Service Level Agreement

Effective Date: May 2026
Version: 1.2

1. Introduction

This Service Level Agreement (“SLA”) defines the service levels that AOIT Networks Ltd (“AOIT”) commits to provide to its partners for the Services covered by the Master Services Agreement. This SLA forms part of the Master Services Agreement between AOIT and the Partner.

1.1 Scope

This SLA applies to all managed IT and telecommunications services provided by AOIT, subject to the Support Tier purchased by the Partner as specified in the Order Form.

1.2 SLA Review

AOIT reviews this SLA annually and may update it to reflect changes in service capabilities, industry standards, or operational requirements. Material changes to the SLA will be communicated to Partners at least 60 days in advance and will take effect at the next contract renewal date.

2. Definitions

“Business Hours” means 08:00 to 17:00 GMT/BST, Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays in England and Wales. These are AOIT’s operating hours and apply to all time calculations in this SLA regardless of the Partner’s own operating hours.

“Response Time” means the time between AOIT receiving a support request and AOIT’s initial meaningful response acknowledging the request and beginning investigation or triage. Response time does not include automated acknowledgment emails. A meaningful response includes assignment of a technician, initial assessment, or request for additional information.

“Resolution Time” means the time between AOIT receiving a support request and AOIT providing a suitable workaround or restoring service to acceptable operational levels. Resolution is considered achieved when:

• A suitable workaround has been provided that allows normal business operations to continue, OR
• Service has been restored to acceptable operational levels, OR
• The reported problem has been permanently fixed

Where a workaround is provided, the ticket status will be set to “Workaround Provided” which pauses the SLA timer. AOIT will continue working toward a permanent fix, and the ticket will be fully resolved once the permanent solution is implemented.

“Business Hours Time Calculation” – All response and resolution times stated in business hours are calculated based on AOIT’s business hours only. The clock starts when AOIT receives the support request during business hours (or at 08:00 on the next business day if received outside business hours) and stops at 17:00 each day, resuming at 08:00 the next business day. Weekends and public holidays are excluded from time calculations.

Approximate business hours equivalents:

• 8 business hours = approximately 1 working day
• 16 business hours = approximately 2 working days
• 24 business hours = approximately 3 working days
• 40 business hours = approximately 5 working days

“24/7 Time Calculation” – For Premium and Elite Support commitments for Priority 1 and Priority 2 incidents, times are measured in actual elapsed time without exclusion of evenings, weekends, or public holidays. For Priority 3 and Priority 4 requests submitted after 17:00, the SLA clock starts at 08:00 the next business day and uses business hours calculation.

“SLA Timer Pauses” – The SLA clock is automatically paused in the following circumstances:

• When AOIT is waiting for a response or information from the Partner
• When AOIT is waiting for a third-party vendor to respond or take action
• When a workaround has been provided (ticket status set to “Workaround Provided”) and AOIT is working on a permanent fix
• When the Partner has been notified of a solution and AOIT is awaiting implementation approval
• During scheduled maintenance windows communicated in advance

The SLA timer resumes when AOIT receives the required information, vendor responds, or the Partner approves implementation.

“SLA Nullified” – In certain circumstances, SLA commitments are nullified (completely void, not merely paused) because the issue is entirely outside AOIT’s control and AOIT cannot provide a workaround. When SLA is nullified, AOIT has no obligation to meet response or resolution time targets, though AOIT will continue to work diligently toward resolution and maintain clear communication with the Partner. See Section 7.1 for detailed circumstances.

“Uptime” means the percentage of time that a service is available and functioning as intended during a given measurement period (typically one calendar month). Uptime is measured 24/7, not limited to business hours.

“Planned Maintenance” means scheduled maintenance activities communicated to the Partner at least 5 Business Days in advance (or 24 hours for emergency maintenance required to address critical security vulnerabilities or prevent imminent service failures).

“Service Availability” means the percentage of time a service is operational and accessible, calculated as: (Total Time in Month – Downtime Minutes) / Total Time in Month x 100.

“Downtime” means any period during which a service is unavailable or not functioning as intended, excluding Planned Maintenance and Excluded Downtime as defined in Section 7.

