IT Support – Service Level Agreement (SLA)

SLA v2.0 – Effective Date: 12.01.2024

Introduction

This Service Level Agreement (SLA) outlines the terms and conditions between Takamol (“Service Provider”) and its Clients (“Client”) regarding the provision of Information Technology Services and Solutions.

This SLA is effective as of the date specified in the applicable contract and serves as a reference for the service standards, commitments, and expectations between Takamol and its Clients. It does not override any existing processes, procedures, or agreements unless explicitly stated within this document.

By engaging with Takamol’s services, the Client acknowledges and agrees to the terms outlined in this SLA, ensuring a clear and mutual understanding of service commitments and responsibilities.

1.1 Hours of Coverage

Business Hours: Sunday – Thursday, 8:00am – 5:00pm
After Hours: Sunday – Thursday, 5:00pm – 11:00pm
Holidays: As defined by national holidays in Turkey.

1.2 Service Level Expectations

Helpdesk Service Level Expectations*
	Severity 1 Critical	Severity 2 High	Severity 3 Medium	Severity 4 Low
Business/Financial Risk	Catastrophic exposure	Major exposure	Moderate exposure	Minimal exposure
Work Stoppage	Full; All work has ceased.	Significant; Most work has ceased.	Some; Some work has ceased.	Minor; Little work has ceased.
Percentage of End Users Effected	75 – 100%	30 – 75%	15 – 30%	0 – 15%
Workaround	None acceptable	Semi-acceptable; Short term	Acceptable; Medium term	Acceptable; Medium term
Response Time	1 hour or less	2 hours or less	8 hours – 1 business day	8 hours – 1 business day
Resolution Time	24 hours or less from first response	36 hours or less from first response	5 business days or less from first response	90 business days or less from first response

*There may be situations that don’t fit these definitions perfectly.

1.3 Support Tiers

Support Tiers
SUPPORT TIER	DESCRIPTION OF SUPPORT ESCALATION
Tier 1 Support (Service Desk)	All support incidents begin in Tier 1 in “Takamol” Service Desk, where the initial trouble ticket is created; the issue is identified and clearly documented, and basic hardware/software troubleshooting is initiated for single user issues. Immediate escalation occurs if it is identified that the issue is affecting multiple users.
Tier 2 Support (Service Desk/ System Engineers)	All support incidents that cannot be resolved with Tier 1 Support are escalated to Tier 2, where more complex support on hardware/software issues can be provided by more experienced Engineers with experience in both single user issues and multiple user network issues.
Tier 3 Support (VCIO)	Support Incidents that cannot be resolved by Tier 2 Support are escalated to Tier 3 “Takamol” VCIO, where support is provided by the most qualified and experienced Engineers who have the ability to collaborate with 3rd Party (Vendors) Support Engineers to resolve the most complex issues.

1.4 Service Escalation Process

Service Escalation Process

1. Support Request is Received (By Support Portal, E-mail, or Phone Request)

2. Trouble Ticket is reviewed

3. Issue is Identified and documented in Ticketing System

4. Priority is established, and immediate escalation occurs if necessary

5. Issue is qualified to determine if it can be resolved through Level 1 Support (if not the matter is escalated)

6. Issue is reviewed to determine if direct contact is with client or vendor is required to resolve

7. Issue is reviewed to identify if work can be done remotely or if an onsite visit is required

8. Contact is made either via email or phone to identify when the affected user is available to work with the issue

9. Level 1 Help Desk – issue is worked to successful resolution

10. Level 1 Help Desk – Quality Control, issue is verified to be resolved

11. Trouble Ticket is closed, after complete problem resolution details have been updated in Ticketing System

If Issue Cannot Be Resolved Through Tier 1 Support:

12. Issue is escalated to Tier 2 Support all notes and conditions are transferred with the service ticket

13. Issue is qualified to determine if it can be resolved by Tier 2 Support (if not the matter is escalated)

14. Tier 2 Resolution – issue is worked to successful resolution

15. Tier 2 Quality Control –Issue is verified to be resolved

16. Trouble Ticket is closed, after complete problem resolution details have been updated in Ticketing System has been performed

If Issue Cannot Be Resolved Through Tier 2 Support:

