Support coverage and service levels
This page defines how TechSupport Team classifies incidents and what response, workaround, restoration and resolution mean. It also explains how coverage and escalation work. It is the reference for managed support and 24/7 coverage, and for dedicated engineers when your agreement includes targets. Your contract sets the targets.
Summary
TechSupport Team provides support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Each managed support or 24/7 coverage agreement includes a service schedule, also called the SLA (service-level agreement). It names the systems in scope, the severity levels, the response and update targets, and the hours each severity is covered. A response target is a commitment to start work. Restoration and permanent fixes depend on the cause, so we commit to effort and updates, not to guessed fix times.
Severity in your service schedule
We use the severity levels in your service schedule. For general definitions of SEV0 to SEV4, see our incident severity levels template.
| Severity | Business impact | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Severity 1 (critical) | A business-critical service is down or unusable for most users, or data is at risk. | Checkout fails for all customers; the main application is unreachable; data is being corrupted. |
| Severity 2 (high) | A major function fails or many users are affected, and no workaround exists. | Users in one region cannot log in; invoices stop generating; a key integration stops. |
| Severity 3 (medium) | A function fails, but a workaround exists or few users are affected. | One report shows wrong totals; an import needs a manual rerun. |
| Severity 4 (low) | A minor issue, a question or a cosmetic defect. | A wrong label; a question about a configuration setting. |
Response is not resolution
These terms are easy to confuse. TechSupport Team uses them as follows.
| Term | Meaning | What we commit to |
|---|---|---|
| Response | An engineer has accepted the incident and started work. | A time target for each severity. |
| Update | A status message to your named contacts: what we know, what we are doing and when to expect the next update. | A cadence for each severity. |
| Workaround | The impact is reduced, but the cause remains. | Effort and updates at the level agreed for the severity; no guaranteed time. |
| Restoration | The service works normally again. | Effort and updates at the level agreed for the severity; no guaranteed time. |
| Resolution | The cause is removed, usually by a tested change. | Planned with you and tracked to closure. |
| RCA (root cause analysis) | A written account of the cause, the timeline and the actions that prevent a repeat. | A delivery time for the severities that need one. |
Coverage hours
TechSupport Team provides 24/7 coverage. Your service schedule states which systems and severities are covered outside your business hours. For example, Severity 1 and 2 incidents can be covered 24/7, while Severity 3 and 4 wait for business hours.
Coverage outside business hours is staffed or on call:
- Staffed coverage: an engineer is on shift and works the queue as incidents arrive.
- On-call escalation: an engineer is on standby and starts work when an agreed alert or call arrives.
The 24/7 technical support page compares the two models.
With dedicated support engineers, your team lead directs the queue. Your agreement states which response targets, if any, apply to each shift. With managed technical support, TechSupport Team directs the agreed technical work. Neither model changes who may approve a production change.
Escalation
Two kinds of escalation run in parallel.
- Functional escalation moves the incident to someone with the right skills: from L2 (second-level) to L3 (third-level), or to a platform vendor.
- Management escalation brings in the escalation contacts named in your agreement, on both sides. It is used when an incident needs decisions or resources beyond what the engineers working on it can provide.
Either side can start a management escalation. Match the L2/L3 support responsibilities to your incident types. Then use the escalation matrix template to record contact routes, time triggers and backup owners before testing them in a drill.
Incident communication
| Audience | Who informs them | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Your named technical contacts | TechSupport Team | Status updates at the agreed cadence, and the incident record. |
| Your customers and users | Your team | Messages you write, using the facts we supply. |
| Your status page | Your team, or TechSupport Team if the agreement says so | Public impact and recovery updates. |
| Platform vendors | TechSupport Team, with your authorization | Vendor cases with evidence. |
What service levels do not cover
- Systems, versions or environments that the service schedule does not name.
- Time spent waiting for approval, access or information that only your team can provide.
- Faults inside third-party services. We track them, but the vendor's own service levels apply.
- Changes made outside the agreed process by other parties.
Response targets
We set response and update targets for each severity in your service schedule, after the assessment. This site lists no standard support targets, because they depend on your systems, the coverage model and the access you provide. Use the SLA and uptime calculator for availability calculations and vendor examples; those figures are not TechSupport Team commitments.
Service reporting
- Incidents by severity, with response times compared with the agreed targets.
- Open incidents and problems, with owners and next steps.
- Recurring causes and proposed permanent fixes.
- Changes made under the agreement.
- Runbook and documentation updates.
Your agreement sets the report frequency and format.
Questions buyers ask
When does the response time start?
Your agreement defines it. The clock usually starts when the incident reaches the agreed channel with the details the agreement requires.
Do you guarantee a fix time?
No. We commit to response, updates and continued effort. Fix time depends on the cause, and some causes sit with vendors. When a permanent fix is needed, we plan it with you and track it to closure.
What does a TechSupport Team support agreement include?
It names the systems in scope, the coverage hours and the severity definitions. It can also set response and update targets, the escalation contacts, the access rules, the change approvals, the reporting and the engineering capacity for fixes.
Who decides the severity of an incident?
Your L1 (first-line) team or your monitoring assigns the initial severity using the agreed definitions. Our engineer confirms it during triage. Your agreement defines how a disagreement about severity is settled.
Contact us
Tell us which engineers you need, or ask a question. For a detailed request, use the engineer request form.
- We reply by email.
- We agree a call about the roles, your stack and the hours.
- If there is a fit, we propose engineers after an assessment.