Please note that this SLA does not apply to versions of Elements that are beyond their End of Support dates. Please see the Symplectic Elements End of Support Announcements page for the End of Support date of each version of Elements.

This Service Agreement (SLA) sets out to:

1. Provide clear reference to service ownership, accountability, roles and/or responsibilities

2. Provide information on the areas of support that are offered at no cost, and those that attract a charge

3. Present a clear, concise and measurable description of the level of service provision to the Client, and

4. Match perceptions of expected service provision with actual service support and delivery.

For support incidents that are not immediately resolvable, Symplectic offers various levels of support over a comprehensive range of technical and business areas. Support incidents will fall under one of the following areas, determined during diagnosis of the incident.

Installation & Upgrade Support provides the Client with support in installing new instances of the Elements Software on Client hardware, and upgrading an instance of the Elements Software following the release of a patch or upgrade package from Symplectic.

Installation Support is support for getting a Client up and running with as near as possible to a clone of an existing Elements Software installation, or for installing a new empty default instance of the Elements Software with a working configuration. Additionally, any advice supplied that helps the Client install and configure prerequisite systems also falls under installation support.

Upgrade Support is support for the upgrade of an instance of the Elements Software, such as advice and support given to a Client applying an upgrade package, or time spent by Symplectic performing an upgrade on the Client’s behalf.

Upgrade Support also includes support for Clients needing to make minor changes that are necessary to maintain a functional link between a Client’s system and the Elements Software.

Elements Product Support helps the Client to resolve reported failings in the Elements Software itself and their direct consequences in the Elements Software.

Elements Product Support includes support for issues arising from functional errors and bugs in the Elements Software and failure of the Elements Software to behave as described in the Documentation, or inaccuracies or unreasonable omissions from the Documentation that directly lead to incorrect use of the Elements Software. Symplectic reserves the right to not resolve failings in versions of the Elements Software that have been superseded, or for bugs or known issues in any 3rd party software.

Data Management & User Support provides the Client with extra help understanding the Elements Software and its correct usage, and to support the Clients who wish to make custom changes to data managed by the Elements Software.

Data Management Support includes, but is not restricted to, support for issues arising from data imported incorrectly by the Client’s external systems; any custom changes to data in the Elements Software, such as wholesale staff data changes or research data alterations; correction of errors in data caused by improper use of the Elements Software; custom data imports; custom data transformations; and trialing new data fields or other system configuration parameters.

Occasionally, for a Symplectic-hosted instance of the Elements Software, the Client may wish Symplectic to make system-wide configuration changes that cannot be made by the Client through the Elements Software user interface. Such changes fall under Data Management Support.

User Support provides the Client with additional help where the Client requires interactive support in their use of the Elements Software, and includes but is not restricted to: additional training sessions for administrators or other users of the Elements Software; additional support for use of the Elements Software already covered by the Documentation; support in handling non-standard data configurations; and support for use of the Elements Software that departs from or conflicts with the documented correct use of the Elements Software and resolving any issues that arise from it.

Client Customisation & Environment Support works to help the Client troubleshoot problems relating to the Client’s customisations of the Elements Software, or relating to the Client's own systems and their interactions with Elements.

Client Customisation & Environment Support typically involves supporting occasional issues with connections to the Elements Software via an API or the Elements Reporting Database, or helping Clients troubleshoot operating system issues or network problems, as well as support for any issues relating to customisations of Elements, such as custom dashboards, reports and Elements Reporting Database customisations.

This type of support also includes but is not restricted to: third party software configurations (including third party authentication plug-ins and software required by the Client); Client firewall configuration and troubleshooting; external system configuration; and support for issues arising from the Client upgrading or altering the configuration of Client systems connected to the Elements Software.

Hosting Support provides the Client with continuous access to a functioning online instance of the Elements Software and is available only to Clients who have opted to have Symplectic host the Elements Software. The number of instances of the Elements Software hosted by Symplectic is agreed in the Elements Licence Agreement.

Hosting Support provides support services necessary to correct any interruption of business as usual Elements Software service availability caused by problems in the hosting infrastructure. Please see the Appendix for hosted software service availability, backup and disaster recovery service levels.

Hosting Support also includes 3 upgrades of the hosted Elements Software per year. Each upgrade of the hosted instance must be requested and scheduled with Symplectic at least two weeks prior to the intended upgrade date.