17. Issue is escalated to Tier 3 Support all notes and conditions are transferred with the service ticket

18. Issue is qualified to determine if it can be resolved through Tier 3 Support (if not the matter is escalated)

19. Quality Control –Issue is verified to be resolved

20. Tier 3 Resolution – issue is worked to successful resolution

21. Trouble Ticket is closed, after complete problem resolution details have been updated in Ticketing System and Quality Assurance has been performed

22. Tier 3 Resolution – issue is worked to successful resolution

23. Trouble Ticket is closed, after complete problem resolution details have been updated in Ticketing System and Quality Assurance has been performed

If Issue Cannot Be Resolved Through Tier 3 Support:

24. Issue is escalated to VCIO Support

25. Issue is qualified to determine if it can be resolved through VCIO Support

26. VCIO Resolution – issue is worked to successful resolution

27. Quality Control – Issue is verified to be resolved.

28. Trouble ticket is closed, after complete problem resolution details have been updated in Ticketing System and Quality Assurance has been performed

29. If issue is unresolved Issue is escalated to Vendor Support, in deciding the best course of action for the service issue at hand. Issue is given the final course of action, in choosing the best option for resolution

2.1 Included Service Levels

Priorities that determine the response and resolution time’s targets are defined using the following characteristics:

Business and financial exposure (Cost)
Percentage of end-users at Client affected (Impact)
How debilitating the incident is for end-user and the Client (Severity)
Is there a workaround available?

The Service Provider recognizes that some requests, even those with minimal impact or severity could be urgent for the Client or end-user. The Service Provider will provide best effort to accommodate these incidents but cannot guarantee an adjustment to the agreed upon service levels defined within this Agreement. All urgency driven prioritization of requests are at the sole discretion of the Service Provider.

The response and resolution times defined within this Agreement behave like timers (e.g. like a stop-watch) and are tracked and managed within the Service Provider’s ticketing system. The following conditions and behaviors apply to the service level response/resolution time timers:

The response and resolution time timers begin to track time when the ticket is created within the Service Provider’s ticketing system.
- Emails are not guaranteed to open tickets immediately, but they will typically be opened within 5 minutes of emailing.
- Opening tickets with the helpdesk is the preferred and immediate method of submitting requests.
During periods when the Service Provider is working with or waiting for vendors/manufacturers, or the Client to make progress on a client request the timers are paused. The Service Provider will continue to follow up with and escalate requests with vendors, manufacturers, and/or the Client to ensure resolution of the request.
Any and all service level timers for requests that are reliant on a 3^rd party and are not within the control of the Service Provider to resolve will remain paused until the responsible party shifts back to the Service Provider.
The timers will be paused outside the covered hours defined Coverage Summary.

2.2 General Coverage Exclusions

In addition to other limitations and conditions set forth in this Agreement, this agreement does not cover any work, services, products, licenses, costs, or fees unless explicitly detailed herein. Any and all out of scope requests, services, or costs must be defined in a separate agreement.

This Agreement does not cover any costs, expenses, or fees not detailed herein. Some uncovered costs include but are not limited to:

The cost to bring the Client’s IT Environment up to the Service Provider’s serviceability Standards.
The cost of any IT Assets, replacement parts, equipment, or shipping charges of any kind.
The cost of any software upgrades, renewals, or licenses.
The cost of any 3^rd Party Vendor or manufacturer’s support, service fees, incident fees, assurance fees.
The cost of any and all IT Assets classified as consumables. (toner, ink, service kits, etc.)
Service on parts, equipment, or software not covered by vendor manufacturer warranty or support.
Service, repair, and support made necessary by the alteration or modification of equipment other than that authorized by the Service Provider, including but not limited to configuration adjustments, software installations, upgrades, or any modifications of IT Assets made by anyone other than the Service Provider.
Any and all service, maintenance, and support for IT Assets not covered by this agreement including but not limited to software, hardware, or infrastructure.
Travel to and from uncovered locations and covered locations where travel time and distance exceed limitations and any applicable fees.
Failure due to acts of God, building modifications, power failures or other adverse environmental conditions or factors.
Any and all services not defined within the service agreement.
Project work.
The cost to repair, replace, or service IT Assets damaged accidentally or maliciously.
IT Assets with damage induced to equipment by environmental extremes. (Water, lightning, etc.)
The cost to replace stolen or missing IT Assets.
Restoration of lost data caused by inadequate backups, uncovered or unsupported backups, systems/hardware failure is outside the scope of this agreement.
Data is not covered and is always considered outside the scope of this agreement.

