WSO2 Support Services Policy

Version 5.7, effective 1 September 2022

This document sets forth the policies governing the provision of WSO2 Support Services in accordance with a Subscription.

  1. Creating and Managing Support Cases

    The Subscriber may open a support case by visiting the WSO2 online support portal at https://support.wso2.com. New Subscribers are provided instructions on accessing the WSO2 support portal and other available support methods. There are no limits on support account authorized users. New users can be added by request from an authorized administrator to [email protected].

    To ensure we can properly address your issue, please ensure that you:

    • Follow specific guidelines posted on the support portal on how to open support cases.
    • Correctly classify the issue either as an Incident, Query, or otherwise.
    • Provide an initial Priority Level for Incidents.
    • Identify the specific deployment and products affected.
    • Provide sufficient information with your report so WSO2 can replicate or otherwise understand the Incident and respond appropriately.
    • Respond promptly to outreach from WSO2's support team to provide any additional information.
    • Work with stakeholders in your organization to ensure their participation as necessary to reach a satisfactory outcome.
  2. Support Case Types

    A WSO2 Subscription includes access to a support account, which handles distinctive types of support cases:

    An “Incident” represents a failure of one of the specific production or pre-production deployments (if applicable) covered by your subscription. A production deployment is a system that performs, or assists in performing, legally binding transactions and where a failure of a system in production will have an immediate economic impact on the end users and on the organization. A pre-production system is part of a release management system encompassing staging, testing, or QA deployments.

    A “Query” provides general technical support for WSO2 products. Queries may represent questions about features, usage, functional implementation, or best practices, as may arise during evaluation, development, or migration activities. A Query need not be linked to a specific production or pre-production deployment.

    Managed Services subscribers may open“Hosting Incidents” concerning the operation of a system under WSO2 Managed Services. A general question concerning Managed Services is WSO2 SP-5.7 Effective 1 September 2022 p. 2 © 2022 WSO2 captured as a “Hosting Query,” and a request for a deployment or configuration change is captured as a “Hosting Task.”

  3. Service Levels

    For each Incident WSO2 endeavors to respond to and resolve the case as quickly as possible, within the Target Response Time, Target Workaround Time (if applicable), and Target Resolution Time (if applicable) associated with an Incident’s Priority Level. In the event that a Workaround is not reached for an Incident within the Target Workaround Time, or a resolution is not reached within the Target Resolution Time, taking into account any delays in Subscriber’s provision of necessary information, the Incident will be escalated to the WSO2 executive team and an Incident “war team” comprised of WSO2 support engineer(s), WSO2 executive(s), and Subscriber representative(s) will be convened and a response plan will be established, including technical assessment, mitigation strategy evaluation, resource allocations, and status update frequency. The support team will work continuously under the direction of the war team until a final resolution of the Incident is reached.

    Enterprise Support Plan Service Levels
    Hours of coverage 24x7x365
    Incidents P1 P2 P3
    Target Response Time 1 hour 4 hours 6 hours
    Target Workaround Time 24 hours 48 hours 72 hours
    Target Resolution Time 48 hours 72 hours 1 Business Week
    Environment prod + pre-prod prod + pre-prod prod + pre-prod
    Support Case Limits no limit no limit no limit
    Queries
    Target Response Time 1 Business Day
    Target Resolution Time best efforts
    Support Case Limits up to the Query Support Limit
    Hosting Incidents P1 P2 P3
    Target Response Time 15 minutes 90 minutes 8 hours
    Target Workaround Time 4 hours 24 hours 72 hours
    Target Resolution Time 48 hours 72 hours 1 Business Week
    Status Update Frequency every 4 hours every 8 hours every Business Day
    Escalation 8 hours
    Support Case Limits no limit no limit no limit
    Hosting Tasks and Queries
    Target Response Time 1 Business Day
    Target Resolution Time best efforts
    Support Case Limits unlimited
    Basic Support Plan Service Levels
    Hours of coverage Americas: 12x5 (7.00 a.m. - 7.00 p.m. ET M-F)
    EMEA: 12x5 (7.00 a.m. - 7.00 p.m. GMT M-F)
    ME: 12x5 (7.00 a.m. - 7.00 p.m. GMT S-T)
    APAC: 12x5 (7.00 a.m. - 7.00 p.m. IST M-F)
    Incidents P1 P2 P3
    Target Response Time 4 hours 6 hours 8 hours
    Target Workaround Time 48 hours 72 hours 1 Business Week
    Environment production only production only production only
    Support Case Limits no limit no limit no limit
    Queries
    Target Response Time 1 Business Day
    Support Case Limits 25 hours
  4. Incident Priority