Support for additional requested upgrades or re-installations, and support for Client-specific business processes surrounding installations or upgrades of a hosted instance of the Elements Software is provided separately above under Installation & Upgrade Support.

2.1    This SLA applies only to versions of Elements that have not reached their End of Support dates. End of Support dates are published by Symplectic on the Symplectic Elements End of Support Announcements page.

2.2.   Support incidents where the reported problem is derived from incorrect use of the Elements Software will be chargeable on a time and materials basis. Such support incidents include, but are not limited to:

2.2.1.     Incorrect data being supplied to the Elements Software

2.2.2.     Use of the Elements Software which departs from or conflicts with the Documentation

2.2.3.     Incorrect interaction with and breaking changes to the Client’s external systems.

2.2.4.     Support relating to problems caused by the incorrect maintenance of customisations

2.3.   This SLA applies to support for the Elements Software and extensions and modifications to the Software only, and does not cover any software supplied by Symplectic that is not a part of the Elements Software, including but not limited to extensions or modifications to the Client’s external systems.

2.4.   Support incidents are charged according to the Area of Support and detailed in the Support charges. Where not already included in the price of each Contract, any additional support package charges will be presented for acceptance prior to being incurred. Following acceptance, the services provided will be documented and billed quarterly.

All support requests must be raised by adding and submitting a new ticket on the Symplectic support website. Clients contacting Symplectic for support in any other way may subsequently be required to add and submit a ticket on the support website before any actionable response can be made by Symplectic.

The Client should make the following information available to Symplectic when submitting a support request:

• The name of the individual making the request

• Which instance(s) of the Elements Software the support request relates to within the Client’s institution, and

• A clear step-by-step description of the issue such that it is reproducible by a member of Symplectic staff.

Symplectic will track the processing of the support request as a single support incident.

The Client will make reasonable efforts to enter unrelated issues into separate support tickets when submitting requests to the Symplectic support website. If Symplectic considers a support request to contain multiple queries, it may be split into separate support tickets, which will be treated separately.

Minor support incidents will result in an immediate resolution at no charge to the Client, and support of more complex incidents will include, without charge, all work needed to diagnose which Area of Support will be required to resolve it.

Thereafter, support through to the resolution of the incident may be chargeable, depending on the Area of Support. In these cases Symplectic will notify the Client and require the authorization of the Client’s Business Owner before proceeding with any chargeable support work not included in the support package.

Resolution of the incident will occur with the agreement of both the Client and Symplectic, or after a reasonable period of inactivity by the Client with respect to the incident.

All support incidents resolved immediately by front-line support staff are considered minor incidents, and are included in the cost of each Contract.

Such support incidents may include simple requests for generally useful information not covered by the Documentation, requests for simple advice or confirmation of correct use of the Elements Software, or other minor requests for help that can be answered without delay.

4.1.      The Client undertakes to review service performance, escalate live or potential issues and problems with service delivery in a timely and appropriate manner.

4.2.      Symplectic undertakes the following responsibilities with respect to all instances of the Elements Software which we host, and with respect to a single nominated instance of the Elements Software where hosted locally:

4.2.1.  Symplectic will provide staff who will review support tickets raised through the Symplectic support website

4.2.2.  To assign a priority to support incidents through discussion between Symplectic staff and the Client and, where requested, offer an initial estimate of the time it will take to resolve

4.2.3.  To ensure that a support incident remains open until a resolution has been reached in agreement with the Client, or the Client has not responded to the proposed resolution in a reasonable amount of time

4.2.4.  To immediately notify the Business Owner of any problem or issue that may significantly impact their business and, where applicable, offer support in dealing with the issue, and

4.2.5.  To provide follow-up communication providing detail of resolution of the support incident.

5.1.    Symplectic will provide responses to support requests raised through the Symplectic support website during normal office hours in the Client’s region, 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays).

All support requests representing a support request will receive an initial response within the timescales set out below.

6.1.      Escalation is the process of communicating information on a support incident for the purpose of raising its profile, and requesting senior management attention and/or intervention.

6.2.      The Client may request escalation of a support incident using the following successive steps:

6.2.1.  For the attention of the Head of Support, then

6.2.2.  For the attention of the SVP Client Services.

6.3.      Symplectic shall at the earliest opportunity escalate the support incident for the attention of the appropriate member of staff, who will investigate the background to the escalation and work with the Client and the support team to address the issues.

