Sophos UTM

Technical Support SLAs

v3.0 – Effective 01.04.2012
Sophos UTM Technical Support SLAs

Introduction
Sophos offers a comprehensive range of support services for its UTM security
solutions including technical support (via web form and phone), software and
pattern updates as well as hardware replacements for their appliances. These
services are available to end customers bundled into specific support or
maintenance service packages.
This document is intended to provide a description about the technical support
service levels and the processes behind them. For further information on other
components of Sophos UTM maintenance and support packages please refer to
the “Maintenance and Support Services Guide” documents. Our General Terms
Business apply.

Contents
Technical Support 2
Scope of Support 2

UTM Web Support 3

UTM Standard Support 3

UTM Premium Support 3

Case Priority Level Definitions 3

Service Level Agreements (SLAs) 4

Escalation Process 4

Priority Level: Critical 4

Priority Level: High 5

Priority Level: Medium 5

Priority Level: Low 5

Partner Support 5
Sophos Support Centers 5

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Sophos UTM Technical Support SLAs

Technical Support
Based on the support level purchased by the customer, he has various levels of access and
committed response time delivered by Sophos Technical Support and/or Sophos’s certified
partners. The following sections will provide a detailed description of these services for
each support level.

The following table provides a brief overview of the services included.

Support level UTM Web UTM Standard UTM Premium

Service hours - 10x5 24x7

Support forum / Knowledgebase Yes Yes Yes

Support via Sophos Website Sophos Partner Sophos Support Desk

Open support cases No Yes Yes

Customer approved contacts - 5 10

Scope of Support
Sophos Technical Support can help address specific technical issues during an installation,
but is not designed to walk you through the entire installation process or the setup and
configuration of a service/proxy. If you need comprehensive installation assistance, you may
opt for onsite installation services from your local Sophos Partner.

Important Notes:
All Sophos UTM products in an organization must be on the same level of support.

Sophos shall have no obligation to provide technical support:

ÌÌ In the event the End User alters, damages or modifies the product or any portion
thereof, in particular if the customer installs any new software onto an Sophos
UTM appliances without explicit permission of Sophos Technical Support

ÌÌ For any product that has reached End Of Live (EOL)

status and is therefore no longer supported

ÌÌ For any problem caused by: accident; transportation; neglect or misuse; alteration;
modification or enhancement of the product; failure to provide a suitable installation
environment; use of supplies or materials not meeting specifications; use of the
product for other than the specific purposes for which the product is designed; for
any problems caused by the end user’s negligence, abuse or misapplication; or

ÌÌ For use of the product on any systems other than the specified hardware platform for
such product. Sophos shall have no liability for any changes in the end user’s hardware,
which may be necessary to use the product due to a workaround or maintenance release.

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Sophos UTM Technical Support SLAs

UTM Web Support

UTM Web Support is included with any base license and provides web access to Sophos
technical documents via the knowledgebase and the MyAstaro portal.

UTM Standard Support

UTM Standard Support is included with any subscription that is activated in addition to
the base license. It offers 10*5 technical support through Sophos partners. For 1st-level
support, end users need to contact their certified partner, resellers need to contact their
distributor. If required, the Sophos partner/distributor may escalate to Sophos support desk
and will receive a response according the SLAs.

UTM Premium Support

UTM Premium Support is available as an optional upgrade for any Sophos UTM appliance.
While offering 24*7 technical support through Sophos support desk, it is designed for
organizations requiring continuous support coverage at the highest possible levels. For
technical support, customers can contact Sophos via a web form or telephone. During
business hours they will receive immediate access to the first available member of the
customer support staff. Outside of business hours they will receive an email or telephone
reply according to the SLAs.

Case Priority Level Definitions

Sophos case priority levels are used to assist in the prioritization of handling a support
issue. Sophos Technical Support engineers will use the guide below to select the
appropriate priority level for all submitted support issues. Please note that Sophos reserves
the right to modify the priority levels below and upgrade or downgrade the priority level of a
support issue at any time.

