Product Description – RT0004U
Support and Subscription for Responsiv Unity is included for the term of Responsiv Unity software subscription licences and for twelve months in Responsiv Unity perpetual software licences.
Support and Subscription for Responsiv Unity perpetual software entitlements can be extended in increments of 12 months.
Support and Subscription for Responsiv Unity is subject to the terms and conditions as defined in “TC-RL0001N- V22 (Aug2020) Responsiv Software Product Licence”. A Support and Subscription for Responsiv Unity entitlement means that you have the right and access to new versions of the supported products, and the right to raise tickets that address questions about the supported product(s) with our support organisation for the duration of the term of the entitlement.
In all cases you remain responsible installation of software and application of patches and upgrades supplied.
Product Descriptions (PD) describe what to expect from a Responsiv product and are identified by the product number and an effective date. A product description provides the definitive description of a product and its entitlement, which supersedes any and all descriptions, marketing information, presentations, or other expectations that might have been communicated or assumed about the product.
This product description is valid from August 2020
Product Summary
Responsiv Unity Advanced Support is an add-on package to enhance the standard Responsiv Unity Support and Subscription to provide a light-weight managed service for your Responsiv Unity installation. You remain in control of the installation and its hosting, and can raise tickets through the normal channels.
This product puts a team of product-specific Technical Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) within your reach. It provides your In-house IT team access to Responsiv staff, knowledge, experience, and resources for key activities that would normally form part of a managed service. This product delivers a combination of following features:
Responsiv Unity Remote Monitoring
This product entitles you to connect the Responsiv Unity Console to the Responsiv Assist API and to enable the Responsiv Unity Console to raise Responsiv Assist Incident tickets classified as “Severity 1”, as well some warning tickets classified as “Severity 3”.
We will monitor our Responsiv Assist service desk for tickets raised by your Supported Installation for problems that require our attention. We will respond and manage tickets in accordance with the terms of Responsiv Unity Incident Response. [1]
Tickets raised from your applications may be subject to a period of evaluation prior to connection to the Responsiv Assist ServiceDesk API gateway to protect against spurious demand being generated.
Applications running on the Responsiv Unity platform can be included in this support agreement. They will be supported using the Responsiv Unity Flex Support element of this product.
Responsiv Maintenance Support
This product includes an entitlement to four patching sessions during the year. During each session Responsiv will review the available patches and support or lead the application of those patches and perform upgrades to components of the supported products.
You remain responsible for a) testing your own code and any adverse impact the patching activity may cause b) all liaison within your organisation and with the Responsiv Assist ServiceDesk, scheduling of any outages, and compliance with any SLA you may have with your business users, or third parties c) backups prior to application of patches d) recovery from backups as required and e) testing of all customer code following application of patches
Patching
- Patch classification and discussion with your staff regarding deployment options
- Application of patches as planned and agreed with your staff.
- Security patches may be applied more frequently according to severity and urgency using Responsiv Assist Flex Support
Responsiv Assist Incident Response
This product includes an entitlement for support to recover one production Responsiv Unity installation, including named applications to a running state. You can notify Responsiv of an incident by raising a severity 1 ticket through the automation or manually using the Responsiv Assist Portal.
This means that the platform is returned to operation and that the application is operational in that it is restarted and not prevented from operation by a fault in the Responsiv Unity platform or Responsiv supplied and certified application code.
For Severity 1 incidents we will provide support to you to identify the cause of a failure, organise support, and help implement recovery actions.
- Investigation of reported issue
- Identification of a temporary workaround (if appropriate)
- Suggestions for a permanent solution
- Remote recovery support
- access to systems (prior approval required)
- Provision of support requires your staff to be available and working with us to return to service
- You remain responsible for,
- All liaison, scheduling of any outages, and compliance with any SLA you may have with your business users, or third parties
- Availability of any other systems on which the Unity Platform has a dependency
- Backup and restoration of any data
Responsiv Assist Flex Support
This part of the product is a Credit based support model as defined in the “RT00072 Responsiv Assist Flex Support” product.
