Purpose
This document defines the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and Service Level Agreement (SLA) governing technical support services provided by Ascent for Managed Applications and Cloud / IT Infrastructure.

The objective is to establish a structured support process, define service expectations and ensure timely restoration and resolution of operational issues.

Scope of Services
This SOP and SLA applies to systems actively managed by Ascent under a valid Support & Maintenance Agreement.

Business Hours

Support requests may be submitted at any time.

Tickets received outside business hours shall be acknowledged and attended during the next applicable business window unless covered under a separately agreed Emergency Support arrangement.

Ticket Lifecycle

1. Customer raises a support ticket.
2. Ticket acknowledgement is generated automatically.
3. L1 performs initial diagnosis.
4. Issues beyond L1 capability are escalated to L2.
5. Engineering issues are escalated to L3.
6. Resolution or workaround is implemented.
7. Customer is notified.
8. Ticket is closed in accordance with the Ticket Closure Policy.

Customer Responsibilities
Customers are expected to:

• Raise support requests only through authorised channels.
• Provide a clear description of the issue.
• Attach screenshots, videos or error logs wherever available.
• Provide steps to reproduce the issue.
• Nominate authorised users for raising tickets.
• Provide timely remote access where required.
• Respond promptly to requests for additional information.

Delays in receiving the required information or access shall pause the applicable SLA timelines.

Planned Maintenance
Planned maintenance may be scheduled periodically.

Where reasonably practicable, advance notice shall be provided for maintenance activities that may impact service availability.

Emergency maintenance may be undertaken without prior notice where necessary to preserve system stability, security or data integrity.

Remote Access
Where necessary, customers shall provide secure remote access to facilitate investigation and resolution.

Applicable SLA timelines shall remain suspended until such access is made available.

Ticket Closure Policy
A support ticket shall be considered closed when:

• The reported issue has been resolved.
• A mutually accepted workaround has been implemented.
• The customer confirms closure.
• No customer response is received within five (5) consecutive Business Days following notification of resolution or a request for additional information.

Closed tickets may be reopened within a reasonable period if the same issue recurs.

Fair Usage Policy
Standard support is intended for operational incidents and maintenance of covered systems.

Requests relating to consultancy, training, business process redesign, enhancements or software development may be scheduled separately and may attract additional commercial charges.

Service Exclusions
Ascent shall not be responsible for delays arising from:

• Cloud provider outages
• Internet or telecom failures
• Power failures
• Customer infrastructure issues
• Third-party software failures
• Customer-initiated configuration changes
• Delayed customer responses
• Delayed approvals
• Delayed remote access
• Force majeure events

Limitation of Liability
The timelines specified in this document are service targets and not guarantees.

While Ascent shall make every reasonable effort to restore services within the stated timelines, certain incidents may depend upon third-party vendors, cloud providers or other external agencies beyond Ascent’s reasonable control.

SLA Applicability
This SOP and SLA applies only to systems covered under an active Support & Maintenance Agreement with Ascent.

Support commitments commence only after execution of the applicable agreement and fulfilment of all commercial obligations.