Infrastructure as a service meaning

Checklist This Checklist is chiefly intended primarily for customers (licencees). It provides an overview of the key terms commonly and usually found in a supplier agreement to licence ‘on‑premise’ software installed on the customer’s own infrastructure. For issues related to the licensing and deployment of software as a service (SaaS), see Practice Note: Cloud computing—introduction and Precedent: Software as a service (SaaS) agreement—pro-customer, accordingly. For further reading and template documents relating to this Checklist, see the following: Practice Note: Key issues in software licence agreements Practice Note: Warranties and indemnities in software licence agreements Precedent: Software licence—pro-customer Precedent: Software licence—pro-supplier Negotiation guide—IT contracts Further information Notes (if any) Grant and scope of licence Is the software described clearly and adequately? The customer should be clear about what it is contracting for. There may also be warranties from the supplier that the software will perform as described. Who is permitted to use the software?...

This timeline shows key developments relating to Assimilated Regulation (EU) 648/2012 (UK EMIR) from 2024 onwards For prior milestones, consult European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR)—timeline [Archived]. 23 January 2026 — ISDA | UK Finance ISDA and UK Finance Respond to FCA and HMT Consultations The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) and UK Finance filed joint submissions to a Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) consultation and an HM Treasury (HMT) draft statutory instrument, focused on simplifying the UK EMIR intragroup framework. The measures would create a permanent, streamlined intragroup regime under UK EMIR and codify, on an enduring basis, exemptions available under the temporary intragroup exemption. ISDA backs the approach and encourages additional simplifications. 11 December 2025 — BoE Consultation paper: Exempting post-trade risk reduction transactions from the clearing obligation The Bank of England (BoE) is seeking views on proposals to exclude trades executed as part of a post-trade risk reduction service from the derivatives clearing obligation set out in Article 4 of UK...

Checklist Many family-run enterprises often begin with a largely informal governance arrangement; relatives share a tacit grasp of duties and relationships, and decisions are taken swiftly at the kitchen table. By their nature these businesses are flexible and informal, with priorities typically guided by doing what is best for the family in line with the family’s values, rather than being driven solely by owners’ profit. However, as the business develops and more family members and other employees come on board, managing operations in this ad hoc way becomes progressively harder, as what was once straightforward to coordinate across a small group becomes complex to control as headcount and responsibilities increase. The pros and cons of formalising the family business are addressed in Practice Note: Family businesses. This checklist sets out questions an adviser can put to the family (or that the family can consider themselves) to help design an effective structure for the family business. The same questions will also help identify the matters to be covered in any...

In this issue Key DR developments Claims and remedies Costs and funding Litigation Applications—general Evidence and disclosure Appeals New content Dates for your diary Useful information Daily and weekly news alerts Key DR developments CPR Committee minutes Minutes of the CPR Committee meeting—6 June 2025: The Civil Procedure Rule Committee met on 6 June 2025 in a hybrid session at The Rolls Building (Royal Courts of Justice) and via video conference. The minutes confirm a forthcoming CPR 51 pilot enabling non-parties to obtain court documents, arising from the Supreme Court ruling in Cape Intermediate Holdings Ltd v Dring [2019] UKSC 38. They also record approved amendments to the e‑working pilot, progressing towards a permanent electronic filing system as part of ongoing court modernisation. Further topics included summary assessment of costs, arbitration updates, disclosure, civil restraint orders, closed material procedures, judicial review reforms for infrastructure projects, whiplash reforms, digital services and other procedural...

In this issue: Public procurement Governance Education Social housing Children's social care Social care Healthcare Local government finance Environmental law and climate change Planning Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Public procurement Damages are an adequate remedy in a procurement dispute despite no sufficiently serious breach (Millbrook Healthcare Ltd v Devon County Council) In Millbrook Healthcare Ltd v Devon County Council, the Technology and Construction Court (TCC) determined that, at the interim stage of a procurement claim, whether a breach is “sufficiently serious” is not directly relevant to the question of adequacy of damages; damages can still be the proper remedy. The TCC reviewed established authorities confirming that damages are available in procurement challenges only where the contracting authority’s breach is “sufficiently serious”, a test grounded in EU law. The issue was recently examined in Braceurself v NHS England, where the TCC held that the “sufficiently serious” assessment...