These credits can be used to support your running applications. Responsiv Assist Flex Support tickets cannot be used to raise Severity 1 (Incident) tickets however this limitation is removed when purchased as part of this product.
These credits can also be used to ask Responsiv about how to efficiently develop for the supported products and Responsiv Unity platform. This can include remote review of design documentation, or code, questions about how to administer the platform, or to troubleshoot application problems can also be asked of our infrastructure experts.
Pre-requisites
Active Responsiv Unity Support and Subscription
Your Responsiv Unity support and subscription gives you entitlement to download and use patches and upgrades that apply to your entitled products. It remains your responsibility to identify appropriate upgrades/patches, download, and install them; as well as to test that your own code is not adversely impacted by the change.
Network Connections
The Responsiv Unity Remote Monitoring, and Remote Management parts of this product require a suitable internet connection. Responsiv is not responsible for availability and configuration of communication channels, firewalls, or other security and network considerations. This feature is not assured and may be disabled by your security arrangements.
Monitoring and Patching
Responsiv Unity Advanced Support is available for all Responsiv Unity modules however the platform must include a Responsiv Unity Console (RA0009A).
Purchasing
This product complements your Responsiv Unity Subscription and will be co-termed with your existing Responsiv Unity Subscription. Once Responsiv Unity Advanced Support has been allowed to lapse, these benefits will no longer be available to You.
Product Inclusion
Responsiv Unity Remote Monitoring
Responsiv Maintenance Support
Responsiv Assist Incident Response
The price is calculated for multiples of a Responsiv Unity platform consisting of one console and between one and four modules running on up to 16 cores.
The price is based on multiples of 16 cores and/or number of platforms.
Responsiv Assist Flex Support
Product Inclusion
Responsiv Unity Remote Monitoring
Responsiv Maintenance Support
Responsiv Assist Incident Response
Responsiv Assist Flex Support
Your Responsibilities
The underlying Terms and Conditions that apply to this Product Description are “TC-RL0004Q-V51 (Aug2020) Terms and Conditions for Responsiv Consulting and Assistance Services”
Under this agreement, and in addition to Your Obligations under Our Terms and Conditions, you remain responsible for the control, management and supervision of all assistance provided by this Agreement. Including but not limited to:
- Managing your personnel, activities and responsibilities under this Assistance Agreement.
- Being responsible for ensuring that your contacts have the relevant environment knowledge.
- All tickets must have your personnel working on them at the same time as Responsiv are working.
Provide timely assistance to respond to any questions and matters requiring attention when reasonably requested by our support consultant(s) handling an open request.
Service Delivery
Responsiv provide support for software and solutions provided by us through our Responsiv Assist web portal. Incident tickets are assigned a priority (described below) and handled accordingly.
This section describes the Service Level Agreement (SLA), which includes the operational work processes along with the metrics by which the services will be provided and measured.
Level 1 – Helpdesk Support (Performed by You)
Your helpdesk or appointed representatives will be the first-line support to triage Incidents to ensure that issues such as network outages, hardware failures, etc. (i.e., outside the scope of the Managed Service) are routed accordingly. Level 1 Support includes:
Capturing the Incident details, creating Incident tickets and establishing Incident details in the ticket; Triaging issues including network and hardware availability, and verifying the site is operational during an outage notification. Specifically:
Refine ticket content to clarify problem, validate evidence and supporting information is included, correct any categorization selections, ensure supporting information is included with the Incident (error messages, screen captures, etc.), Refine problem description for clarity and Assigning an initial value for Incident Severity.
If the Incident is resolved, closing the ticket and if applicable updating the person who logged the request; The coordination and hand off of an Incident until it is resolved.
Level 2 – Support and Subscription for Responsiv Unity
On receipt of your incident or service request ticket the Responsiv Service Desk will review the ticket and allocate it to an appropriate support engineer. That person will contact you and begin to progress the ticket to a conclusion by doing, for example, the following:
- Performing detailed assessment of the Incident within the specific area of specialisation.
