Verizon Unified Communications and Collaboration as a Service
Service Level Agreement (“SLA”)

 

1.   Overview.  This SLA provides performance metrics and provisions for Unified Communications and Collaboration as a Service (“UCCaaS”).  UCCaaS is designed for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Unified Presence Server and Unity Connections messaging utilizing Cisco’s defined best practice recommendations for redundancy and availability.  This SLA is in addition to service level agreements for other services that may be offered as part of a UCCaaS solution that include, but are not limited to, Verizon Private IP, Verizon Managed WAN or Managed LAN, and Verizon VoIP SIP Trunking.  Please refer to the service level documentation for such services for SLA terms and conditions offered.  This SLA is provided to Customers implementing both Verizon-approved UCCaaS architectures and Verizon Private IP (“MPLS”) transport service (“PIP”) within the United States.  Capitalized terms that are not defined in Appendix B: Terms and Definitions of this SLA are defined in the Customer’s UCCaaS Service Attachment.

 

2.   Verizon UCCaaS Service Level Agreement Metrics. 

 

Table 2.1   UCCaaS SLA Metrics

Parameter

U.S.

Application Availability

UCCaaS Applications (with Geographic Redundancy)

100%

UCCaaS Applications (without Geographic Redundancy)

99.50%

Call Quality

Good

MOS ≥ 4.00

Acceptable

MOS ≥ 3.70 and
≤ 3.99

Poor

MOS < 3.70

Time To Repair

Restoration of Customer’s instance of a UCCaaS Outage

90 Minutes

Pro-Active Notification

Notification Time

15 Minutes

 

Table 2.2  UCCaaS Service Level Objective for Administrative Change Management

Parameter

U.S.

Change Management – MACD  

Moves, Adds and Change Requests via a Verizon help desk request

72 Hours

Change Management – MACD Password Resets

Verizon help desk request

4 Hours

 

3.   UCCaaS SLAs Defined

       

3.1 UCCaaS Application Availability.  Application Availability is the amount of time the Platform is operating properly within the Customer instance across the Verizon data center(s) within a given month. A UCCaaS application is deemed “Available” if i) no Outage alarm events have occurred in the Verizon’s Network Operations Center (“NOC”) which resulted in a Trouble Ticket being opened, or ii) no Trouble Ticket related to Outages has been opened by Customer or by Verizon on behalf of Customer.    Verizon provides standard UCCaaS reports including application availability on a monthly basis through the Verizon Enterprise Center portal; however such availability reports are for reference only and will not be used to measure UCCaaS service levels.

 

3.1.1     UCCaaS Geographic Redundancy.  “Geographic Redundancy” means Customer’s UCCaaS design provides geographically diverse Local Access into PIP.  

 

3.1.2     Calculation.  Availability is the percentage of time that UCCaaS is available (i.e. not experiencing an Outage) within a given billing month as based upon recorded Outage time in associated Trouble Ticket(s).

 

Application Availability (%) =

 

 

(

Available Minutes per Billing Month per

Number of days in billing month x 24 hrs. x 60 min

)

x 100

 

3.1.3     Credit Structure and Amounts.  For each month that Application Availability percentage for UCCaaS falls within a tier associated with a credit amount in the table below, Customer will be eligible for the related credit percentage of such application’s MRC. 

 

Table 3.1    Application Availability matrix with Geographic Redundancy and UCCaaS Router with Survivable Remote Site Telephony.

Application  Availability %

 

From

To

Credit (% of MRC)

100%

99.95%

10%

99.949%

99.00%

15%

98.99%

98.00%

20%

97.99%

97.00%

30%

96.99%

95.00%

50%

Less than 95.00 %

100%

 

Table 3.2    Application Availability matrix without Geographic Redundancy or UCCaaS Router without Survivable Remote Site Telephony.

Application  Availability %

 

From

To

Credit (% of MRC)

100%

99.50%

0%

99.49%

99.00%

10%

98.99%

97.00%

15%.

96.99%

95.00%

25%

94.99%

93.00%

35%

92.99%

90.00%

50%

Less than 90.00%

100%

 

3.1.4        Exclusions  In addition to the general exclusions found in Appendix A, the following exclusions apply to the Application Availability SLA:

 

3.1.4.1 Interruptions or outages not reported by Customer, or for which no Trouble Ticket was opened, are excluded from the Application Availability SLA.

3.1.4.2 The Application Availability SLA does not apply to services installed for less than one full calendar month.

 

3.2  Call Quality. The UCCaaS Call Quality SLA metric uses the industry standard Mean Opinion Score (“MOS”) speech assessment model that measures the impact of impairments in an IP based network.  The Call Quality MOS report can be accessed through the Verizon Enterprise Center portal and will be available on the first day of the month and provides statistics for the previous month. 

 

3.2.1     Calculation.    The MOS model runs an algorithm on completed call segments using information such as Codec type used, reference conditions, and sample rates which are provided by devices like IP phones and gateways as part of the call detail records and call detail management tools within the UCCaaS platform on each call segment.  The output from the algorithm provides an assessment of the listening quality experienced by the end user in the form of a value between 1 and 5, where 1 is poor voice quality and 5 is excellent voice quality. 

