1. Purpose and scope

This Service Level Agreement ("SLA") defines baseline service commitments for CHERNOMOR-managed cloud infrastructure, telecom integrations, and automation services delivered to business clients.

This SLA applies only where an executed contract references this SLA. If a signed MSA, Order Form, or Statement of Work defines different terms, the signed contract controls.

2. Support window and communication channels

• Standard support window: Monday to Friday, 09:00-18:00 Mountain Time (excluding company holidays).
• Critical incident intake: 24/7 via designated emergency channel for Severity 1 incidents.
• Client communication channels: agreed ticketing portal, support email, and escalation contacts.
• Service updates are issued according to incident severity and impact.

3. Availability targets

For production workloads fully managed by CHERNOMOR, the target monthly availability is 99.9%, measured at agreed service boundaries.

• Measurement period: calendar month.
• Scheduled maintenance windows announced in advance are excluded.
• Downtime caused by third-party providers, client-controlled systems, or force majeure is excluded.

4. Messaging infrastructure availability

For messaging infrastructure components operated by CHERNOMOR, we target high availability of core message-processing pathways and supporting integration services, measured at agreed messaging-service boundaries.

Reliability depends on both CHERNOMOR-managed systems and external telecom-provider conditions. We continuously monitor integration health, route behavior, and delivery anomalies to protect service quality.

When messaging incidents occur, operational response follows severity-based escalation procedures, with investigation, mitigation, and communication workflows aligned to incident impact.

• Uptime expectations are aligned to contractual service targets and defined measurement boundaries.
• Telecom integrations are monitored for latency, delivery degradation, and route-level disruptions.
• Message-processing reliability is managed through observability, policy controls, and operational runbooks.
• Incident response includes triage, containment, recovery actions, and client status communication by severity.

5. Incident severity and response targets

• Severity 1 (critical outage or major security event): acknowledgement within 30 minutes; status updates at least every 60 minutes.
• Severity 2 (major degradation with workaround): acknowledgement within 2 hours; updates at least every 4 hours.
• Severity 3 (limited impact or non-critical defect): acknowledgement within 1 business day.
• Severity 4 (general request, advisory, or enhancement): triaged in normal planning cycle.

6. Telecommunications regulator and carrier dependencies

Service delivery may rely on datacenter operators, internet providers, telecom carriers, and intermediary routing platforms. Carrier and network-level constraints can affect delivery and latency outcomes outside CHERNOMOR direct control.

If a carrier, upstream provider, or competent regulator requires immediate traffic controls, route suspension, or filtering to address abuse, sanctions, fraud, or lawful-order requirements, CHERNOMOR may implement those controls without prior notice where legally required.

Downtime or degraded performance caused by third-party network restrictions, regulator directives, or upstream enforcement actions is excluded from SLA credit calculations.

7. Client responsibilities

• Provide accurate onboarding, compliance, and technical integration information.
• Maintain secure credential handling, endpoint hardening, and change-control discipline on client-managed assets.
• Notify CHERNOMOR of suspected abuse, compromise, or anomalous traffic without delay.
• Use services in accordance with contractual policy, applicable law, and provider acceptable-use requirements.

8. Maintenance and change management

Planned maintenance is coordinated through standard change-management procedures. We aim to provide advance notice and impact scope for routine changes.

Emergency maintenance required for security, stability, or regulatory reasons may be executed immediately with follow-up communication.

9. Service credits

Where explicitly allowed in a signed contract, service credits may be requested in writing within 15 business days after the affected month with supporting incident references.

• Availability < 99.9% and >= 99.5%: 5% monthly service credit.
• Availability < 99.5% and >= 99.0%: 10% monthly service credit.
• Availability < 99.0%: 20% monthly service credit.
• Total monthly SLA credit cap: 25% of affected monthly recurring fees for covered services.

10. SLA exclusions

• Client-side configuration errors or unsupported integration changes.
• Third-party software, cloud, datacenter, or carrier outages outside CHERNOMOR direct operational control.
• Force majeure events, including internet backbone disruptions and regional connectivity failures.
• Suspension actions required for legal, sanctions, security, abuse-prevention, or regulator-compliance reasons.

11. Reporting, review, and revisions

CHERNOMOR may provide periodic service performance summaries for covered environments where contractually agreed.

This SLA may be updated to reflect technology, compliance, or service model changes. Material updates are published with an updated effective date.

This document is provided as an operational baseline and does not constitute legal advice.