“Monthly Uptime Percentage” means the Service Availability calculated over a calendar month, measured 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.

3. Support Tiers and Availability

3.1 Standard Support (Included with all services)

Support Hours: Business hours only

Support Channels:

• Telephone: 0191 825 0808
• Email: support@aoitnetworks.com
• Partner Portal: portal.aoitnetworks.com

Out-of-Hours Behaviour: Support requests submitted outside of business hours will be queued and acknowledged at 08:00 on the next business day. The response time clock starts at 08:00 when the ticket enters the queue.

Monitoring and Alerting:

• 24/7 proactive monitoring of managed services
• Alerts are reviewed and responded to during business hours only
• Critical alerts (potential P1 incidents) are queued for immediate review at 08:00

What’s Included:

• Phone and email support during business hours
• Access to partner portal 24/7 (tickets queued outside business hours)
• Monthly service reports available on request
• 24/7 monitoring with business hours response

3.2 Advanced Support (Optional upgrade)

Support Hours: Business hours only

Support Channels:

• Telephone: 0191 825 0808 (priority handling during business hours)
• Email: support@aoitnetworks.com (priority handling during business hours)
• Partner Portal: portal.aoitnetworks.com (priority ticket routing)

Out-of-Hours Behaviour: Support requests submitted outside of business hours will be queued and prioritised ahead of Standard Support tickets when reviewed at 08:00 the next business day.

Monitoring and Alerting:

• 24/7 proactive monitoring of managed services
• Alerts reviewed and responded to during business hours with priority over Standard Support
• Critical alerts queued for immediate review at 08:00 with priority handling

What’s Included:

• Priority phone and email support during business hours
• Faster response times than Standard Support
• Access to partner portal 24/7 (priority queue from 08:00)
• Monthly service reports provided automatically
• 24/7 monitoring with priority business hours response
• Escalation to senior technical resources when needed

3.3 Premium Support (Optional upgrade)

Support Hours: 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year for Priority 1 and Priority 2 incidents. Business hours for Priority 3 and Priority 4.

Support Channels:

• Telephone: 0191 825 0808 (24/7 answered for P1/P2)
• Email: support@aoitnetworks.com (24/7 monitored for P1/P2)
• Partner Portal: portal.aoitnetworks.com (24/7 monitored for P1/P2)

Out-of-Hours Behaviour for P1/P2: Priority 1 and Priority 2 incidents submitted out-of-hours receive immediate 24/7 response with actual elapsed time SLA targets. Out of hours support for P1 and P2 incidents is subject to time-based multipliers as specified in the Partner’s Order Form.

Out-of-Hours Behaviour for P3/P4: Priority 3 and Priority 4 tickets submitted at 17:00 or later will be queued until 08:00 the next business day. The SLA clock starts at 08:00 and uses business hours calculation.

Monitoring and Alerting:

• 24/7 proactive monitoring and alerting for all services
• Critical alerts (P1/P2) trigger immediate 24/7 technician response
• Non-critical alerts (P3/P4) are reviewed during business hours

What’s Included:

• 24/7 phone and email support for Priority 1 and Priority 2 incidents
• Business hours support for Priority 3 and Priority 4 requests
• Priority over Standard and Advanced Support partners
• Monthly detailed service reports provided automatically
• Quarterly business review meetings
• 24/7 monitoring with out-of-hours response for critical issues
• Escalation to senior technical resources when needed

3.4 Elite Support (Optional upgrade)

Support Hours: 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year for Priority 1 and Priority 2 incidents. Business hours for Priority 3 and Priority 4.

Support Channels:

• Telephone: 0191 825 0808 (24/7 priority queue for all requests)
• Email: support@aoitnetworks.com (24/7 priority handling)
• Partner Portal: portal.aoitnetworks.com (24/7 priority handling)
• Dedicated Account Manager with direct contact details

Out-of-Hours Behaviour for P1/P2: Priority 1 and Priority 2 incidents submitted out-of-hours receive immediate 24/7 priority response with the fastest response times and actual elapsed time SLA targets. Out of hours support for P1 and P2 incidents is subject to time-based multipliers as specified in the Partner’s Order Form.