 

3.2.2     Credit Structure and Amounts.  For each month in which the Call Quality MOS falls within a tier associated with a credit amount in the table below, Customer will be eligible for the related credit percentage of the MRC for the affected month.  Customer is only eligible for one credit per month.

 

Table 3.3    Call Quality matrix MOS

 

MOS Score

Quality

Credit

From:

To:

Measurement

Credit  (% of MRC)

5.00

4.00

Good

0%

3.99

3.70

Acceptable

0%

3.69

1.00

Poor

10%

 

3.2.3     Exclusions. In addition to the general exclusions found in Appendix A, the following exclusions apply to the Call Quality SLA:

 

3.2.3.1 The Call Quality SLA does not apply to services installed for less than one full calendar month.

3.2.3.2  Calls from Sites operating in the Survivable Remote Site Telephony mode are not included in the Call Quality SLA calculation.

3.2.3.3  Sites not under Verizon Managed WAN service at the full management level are not eligible for the Call Quality SLA.

3.2.3.4  No SLA will be deemed missed due to Customer not fully complying with Verizon recommendations for LAN settings with regard to Quality of Service configurations.

3.2.3.5 The Call Quality SLA does not apply to UCCaaS with primary or secondary Private IP access using 4G LTE wireless service and/or Internet connectivity.

3.2.3.6 The Call Quality SLA does not apply to UCCaaS using non-Cisco or “Third Party” SIP IP Phones.

 

3.3 Time to Repair (“TTR“).  TTR is the time to close a Trouble Ticket for an Outage of the UCCaaS Service.   The TTR SLA applies to the Cisco Unified Communication Manager, Cisco Unity Connection, and Cisco Unified Presence applications.

 

3.3.1     Calculation.  The TTR time starts when a Trouble Ticket is opened by Verizon or the Customer for an Outage event and concludes when the Trouble Ticket is closed following the resolution of the Outage event.

 

3.3.2     Credit Structure and Amounts.  For each month in which the TTR SLA for an Outage incident for an application falls within a tier associated with a credit amount in the table below, Customer will be eligible for the related credit percentage of the UCCaaS MRC for the users of the affected application.  For example, if the Communications Manager application incurred an outage, the credit would be based on number of configured users affected on that application for the affected month times the Communication Manager MRC times the credit percentage related to the Outage Repair Time.

 

Table 3.4    Time to Repair (applies to each application) 

Time to Repair

 

Outage Repair Time

(Per incident)

Credit (% of MRC)

0:90:00

3:59:59

5%

4:00:00

5:59:59

10%

6 Hours Plus

15%

 

 3.3.3    Exclusions.  In addition to the general exclusions found in Appendix A, a TTR time period for an incident does not include time for Trouble Tickets associated with non-Verizon networks or non-UCCaaS Verizon services (e.g., PSTN or SIP Trunking services).

 

3.4 UCCaaS Proactive Outage Notification SLA.  Proactive Outage Notification will be provided to Customers’ designated point of contact through e-mail within 15 minutes from the start point of the Notification Period, as defined below.  Verizon will provide a ticket number and initial status.

 

3.4.1     Calculation.  The “Notification Period” begins with the opening of a Trouble Ticket for an Outage and ends when Verizon has sent an e-mail to Customer’s designated point of contact.    

 

3.4.2     Credit Structure and Amounts.  Customer is eligible to receive a credit equal to ten percent (10%) of the MRC for each UCCaaS application which had an Outage and Customer was not properly notified.

 

3.4.3     Exclusions. In addition to the general exclusions found in Appendix A, the following exclusions apply to the Proactive Outage Notification SLA:

 

3.4.3.1  Outages not reported by Customer, or for which no Trouble Ticket was opened, are not included within the Proactive Outage Notification SLA.

3.4.3.2  Time delays resulting from the Customer point of contact unavailability due to incorrect contact information or other cause are not included in the Notification Period.

 

3.5 Change Management Service Level Objective.  The Change Management Service Level Objective (“SLO”) applies to Administrative Change Management MACD activities.  Verizon and the Customer may agree to revisions of the change request types from time to time.

 

3.5.1     Change Management Definition.  Change management MACD requests are defined within the Service Attachment.

 

Parameter

SLO (U.S.)

Change Management - MACD 

Moves, Adds and Change Requests via a Verizon help desk request

72 Hours

Change Management – MACD Password Resets

Password Resets via a Verizon help desk request

4 Hours

 

3.5.2     Credit Structure and Amounts.  The Change Management Service Level Objective has no associated credit.

 

4.0 Credit Application Process. 

 

4.1 UCCaaS SLA Application Structure.  Credits are not cumulative month to month.  If the SLA issue exceeds 30 days, the SLA metric will restart for each consecutive month.  The total credit percentage that will be applied against the total MRC for the UCCaaS Service for all failures to meet the SLAs within a month will not exceed 100% of total MRC for the UCCaaS Service for the affected month.  Verizon’s data and calculations will be used to determine if an SLA has been missed and whether a credit is due.  Verizon will issue a credit within 90 days of Customer’s request if it determines that a credit is due.

