Aspenware Hours Availability

The following timeframes will be referred to throughout this document as “Business Hours” and “After-Hours On-Call”.

Business Hours

8 am - 5 pm (Mountain Time), Monday - Friday, Holidays Excluded.

After-Hours On-Call Period:

Holidays

Aspenware observes the following holidays. If one of these holidays falls on a weekend it is Observed during a workday.

Service Level Guidelines

A support ticket submission is required for all issues before they can even be triaged as a level 1 - 4. If an issue is received via another communication channel, it will not be considered an official request until it appears in Aspenware’s ticketing system. See Appendix A for ticket submission requirements.

Glossary for Service Level Guidelines

Configuration Issue

Issue classified as standard support service provided (Detailed in Appendix D). Issues, questions, and requests that arise with features with Aspenware supported systems as specified in Aspenware’s Documentation. The resolution of this issue type is handled solely within the service team and can be resolved using Aspenware Commerce or Arrival Admin and does not require custom SQL knowledge or DB updates.

Infrastructure Issue

Issues classified as a standard maintenance service provided, such as Upgrade related activities (Detailed in Appendix E), or issues and questions with Infrastructure and/or Azure Management (Detailed in Appendix B). The resolution of this issue type requires technical expertise, and/or the dev-ops team to complete. This issue type is not resolved within Aspenware Commerce or Arrival Admin, but resolved by updating config files, running SQL, Azure updates, initiating upgrades, and more.

Software Defect

Issue classified as a reproducible defect in the Supported Program or Documentation when operated on a Supported Environment which causes the Supported Program not to operate substantially in accordance with the Documentation.

Level 1

Definition:

Response Time: Expect the first response from a service agent within 1 hr of submission if submitted during Business Hours or After-Hours On-Call Period. Level 1 issues are the only issue type handled during the After-Hours On-Call Period. If submitted outside of Business Hours or the After-Hours On-Call Period, you should receive a response by 9 am (Mountain Time) the next morning. After the first response, an Aspenware representative will provide updates every 4 hours throughout business hours and the after-hours on-call period until the issue is resolved or de-escalated.

Resolution Time:

IMPORTANT: Some issues that meet the Level 1 definition cannot be resolved by Aspenware and must be resolved externally. In the case that a root cause is determined as an outside incident (see Appendix C below) Aspenware cannot guarantee these resolution times when the resolution of the error is not within its control. Examples of outside incident Level 1 issues include Azure outage, Internet outage at the customer ski area, Email provider outage, Payment outage, external header outage, a ransomware attack, etc.

Examples by Category (each category has a corresponding section below with more details):

IMPORTANT: Products should be end-to-end tested 3 business days before launching and launches should be communicated with Aspenware representatives 10 days before launching. If it is determined that a customer launched a product during the After-Hours On-Call Period without proper notification and/or testing, Aspenware may choose to de-escalate the issue and ask that the customer take the product offline until the issue can be addressed as a Level 2 issue during business hours.

NOTE: One potentially avoidable Level 1 if proper planning and communication are done ahead of time is traffic to the site that is higher than what the Azure levels are able to handle. This incident can cause a slow-performing site at best, and an outage at worst. See https://hub.aspenware.net/main/Flash-Sale-or-Product-Launch-Scaling-Preparation.1298334147.html for Aspenware’s recommendations and stated customer responsibilities around helping your store handle high traffic. Aspenware cannot guarantee an immediate resolution to any incidents caused by volume surges if proper planning and communication with Aspenware were not completed.

Level 2

Definition:

Response Time: Level 2 issues will be responded to and resolved during Business Hours only. (The After-Hours On-Call Period is reserved for responding to and troubleshooting Level 1s). Expect the first response from a service agent within 8 business hours if submitted during business hours.

Resolution Time:

IMPORTANT: Customers are expected to keep Aspenware informed of the following dates for all product launches and follow reasonable build and test planning efforts before launching products.

  • 10 days before an upcoming product launch - Notify Aspenware of any upcoming product launch DATE and TIME so we can be prepared to support with launch needs. Notify us immediately if the timing changes.

  • 5 business days before launch - Customer products must be configured and ready for testing in Aspenware Commerce.

  • 3 business days before launch - Customer products must be end-to-end tested in Aspenware Commerce and the POS.

If an unexpected launch pops up, or if a launch was not communicated with your Aspenware representatives or planned for within these outlined minimums and you require more urgent support, Aspenware is happy to help so long as it is within standard business hours and our availability allows it, however, Aspenware reserves the right to direct these last-minute configuration requests to the professional services team and time spent troubleshooting these tickets will be billable at your Professional Services rate.