    A Subscriber makes the initial determination of the priority level of Incidents, pursuant to the severity of impact.

    If a case is misclassified with respect to priority level or the type of case, the support team, in consultation with the Subscriber, will reclassify the case accordingly.

    Incident Priority Level Guidelines
    Priority Level 1 (P1): Critical
    1. The Subscriber has had a substantial loss of service.
    2. All or a substantial portion of the Subscriber’s mission critical data is at a significant risk of loss or corruption.
    3. The Subscriber’s business operations have been severely disrupted.
    4. The Subscriber is at risk of damage to its reputation.
    5. Failure in a pre-production deployment is blocking a critical release to production.
    6. For Managed Services: The Subscriber cannot access the system.
    7. For Managed Services: A government or legal stop order is placed on Subscriber requiring the service to cease with immediate effect.
    Priority Level 2 (P2): High
    1. Operations can continue in a restricted fashion, although the Subscriber’s long-term productivity might be adversely affected.
    2. Internal software error causing the Supported WSO2 Product to fail, but restart or recovery is possible.
    3. Severely degraded performance.
    Priority Level 3 (P3): Medium
    1. Impaired operations of some components, but allows the user to continue using the software.
    2. Imminent deployment milestones are at risk.
    3. Nominal performance degradation.
    4. Software errors.
  5. Scope

    To be in scope for support, an Incident must affect the operation of the specific Supported WSO2 Product instances associated with, and within the usage limits defined by, the Subscription.

    The scope of a Query encompasses WSO2 products applicable to the project. Queries arising from completely different projects are not in scope – distinct projects (different goals, business units, development or operational teams) should have distinct Subscriptions.

    Queries are subject to maximum hourly Query Support Limits as specified in the Subscription Order Form. All hours expended by WSO2 in reaching a satisfactory resolution are counted towards this limit, except for hours expended by WSO2 in developing a Fix for a product, connector, migration script, or documentation where the error or omission is so severe that it prevents the products from being used at even a basic level.

    To be in scope for Managed Services support, a Hosting Incident must involve the deployment, upgrading, maintenance, network configuration, starting, stopping, monitoring, availability, or performance of the hosted products within the parameters of the deployment architecture provided to the Managed Services team, and does not include resolution of bugs, feature requests, or product performance limitations. Any Hosting Incidents determined to be product-related rather than operational will be reclassified as Incidents or Queries as appropriate.

    WSO2 will investigate issues raised relating to custom product extensions. However, resolutions to such issues may be outside WSO2’s direct control. Changes to customized code are at WSO2’s discretion, and we may suspend the SLA for such incidents. A full resolution to an issue in a custom product extension may require a consulting engagement.

    A resolution to an Incident may in some cases consist of advice to seek a solution elsewhere – namely when the issue is caused by a hardware failure, third-party software, WSO2 products that have been heavily modified outside the many well-documented and supported extension mechanisms, attempts to use the software in an environment or for purposes for which it was not designed or well outside the published specs, issues that are effectively requests for consultancy services, or if no progress can be made without an onsite visit (unless your subscription provides for this feature).

    We may suspend the SLA for an incident – or for the entire support account if the issue isn’t addressed promptly – if your Subscription lapses, if we find you are using any WSO2 software in production without a subscription (even if the incident doesn’t directly affect the unsupported software), if you have exceeded any limits defined in your Subscription, if you have failed to conform to applicable license terms, if you are using the support system improperly or abusively, or if you are using the software for illegal purposes.