 

4.2 SLA Credit Application Process.  Except for Call Quality SLAs, Customer completes two steps in order to have an Outage qualify for an SLA credit. First a Trouble Ticket needs to be opened in response to UCCaaS issues at the time of the issue.  Second, a written request for credit must be made by Customer to the Customer’s account team contact.

 

4.2.1     Opening a Trouble Ticket.  For the Availability, TTR, and Proactive Outage Notification SLAs, an Outage Trouble Ticket must be opened, either by Verizon or Customer.  A Trouble Ticket records the Outage. 

 

4.2.2        Submitting a Service Level Agreement Credit Request

 

4.2.2.1  Call Quality. Customer may only request one MOS score credit per month. Customer must make a request in writing (e-mail or fax) to the Verizon Account Team for a credit within 15 days of the end of the month for which an SLA credit is due with the MOS Call Quality reports.  MOS reports are available at the end of a month via the Verizon Enterprise Center (“VEC”) customer portal.

 

4.2.2.2  Availability, Time To Repair, and Proactive Outage Notification SLA.  Customer must make a request in writing (e-mail or fax) to the Verizon Account Team for a credit within 15 days of the end of the month for which an SLA credit is due with the following information:

·   The date the Outage occurred

·   The Sites affected by the Outage.

·   Trouble Ticket number for each Site and Outage.

 

4.3 Service Level Agreement Credit Time Limitation.  If Verizon has failed to meet the same SLA for 3 consecutive months, Customer may elect to:

·        Continue the UCCaaS Service with a limit of 6 months of credits for any individual SLA within a twelve month period.

·        Discontinue UCCaaS without liability except for charges incurred prior to discontinuation. Customer must submit a written disconnect notice to their Verizon Account Team within 30 days following the end of either the third or subsequent consecutive month of Verizon's failure to meet the SLA.

 

Appendix A:    General Exclusions

The following exclusions apply to all UCCaaS SLAs:

 

·        No SLA will be deemed missed due to any act or omission on the part of the Customer, its contractors or vendors, or any other entity over which the Customer exercises control or has the right to exercise control, including without limitation, disconnection of power to the CPE.

·        No SLA will be deemed missed due to Force Majeure, as defined in the Agreement.

·        SLA time will be suspended for scheduled maintenance by Customer or entities under Customer’s direction or control.

·        SLAs are only available for UCCaaS designs approved by Verizon.

·        SLA time will be suspended for scheduled maintenance by Verizon within Verizon’s maintenance windows.

·        No SLA will be deemed missed due to lapses of UCCaaS before the UCCaaS is up and billable.

·        SLA time will be suspended for the amount of time delays due to Customer Time.

·        No SLA will be deemed missed due Trouble Tickets associated with any act or omission of any third party.

·        No SLA will be deemed missed due to changes to the recommended network or server configuration, trunking or dial plans without Verizon’s prior agreement.

·        No SLA will be deemed missed due to network or network access outage.

·        No SLA will be deemed missed due to performance impacting issues related to or resulting from (but not limited to) rogue network devices, viruses, worms, miss-configured unmanaged network devices attached to the LAN being managed or other impacting events/devices beyond the scope and control of Verizon. 

.

Appendix B:    Terms and Definitions

 

Terms and Definitions

Definition

Billing Month

The period of time used for the monthly invoice. This is usually a minimum of 30 days but starts after the first of any month.

Codec

Program used to convert voice signals from analog data to digital data for transmission by the UCCaaS Service and then convert the data back to analog data to be received.

Customer Premise Equipment (“CPE”)

Managed Service equipment located at the Site.

Customer Time

Time attributable to or caused by one or more of the following:

·        Incorrect or incomplete information provided by Customer;

·        Verizon or the Verizon approved maintenance provider being denied access to CPE or network components at the Site when access is required;

·        Failure or refusal to release the Device for testing; or

·        Customer unavailability where needed to close a Trouble Ticket.

MOS

Mean Opinion Score.  A measurement of the voice quality of a call ranging from a score of 1 to 5.

MRC

Monthly Recurring Charge.

Outage(s)

One of the following applications; Cisco Unified Communication Manager, Cisco Unity Connection, or Cisco Unified Presence applications is not operational within the UCCaaS Data Centers such that the Customer does not have the ability to utilize such UCCaaS application capabilities.

Platform

The Customer’s solution design for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Unified Presence Server and Unity Connections messaging utilizing Cisco’s defined best practice recommendations for redundancy and availability. 

UCCaaS

UCCaaS is made up of the CUCM Cluster instances and other applications (e.g. Unity Connection and Unified Presence) located at the UCCaaS Data Center.

Site

A Site is a Customer’s UCCaaS location.

Trouble Ticket

A ticket opened within Verizon’s NOC from an internal Verizon report or a report by a Customer to Verizon of either perceived Outage or UCCaaS Service degradation.