NOTE: Level 2 tickets should not be left open for more than 5 business days, however software defect resolution for Level 2 tickets can take up to 8 weeks (Aspenware releases a new version approximately every 4 weeks and has 2 versions before a resolution is required). Once the defect has been re-created and a development card has been created and slated for a near-term release, a reasonable response for a Level 2 software defect would be for the Aspenware representative to close the ticket after adding the request as a high priority to the customer’s Monday board, which is a list of the customer’s priorities that are evaluated during regular syncs. Release notes on future versions will include details in the resolved issues section when available.

Examples by Category (each category has a corresponding section below with more details):

Level 3

Definition: Used when there is an error that produces an inconvenient situation in which the Software operates substantially in accordance with the Specifications but nevertheless causes or results in substandard or erratic performance. An example of a Level 3 may be an issue causing a Supported element of the system to fail but it is limited to a single device or a cosmetic error that significantly distracts from the guest experience, etc.

Response Time: Level 3 issues will be responded to and resolved during Business Hours only. (The After-Hours On-Call Period is reserved for responding to and troubleshooting Level 1s). Expect the first response from a service agent within 3 business days of submission if submitted during business hours.

Resolution Time:

NOTE: A reasonable response for a Level 3 reported Software Defect would be for the Aspenware representative to close the ticket after adding the request to our development backlog and making a note in the customer’s Monday board, which is a list of the customer’s priorities that are evaluated during regular syncs.

Examples by Category (each category has a corresponding section below with more details):

Level 4

Definition: Classification used when there is an Error that is minor or that is cosmetic in nature and does not result in reduced performance. (I.e. text changes or making the text more configurable, color changes, etc.)

Response Time: Level 4 issues will be responded to and resolved during Business Hours only. (The After-Hours On-Call Period is reserved for responding to and troubleshooting Level 1s). Expect the first response from a service agent within 5 business days of submission if submitted during Business Hours.

Resolution Time:

Examples by Category (each category has a corresponding section below with more details):

Appendix A: Guidelines on Submitting Tickets

NOTE: If submitting a ticket and detail to understand/reproduce the issue is missing, Aspenware’s team members will likely respond asking for this detail, which will slow down the resolution of the issue. The more detail you can provide upfront, the faster we can help you resolve your support issues.

IMPORTANT: If your ticket is Urgent, only meaning it meets Level 1 criteria as described above, add URGENT to the subject line or body and our automation rules will pick it up as a Level 1 ticket. If your ticket is not a Level 1 as described below please DO NOT add Urgent to the subject line.

Appendix B: Azure and Unity Management/Monitoring Services

As part of your Aspenware service agreement, we configure, maintain, and monitor most elements of your Aspenware platform environments and infrastructure. Unless otherwise specified in your agreement, Aspenware does not pay the customer’s hosting fees (typically monthly Azure fees) and these are the responsibility of the customer. The following sections on Hosting, Monitoring, Auto-scaling, and Scheduled/Unscheduled Network changes detail what environment management services are included out of the box, which are not, and which are available at professional service fees.

B2: Azure and Unity Management

B3: Customer Expectations around Azure Management

The following customer expectations must be upheld by the customer in order for Aspenware to achieve and maintain its Service Level Guidelines and provide the best service possible.

Name

Title

Email

B4: Monitoring

Aspenware will monitor production Commerce, Identity, Arrival, and Unity URLs proactively within support hours and will contact the customer, notifying them of an outage if not reported by the customer, within the service level guidelines outlined above.

IMPORTANT: Outages can occur for many reasons. Most outages, particularly with Unity, are caused by an incident/outside factor. (i.e. internet outage, a firewall issue on the customer side). If an outage is caused by an outside issue, see guidelines below on how incidents are handled and note that Aspenware cannot be held to service level resolution times where the issue resolution is out of its control.

NOTE: One potentially avoidable outage if proper planning and communication with Aspenware are done ahead of time are crashes caused by volume surges that are higher than what the configured Azure levels can handle. This can cause a slow-performing site at best, and an outage at worst. As part of our hosting agreement, we offer services to help your site handle most loads, but this requires customer participation and planning alongside your Aspenware representative. Aspenware cannot guarantee an immediate resolution to any incidents caused by volume surges if proper planning and communication with Aspenware were not completed. See our published guidelines on scaling and manual scaling intervention for details on when auto-scaling may not be sufficient.