    For us to provide good service, we often need your help with the incident: prompt responses to requests for information through our support system, following our advice or instruction on a resolution, or properly installing Updates that are recommended as part of the resolution. On a P1 Incident we expect you to make resources available on a 24x7 basis to assist WSO2’s round- the-clock efforts in resolving the Incident. Our Service Level targets are predicated on your sufficient involvement.

  6. Support Levels

    WSO2’s Basic Support Plan and Enterprise Support Plan offers L1-L4 support. The OEM Support Plan offers L2-L4 support.

    Level 1 (L1) Initial case acceptance from the End User, validation of support eligibility, initial response, and case assignment. Collection of basic information about the product usage scenario, deployment environment, and configuration as may be needed to understand the issue thoroughly.
    Level 2 (L2) Diagnosis of the issue and verification that the issue is related to the WSO2 product. Application of known solutions to the issue, where related to product usage, configuration, deployment, update level, or environment.
    Level 3 (L3) Advanced reproduction, analysis and debugging. Provision of a Fix through re- configuring, adjusting the use of the product, or adjusting the deployed environment.
    Level 4 (L4) Developing a product update or documentation Fix that resolves the issue.
  7. Updates and Upgrades

    Updates are available to Subscribers and other registered users through the WSO2 Update services at https://wso2.com/updates. Updates are cumulative within an update channel – new updates issued by WSO2 include or depend upon previous updates made to the affected component. Subscribers are encouraged to stay up to date with all relevant Updates from WSO2. Updates are available to Subscribers and may be used both for development activities and production deployment.

    If WSO2 determines that an Update is required to remedy an Error in one or more Supported WSO2 Product components, which WSO2 will determine by acting reasonably and in good faith, WSO2 will identify or develop a Fix, build, and certify the Fix into an Update and make that Update available through the WSO2 Update service. WSO2 will provide Fixes it develops to the provider or development community for the software component, who can subsequently decide if the Fix will be committed into the software component’s source code tree.

    Subscribers are encouraged to upgrade regularly. Upgrading to a newer minor or major version does not invalidate your Subscription. Please keep WSO2 informed of any significant usage changes regarding the products under Subscription – it helps us respond more quickly and effectively to support cases.

  8. Lifespan and Deprecation

    WSO2 commits to support each major and minor release of the Supported WSO2 Product for a minimum of 3 years from the date of release. After this period WSO2 may discontinue WSO2 Support Services for a product version at any time.

    After WSO2 notifies the Subscriber of the intention to discontinue support for a product version, WSO2 will use commercially reasonable efforts to continue to support the version for at least one year after that announcement.

    A complete record of the release and active support dates for each product version is maintained at https://wso2.com/products/support-matrix.

  9. Changes to or Discontinuance of Support Services

    WSO2 reserves the right to modify this Support Services Policy subject to the terms of the Subscription entered into between the Subscriber and WSO2.

  10. Customer Success Management

    When provided for in your Subscription, WSO2 will assign a qualified Customer Success Manager (CSM) to your account. The CSM provides you with a primary point of contact for coordinating WSO2 support and delivery issues.

    Your assigned CSM acts as a dedicated contact for your support services, maintaining context and accelerating response and resolution times. A CSM can be engaged through the online support system, or directly (i.e., email, phone, chat, etc.). For a non-trivial issue, the CSM will ensure the issue is recorded as a support case in the support system. The CSM will respond to and resolve cases within their expertise, and assist with issue regression, analysis and debugging, and coordinate development of bug fixes, and the building, testing, and delivery of updates by the WSO2 support team. The CSM is a member of any Incident “war team” escalation process. We also encourage you to establish a regular status meeting between the stakeholders of your WSO2 project and the CSM.

    When your CSM service indicates dedicated hours, your CSM will establish a weekly schedule with you (20, or 40 hours) during business hours in your time zone. Within these dedicated hours, support cases in your account are the CSM’s top priority with a goal of responding in 30 minutes or less to incidents of all severities and queries. Outside the pre-scheduled hours, but within the working hours of the CSM, your account is second in priority only to dedicated hours of another account managed by the CSM. Issue priority within your account remains priority based on a first-come-first-served basis, unless you coordinate with the CSM to establish a different priority. Outside the working hours of the CSM, or at any point the CSM is already engaged in a top priority case, general WSO2 support system access and SLAs continue to be available.