Out-of-Hours Behaviour for P3/P4: Priority 3 and Priority 4 tickets submitted at 17:00 or later will be queued until 08:00 the next business day. The SLA clock starts at 08:00 and uses business hours calculation.

Monitoring and Alerting:

• 24/7 proactive monitoring and alerting for all services with highest priority
• Critical alerts (P1/P2) trigger immediate priority response from senior technical resources
• All alerts receive priority review and handling

What’s Included:

• Priority queue ahead of all other partners for all requests
• Fastest response times for Priority 1 and Priority 2 incidents (24/7)
• Dedicated account manager with direct contact details
• Named technical contacts for escalation
• 24/7 monitoring with priority out-of-hours response
• Quarterly strategic IT planning and business review meetings
• Advanced reporting and analytics with executive dashboards
• Proactive recommendations and strategic guidance
• Direct escalation paths to senior leadership

4. Incident Priority Levels and Response Times

4.1 Priority Definitions

Support requests are prioritised based on business impact and urgency. AOIT reserves the right to re-prioritise tickets based on actual business impact, available resources, and technical assessment. Priority upgrades or downgrades will be communicated to the Partner with explanation.

Priority 1 (Critical)

Complete service failure with severe business impact. Work cannot continue.

Characteristics:

• Affects all or substantial majority of users
• No workaround available
• Business operations completely halted
• Significant revenue impact or regulatory compliance risk

Examples include: complete email system outage, total loss of network connectivity, complete server failure with no access to critical business applications, active ransomware or security breach in progress, complete loss of telephone system.

Priority 2 (High)

Major service degradation with significant business impact. Work severely hampered but not completely stopped.

Characteristics:

• Affects multiple users or a critical business function
• Workaround may exist but is impractical or temporary
• Business operations significantly degraded
• Productivity substantially impacted

Examples include: email delays affecting multiple users, partial network connectivity, key application extremely slow but accessible, VoIP quality issues, critical security vulnerability requiring urgent patching, backup failures across multiple systems.

Priority 3 (Medium)

Moderate service degradation or functionality issue. Business can continue with some inconvenience.

Characteristics:

• Affects a limited number of users or a non-critical function
• Workaround readily available
• Business operations continue with minor inconvenience
• Can be scheduled for resolution during normal workflow

Examples include: individual user unable to access email, printer not working for one department, non-critical application performing slowly, single user VPN failure, new user account requests, software installation requests.

Priority 4 (Low)

Minimal business impact. Information requests or minor issues.

Characteristics:

• Minimal or no impact on business operations
• No urgency for resolution
• Can be scheduled at AOIT’s and Partner’s mutual convenience
• Often informational or planning in nature

Examples include: how-to questions, requests for documentation, cosmetic issues that don’t affect functionality, feature requests, non-urgent equipment requests, scheduled moves or changes with flexible timeline.

4.2 Response and Resolution Time Commitments

All times are stated in hours. Business hours times are calculated using AOIT’s business hours (08:00–17:00 Mon–Fri) as defined in Section 2. Times marked 24/7 for Premium and Elite Support are measured in actual elapsed time for Priority 1 and Priority 2 only.

Standard Support (Business Hours Only)

All times in business hours. Out-of-hours tickets queue until 08:00 the next business day.

Advanced Support (Business Hours Only – Faster Response)

All times in business hours. Priority over Standard Support. Out-of-hours tickets queue until 08:00 with priority.

Premium Support (24/7 for P1/P2, Business Hours for P3/P4)

P3/P4 tickets submitted at 17:00 or later queue until 08:00 next business day. Priority over Standard and Advanced Support.

Elite Support (24/7 for P1/P2, Business Hours for P3/P4)

P3/P4 tickets submitted at 17:00 or later queue until 08:00 next business day. Priority queue ahead of all other support tiers.

4.3 Resolution Time Clarification

Resolution times represent AOIT’s commitment to restore service capability or provide a functional workaround that allows business operations to continue. This does not necessarily mean the issue is permanently resolved.

