level Agreements that address
many of the IT issues facing your company. This is an approach that focuses on tasks and outcomes for you – not the time taken to perform work. We call it Outcome Based
Service Work.
This
is a unique offering as it offers much more
than a standard maintenance agreement.
The
key questions are:
- Is computer uptime crucial to the success of your organisation?
- Have you always wanted to have?
·
More reliable computer systems
·
Capped
IT costs
·
An
easy to calculate budget for IT expenditure
·
An
organisation that has the efficiency of your
network as its priority
·
A
service organisation that contacts you and keeps you informed
·
A
reward for loyalty
The
Certus Technologies SLA addresses all of these areas, and goes a step beyond
all previous SLAs, with the establishment of our tailored Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze Service Level Agreements.
Traditionally
IT companies are focussed on the time spent performing work for their clients. This makes
it difficult to estimate labour charges before work is performed, thus
rewarding IT companies that perform work slowly, rather than those that
perform work efficiently.
The
Certus Technologies SLA forms the backbone of the relationship between Certus Technologies and you, the Client. It is provided to you on 4
different levels to match your service requirements and budget, each level
clearly defining the work that will be performed under the SLA at no charge
to you.
It
is an incredibly simple concept. The SLA is not based on the number of hours
work allowed each month. There are simply a range of tasks, outcomes and regular maintenance that will be
performed under the scope of the SLA.
If
Certus Technologies engineers perform their work slowly or you have more
problems in a certain month (problems that are covered under your SLA level),
there is no additional cost to you.
The
Certus Technologies SLA is therefore, a commitment to you to ensure work is performed efficiently and that the performance of
your network is always at its peak.
This
is an exciting concept offering from Certus Technologies. It is about
providing the efficiency and savings you deserve.
The Certus Technologies SLA Concept
There are 4
different levels of SLAs available; Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze, in addition to having no SLA which we have termed
‘Nickel’.
As you move up
through the levels of SLAs, there are several key issues that improve for
you:
- The tasks
and outcomes covered for free increase;
- The
maintenance checks increase in frequency;
- The
consultancy discussion and recommendations increase in frequency;
- The phone
response times improve;
- The
on-site response times improve;
- The
response times for critical MS Security updates improve;
- The cost
of travelling decreases;
- The cost
of additional charges decreases for work that is required outside the
scope of your specific SLA;
- In some
circumstances additional items are included such as free priority
response, free labour on network upgrades, etc.
This
information is designed to give you a conceptual summary of the major
differences among the plans.
Platinum Service
Level
- Only
standard hardware warranty items covered for free (for hardware
purchased from Certus Technologies)
- No call
out fee payable – even for work that is required that is outside the
scope of the SLA
- No
priority call-out fee
- Regular
maintenance checks (more often than Gold) – for
full details of maintenance check please email
- Very high
phone response priority
- Very high
on-site response priority
- Platinum
level discounted labour charges for work required outside the scope of
the SLA
- Platinum
level discounted travelling charges
- A
dedicated e-mail address for Platinum clients
- Free
software support for most issues. More detail is given in a following
table but conceptually free support is given on:
- Simple
day to day minor issues that impact one user or a few users
- Simple
fixing of minor problems
- New user
creation
- Resetting
passwords for users
- Repairing
problems with automatic virus definition updates
- Resetting
hung/frozen user sessions
- Configuration
of routers and firewalls
- Rebooting
servers
- Standard
Office-type application software patches
- Standard
Office-type application installs and upgrades
- Solve
configuration issues related to Microsoft Office-type products
(excludes the creation of Visual Basic scripts/code, mail merge setup
and macros etc.)
