Connected Platforms
Managed Service Agreement
Standard form agreement for all Connected Platforms managed IT service engagements.
Contents
- The deal in plain English
- What is included
- Agreement documents and priority
- Start date and planning period
- Cancellation and offboarding
- Escalations
- Response-time guarantee
- Service Request priorities
- Fees, billing and price reviews
- What is included and what needs approval
- Service Locations
- Specific exclusions and boundaries
- Cybersecurity responsibilities
- Strategic Business Reviews
- Minimum Standards
- Approved business software
- Lodging Service Requests
- Primary contacts and approvals
- Third-party vendors
- Changes to Services or terms
- Assignment
- Appendices and external documents
We want this Agreement to be easy to understand before you sign it. The summary below explains the commercial position. The numbered terms that follow are the operative wording.
| Twelve months, not a lock-in | The 12-month period gives both parties a planning and price-review cycle. You may still end the Agreement at any time, for any reason, with 30 days’ written notice. |
| No remaining-term exit fee | If you cancel, you pay only for Services through the end of the notice period plus any approved one-time work, hardware or third-party commitments already incurred. |
| Predictable annual price reviews | Managed service pricing may be reviewed once a year on 1 September, after your first 12 months. We give at least 30 days’ written notice. |
| Day-to-day support is included | Reasonable operational meetings, Strategic Business Reviews, high-level IT and AI planning, discovery, prioritisation and pre-project scoping are all included in your monthly fee. |
| Projects require approval | Project delivery, custom work, substantial remediation, hardware, cloud consumption and third-party products may cost extra. We explain the scope and price and obtain approval first. |
| Material changes come with notice | For material changes within our control, we give at least 30 days’ notice. Your 30-day cancellation right is not affected. |
The Managed User product includes the following Services for each paid Managed User, subject to the Agreement, Minimum Standards and the selected quantities.
- Microsoft 365 Business Premium
- Remote IT support
- Onsite IT support at included Service Locations
- User onboarding and offboarding
- Microsoft 365 management and security baseline
- Microsoft Intune device management
- Proactive monitoring and maintenance
- Workstation and device management
- Server and network monitoring
- OS and approved third-party patch management
- Connected endpoint defence (antivirus and EDR)
- Managed SOC monitoring, 24 hours a day
- Identity threat detection and response
- Email security and phishing protection
- Security awareness training
- Microsoft 365 backup
- Server and workstation backup monitoring
- Vendor and licence management
- Scheduled IT strategy, budgeting and technology alignment
- Main business domain registration and DNS management
You may end this Agreement at any time and for any reason by giving us at least 30 days’ written notice. The Agreement ends at the close of the notice period. You pay for Services provided through the end date. We will not charge the remaining balance of the Initial Period merely because you cancel.
Approved one-time work, project work, hardware, third-party commitments and agreed offboarding work already incurred remain payable.
We may end this Agreement immediately by written notice if you become insolvent, enter bankruptcy, receivership or external administration, or if continuing the Services becomes unlawful or unsafe. For non-payment or another material breach that can reasonably be fixed, we will first give written notice and at least 30 days to fix it. We may end the Agreement if the breach remains unresolved.
If you are not satisfied with our Services during the first 30 days, tell us and we will refund the recurring managed-service fees paid for that period. Hardware, third-party charges and approved project or onboarding work are not refundable unless we agree otherwise in writing.
You agree to pay the fees in the Agreement schedule. Unless the schedule says otherwise, recurring Services are invoiced before the first day of each calendar month and are payable on receipt. You must maintain an active direct-debit arrangement.
We may review fully managed service pricing once each year, with any adjustment taking effect on 1 September after your first 12 months. Any annual adjustment will be the greater of 5% or the most recent annual CPI increase. We will give your accounts contact at least 30 days’ written notice.
Changes in user or device quantities, Services you request, taxes, and third-party licences or subscriptions are not annual managed-service adjustments. Third-party prices may change when the vendor changes them; we will give you as much notice as we reasonably receive.
If an invoice remains unpaid for more than 30 days, we may suspend Services after giving written notice. You must raise a billing dispute in writing within 60 days of the invoice date.
10.1 Third-party workstations and laptops
We provide reasonable support for devices purchased from third parties when they meet our Minimum Standards. Windows Home must be upgraded to Windows Pro before full management. We are not responsible for manufacturer defects or warranty claims, but we will help coordinate with the vendor.
10.2 Licences and subscriptions
Additional or upgraded Microsoft 365 licences and third-party products outside the selected Services are charged separately.
10.3 Domains
Registration or renewal of one main business domain is included where shown in the selected Services. Additional domains are charged separately.
10.4 Specialist and project Services
Formal cybersecurity audits, compliance assessments, custom software, integrations and other specialist or project Services are outside the recurring fee unless expressly selected.
10.5 Backup, disaster recovery and data recovery
Backup management is included only for selected backup products. Disaster-recovery planning and data-recovery projects may be charged separately.
10.6 Extended support hours
Support outside agreed support hours is provided on a best-effort basis and may be charged at the After Hours rate. We will obtain approval where circumstances reasonably allow.
The following documents are incorporated by reference. The versions current on the Agreement Start Date apply, subject to clause 18:
- Appendix A — Response Times and Priority Levels
- Appendix B — Response-time exclusions (provided with your agreement)
- Appendix C — Agreement Inclusion List
- Appendix D — Approved Software List
- Appendix E — Definitions and Interpretations (provided with your agreement)
- Appendix F — Client Service Locations (provided with your agreement)
- Rate Schedule
If an external document conflicts with this Agreement, the Agreement schedule and numbered terms prevail.
Are we locked in?
No. Your initial term is set out in your proposal. After that, the agreement continues month to month and you can exit at any time on 30 days’ written notice — no exit fee, no penalty.
Can you raise prices without warning?
No. We’ll give you at least 30 days’ written notice before any change to your recurring plan pricing. If you don’t want to accept the new pricing, you can exit on 30 days’ notice (see Clause 12).
What happens if something breaks on a weekend?
Genuine emergencies — server down, complete internet outage — are covered as part of your agreement. Call us directly; don’t email. Planned after-hours work (like an office move on a Saturday) is separately approved and chargeable (see Clause 8 and Appendix A).
How do we know what’s included versus what costs extra?
Appendix C lists everything included in your agreement. Appendix D lists all approved software we support. Anything that requires separate approval and carries an additional charge is listed at the bottom of Appendix C.
What if we want to leave?
Give us 30 days’ written notice. We’ll assist with a smooth transition during that period. See Clause 4 for full termination details.