IT Services and support can experience issues with software, applications, hardware and other IT Assets that are unexpected and uneconomic or excessively timely to address. In the event that a timely and/or economical repair is not possible the Service Provider will recommend a work-around, a replacement, an additional service, or project to alleviate the issue. The recommendation the Service Provider offers will only be covered by this Agreement if defined explicitly herein and may incur fees or other out of scope charges to be mutually agreed on by the Service Provider and the Client before work is completed.

The Service Provider reserves the right to claw back any and all charges or fees foregone in error. Any and all claw backed foregone charges or fees will be submitted to the Client on the first (1^st) of the month with their invoice. E.g. In the event the Service Provider discovers that a client’s support request was caused by a malicious end-user at the Client’s site after investing several hours to address the issue, that incident will not be considered covered under this Agreement and those hours will be charged to the client according to the terms and conditions specified within this Agreement.

Client approval for any and all uncovered services/incidents is necessary when the charges or fees for those services exceed 10% of the client’s covered base monthly charges, unless otherwise detailed within this Agreement.

The Client agrees to pay any and all service/incident charges that do not exceed 10% of the client’s covered base monthly charges without providing formal approval.

In the event that the Client incurs multiple individual charges that do not exceed 10% of the Client’s covered base monthly charges but collectively exceed 25% of the Client’s base monthly service charges, Client approval becomes required for any/all additional uncovered expenses for the remainder of that service period (month).

2.3 General Service Level Exceptions

Exceptions to the service levels provided as part of this Agreement are not applicable with the following situations:

In the event the Service Provider is working remotely with a Client’s end user who is not identified as the on-site technical contact and lacks the necessary technical aptitude to work with the Service Provider’s technician efficiently.
Service and support requests that require or are resolved by organizations other than the Service Provider are excluded from any/all service levels defined within this Agreement.
All service levels defined within this Agreement are not applicable for the first 90 days of this Agreement while the Service Provider works with the Client to onboard them to their services.
Service levels defined within this Agreement do not apply to any and all uncovered, out of scope, after hours, overnight, or excluded services as defined within this Agreement.
Service levels defined within this Agreement do not apply to any and all services provided on an Observed holiday as defined within this Agreement.

3.0 Service Process

3.1 Requesting Support

Any and all Client end-users are authorized to request service using the processes and provisions detailed within this Agreement unless otherwise noted herein.

3.1.1 General Information to Include with Request

When you call, email, or submit a request using any approved method below ensure that you include the following detailed and complete information:

Your name and location and where and how to contact you in case of a problem
A description of the problem including any error messages or actions being taken at the time the problem occurred
The impact, severity and urgency of the problem
- What is the business and financial effect? (How costly?)
- How many users is it affecting? (How impactful?)
- Can the end-user(s) remain productive or are they halted? (How severe?)
- Do the end-user(s) have a viable workaround currently?
- How urgent is the request?
Any relevant applications and versions you’re working with
Any changes made recently

3.1.2 Requesting Support during Regular Business Hours (8am-5pm)

It is expected that the monitoring software provided by the Service Provider will identify problems with the Client’s IT assets and environment prior to the Client’s end-users. In the event problems are first noticed by the Client, they are to be reported in one of the following manners:

If the Client has an existing IT support phone extensions and email addresses, the Service Provider with best efforts will work with the Client’s systems to forward requests to the Service Provider’s systems. The Client can then use existing phone extensions and email addresses to request support.
For requests of high importance, cost, severity, impact, and/or urgency please:
1. The on-site technical contact defined in the contract is the only contact that can open critical tickets.
2. Contact the Service Provider over the phone or;
For less critical requests please:
1. Use the Service Provider’s agent software (Takamol Tray Icon) or Takamol Helpdesk (https://helpdesk.takamol.io) to open the request. Instructions will be provided during onboarding. (Preferred method)
2. Contact the Service Provider over email at: ([email protected])
  1. Emails are not guaranteed to open tickets immediately, but they will typically be opened within 10 minutes of emailing. Using this method can delay service and service level tracking does not begin until the ticket has been opened. Using the tray icon is the preferred method of opening requests.