- Performing a verification or assessment of the Incident and defining a severity level.
- Performing a basic root cause analysis and determining the appropriate action for resolution.
- Closing the ticket when an Incident is resolved and updating the person who logged the request.
We will schedule a review of your patches and provide a list of patches and their descriptions for your authority to patch. A patch review is a single remote one-hour call with the platform owner to discuss the patches and their risks or other requirements.
- Upgrade/Patch your development: We will apply the patches to your development environment to allow you to reinstall your code and test it.
- Upgrade/Patch your production: We will apply the patches to your production environment when you are ready and confirm to us that you are happy for us to do so.
- Patches include security updates and functional repairs. You remain responsible for testing applications and other code that you may have running and that may be impacted by the patch.
We expect patches to be applied during our normal working hours. Out of hours patching must be declared before you purchase this product. Responsiv Unity patches include updates for all sub-components and assemblies of a Responsiv Unity Module and may also include updates for the Responsiv Console Module.
Level 3 – Raising support from the Responsiv developers or vendors of embedded products
In the event that a technical resolution cannot be found at the second line level, support will be requested via the third line. This will involve assistance from highly trained, experienced technical professionals.
Coverage Hours of Operation
Responsiv will work on Incidents and service requests only during coverage hours. The coverage hours for this product are 09:00 to 17:00 Monday to Friday UK hours (excluding UK Bank Holidays).
Escalation process
Should conflict arise during an Incident resolution process (e.g., each party believes resolution responsibility resides with another party), then:
If the Service team cannot resolve the conflict within two (2) working days, then our Responsiv Assist Manager will meet your representative to resolve the issue.
Incident Severity Definitions
Responsiv has categorised Incident Severity definitions according to the table below; these definitions can be finalised by mutual agreement during Service Preparation.
Severity
1 (Critical)
2 (Urgent)
Service not performing in accordance with the Service Levels. Non exhaustive examples:
Incidents that prevent you from conducting or processing relevant business or that cause a breach of applicable laws or regulations within the resolution time. Loss of a second site, failure of one or more resilient components, failure of a feature of a non-resilient component.
3 (High)
Issue that materially affects the use of the product that is not a Severity Level 1 or 2 issue. Non exhaustive examples:
Incidents which have an impact on your ability to conduct or process relevant business efficiently and effectively in terms of Client servicing, operational procedures or internal management reporting
4 (Medium)
These rules constitute a consistent and repeatable method for identifying Incident Severity. The Incident Severity Level along with the Coverage Hours Service Tier (below) will determine the coverage for this product.
Incident Management Process
Standard procedures must be followed for all issues to ensure proper documentation and handoff. The set of steps that all issues will follow is listed below.
Responsiv will receive tickets either by (1) Your authorised representative must record and submit a ticket utilising the Responsiv Service Desk. (2) An Incident ticket can be generated automatically via an integration between system monitoring and the Responsiv Service Desk.
During coverage Hours, Responsiv shall monitor the Incident queue in the Responsiv Service Desk and take responsibility for Incident tickets escalated to Responsiv Level 2 Support.
Service Level Commitments
The following Service Level Commitments are the target measurement metrics by which the level of service will be measured.
Service Category
Fully Staffed coverage hours
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Fully Staffed coverage hours
Fully Staffed coverage hours
Service Category
Fully Staffed coverage hours
Fully Staffed coverage hours
Fully Staffed coverage hours
Fully Staffed coverage hours
Service Category
Fully Staffed coverage hours
Fully Staffed coverage hours
Fully Staffed coverage hours
Fully Staffed coverage hours
Richard Whyte has been building enterprise IT solutions for over 20 years. He is known for creating innovative practical solutions that provide a strong foundation for future development, whilst solving immediate problems. Previously the European CTO and Principal Architect for IBM Systems Middleware at IBM, he has an MBA, a degree in Statistics and Computing, is a Chartered Engineer, a Chartered IT Professional, and Fellow of both the Institute of Technology and the British Computer Society.