- Re-install
of operating system and applications on workstations after hardware
failure – or when deemed necessary
- Re-install
of server operating system after hardware failure
- Free
labour charges on major network upgrades – with conditions:
- The
Client must have been a Platinum level support client for a minimum of
2 consecutive years immediately preceding the network upgrade
- The
Client must agree to a minimum of a further year as a Platinum level
support client
- Any
required new hardware is purchased from Certus Technologies
- This
offer is only able to be used a maximum of once every 3 years
Gold Service Level
- Only
standard hardware warranty items covered for free (for hardware
purchased from Certus Technologies)
- No call
out fee payable – even for work that is required that is outside the
scope of the SLA
- Regular
maintenance checks (more often than Silver) – for
full details of maintenance check please email
- High
phone response priority
- High
on-site response priority
- Gold
level discounted labour charges for work required outside the scope of
the SLA
- Gold
level discounted priority call-out fee
- Gold
level discounted travelling charges
- A
dedicated e-mail address for Gold clients
- Free
software support for certain issues. More detail is given in a following
table but conceptually free support is given on:
- Simple
day to day minor issues that impact one user or a few users
- Simple
fixing of minor problems
- New user
creation
- Resetting
passwords for users
- Repairing
problems with automatic virus definition updates
- Resetting
hung/frozen user sessions
- Configuration
of routers and firewalls
- Rebooting
servers
- Standard
Office-type application software patches
- Standard
Office-type application installs and upgrades
- Solving
configuration issues related to Microsoft Office-type products
(excludes the creation of Visual Basic scripts/code, mail merge setup
and macros etc.)
Silver Service Level
- Only
standard hardware warranty items covered for free (for hardware
purchased from Certus Technologies)
- No call
out fee payable – even for work that is required that is outside the scope
of the SLA
- Regular
maintenance checks (more often than Bronze) – for
full details of maintenance check please email
- Improved
phone response priority
- Improved
on-site response priority
- Silver level labour charges for work required
outside the scope of the SLA
- Silver
level discount on priority call-out fee
- Silver
level discount on travelling charges
- A
dedicated e-mail address for Silver clients
- Free
software support for certain issues. More detail is given in a following
table but conceptually free support is given on:
- Simple
day to day minor issues that impact one user or a few users
- Simple
fixing of minor problems
- New user
creation
- Resetting
passwords for users
- Repairing
problems with automatic virus definition updates
- Resetting
hung/frozen user sessions
- Configuration
of routers and firewalls
- Rebooting
servers
- Standard
Office-type application software patches
Bronze Service
Level
- Only
standard hardware warranty items covered for free (for hardware
purchased from Certus Technologies)
- No call
out fee payable – even for work that is required outside the scope of
this SLA
- Regular
maintenance checks – for full details of
maintenance check please email
- Improved
phone response priority
- Improved
on-site response priority
- Basic
Bronze discounted labour charges for work required outside the scope of
the SLA
- Basic
Bronze level discounted priority call out fees
- Basic
Bronze level discounted travelling charges
- A
dedicated e-mail address for Bronze clients
- Free
software support for some issues. More detail is given in a following
table but, conceptually, free support is given on:
- Simple
day to day minor issues that impact one user
- Simple
fixing of minor problems
- Simple
fixing of minor printing issues caused by software
- New user
creation
Following
tables detail further the various differences between the levels of SLAs.
These include the frequency of maintenance checks and the response times.
There is also indicative information to indicate the types of work that will
be covered for free at each support level.
*No Service Agreement*
- Only
standard hardware warranty items covered for free (for hardware
purchased from Certus Technologies)
- Service
is Return to Base (or a call-out fee is applicable)
- No regular maintenance checks
- Lowest
phone response priority
- Lowest
on-site response priority
- Highest
labour charges with charges applicable for all non Certus warranty
issues
- Highest
travelling charges
- No free
software support is offered
The 4 SLAs
have differing response times. The response times are summarised in the table
below. Note that response times are guaranteed times to respond to a problem,
not to resolve an issue.
