Introduction
This Service Level Agreement for CSS Europe Limited (CSS) online service (this “SLA”) is a part of your CSS licensing agreement (the “Agreement”). Capitalised terms used but not defined in this SLA will have the meaning assigned to them in the Agreement. This SLA applies to the CSS Online Services listed herein (a “Service” or the “Services”), but does not apply to separately branded services made available with or connected to the Services or to any on-premises software that is part of any Service.
If we do not achieve and maintain the Service Levels for each Service as described in this SLA, then you may be eligible for a credit towards a portion of your monthly service fees. We will not modify the terms of your SLA during the initial term of your subscription; however, if you renew your subscription, the version of this SLA that is current at the time of renewal will apply throughout your renewal term. We will provide at least 90 days’ notice for adverse material changes to this SLA.
General Terms
Definitions
Applicable Monthly Period – The number of days in a calendar month during which you were subscribed to a Service.
Applicable Monthly Service Fees – The total fees you paid for a Service during the month in which a Service Credit may be due.
Downtime – Periods during which a Service is unavailable for fifteen consecutive minutes or more.
Incident – A single event or group of related events resulting in Downtime.
Service Credit – A percentage of monthly fees refunded due to breach of the SLA.
Service Level – The minimum performance or availability standards defined in this SLA.
Support Window – The defined hours during which support services are available.
Service Resource – Any individual resource made available through a Service.
Support Plan – The level of support purchased under your subscription.
Support Request – A written request submitted for technical assistance.
Helpdesk – The support contact point responsible for managing support issues.
Issue – A failure of the Service to operate according to its specification.
Modified Code – Any software changes not originally delivered by CSS.
Services Period – The period of your active subscription.
Success Code – An indicator of a successful operation.
Error Code – An indicator of a failed operation.
External Connectivity – Bi-directional traffic to/from a public IP address over supported protocols.
Management Portal – The CSS-provided web interface for managing Services.
Terms
Claims
CSS must receive claims within the applicable timeline (Arabian Standard Time, UTC+3):
- For online product-related incidents: within two months after the end of the billing month in which the Incident occurred.
- For all other services: by the end of the calendar month following the month of the Incident.
For example, if an incident occurred on February 15th, the claim must be submitted by March 31st (AST).
CSS will review claims using all available data and determine eligibility for a Service Credit. Claims will be processed within 45 days of receipt.
Customers must be in compliance with their Agreement to receive credits. Credits apply only to the affected Services or Service Resources and cannot exceed the monthly service fee for those.
Credits
Service Credits remain the sole and exclusive remedy for performance or availability issues.
Credits:
- Are specific to the Service, Service Tier, or Service Resource affected
- Cannot exceed the paid amount for the affected element for that month
- Are pro-rated if Services are purchased as part of a bundle or suite
Limitations
This SLA excludes performance/availability issues due to:
• Natural disasters, war, terrorism, civil unrest, government action, etc.
• External device/network failures including between your site and our data centre
• Use of unsupported software, inadequate bandwidth, or third-party issues not under CSS control
• Third-party hosting, communications providers, or APIs not directly maintained by CSS
• Your failure to comply with recommended usage or configuration
• Pre-release or beta software features
• Security breaches due to your internal actions
• Attempts to use features beyond allowed quotas
• Support or licenses not paid for or outside the subscribed plan
• Modified code unless explicitly included
• Delayed customer response that impedes CSS support teams
SLA Details
Additional Requirements
Scheduled maintenance windows are excluded from uptime calculations.
Reporting & Service Level (Standard)
Helpdesk Availability
CSS operates a Helpdesk adjusted to GCC business hours:
• Open: Sunday to Saturday, 09:00–19:00 AST (07:00–17:00 UK time)
Support Request Methods
• Online: www.csssupport.co.uk
All support requests must be submitted via the CSS Helpdesk ticketing platform at www.csssupport.co.uk to ensure proper tracking, prioritisation, and resolution.
Ticketing
All support tickets are managed in Zendesk. Response commitments:
• Response within 4 hours during support hours
• Voicemail and out-of-hours requests responded to on the next business day
Ticket Details to Include
• Organisation name and licence number
• URL of affected site
• Error message details and screenshots
• Security-cleared information (GDPR compliant)
• Clear subject and single ticket per issue across your organisation
Client Responsibilities
To ensure service continuity and eligibility under this SLA, clients are responsible for:
• Providing accurate and complete information when raising tickets
• Ensuring timely responses to requests for additional information
• Maintaining up-to-date user contact information
• Using the Services in accordance with documentation and recommended usage
• Ensuring systems meet minimum specifications
Failure to meet these responsibilities may delay resolution times and invalidate associated SLA response targets.
Incident Handling Process
• Assigned reference number
• First-line technician triage and resolve
• Escalation to 2nd/3rd line if unresolved
• Incident closure notification
• Auto-close after six (6) weeks of customer non-response
Uptime Monitoring
Service availability is monitored continuously via automated systems. Performance metrics are tracked to measure and maintain SLA compliance.
Priority and Response Times (Arabian Standard Time)
Priority
Severity
Target Response Time (AST)
Level 1 Urgent
Critical
From 09:00 – Up to 19:00 same day
Level 2 High
Major
From 09:00 – Within 5 working days
Level 3 Medium
Minor
From 09:00 – Within 30 working days
Level 4 Low
Informal
From 09:00 – Within 90 working days
Escalation
CSS escalates incidents proactively via an automated SLA dashboard.
For the full escalation procedures please click here.
