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Drafting and negotiating SaaS and on‑premises maintenance SLAs: availability (uptime), break/fix, third‑party elements, endeavours v absolute obligations, exclusions, service credits, penalties risk and termination

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Practice notes
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Overview

This Practice Note examines core considerations in SaaS and hardware/software maintenance SLAs. It centres on availability (uptime) and break/fix fault resolution, and covers:

  • scoping and defining the service levels
  • absolute versus endeavours obligations
  • customer responsibilities
  • exclusions
  • service credits
  • termination rights

It also flags common drafting and negotiation issues shaped by the service model (eg supplier‑hosted SaaS or a customer’s on‑premise system). It should be read alongside these Precedents:

  • Service Level Agreement (Availability (uptime) service level for SaaS)
  • Service Level Agreement (hardware/software fault resolution support services)

Where SLAs are required for other categories of service levels, much of the approach remains consistent—particularly around absolute versus endeavours commitments, service credits and termination rights. The general Precedent: Service level agreement provides a suitable foundation...

Scoping and setting the service levels

Availability

Where the supplier delivers supplier‑hosted SaaS, offering a defined availability commitment is typically standard practice...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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