Nickel
*No SLA*
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Support Level:
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Platinum
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Gold
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Silver
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Bronze
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1
business day
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Maximum Phone / e-mail response time for any new L1 critical
issues (see Priority Levels)
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1 hour (Only counted during the Phone Support Hours listed below)
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2 hours (Hours only counted during the Phone Support Hours listed
below)
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4 hours (Hours only counted during the Phone Support Hours listed
below)
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6 hours (Hours only counted during the Phone Support Hours listed
below)
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2 business
days
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Maximum
Phone / e-mail response for Level 2 issues
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2 hours (Hours only counted during Phone Support Hours)
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4 hours (Hours only counted during Phone Support Hours)
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8 hours (Hours only counted
during Phone Support Hours)
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12 hours (Hours only counted during Phone Support Hours)
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9.00am
– 5.30pm
Mon-Fri
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Phone Support Hours
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9.00am – 6.00pm
Mon-Fri
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9.00am – 6.00pm
Mon-Fri
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9.00am – 6.00pm
Mon-Fri
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9.00am – 6.00pm
Mon-Fri
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1
business day
(plus
travelling)
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Maximum on-site time for any new L1 critical issues (see Priority
Levels) (when required at
the discretion of Certus Technologies)
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2 hours
(plus
travelling)
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4 hours
(plus
travelling)
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6 hours
(plus travelling)
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8 hours
(plus
travelling)
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9.00am
– 5.30pm
Mon-Fri
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Business Hours on-site times
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9.00am – 6.00pm
Mon-Fri
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9.30am – 5.30pm
Mon-Fri
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9.30am – 5.30pm
Mon-Fri
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9.30am – 5.30pm
Mon-Fri
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5 business
days
(plus
travelling)
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Maximum
on-site time for Level 2 issues
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1 business day
(plus
travelling)
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2 business days
(plus
travelling)
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3 business days
(plus travelling)
|
4 business days
(plus
travelling)
|
Where
possible, Certus Technologies operates under a fixed price policy (FPP) based
around specific tasks. This is designed to allow you to know the price that
will be charged before any work is performed. Work that is not in the list of
standard items will either be charged at an hourly rate or quoted
individually before work commences (at the discretion of the Certus
Technologies engineer, depending on the nature of the task).
If you request
work to be performed outside the normal business hours, allowed under your
SLA, that work will be charged at an additional after-hours rate. If the work
to be performed is work that would normally be undertaken for free under your
SLA, that work is charged at the difference between the normal rate and the
afterhours rate. The after-hours rate is typically charged at 40% more than
the normal business hours rate.
For additional
budgeting help, the Certus Technologies SLA also offers overtime insurance. This
is an additional fixed amount that allows for normal items covered under your
SLA to be performed after hours for no additional charge. Work that was
required to be performed outside of normal business hours would be at the
discretion of Certus Technologies, but would typically be work that would
require significant system downtime for all users – such as updating a LOB
application.
If there are
additional charges incurred during a month, these items will be invoiced
monthly.
Preventative Maintenance Schedule
There are 4
levels of support contracts offered – with each one having a specific
visitation schedule.
The
maintenance schedule is summarised in the table below:
PAYG
*No SLA*
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Support Level:
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Platinum
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Gold
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Silver
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Bronze
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On
Request (charge applicable)
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Critical MS Security Updates
(On Server/s only)
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Within 1
business day of being released
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Within 2
business days of being released
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Within 3 business days of being released
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Within 4
business days of being released
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On
Request (charge applicable)
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Network Maintenance
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Every month
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Every 2 months
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Every 3 months
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Every 6 months
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Once
only – 3 years after initial network purchase
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Consultancy Discussion
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Every 3 months
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Every 6 months
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Every 9 months
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Every 12 months
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Information provided to the Client
- A written
report is sent to the Client within 7 days of each Maintenance Check.
- A summary
report is sent to the Client within 7 days of each Consultancy
Discussion with any recommendations noted.
Items included in all Certus Technologies SLAs
Hardware Audit
- Before
the agreement begins, Certus Technologies will perform an audit of all
your hardware and list all of the items covered under the maintenance
agreement.
- A client
must include their entire network at any one site. As often a problem in
one part of a network leads to problems in another area, an holistic
approach must be taken. The exception is when a customer has multiple
sites. In this scenario, a client can choose to have different sites
covered at different levels.
- The
initial hardware audit is free to existing Certus Technologies clients.
There will be a charge to non Certus Technologies networks as work may
be required to bring the network up to an appropriate level.