When a workaround is provided:

• The ticket status is set to “Workaround Provided”
• The SLA timer is paused
• The Partner can continue business operations using the workaround
• The SLA resolution commitment has been met
• AOIT continues to work toward a permanent fix in the background
• Regular status updates continue to be provided
• The ticket is fully resolved once the permanent solution is implemented and verified

4.4 SLA Timer Pause Conditions

The SLA clock is automatically paused in the following circumstances and will resume when the blocking condition is resolved:

Awaiting Partner Response:

• AOIT has requested information, credentials, access, or clarification from the Partner
• AOIT is awaiting Partner approval to implement a solution or make changes
• AOIT requires access to systems, facilities, or personnel not yet provided
• Partner has indicated they need time to test a proposed solution
• Partner has requested AOIT delay implementation until a specific date or event

Awaiting Third-Party Vendor:

• Issue requires intervention from a third-party vendor (ISP, software vendor, hardware manufacturer, cloud provider)
• AOIT is waiting for vendor support, patches, firmware updates, or replacement parts
• Parts or licences have been ordered and AOIT is awaiting delivery

Workaround Provided:

• AOIT has provided a suitable workaround that allows business operations to continue
• Ticket status is set to “Workaround Provided”
• AOIT is working on permanent resolution in parallel

Scheduled Maintenance Window:

• The Partner has requested AOIT delay resolution until a scheduled maintenance window
• Implementation is pending Partner-approved change window

AOIT will document the reason for any SLA timer pause in the ticket notes and will notify the Partner when the timer is paused and when it resumes.

SLA Timer Does NOT Pause For:

• AOIT internal investigation, troubleshooting, or escalation
• AOIT staff training or onboarding
• AOIT resource conflicts or competing priorities
• Complexity of the issue or difficulty in diagnosis

4.5 Complex Issue Handling

Some issues may require extended time to resolve permanently due to factors beyond AOIT’s immediate control, including third-party vendor support requirements, hardware procurement and delivery times, extensive troubleshooting, waiting for software patches, or coordination with multiple parties.

In such cases, AOIT will:

1. Provide a workaround within the committed SLA timeframe to restore service capability
2. Set ticket status to “Workaround Provided” to pause the SLA timer
3. Keep the Partner informed with regular status updates on permanent fix progress
4. Set realistic expectations for permanent resolution timeline
5. Continue working toward complete resolution in parallel with the workaround
6. Schedule final implementation during an appropriate change window with Partner approval
7. Conduct post-implementation verification

Communication During Complex Issues:

For P1 and P2 incidents requiring extended resolution: initial status update within 2 hours of workaround implementation, daily status updates until permanent fix is implemented, and immediate notification if timeline or approach changes.

For P3 and P4 issues requiring extended resolution: status updates at least twice per week until permanent fix is implemented, and a final resolution summary upon completion.

4.6 Escalation Process

Partners may request escalation at any time. AOIT encourages Partners to escalate when they feel resolution is not progressing appropriately.

Escalation Levels:

• Level 1 – Support Technician: Initial contact and assignment. Handles routine issues and standard troubleshooting. Escalates to Level 2 when additional expertise is required.
• Level 2 – Senior Technical Specialist: Available after 50% of target resolution time has elapsed without resolution, or immediately for highly complex issues. Authority to engage vendor support and coordinate with third parties.
• Level 3 – Technical Director: Available after 75% of target resolution time has elapsed without resolution, or for repeated SLA breaches. Authority to authorise emergency changes.
• Level 4 – Managing Director: Final point of escalation for critical unresolved issues exceeding SLA targets, significant or repeated service failures, or situations requiring executive decision-making.

How to Escalate:

1. Email: support@aoitnetworks.com with “ESCALATION REQUEST” in the subject line, including ticket number, current status, and best contact method
2. Phone: 0191 825 0808 and request escalation when speaking with support staff
3. Partner Portal: Use the escalation option in the ticket interface
4. Account Manager: Direct contact (Premium and Elite Support only)

Escalation requests are reviewed within 1 business hour during business hours. Out-of-hours escalation requests for Premium and Elite P1/P2 incidents are reviewed within 1 hour (24/7).