7.1.      Symplectic will provide estimates of time, and track actual time spent.

7.2.      Any chargeable support time will be drawn from a client's pre-purchased Support Hours, if available, and will otherwise be charged at Symplectic’s standard time and materials costs as notified to the Client from time to time. Our rates are currently:

‡For Clients providing their own hosting for the Elements Software, and for Clients subscribing to Symplectic hosting services and requesting more than three upgrades per year

†For Clients providing their own hosting for the Elements Software Product Support is included in the price of each Contract for a single nominated instance; support for the same issue as it affects additional instances of locally hosted instances of the Elements Software is thereafter charged at the standard rate.

*Not relevant to Clients providing their own hosting for the Elements Software.

This appendix sets out to define clear service level definitions relating to business continuity for a Symplectic hosted instance of the Elements Software.

Scheduled downtime includes all downtime of the Elements Software necessary to fulfilling any Client requested support that requires downtime, such as re-installation, upgrade, or other requested system-wide configuration work.

Additionally, Symplectic may from time to time need to schedule service downtime with the Client in order to make necessary hardware upgrades or system-wide changes as a result of events outside of Symplectic's reasonable control, such as indications of imminent hardware failure, or changes in the services of the underlying hosting infrastructure provider.

It also includes a regular weekly 2-hour maintenance window that starts no earlier than 12am and finishes no later than 9am on a morning in the local time zone of the Client institution. This window is necessary for the proper maintenance of security, availability and disaster recovery procedures. The exact schedule is determined by and subject to change by Symplectic, with reasonable notice of alterations always given.

Availability is measured per-month as a percentage of time (excluding Scheduled Downtime) in which users can log in to the Elements user interface. The Availability service level for the Elements Software is 99.5%.

Unavailability caused by issues beyond Symplectic's reasonable control, including denial of service or similar attacks, DNS resolution failure, and other events of Force Majeure will be excluded from Availability service level calculations.

Backup refers to the procedures implemented by Symplectic to maintain backups of all data necessary to recover service availability in the case of unscheduled downtime. Backups are performed nightly. Daily backups are retained for 14 days. Weekly backups are retained for 4 weeks. Monthly backups are retained for 3 months.

Client access to retained backup media can be provided on request as a part of Data Management & User Support.

Disaster recovery refers to the procedures implemented by Symplectic to recover service availability or data in the case of unscheduled downtime or accidental data loss respectively. These procedures are designed to offer the following service levels.

Recovery Time refers to the average length of time to recover from each instance of unscheduled downtime in service availability during a calendar year. The Recovery Time Objective for the Elements Software is 6 hours.

Recovery Point refers to the maximum time window in which data changes may be lost as the result of unscheduled downtime. The Recovery Point Objective for the Elements Software is 1 day.

In cases where Symplectic's disaster recovery procedures involve a switch from a primary environment to a failover environment, a short period of negotiated scheduled downtime as soon as possible after the recovery will be required for a relocation of the Elements Software instance back to the primary environment. Symplectic reserves the right to perform this relocation during the next regular weekly maintenance window if no other downtime can be agreed, even if this extends the maintenance window.

Strategy and downtime for recovery from accidental data loss that is not the result of failure of the hosting environment (e.g. caused by the Client, by a connected system, or by bugs in the Elements Software) is always agreed with the Client on a case by case basis before being implemented. Depending on the cause, support for accidental data loss may fall under another area of the Elements Support SLA, such as Data Management & User Support.

Modified 4.2 and 7† to reflect that for hosted clients, all instances are covered for Product Support.

Added Euro pricing.

Added a notice period requirement for scheduling upgrades to the 'Hosting Support' subsection of section 1 ('Areas of support')

Altered language around RTO/RPO for hosting service levels

Renamed "Client Environment & Systems Support" to "Client Customisation & Environment Support" and adjusted its definition and altered the Scope of Support section to make it more clear that support for customisations is chargeable at the standard rate. Altered the Support Charges note against "Installation & upgrade support" to make it more clear that support for installations and upgrades beyond the first three in each year for Clients with Symplectic-hosted instances of Elements falls under Installation & Upgrade support.

Chargeable support time rates changed to 2022 prices.

Added a preface and updated Section 2 (Scope of support) clarifying that this SLA does not apply to versions of Elements that are beyond their End of Support dates.

Modified 7.2 to explicitly mention that Support Hours can be used for chargeable work

Updated 7.2 with new support hour rates for 2024.

Updated 7.2 with new support hour rates for 2025.

Updated 7.2 with new support hour rates for 2026.