- At
regular intervals the hardware audit is updated by Certus Technologies
so that you and Certus Technologies are both aware of what is on the
network.
- It is the
responsibility of the Client to notify Certus Technologies within 5
working days of any changes to the items covered by the SLA.
Maintenance Check
- At the
interval specified, a health check is performed to gauge the health of
the existing network.
- Regular
maintenance tasks are performed.
- Performance
of the network is reviewed.
- When the
Maintenance Check is on-site, users are asked about issues since the
previous maintenance visit. If the maintenance check is being performed
remotely, the site contact is asked about any specific issues that
exist.
- A written
summary report is provided within 7 days after each check and further
recommendations are noted on this report.
Microsoft Critical
Security Updates
- As
potential areas of exploitation are discovered by Microsoft within their
operating systems, critical patches are released to overcome these
potential hazards.
- As a
Microsoft Certified Partner, Certus Technologies is informed of these
patches very shortly after they are released.
- These
patches are applied to the server/s on a client’s network within a day
(or days depending on the level of support chosen) to minimise the
possibility of a client having their server compromised.
Unlimited support
time for specific tasks
- Unlike
most maintenance contracts that have an allowance of hours – and then
charge you extra if you use more, the Certus Technologies SLA is outcome
and task orientated (Outcome Based
Service Work).
- There is
no limit to the number of hours of support you receive in a month – your
support level will however, determine what type of support you will
receive for free.
Discounted Rates
- If the
tasks required fall outside the scope of the SLA chosen, additional work
is performed at a discounted rate.
- The
discount is higher as you move up into higher support levels.
- If work
is required outside the normal operating hours of the support level
chosen, the afterhours work is also performed at a discounted rate.
Reduced Call-Out
Fees
- All
clients under an SLA have no call-out fees (excluding any travelling
fee).
- All
clients under an SLA have a reduced fee for a priority call-out with the
Platinum Service Level having no priority call-out fee.
Free Consultancy Consultation
- A
discussion with a Network Consultant (either via phone or on-site) will
take place on the frequency related to your specific SLA.
- This is
an opportunity to see what improvements might need to be made to your
current network to gain the most efficiency.
- Planning
discussions would also be held on any required upcoming purchases and
expenditure, due to expansion or new staff or similar.
- This is
also an opportunity for the Client to be informed of the latest
technologies and how that technologies may be integrated into the
current network environment.
There are
common items that cause downtime and failures in a computer network. A
maintenance contract aims to address some of these issues in a number of
ways.
Backup
- Users
faithfully insert their tape each day and remove the next day hoping the
backup has been completed. It is only when data is required that the
backup is tested.
- Software
and data is always changing.
- Stored
data can increase dramatically – sometimes in a very short time frame.
- Files
are left open, documents become corrupted, tapes and heads become dirty
and worn out.
- As part
of the maintenance program, a small sample of data is restored from a
backup to verify that data is being correctly written to tape.
- Backup
logs are checked to view what has been occurring with backups and
estimations of when a larger tape drive will be required can be made.
- The
tape drive is cleaned using a cleaning tape to ensure longevity of the
drive and better utilisation of tapes.
Viruses
- A network
has the latest anti-virus software, but can still receive viruses.
- Virus
signatures can become out of date quickly.
- Scheduled
scanning may have been disabled or stopped.
- Security
patches may not have been applied to the server.
- As part
of the maintenance program, virus signatures are checked to ensure the
latest signature files have been applied and to see that they are
scheduled to continually update.
- The
scheduled scans are checked to ensure that the schedule is still
appropriate and that the log files report that the scanning is being
performed.
- Security
patches are checked on the server and workstations.
- Microsoft
Critical Security patches are applied within days of being released
(depending on the level of SLA chosen).
Firewall
- A network
has a firewall, but can still be deliberately compromised (‘cracked’).
- Crackers are constantly trying to find ways
into networks. This may be through software flaws/bugs or new cracking
methods.
- Viruses
will often exploit software flaws that are discovered.