Automatic Escalation:

• At 50% of resolution time target: Escalated to Senior Technical Specialist
• At 75% of resolution time target: Escalated to Technical Director
• Upon SLA breach: Escalated to Technical Director with management notification

5. Service Availability and Uptime Commitments

5.1 Service Availability Targets

AOIT commits to the following Monthly Uptime Percentages for services under AOIT’s direct control and management:

Uptime commitments apply only to services under AOIT’s direct control and management. Services dependent on third-party infrastructure are subject to Section 7 exclusions. Multiple brief interruptions count toward total downtime even if individually minor.

5.2 Uptime Calculation

Monthly Uptime Percentage is calculated as:

Uptime % = ((Total Minutes in Month – Downtime Minutes) / Total Minutes in Month) x 100

Uptime is measured 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Downtime during weekends and evenings counts toward the downtime total. Only Planned Maintenance (properly notified per Section 6) and Excluded Downtime (Section 7) are excluded from calculations.

5.3 Measurement Period

Service availability is measured on a calendar month basis from 00:00:01 on the first day of the month to 23:59:59 on the last day of the month (GMT/BST). Monitoring is performed continuously through automated systems that check service availability at regular intervals (typically every 1–5 minutes depending on service type).

Downtime begins when the monitoring system detects service unavailability or when the Partner reports unavailability (whichever occurs first). Downtime ends when service is fully restored and confirmed (whichever occurs last). AOIT’s monitoring logs serve as the authoritative record for disputed timing unless the Partner can provide evidence of longer downtime.

5.4 Uptime Reporting

• Standard Support: Monthly uptime reports available on request. Delivered within 10 Business Days of the end of the reporting period.
• Advanced Support: Monthly uptime reports automatically generated and sent by the 10th of the following month.
• Premium Support: Comprehensive monthly reports automatically generated and sent by the 10th of the following month to designated technical and management contacts.
• Elite Support: All reporting from Premium Support plus quarterly business review meetings and custom reports available on request.

6. Planned Maintenance

6.1 Maintenance Windows

Preferred Maintenance Window: Sunday 02:00 – 06:00 GMT/BST

Secondary Window: Weekday evenings 22:00 – 02:00 GMT/BST

Emergency maintenance may be performed outside designated windows when necessary to address critical security vulnerabilities, imminent service failures, active security incidents, or urgent legal or regulatory compliance requirements. Emergency maintenance will be communicated as soon as the need is identified.

6.2 Maintenance Notification

Standard Planned Maintenance: At least 5 Business Days’ advance notice via email to the Partner’s designated contacts and posted to the Partner Portal. Notification includes date, time, and expected duration; services affected and expected impact; reason for maintenance; and any actions Partners should take.

Emergency Maintenance: At least 24 hours’ advance notice where technically possible. For critical security vulnerabilities or imminent failures, maintenance may proceed with shorter notice (as little as 2–4 hours). Partners directly affected will be contacted by phone where feasible.

6.3 Maintenance and Uptime Calculation

Excluded from downtime if ALL of the following are met:

• At least 5 Business Days’ advance notice was provided via email
• Performed during a designated maintenance window
• Does not exceed the communicated duration by more than 30 minutes

Counted as downtime:

• Emergency maintenance with less than 5 Business Days’ advance notice (unless addressing a critical security vulnerability)
• Maintenance that exceeds the communicated duration by more than 30 minutes (overage time only)
• Unplanned outages not related to maintenance

7. SLA Exclusions

7.1 Circumstances That Nullify SLA

SLA commitments are completely nullified in the following circumstances because the issue is entirely outside AOIT’s control and AOIT cannot provide a workaround to restore service.