B5: Auto-scaling

To secure the platform against sudden outages due to unexpected volume, and to ensure optimal performance of all Commerce stores, Aspenware will set all production Commerce stores to auto-scale. This means stores will be able to handle unexpected gradual* heavy loads of traffic.

Autoscaling protects sites against heavy traffic but does not protect against sudden extreme surges in volume. For these surges, manual pre-scaling is required to be coordinated with your Aspenware representative. Read more here for details about when auto-scaling won't suffice.

IMPORTANT: When a store is scaled out, any Aspenware Commerce administration changes will take about 1.5 hours to take effect for all shoppers on the site. To keep you informed about exactly when an auto-scale occurs, Aspenware will set your team members up with notifications.

B6: Scheduled/Unscheduled Aspenware Related Infrastructure Configuration Changes

Aspenware must be informed of all impactful Aspenware Related Infrastructure changes completed by the customer 5 days in advance or as soon as possible if unscheduled.

Appendix C: Incident/Outside Factors

When issues are raised, Aspenware will help identify the priority of the issue, its role in the issue, and in the case of issues where multiple parties are involved, help pull together / recommend any relevant partners for troubleshooting activities. It is ultimately the customer’s responsibility to align disparate parties and facilitate communication between responsible parties.

If it is determined that the responsibility for a reported issue is out of Aspenware’s control, Aspenware cannot be held to any stated resolution times for these incidents.

While some incidents may have a workaround to help lessen the impact of the issue, which Aspenware will do its best to identify a workaround, many incidents do not have a workaround and require a resolution that is out of Aspenware’s control, i.e. internet goes down at the customer ski area, Azure outage, IP address change, ransomware event, etc. Once the underlying issue is resolved, if there is anything required of Aspenware to resolve the incident, such as networking changes, etc. we will work promptly within outlined service level resolution times to support the customer in resolving the situation.

Appendix D: Included Support Services

These services are available at no extra cost and are considered part of a standard Aspenware Service Agreement. Any requested service not outlined in this section or Appendix B is subject to professional service fees and resolution will be handled at Aspenware’s sole discretion.

NOTE: Additional clarification and configuration support may be timeboxed. If a configuration request takes over 30 minutes, your Aspenware Representative may indicate that Professional Services time is required to complete the request.

note

HINT: If you are hoping to take advantage of a new feature that requires setting up training outside of providing documentation, webinars, and reviewing in monthly calls, professional service fees may apply.

HINT: If you are hoping to take advantage of a new feature that requires setting up training outside of providing documentation, webinars, and reviewing in monthly calls, professional service fees may apply.

NOTE: Customers are expected to keep Aspenware informed of the following dates for all product launches and follow reasonable build and test planning efforts before launching products.

  • 10 days before an upcoming product launch - Notify Aspenware of any upcoming product launch DATE and TIME so we can be prepared to support with launch needs. Notify us immediately if the timing changes.

  • 5 business days before launch - Customer products must be configured and ready for testing in Aspenware Commerce.

  • 3 business days before launch - Customer products must be end-to-end tested in Aspenware Commerce and the POS.

If an unexpected launch pops up, or if a launch was not communicated with your Aspenware representatives or planned for within these outlined minimums and you require more urgent support, Aspenware is happy to help so long as it is within standard business hours and our availability allows it, however, Aspenware reserves the right to direct these last-minute configuration requests to the professional services team and time spent troubleshooting these tickets will be billable at your Professional Services rate.

Appendix E: Upgrades

Aspenware offers releases approximately every 4 weeks. For more details on our release processes and methodology, see https://hub.aspenware.net/main/Aspenware-Release-and-Update-Process.1385824260.html.

IMPORTANT: If a customer falls more than 4 versions behind, Aspenware will charge professional service fees for all development, dev-ops, and services time to upgrade the customer until they are within compliance.

E1: Customer Expectations During Upgrades

To ensure that Aspenware has the ability to reach out to customer contacts in the case of emergencies and for code upgrades, customers must provide Aspenware with the following emergency contacts:

Role

Name

Email

Work Phone

Cell Phone

(only for emergencies)

Primary Contact

Secondary Contact

Accounting Contact (who has access to the payment gateway)

IT Contact

These defined contacts are determined as release decision-makers and stakeholders. Permission to turn sites from maintenance mode to live mode following a deployment must be granted by one of these contacts, otherwise, the site will remain under construction until permission has been granted. 

Appendix F: Professional Services

The following services are available but will incur professional service fees and require planning/communication with Aspenware. Professional Services can be requested by customers through the self-service portal. The capacity and timeline to provide these services will be at Aspenware’s sole discretion.

Appendix G: Test Environments