- Security
patches and updates are released regularly and need to be applied
promptly to try and avoid unauthorised access.
- Firewall
configurations should be updated if flaws are discovered.
- IOS
versions / firmware revisions of firewalls and routers should be
applied shortly after they are released.
Crashing Systems
- Some
networks seem to keep crashing for no apparent reason.
- Windows software will often become corrupt
after a period of time.
- Other
software will often become corrupt over time.
- This
corruption can cause crashes or cause computers to run slowly or
introduce other unstable behaviour.
- Fans
will often become choked with dirt and either stop spinning or reduce
their speeds. This can lead to overheating systems.
- System
tools are available that can improve the performance of these areas.
- Regular
application of updates and patches will improve stability.
- Regular
checking of fans on systems can lead to a faulty fan being replaced
before it allows a system to overheat.
- There
are times when possibly even a clean install is necessary for a PC to
perform at its best.
Utilisation
- Many
clients do not make full use of their computer system.
- Computer
software is constantly improving.
- New
features are being constantly added to current software.
- Most
people use less than 10% of their computer system’s potential.
- With
regular contact with support engineers, questions are able to be asked
easily and improvements to user operation can be made.
Hardware Failures
- Workstation
hard drives can fail taking one user out of action.
- Server
hard disks can fail losing data and bringing the entire network to a
standstill.
- It can
often take several days to rebuild a server and have it fully operational
– meaning a large IT bill as well as crucial downtime for an
organisation.
- Many
clients have a RAID system in place and assume they are safe with this
level of protection – although RAID systems are dramatically better than
a non-redundant hard drive sub-system, failures can still occur.
- Hard
drives are physical devices operating at high speeds (up to 15,000rpm)
and high temperatures. Devices with this load on them can sometimes
still fail.
- Depending
on the level of RAID deployed, a server can usually withstand a single
hard drive failure. Often there is a cause for a single hard drive to
fail and a second failure can follow within a relatively short time
frame of the first failure.
- Regular
checking of log files can warn of impending disk failure before it
occurs.
- If a
hard drive in a RAID sub-system fails, the sooner it is replaced the
less likely a catastrophic failure will occur. Regular maintenance
checks are much more likely to detect a failure in time then no
checks.
- Systems
can be deployed to allow a much faster recovery from a catastrophic
failure then is normally the case so that if a catastrophic failure
occurs, the system can be brought back up to a previous state in a
much shorter time frame. (NB: Disaster Recovery Plans are not offered
in the standard range of SLAs but can be added as a separate issue at
additional cost).
An IT department
- Many
networks have some unique characteristics – but the majority of the
network is configured in a standard operating environment (when set up
correctly). That means that skilled technicians with industry standard
qualifications (required by Certus Technologies staff) should be able to
work on any network with a minimum of fuss. So instead of employing your
own internal IT Manager that goes on holidays, has sick days, etc –
leaving you without a reliable source of IT management, you can rely on
Certus Technologies to have a team of engineers that can be deployed to
help you with your IT problems.
- The
monthly amount payable is calculated by taking the total weekly amount
and multiplying by 4.348214. Payments are in advance & discounts for
pre-payment of more than one month are offered according to the
following rates:
- 2.5%
discount if paid quarterly in advance;
- 5%
discount if paid half-yearly in advance;
- 12%
discount if paid annually in advance
- All
payments are in advance.
- A direct
debit is able to be setup for regular debits of the SLA charge. This
would be debited on the regular anniversary date. A monthly invoice
would also be issued for any additional charges incurred during a month.
This is payable within 7 days of the issuing of the invoice.
The
SLA only covers Certus Technologies staff costs and is not related to
hardware costs or any 3rd party costs.
Summary Rates Table
PAYG
*No SLA*
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Support Level:
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Platinum
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Gold
|
Silver
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Bronze
|
£55 (£5 / 5min phone
support)
|
Hourly Rate (on-site or phone support)
|
£40 (£3.50/ 5min phone support)
|
£45 (£6.35 / 5min phone support)
|
£50 (£7.85 / 5min phone support)
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