Third-Party Service Failures Without Workaround Available:

When third-party service failures occur and AOIT is unable to provide a workaround to restore service, SLA commitments are nullified. This includes but is not limited to:

• Microsoft 365, Azure, or other cloud platform outages
• ISP connectivity failures when no backup connectivity is in place
• Telecommunications provider failures affecting VoIP when no alternative routing is available
• DNS or CDN provider outages
• Third-party authentication or SSO service failures
• Software vendor service outages preventing licence validation or critical application functionality
• Backup service provider outages with no alternative backup available

AOIT’s Obligations During Third-Party Service Failures:

Even when SLA is nullified, AOIT commits to:

1. Notifying the Partner as soon as AOIT becomes aware of the disruption
2. Providing regular status updates at appropriate intervals
3. Escalating with the third-party vendor to expedite resolution where possible
4. Actively investigating potential workarounds
5. Documenting the failure and all actions taken in the support ticket

If AOIT is able to provide a workaround that restores service despite the third-party failure, SLA nullification ends and SLA commitments resume and apply to implementing that workaround.

7.2 Circumstances That Pause SLA

The SLA timer is paused (not nullified) in the following circumstances:

Planned Maintenance: Scheduled maintenance communicated at least 5 Business Days in advance as described in Section 6.

Force Majeure Events: Natural disasters, acts of God, terrorism, war, civil unrest, pandemic, government actions, failure of public utilities, or other events beyond AOIT’s reasonable control.

Partner Environment and Infrastructure: Issues originating from the Partner’s network, equipment, or facilities not managed by AOIT, including Partner-owned equipment failures, Partner ISP issues, power failures at Partner sites, or environmental issues at Partner facilities.

Partner Actions or Inactions: Service degradation resulting from the Partner’s actions or failure to act, including incorrect information provided to AOIT, unauthorised changes to AOIT-managed systems, failure to implement recommended security patches or updates, denial of access, or delay in providing required approvals.

Security Incidents: Service interruptions caused by malware, ransomware, DDoS attacks, phishing, or other malicious activities directed at the Partner or AOIT’s infrastructure, unless directly caused by AOIT’s gross negligence or failure to implement industry-standard security controls.

Resource Limitations: Performance degradation due to usage exceeding agreed capacity limits, resource allocations, or fair use thresholds.

Beta, Trial, or Proof-of-Concept Services: Services explicitly designated as beta, pilot, trial, or experimental are provided “as-is” without SLA commitments.

Acceptable Use Policy Violations: Service suspension or termination due to Partner’s violation of the Acceptable Use Policy.

Legal or Regulatory Requirements: Service interruptions required to comply with legal obligations, court orders, or law enforcement requests.

7.3 Notification of Excluded Events

AOIT will notify Partners of service interruptions caused by excluded circumstances as soon as practicable, including the nature of the exclusion, affected services, whether SLA is paused or nullified, and actions AOIT is taking. AOIT will continue to work diligently to restore services even when SLA commitments do not apply.

8. Service Credits

8.1 Discretionary Service Credits

AOIT may, at its sole and absolute discretion, provide service credits for failures to meet the Monthly Uptime Percentage commitments in Section 5.1. Service credits are not automatic, are not guaranteed, and will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

• Service credits apply only to uptime and availability commitments in Section 5.1
• Service credits do not apply to support response time or resolution time commitments in Section 4
• Service credits are granted at AOIT’s sole discretion and do not constitute an entitlement

Factors considered when assessing whether to grant service credits include whether the service is under AOIT’s direct control, whether exclusions in Section 7 apply, the cause and nature of the failure, the severity and duration of the disruption, the Partner’s support tier and account standing, the Partner’s cooperation during incident resolution, and whether this is an isolated incident or part of a pattern.

8.2 Service Credit Request Process

To request consideration for service credits, the Partner must submit a written request to support@aoitnetworks.com within 30 calendar days of the end of the month in which the failure occurred.

The request must include:

• Partner name and account number
• Specific service(s) affected
• Dates, times, and duration of unavailability
• Supporting evidence where available (screenshots, logs, incident ticket numbers)
• Reference to the specific commitment in Section 5.1 that was not met

AOIT will acknowledge receipt within 2 Business Days, investigate thoroughly, and respond with a decision within 15 Business Days. If additional information is needed, the 15-day clock pauses until it is received. If credits are granted, they will be applied to the Partner’s account within 30 days of the approval decision and will appear on the next invoice.

