Targets, and the hours they run within.

Most providers will tell you they are responsive. This page says what that means, in hours, and what happens when we miss.

Priorities and targets

P1 is reserved for a service that is unavailable to everyone. If you are not sure, raise it and we will set the priority with you. We would rather re-classify a ticket than have you sit on an outage.

Where these targets come from

These targets are the ones we contract to. They become binding through your agreement, which is also where the exclusions and the escalation route are set out. Without a signed agreement there is no service level, so if you are weighing us up, treat this page as what you would be buying rather than as something that already applies to you.

The hours these targets run within

Standard cover is 09:00 to 17:00, Monday to Friday. The hours that apply to you are set out in your Support Services Schedule.

These targets are the same for every customer, including those who buy wider cover. Wider hours buy a wider window, not a faster response.

How the clock behaves

• A target is the latest we should have responded by, not a schedule we work to. If you call and we answer, we will usually start on it there and then rather than wait for a clock.
• Targets run inside the service window and pause outside it.
• A P1 raised at 16:30 on standard cover has its one-hour response target satisfied by 09:30 the next working day. Best-efforts or wider contracted cover often reaches it sooner, but only contracted cover carries a target.
• Response means a person has taken an action on your ticket — calling you, or getting on with the work itself. It is not an automated acknowledgement. Which of the two comes first depends on the ticket, so a response does not always mean you have heard from us yet. Where we need something from you, or where it helps to tell you what we have found, we will be in touch by email, telephone, SMS or WhatsApp.
• Resolution means the service is working again. Where a permanent fix needs a third party or a part, a workaround that restores the service stops the resolution clock.

Cover options

The window above is included with every agreement. Two wider ones are available as paid options, and both carry exactly the same response and resolution targets.

Outside your service window we monitor and respond on a best-efforts basis at no charge. Best-efforts means exactly that: no target applies, and nobody is guaranteed to be there. Where someone is, the answer will usually come by email rather than by telephone, because the phones are not staffed outside the window.

On-site attendance

On-site attendance is during business hours in every case, including on 24/7 cover. Wider cover buys a wider window for remote response, not someone in your building at three in the morning. Attendance outside business hours is possible, but only where it has been agreed in advance — planned project work, usually, because that is what it is for. Without that arrangement, do not expect it even on best efforts. We would rather say so here than have you discover it during an incident.

What stops the clock

The circumstances that pause these targets are set out in your agreement. They cover the usual ones: waiting on you for information, access or a decision; waiting on a third-party supplier; hardware away for repair or replacement; and anything outside the estate your agreement covers.

If we miss a target

The escalation route, and who to contact at each stage, is set out in your agreement.

If you are a customer and a target has been missed, call us and ask for it to be escalated. You do not need to find the right person; ask and we will route it.

Call us on 01480 570339.

How to raise a ticket

P1 Critical

Telephone. Do not raise a P1 by email. No internet connectivity at a site; the server or line-of-business system is down for everyone; a suspected active security incident.

P2 High

Telephone, the portal or email. Email delivery failing for a department; a shared application unusable for a team; a failed backup on a critical system.

P3 Medium

The portal, email or telephone. One user cannot print; a single mailbox issue; an application fault with a workaround in place.

P4 Low

The portal, email or telephone. For some requests — a new starter, a new machine — we will point you at a form in the portal, because getting what we need first time is what makes the five days comfortable. A new starter needs an account and a laptop; a software licence request; a planned change.

Only a P1 has to be a phone call, because an outage should not wait in a queue behind an inbox. Everything else can come however suits you, and we do not restrict who is allowed to ring us: getting to know your people and your estate is most of what makes the next fault quicker.

What happens after you raise one

This document

Version 2 , effective 1 November 2026. This page and the PDF below are generated from the same source, so they cannot disagree.

Download the service levels as a PDF — the address your agreement references.

Questions people ask

Do your response targets change if we pay for wider cover?

No. The targets are the same for every customer. Wider hours buy a wider window in which those targets apply, not a faster answer inside it.

What happens if I raise a critical fault at 4:30pm?

Targets run inside the service window and pause outside it, so a P1 raised at 16:30 has its 1 hour response target satisfied by 09:30 the next working day. Best-efforts cover often reaches it sooner than that, but nothing outside your window is guaranteed — that is what best-efforts means.

What does "response" actually mean?

That a person has taken an action on it — calling you, or getting on with the work itself — rather than an automated acknowledgement email. Which of those comes first depends on the ticket, so a response does not always mean you have heard from us by then. Where we need something from you, or where it helps to tell you what we have found, we will be in touch by email, telephone, SMS or WhatsApp.