    Note that the allocation of a CSM does not alter the support SLA but establishes a priority queue for your support cases within the support duties of your specific CSM. The CSM is allocated and remains managed exclusively by WSO2. Except in case of emergency replacements, WSO2 will provide you 7 days of advance notice of any change in your designated CSM.

  11. Questions

    Questions or correspondence about this policy can be directed to [email protected], or to WSO2, Attn: Support Manager, 3080 Olcott St., Suite C220, Santa Clara, CA 95054, USA.

  12. Definitions

    Business Day” means any day, excluding weekends and public holidays, in the United States of America, unless otherwise specified in a Subscription.

    Business Week” means five consecutive Business Days.

    Combined Product” means each value-added software application program and/or computer hardware product specified in a Subscription that (i) incorporates the Supported WSO2 Product and (ii) is developed by the Subscriber for commercial distribution to more than one End-User.

    Query Support Limit” means the maximum allowed utilization within a Subscription term of the support system for raising Queries, measured in hours expended by WSO2 in reaching a resolution.

    Documentation” means any current user guides, operating instructions, release notes, update announcements, installation guides, online help files regarding the use of the Supported WSO2 Product, manuals or other materials that are generally made available with the software by WSO2.

    End User” means a Subscriber or a third party licensed to use a Combined Product internally and not for distribution.

    Error” means either (a) a failure of the Supported WSO2 Product to conform to the specifications set forth in the Documentation, resulting in the inability to use, or restriction in the use of, the software, a runtime failure of the systems under Managed Services hosting provided by WSO2, and/or (b) a problem requiring new procedures, clarifications, or additional information. It does not include development of new features.

    First Level Support” should your Order Form designate it, offers L1-L4 support (detailed under Support Levels in Section 6 above) on a 24x7x365 basis for the Supported WSO2 Product.

    Fix” means either a software modification or addition that, when made or added to the Supported WSO2 Product, corrects the Error or Incident, or a procedure or routine that, when observed in the regular operation of the software, eliminates the practical adverse effect of the Error on Subscriber or End Users.

    Managed Services” is a service in which WSO2 can maintain the hosted Supported WSO2 Product in accordance with the Service Levels as set out in Section 1.2.

    Second Level Support” should your Order Form designate it, offers L2-L4 support (detailed under Support Levels in Section 6 above) on a 24x7x365 basis for Supported WSO2 Product used in a Combined Product.

    Subscriber” means those individuals and entities that have entered into a Subscription with WSO2 for all necessary licenses and the provision of Support Services.

    Subscription” means the applicable agreement(s) between WSO2 and a Subscriber for the provision of Support Services, including Order Forms.

    Support Services” means access to WSO2 support systems and personnel to be used within the scope and limits as set out in this Support Policy and the Subscription.

    Support Policy” means the policies and procedures as set forth herein.

    Supported WSO2 Product” means the instances of software identified in a Subscription, or upgraded versions thereof, used within the limits prescribed by the Subscription.

    Resolution Time” means the time elapsed between the acknowledgement of an Incident and the final resolution or Fix or an ETA of a Fix to the Incident to the reasonable satisfaction of Subscriber, as indicated on the WSO2 Support Portal.

    Response Time” is defined as the time elapsed between the reporting of an Incident by the Subscriber or WSO2 becoming aware of the Incident (whichever is earlier) and a WSO2 Technical Support Engineer acknowledging the receipt of such report to Subscriber through the WSO2 Support Portal.

    Workaround Time” means the time elapsed between the acknowledgement of an Incident and the provision of a Fix or a Workaround for an Incident, to the reasonable satisfaction of the Subscriber.

    Target” means a goal WSO2 shall endeavor to achieve.

    Workaround” is a temporary solution for an Incident preceding a permanent resolution or Fix.

    Update” means software components, media, printed materials, and online or electronic documentation that augments the capability or addresses a requirement or deficiency in the Supported WSO2 Product. Updates include patches obtained through the WSO2 Update service or delivered directly to the Subscriber.