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Maintenance and Support Services Terms

1. Definitions

1.1 “Business Day” means Monday through Friday in Customer’s local time zone.

1.2 “Business Hours” means 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Business Days.

1.3 “Customer Representative” means the employee of Customer that submits an Issue via phone, email or through the Support Portal.

1.4 “Issue” means a failure of the Supported Software to conform to the specifications set forth in the documentation, resulting in the inability to use, or material restriction in the use of, such Supported Software.

1.5 “Maintenance Release” means a revision of the Software made generally available by Confluent to its end user customers to correct Issues in the Software or to maintain the operation of the Software in accordance with the documentation.

1.6 “Software” means the Proprietary Confluent Software and Third Party Software, each as defined in the Agreement.

1.7 “Support Services” means the level of maintenance and support services purchased by Customer.

1.8 “Supported Software” means the then-current release of the Software, supported for a period of two years from the date of its general availability.

1.9 “Update” means either a software modification or addition that, when made or added to the Software, corrects the Issue, or a procedure or routine that, when observed in the regular operation of the Software, eliminates the practical adverse effect of the Issue on Customer.

2. Support Services

2.1 Customer Support Portal.Confluent shall provide the Support Services through its online Customer Support Portal (“Support Portal”) which enables submission of support requests at the times applicable to the level of support purchased by Customer. During the submission process, Customer may assign a priority level to an Issue, however, Confluent may re-assign the priority level in its sole discretion. Any necessary telephone support discussions will be scheduled in advance at a time mutually agreed by the parties and for durations and at a frequency that is commercially reasonable for Confluent. Support Services will be provided in English.

2.2 Hours of Operation. Customer may submit support requests via the Support Portal and Confluent will assign resources to address Customer’s support requests during Business Hours in Customer’s Local Time.

2.3 Maximum Number of Monthly Support Issues. Customer may submit up to five (5) Issues per month.

2.4 Issue Prioritization & Target Initial Response Times. Issues will be categorized by priority level in accordance with the following definitions, and Confluent will take the following corresponding actions:

 Issue Priority Definitions & Target Initial Response Times
Priority Level Definition Target Initial Response Time
P1 A Priority One Error means (i) the production system is severely impacted or completely shut down, or (ii) the production system operations or mission-critical applications are down. Within 2 Business Hours
P2 A Priority Two Error means (i) the production system is functioning with limited capabilities, (ii) the production system is unstable with periodic interruptions, (iii) there is an Issue in an application in development that is in final testing, facing a critical time frame of going into production use, or (iv) due to an Issue, development efforts cannot proceed for an application in development. Within 4 Business Hours
P3 A Priority Three Error means (i) there are Issues with workaround solutions in fully operational production systems, (ii) there are Issues in non-critical functions, (iii) there is a time sensitive Issue affecting performance or deliverables, or (iv) a major subsystem under development cannot proceed due to an Issue. Within 8 Business Hours
P4 A Priority Four Error means (i) there is a need to clarify procedures or information in documentation, (ii) there is a request for a product enhancement or new feature, (iii) cosmetic or non-functional Issues; or (iv) Issues in the documentation. Within 16 Business Hours

2.5 Updates and Maintenance Releases.

(a) Confluent will use commercially reasonable efforts to provide an Update designed to solve or bypass a reported Issue, in accordance with the table in Section 2.7. If an Issue has been corrected in a Maintenance Release, Customer must install and implement the applicable Maintenance Release. An Update may be provided in the form of a temporary fix, procedure or routine, to be used until a Maintenance Release containing the Update is available.

(b) Confluent will make Maintenance Releases available to Customer if, as and when Confluent makes any such Maintenance Release generally available to its customers.

2.6 Responses. A “Response” is an initial reply to a reported Issue. The Target Initial Response Times shall be measured by the elapsed time between Confluent’s receipt of a reported Issue and the time Confluent begins to address such Issue, including by providing a verbal or written confirmation to Customer of such receipt. The actual time required to fully resolve the Issue, if full resolution occurs, may be longer than the Target Initial Response time. Customer understands and agrees that resolution of an Issue is not guaranteed and may not occur.

2.7 Confluent Actions and Customer Responsibilities. After Customer informs Confluent of a new Issue, Confluent will take the following actions, provided Customer has satisfied the following corresponding responsibilities:

Confluent Actions & Customer Responsibilities
Priority Level Confluent Actions Customer Responsibilities
P1 Confluent will: (i) assign specialists to work during Business Hours during Customer’s local time to correct the Issue; (ii) provide ongoing communication on the status of an Update or Issue resolution; and (iii) simultaneously begin work to provide a temporary workaround or fix. Within 2 Business Hours
P2 Confluent will: (i) assign specialists to work during Business Hours during Customer’s local time to correct the Issue; (ii) provide ongoing communication on the status of an Update or Issue resolution; and (iii) simultaneously begin work to provide a temporary workaround or fix. Within 4 Business Hours
P3 Confluent will use resources available during local Business Hours until the Issue is resolved or a workaround is in place.  For Issues in Third Party Software, Confluent will use reasonable efforts to liaise with the applicable project steward. Within 8 Business Hours
P4 Confluent will triage the request, provide clarification where possible, and may include a resolution in a future Maintenance Release. Within 16 Business Hours

2.8 Customer Responsibilities. Confluent’s obligation to provide Support Services is conditioned upon Customer satisfying the following responsibilities:

(a) Customer has made reasonable efforts to resolve the Issue before reporting the Issue to Confluent, including having the Issue reviewed by the Customer Representative;

(b) Customer has provided Confluent with sufficient information, including any reproducible test cases requested by Confluent;

(c) Customer has installed all Maintenance Releases;

(d) Customer has procured, installed and properly maintained all equipment, telephone lines, communication interfaces and other hardware necessary to operate the Supported Software; and

(e) Customer has designated personnel resources to provide necessary diagnostic information until an Update or Maintenance Release is made available.

2.9 Escalation. If Customer does not receive Confluent’s Response within the applicable Target Initial Response Time, Customer may escalate the Issue per the following escalation process:

Escalation Level Resolution Owner Escalation Trigger Escalation Path
1 Confluent Manager, Customer Operations Response is not received within the Target Initial Response Time Customer to send email to escalations@confluent.io
2 Confluent Director of Support & Services Response is not received within twice the Target Initial Response Time Customer to email director-escalations@confluent.io
or call +1 650-665-5301

3. Exclusions

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in these Maintenance and Support Services Terms or the Agreement, Confluent is not obligated to provide Support Services to Customer if:

(a) the Supported Software has been changed or modified (except if under the direct supervision of Confluent) or damaged;

(b) the Issue is caused by Customer’s negligence, hardware malfunction, the configuration of the platform or datacenter, network latency or causes beyond the reasonable control of Confluent;

(c) the Issue is caused by third party software not licensed through Confluent;

(d) Customer has not installed and implemented all available Maintenance Release(s) for the Supported Software; or

(e) Customer has not paid the Support Services fees when due.

4. Changes to Support Services

Support Services will be updated from time to time in Confluent’s sole discretion provided that the level of service will not be materially reduced during Customer’s subscription term.