8.3 Service Credit Limitations

Service credits, if granted:

• Apply only to recurring monthly fees for the specific affected service
• Cannot be redeemed for cash or refund
• Cannot be transferred to another account
• Must be used against future AOIT invoices
• Expire 12 months from the date of issue
• Are capped at 25% of monthly fees for the affected service in any single month

Service credits are the Partner’s sole and exclusive remedy for AOIT’s failure to meet service availability commitments. Accepting a credit constitutes full satisfaction of any claim related to that specific failure.

8.4 No Automatic Entitlement

Partners expressly acknowledge that service credits are discretionary and granted solely at AOIT’s discretion. There is no automatic entitlement to service credits for any service disruption. AOIT’s decision on whether to grant service credits is final, subject only to the reconsideration process below.

If a Partner disagrees with a service credit decision, they may submit additional information within 10 Business Days. AOIT will review and provide a final decision within 10 Business Days. AOIT’s decision after reconsideration is binding.

8.5 Limitation of Liability

Service credits, if granted, are the Partner’s sole and exclusive remedy for AOIT’s failure to meet the Monthly Uptime Percentage commitments in Section 5.1. AOIT’s total aggregate liability for any failure to meet this SLA shall not exceed the amount set forth in the Master Services Agreement.

Nothing in this Section limits AOIT’s liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, wilful misconduct or gross negligence, breaches of data protection laws, or any other liability that cannot be excluded or limited under UK law.

9. Performance Monitoring and Reporting

9.1 Monitoring Systems

AOIT maintains comprehensive automated monitoring systems that continuously track service availability, performance, health, and security across all managed services. Monitoring is performed 24/7 for all Partners regardless of support tier.

Monitoring covers:

• Service availability and uptime
• System performance and resource utilisation (CPU, memory, disk, bandwidth)
• Security events, threat detection, and patch compliance
• Backup job completion and integrity
• Network and connectivity health
• Application-specific availability and performance

9.2 Alert Response by Support Tier

All Partners receive 24/7 proactive monitoring regardless of support tier. The difference between tiers is how and when AOIT responds to alerts.

• Standard Support: Alerts queued and reviewed during business hours only. Partner notified during business hours.
• Advanced Support: Alerts reviewed during business hours with priority over Standard Support. Proactive trend analysis to identify potential issues before they cause outages.
• Premium Support: P1/P2 alerts trigger immediate 24/7 technician response. P3/P4 alerts reviewed during business hours with priority handling. Partner notified immediately for critical issues.
• Elite Support: All alerts receive highest priority handling. P1/P2 alerts trigger immediate 24/7 priority response from senior technical resources. Proactive outreach with optimisation recommendations.

9.3 Reporting

• Standard Support: Monthly service report available on request. Includes service availability summary, significant incidents, planned maintenance activities, and support ticket statistics.
• Advanced Support: Monthly service report automatically sent by the 10th of the following month. Includes all Standard Support content plus detailed availability statistics, month-over-month trends, SLA compliance metrics, and security event summary.
• Premium Support: Comprehensive monthly report automatically sent by the 10th of the following month to designated technical and management contacts. Includes all Advanced Support content plus capacity planning recommendations, security posture assessment, backup status, and real-time dashboard access via the Partner Portal.
• Elite Support: All reporting from Premium Support plus quarterly business review meetings, custom reports on request, and proactive strategic guidance from a dedicated Account Manager.

10. Continuous Improvement

AOIT is committed to continuous improvement in service delivery.

10.1 Post-Incident Review

Following any Priority 1 incident, significant service degradation, repeated SLA breaches, or at the Partner’s request, AOIT conducts an internal post-incident review covering root cause analysis, response effectiveness, corrective actions, and knowledge base updates. Post-incident review summaries are available to all Partners on request. Premium and Elite Support Partners automatically receive summaries for all P1 and P2 incidents affecting their services.

10.2 SLA Performance Review

AOIT leadership reviews SLA performance metrics quarterly, covering SLA compliance rates, average response and resolution times, uptime performance, root causes of any breaches, and resource and capacity assessment. Partners experiencing consistent service challenges will be contacted proactively by AOIT management to discuss patterns, remediation plans, and improvements.