Nearly a dozen regulatory measures for the industry have been paused as the civil service enters the pre-election purdah period. Although the two main parties appear broadly aligned on many pensions policy questions, differences persist, and voices across the sector are urging concrete manifesto commitments. “A key uncertainty concerns the destiny of the recently overhauled pensions tax regime, alongside several other unresolved ideas, including the Chancellor’s Mansion House package,” noted Helen Ball, a partner at law firm Sacker & Partners LLP. “At present, it is far from certain how many will make it through the formation of a new government.” Mansion House Over the past year the pensions landscape has shifted markedly and visibly, driven by a strong political impetus, most notably, for retirement savings vehicles to channel more capital into growth assets such as start-ups and infrastructure schemes and projects. In June 2024, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced a suite of measures he said would “unlock” investment from pension funds into so-called productive finance, intended to spur economic...

What does this Practice Note cover? The primary emphasis of this Practice Note is on debt securities (such as bonds or notes) and it provides an introduction to: trading, settlement and custody of debt securities in the UK, and the key UK regulatory frameworks that govern these activities This Practice Note also highlights the main categories of relevant service providers and summarises the UK regulatory frameworks applicable to them. For a quick summary of how the debt capital markets are regulated in the UK, see Practice Note: EU and UK regulation of the debt capital markets—one minute guide. For information on the debt securities market infrastructure in the EU, see Practice Note: EU Debt securities market infrastructure. Introduction The importance of tradeability of debt securities Tradeability is a fundamental attribute of debt securities. Investors’ ability to purchase and sell—trade—debt securities depends on: standardisation of the terms and conditions of debt securities (for more information, see Practice...

Introduction The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is a charge applied to development. Its statutory foundation lies in Part 11 of the Planning Act 2008 (PA 2008), which permits the Secretary of State to make regulations providing for the imposition of CIL. That power was exercised through the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010, SI 2010/948 (the CIL Regulations). CIL operates in both England and Wales. It is set by ‘charging authorities’ for certain development of land within their areas and is collected by ‘collecting authorities’. For further detail on charging and collecting authorities, and the circumstances in which CIL becomes payable on development, see Practice Note: Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)—who administers CIL, when does CIL arise, and when and by whom must CIL be paid. The CIL Regulations also include enforcement mechanisms, allowing collecting authorities to levy a range of surcharges, issue stop notices, and, where necessary, recover monies through appropriate legal action. Collection and enforcement procedures are supported by a right to appeal specified decisions (see Practice Note:...

STOP PRESS: This Practice Note reflects the current legislative position. However, the Commission published a proposal on 21 January 2026 for a Digital Networks Act that may repeal the European Electronic Communications Code. To follow the Digital Networks Act’s progress through the EU legislative process, see Practice Note: Media, digital and telecoms tracker—EU. This Practice Note provides guidance on Directive (EU) 2018/1972 establishing the European Electronic Communications Code (Recast), commonly known as the European Electronic Communications Code and, in this note, the EECC. The EECC recasts and brings together the principal directives that originally made up the EU‑wide framework for regulating electronic communications networks (ECNs) and electronic communications services (ECSs). The aim of the European Electronic Communications Code The EECC is a directive with the central objective of creating an updated and harmonised EU‑wide regime for the regulation of ECNs and ECSs. The previous EU telecoms regulatory framework (comprising Directive 2002/21/EC (the EU Framework Directive), Directive 2002/19/EC (the EU Access Directive), Directive 2002/22/EC (the EU Universal...

Service Level Agreement 1 Definitions 1.1 In this Schedule: Available/Availability denotes that the [ core functionality of the ] Hosted Solution is [ materially ] ready for use [ in accordance with its Specification ] by the Customer, determined as follows: A = (PU – X) / (PU) (x 100 to be expressed as a percentage) A stands for Available; PU stands for Potential Uptime; X stands for the combined total minutes in total in the relevant Month (excluding Downtime) when the Hosted Solution is not Available; [ Critical Service Level Failure means [ either: (i) the Supplier’s failure to meet the Service Level for [ three Months ] within any [ six Month ] timeframe; or (ii) the Supplier’s failure to maintain Availability above [ Z% ] during any one Month OR define as appropriate ] ; ] Customer Connectivity means the telecoms and information technology hardware and network infrastructure required to reach the Hosted Solution from the Customer’s premises; Downtime means any...

This Agreement is entered into on [ insert date ] Parties 1 [ insert supplier name ] a company registered in England and Wales whose registration number is [ insert company number ] and whose registered office is at [ insert registered office ] ( Supplier ); and 2 [ insert customer name ] a company registered in England and Wales whose registration number is [ insert company number ] and whose registered office is at [ insert registered office ] ( Customer ), (each of the Supplier and the Customer being a party, and together the Supplier and the Customer are the parties ). Background (A) The Supplier operates and administers a range of facilities and supplies a range of services, as further detailed in this Agreement, which the Customer wishes to access for itself and its Authorised Users. (B) The Customer, through its Authorised Users, will be able to access those facilities and services by engaging...