Priority Level Application/appliance status Impact on business operations Issue description

Critical Down Severe Customer’s UTM is down or

experiencing a consistent,
measurable performance impact

High Up Significant Customer’s UTM is experiencing

intermittent failure or
degradation of performance

Medium Up Minor Issues that do not affect normal UTM

operation, Workaround available

Low Up Little/ None Feature, Information,

Documentation, How-to requests

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Sophos UTM Technical Support SLAs

Service Level Agreements (SLAs)

Sophos Technical Support Engineers will abide by the following service level agreements.
Our SLAs provide a basis for timely responses. Please note that our SLAs apply only during
the support office hours.

Priority Level Acknowledgement* Response** Contact Standard Contact Premium

Support*** Support****

Priority 1: Critical < 1 hour < 2 Hours Support Engineer Support Engineer
CC: Support Manager CC: Support Manager

Priority 2: High < 1 hour 4 Hours Sophos Partner Support Engineer

Priority 3: Medium < 1 hour 1 Day Sophos Partner Support Engineer

Priority 4: Low < 1 hour 1 Day Sophos Partner Support Engineer

* Customer is contacted by e-mail, web, or phone to confirm the receipt of a case.

** Customer is contacted by e-mail, web, or phone to gather additional information about the case and determine the
necessary steps to reproduce the issue.
*** Sophos contacts partner in order to assist with technical issues in any case. Critical issues will be immediately
addressed by Sophos and the partner contacted and informed of issue and case progression.
**** Sophos reserves the right to involve a local partner in order to assist with technical issues.

Escalation Process
Sophos Technical Support Engineers follow a structured escalation process which ensures
that the appropriate resources are assigned to respond to cases efficiently and effectively.
The following escalation process is used as a guide when responding to cases so that each
case is treated uniquely to ensure that we effectively address the issue(s) at hand.

Priority Level: Critical

ÌÌ The case is assigned a 2nd Level Support Engineer who identifies

him/herself to the customer or Sophos Partner.

ÌÌ The assigned Support Engineer is responsible for providing progress reports

and the delivery of a response to the customer or Sophos Partner.

ÌÌ The customer contact that opened the case is designated as the

primary contact unless otherwise requested by the customer.

ÌÌ A Support Manager is automatically notified by our workflow

process after the case is verified as Priority 1.

ÌÌ Status on the case is reviewed by the Support Manager and

Support Engineer daily until a response is delivered.

ÌÌ If a response cannot be delivered or a major product bug is found, the case

is forwarded to Sophos’s 3rd level Escalations Engineering group.

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Sophos UTM Technical Support SLAs - v3.0 – Effective 01.04.2012

Priority Level: High

ÌÌ The case is assigned a 2nd Level Support Engineer who identifies

him/herself to the customer or Sophos Partner.

ÌÌ The assigned Support Engineer is responsible for providing progress reports

and the delivery of a response to the customer or Sophos Partner.

ÌÌ If a response cannot be delivered or a major product bug is found, the case

is forwarded to Sophos’s 3rd level Escalations Engineering group.

Priority Level: Medium

ÌÌ The case is addressed by the 1st Level Support Team

who is responsible for delivering a response.

ÌÌ If a response cannot be delivered, the case is forwarded

to Sophos’s 2nd level Support group.

Priority Level: Low

ÌÌ The case is addressed by the 1st Level Support Team

who is responsible for delivering a response.

Partner Support
Sophos partners are automatically entitled to receive support for their own issues and
technical questions. An overview of Partner support offerings is shown below:

Program Level Support Level Contact/Response

Authorized Partner Partner Support According to the Distribution partner’s SLAs

• Support through Sophos’s Distribution partners

Preferred Partner Sophos Support Phone, Web Form; Response time according
• Direct support from Sophos to the SLAs described n this document
• Designed for organizations requiring consistent,
comprehensive technical support

Premier Partner / Solution Partner Sophos Support Phone, Web Form; Response time according
• Direct support from Sophos to the SLAs described in this document
• Designed for organizations requiring consistent,
comprehensive technical support

Sophos Support Centres

Contact details for our worldwide support centers are available here

United Kingdom and Worldwide Sales: North American Sales: Australia and New Zealand Sales:
Tel: +44 (0)8447 671131 Toll Free: 1-866-866-2802 Tel: +61 2 9409 9100
Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]

Boston, USA | Oxford, UK

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