10.3 Partner Feedback

AOIT values Partner feedback as a critical input to service improvement. Partners are encouraged to provide feedback at any time via support@aoitnetworks.com. Brief satisfaction surveys are sent automatically following ticket resolution. Account review meetings are conducted regularly for Advanced, Premium, and Elite Support Partners.

11. General Provisions

11.1 SLA Amendments

AOIT may update this SLA from time to time. Material changes that reduce Partner rights or increase Partner obligations will be communicated at least 60 days in advance and take effect at the next contract renewal date. Non-material changes such as clarifications, corrections, or improvements that benefit Partners may be implemented with shorter notice. All SLA changes will be posted to https://www.aoitnetworks.com/legal-repository/service-level-agreement/ with version number and effective date clearly indicated.

11.2 Limitation of Liability

Service credits provided under this SLA (if granted at AOIT’s discretion) are the Partner’s sole and exclusive remedy for AOIT’s failure to meet service availability commitments in Section 5.1. Subject to the limitations in the Master Services Agreement, AOIT’s total aggregate liability for any failure to meet the commitments in this SLA shall not exceed the service credits (if any) granted under Section 8, or the limitations set forth in the Master Services Agreement.

Nothing in this SLA limits or excludes AOIT’s liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, wilful misconduct or gross negligence, breaches of data protection laws, or any other liability that cannot be excluded or limited under UK law.

Neither party shall be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including loss of profits, revenue, data, or business opportunity, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.

11.3 Dispute Resolution

In the event of disagreements about SLA interpretation, performance, or application, the parties agree to attempt resolution in the following order:

1. Direct discussion between technical contacts
2. Escalation to management level (Account Manager and Technical Director)
3. Escalation to executive level (Managing Directors)
4. If good faith efforts fail, the dispute resolution procedures in the Master Services Agreement apply

11.4 Entire Agreement

This SLA, together with the Master Services Agreement, Data Processing Agreement, Acceptable Use Policy, and applicable Order Forms, constitutes the entire agreement between AOIT and the Partner with respect to service levels and supersedes all prior understandings or representations regarding service commitments.

11.5 Survival

The following sections survive termination or expiration of the Master Services Agreement: Section 7 (SLA Exclusions), Section 8 (Service Credits) for requests relating to the final months of service, Section 11.2 (Limitation of Liability), and any other section that by its nature should survive termination.

11.6 Contact Information

General Support and Service Requests:
Email: support@aoitnetworks.com
Phone: 0191 825 0808
Portal: portal.aoitnetworks.com

Escalations:
Email: support@aoitnetworks.com with “ESCALATION REQUEST” in subject line
Phone: 0191 825 0808 and request escalation

Service Credit Requests:
Email: support@aoitnetworks.com with “SERVICE CREDIT REQUEST” in subject line

Mailing Address:
AOIT Networks Ltd
Jarrow Business Centre
Rolling Mill Road
Jarrow, Tyne and Wear
NE32 3DT
United Kingdom

Company Number: 10450071
VAT Number: GB 253 424 912

Appendix A: Response Time Matrix (Quick Reference)

Standard Support (Business Hours Only: 08:00–17:00 Mon–Fri)

All times in business hours. Out-of-hours tickets queue until 08:00.

Advanced Support (Business Hours Only: 08:00–17:00 Mon–Fri)

All times in business hours. Priority over Standard Support. Out-of-hours tickets queue until 08:00 with priority.

Premium Support (24/7 for P1/P2, Business Hours for P3/P4)

P3/P4 tickets submitted at 17:00 or later queue until 08:00 next business day.

Elite Support (24/7 for P1/P2, Business Hours for P3/P4)

P3/P4 tickets submitted at 17:00 or later queue until 08:00 next business day. Priority queue ahead of all other support tiers.

Appendix B: Uptime Targets (Quick Reference)

Uptime measured 24/7. Planned maintenance (with 5 Business Days’ notice) excluded from calculations.

Appendix C: Support Tier Comparison