Service Level Agreement
Last updated: January 1, 2025
Our Commitment: We are committed to providing reliable, high-performance service. This SLA outlines our uptime commitments and the remedies available if we fall short.
1. Scope
This Service Level Agreement ("SLA") applies to the SMERP EDU platform for customers on paid subscription plans (EDU Lite, EDU Core, EDU Pro, and Enterprise). This SLA does not apply to free trials or beta features.
2. Definitions
- "Downtime" means a period when the Service is unavailable to you, as measured by our monitoring systems.
- "Monthly Uptime Percentage" means (Total Minutes in Month - Downtime Minutes) / Total Minutes in Month × 100.
- "Service Credit" means credit applied to your account as compensation for Downtime.
- "Scheduled Maintenance" means planned maintenance communicated at least 48 hours in advance.
- "Emergency Maintenance" means urgent maintenance required for security or stability.
3. Service Level Commitments
3.1 Uptime Commitment
| Plan | Monthly Uptime Target | Maximum Downtime/Month |
|---|---|---|
| EDU Lite | 99.5% | ~3.6 hours |
| EDU Core | 99.9% | ~43 minutes |
| EDU Pro | 99.9% | ~43 minutes |
| Enterprise | 99.95% | ~22 minutes |
3.2 What Counts as Downtime
Downtime includes:
- Inability to log in to the Service
- Core functionality unavailable (student management, grades, attendance)
- API endpoints returning errors for more than 5 consecutive minutes
3.3 Exclusions
The following are NOT counted as Downtime:
- Scheduled Maintenance (with 48+ hours notice)
- Emergency Maintenance (for critical security or stability issues)
- Issues caused by factors outside our control (internet outages, DNS issues, DDoS attacks)
- Issues caused by your systems, configurations, or third-party integrations
- Suspension due to non-payment or Terms violations
- Beta features or experimental functionality
- Features explicitly marked as "best effort"
4. Service Credits
4.1 Credit Schedule
| Monthly Uptime Percentage | Service Credit |
|---|---|
| < 99.9% but ≥ 99.0% | 10% of monthly fee |
| < 99.0% but ≥ 95.0% | 25% of monthly fee |
| < 95.0% | 50% of monthly fee |
For annual subscriptions, the monthly fee is calculated as 1/12 of the annual subscription amount.
4.2 Credit Request Process
To receive Service Credits:
- Submit a credit request to edu.help@smerptek.com within 30 days of the incident
- Include your account information and the dates/times of the Downtime
- We will verify the Downtime using our monitoring systems
- Approved credits will be applied to your next invoice
4.3 Credit Limitations
- Maximum credit per month: 50% of monthly fee
- Credits are not refundable for cash
- Credits cannot be transferred between accounts
- Credits expire if your subscription ends
- Credits are your sole and exclusive remedy for Downtime
5. Maintenance Windows
5.1 Scheduled Maintenance
- Timing: Typically performed during low-usage hours (weekends, 02:00-06:00 UTC)
- Notice: Minimum 48 hours advance notice via email and in-app notification
- Duration: Typically 1-4 hours
- Frequency: Generally no more than once per month
5.2 Emergency Maintenance
Emergency maintenance may be performed without advance notice to address critical security vulnerabilities or system stability issues. We will notify you as soon as practicable and provide updates during the maintenance.
6. Support Response Times
6.1 Support Levels by Plan
| Plan | Support Channels | Support Hours |
|---|---|---|
| EDU Lite | Email, Knowledge Base | Business Hours |
| EDU Core | Email, Chat, Knowledge Base | Business Hours |
| EDU Pro | Email, Chat, Phone, Knowledge Base | Extended Hours |
| Enterprise | All channels + Dedicated Support | 24/7 |
Business Hours: Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM (UTC+4, Dubai time)
Extended Hours: Monday-Friday, 6:00 AM - 10:00 PM (UTC+4)
6.2 Response Time Targets
| Priority | Description | First Response | Resolution Target |
|---|---|---|---|
| P1 - Critical | Service completely unavailable | 1 hour | 4 hours |
| P2 - High | Major feature unavailable, no workaround | 4 hours | 24 hours |
| P3 - Medium | Feature impaired, workaround available | 8 hours | 72 hours |
| P4 - Low | Minor issue, questions, requests | 24 hours | Best effort |
Response times are measured during support hours. Enterprise customers may have custom SLAs.
7. Status Communication
7.1 Status Page
Real-time service status is available at status.smerptek.com. Subscribe to receive automatic notifications about incidents and maintenance.
7.2 Incident Communication
During service incidents, we provide:
- Initial acknowledgment within 15 minutes
- Updates every 30 minutes during active incidents
- Post-incident report within 5 business days for P1 incidents
8. Performance Targets
In addition to availability, we target the following performance metrics:
| Metric | Target |
|---|---|
| Page Load Time (P95) | < 3 seconds |
| API Response Time (P95) | < 500ms |
| Search Response Time (P95) | < 1 second |
| Report Generation (standard) | < 30 seconds |
P95 = 95th percentile. Performance may vary based on data volume and complexity.
9. Data Protection
9.1 Backup and Recovery
- Backup Frequency: Daily automated backups
- Backup Retention: 30 days (longer retention available for Enterprise)
- Recovery Point Objective (RPO): 1 hour
- Recovery Time Objective (RTO): 4 hours
9.2 Data Durability
Data is stored with 99.999999999% (11 nines) durability through geographically redundant storage.
10. Enterprise SLA Options
Enterprise customers may negotiate enhanced SLA terms including:
- Higher uptime commitments (99.99%)
- Faster support response times
- Dedicated support resources
- Custom maintenance windows
- Enhanced service credits
- Quarterly business reviews
Contact enterprise@smerptek.com for custom Enterprise SLA terms.
11. Customer Responsibilities
To ensure optimal service delivery, you are responsible for:
- Maintaining compatible browsers and systems
- Providing accurate contact information for notifications
- Reporting issues promptly with sufficient detail
- Implementing recommended security practices
- Keeping your integration configurations up to date
12. SLA Reporting
Monthly uptime reports are available in your account dashboard. Enterprise customers receive detailed monthly SLA reports including:
- Uptime percentage
- Incident summary
- Support ticket metrics
- Performance trends
13. Changes to This SLA
We may update this SLA with 30 days' notice. Changes will not reduce service commitments during your current subscription term. Continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated SLA.