3.1.3 Requesting Support outside Regular Business Hours (5pm-8am)

Requests for support outside regular business hours or on holidays are subject to the terms, conditions, fees, and charges specified within this Agreement or the service contract.

The Service Provider’s on-call resource(s) can be contacted after hours by contacting the Service Provider at (+90 850 640 01 64). You will be prompted to leave a message for the Service Provider’s after hours on the call messaging system.

Once the Service Provider’s on call resource receives an after-hours request for service from the Client or an alert from a critical service monitor, they will ensure that the request is within the scope of this Agreement before proceeding. In the event that the request is not covered by the Agreement, the Service Provider’s resource will contact the after-hours Client authorized representative for approval. The client authorized representatives are identified during the onboarding process.

The Client After-hours Representative can:

Ask the Service Provider’s resource to defer the request for regular business hours
Approve the request and any charges for out of scope services and support
Decline the request for out of scope services and support

3.2 Support Escalation Process

The Service Provider’s resources will respond, action, and/or resolve monitor alerts and support requests from the Client. The Service Provider’s representatives follow internal processes to involve higher level representatives when necessary.

The Service Provider strives to maintain a single point of contact with the Client for every incident. Internal escalations will occur seamlessly without the involvement of the Client or the end-user. The Service Provider’s initial representative will remain the primary point of contact for the Client, until a satisfactory resolution of the Client’s request occurs unless otherwise communicated by the representative.

In the event the Client would like to escalate a support/service request they can contact the Service Provider by phone or email. The Service Provider will work with the Client to re-evaluate how the request is classified. In the event that re-evaluation does not adjust the request’s priority classification, the Service Provider will strive to accommodate the request but is only able to do so on a best effort basis. The required service level in this instance will not change even if the Service Provider’s best effort accommodation of the escalation is provided.

3.3 Service Onboarding Process

The Service Provider will begin to enable and provision the services defined within this Agreement, upon execution of this Agreement. This process is referred to as ‘onboarding.’ This process takes place over the first 45-90 days of a relationship.

The summary of steps the Service Provider will take to provision the Client for service include but are not limited to:

Addition of Client details to the Service Provider’s Professional Services Automation/ticketing tools and remote monitoring and management tools.
Deployment of the Service Provider’s remote monitoring and management technology to the Client’s IT Assets. (Workstations and Servers)
Assessment of Client’s business, needs, pain points, and technology.
Documentation of Client’s business, needs, and technology.
Configuration of Service Provider’s tools to meet the contractual obligations defined within this Agreement.
Maintenance windows, key contacts, reporting requirements, and communication requirements are established between the Client and the Service Provider.
A scheduled business and service review is scheduled around forty five (45) days following the execution of this Agreement.
Documentation on the support request, onboarding, and escalation process are provided to the Client.
The Service Provider’s team is brought up to speed on the Client’s environment and business.
The Client’s end-users are informed and educated on how to successfully work with the Service Provider and service expectations are shared.
The Service Provider develops and proposes a project plan to bring the Client up to the Service Provider’s current serviceability standards.
The Service Provider begins to execute any and all approved proposals to bring the Client to meet the current serviceability standards.
The Service Provider continues to work with the Client to alleviate any known or discovered pain points with the Client’s IT Assets or IT Environment.
Recurring reporting requirements are established and configured within the Service Provider’s tools.
A forty five (45) day business and service review is completed. Upon the completion of this review and the mutual agreement of both parties, the onboarding period ends.

3.4 Approving Uncovered/Out of Scope Services

The provisions and terms defined in 2.2 General Coverage Exclusions describe when the following process is necessary.

The Service Provider submits a quote or request to the Client’s ‘approver’ contact(s) that is defined in the contract.
1. The Client’s ‘approver’ contact(s) approves the quote or emailed request.
  1. The Service Provider provides the services or products defined within the quote.
  2. The Client is invoiced for these services following the original billing schedule. (1^st of the month)
2. The Client’s ‘approver’ contact(s) decline the quote or emailed request.
  1. The Service Provider provides an alternative approach or quote and if no alternative can be provided the Service Provider will inform the Client accordingly.
    1. The Client approves the alternative approach,
    2. The Service Provider provides the services or products defined within the alternative approach or quote.

In the event that no alternative can be offered the issue will be logged and discussed during the next virtual CIO or business review meeting.