Confluent Cloud Support Services Policy

This document describes Confluent’s support policies for customers of the Confluent Cloud Services who  have purchased a support services plan in connection with their use of the Cloud Services. It provides a  description of the available technical support levels and describes Confluent’s terms and conditions for  support. Capitalized terms not defined herein have the meaning set forth in the agreement that applies  to Customer’s use of the Cloud Services. 

1. Support Services. 

1.1 Confluent offers 3 levels of Support Services plans for Confluent Cloud: Developer, Business, and  Premier. This Support Policy applies to all levels of Support Services, except to the extent that variations  are specifically described herein. 

1.2 Customer Support Channels: Confluent shall provide the Support Services through its online support  portal (“Support Portal”). Following submission of an Issue, Confluent will communicate with Customer  using email, the Support Portal, or video conferencing. 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. 

1.3 Hours of Operation: Customer may access the Support Portal and submit support requests twenty four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days per week. 

1.4 Issue Prioritization & Confluent Actions: Issues will be categorized by priority level in accordance  with the following definitions and Confluent will take the following actions:

Issue Priority Definitions & Confluent Actions 

 

During the submission process, Customer may assign a priority level to an Issue. Confluent will review  Customer’s priority designation and respond in accordance with the applicable Target Initial Response  Time agreed upon SLAs. However, Confluent may re-assign the priority level in its sole discretion if it believes Customer’s designation to be incorrect based on the definitions specified in this Support Policy.  Confluent will notify Customer of such a change in its response to the support request.  

1.5 Responses: A “Response” is an initial reply to the 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 when Confluent begins to address such Issue, by responding and initiating communication with  Customer about the Issue. The actual time required to fully resolve the Issue, if such 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.  

 

1.6 Customer Responsibilities: Confluent’s obligation to provide Support Services is conditioned upon  Customer satisfying the following responsibilities with respect to each Issue: 

A) Customer making reasonable efforts to resolve the Issue before reporting the Issue to  Confluent, including having the Issue reviewed by the representative of the Customer that  submits the Issue; 

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

C) (For P1 and P2 Issues only) Customer has designated personnel resources to provide necessary  diagnostic information until a fix or workaround is made available. 

2.0 Exclusions. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Support Services policy or the  Agreement, Confluent is not obligated to address an Issue when:

a. the Issue is caused by Customer’s negligence, hardware malfunction, network latency or causes  beyond the reasonable control of Confluent; 

b. the Issue is caused by third party software not managed by Confluent as part of the Cloud  Service unless the Documentation requires the software for proper use of the Cloud Service;

c. The Issue is caused by Customer’s use of the Cloud Service with clients or web browsers other  than the supported versions specified in the Supported Versions and Interoperability document  at https://docs.confluent.io/current/installation/versions-interoperability.html .

d. Customer has not paid the Cloud Service fees when due. 

3.0 Technical Account Manager - Premier Support. If you purchase Premier Support, then during the  period for which you purchase such support, Confluent shall assign a named technical account manager  (“TAM”) to your account. A Confluent TAM combines Kafka and Confluent product expertise with deep  awareness of your business needs to proactively guide your technical roadmap and facilitate other  services across Confluent, including product, Support Services, and professional services. Please note  that a TAM’s responsibilities do not encompass the more detailed implementation guidance provided  through Confluent Professional Services. 

The following are representative responsibilities of the TAM: 

• Driving efficient application of purchased Confluent services - e.g. training, professional services  and support 
• Quarterly onsite visits
• Bi-weekly, remote office hours to discuss technical topics and open support issues - Keeping your team informed and up to speed on product roadmap and recommending the best  solutions for your needs
• Performing and delivering detailed postmortem reports following production incidents - Serving as your voice within Confluent, including lobbying for your roadmap priorities 

4.0 Definitions. 

• “Business Day” means Monday through Friday in Customer’s local time zone.
• “Business Hours” means 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Business Days.
• “Customer Representative” means the individual employee of Customer that submits an Issue  via phone, email or through the Support Portal.
• “Documentation” means the published documentation describing the functionality of the Cloud  Service, located at https://docs.confluent.io/current/cloud/index.html#cloud-home.
• “Issue” means a failure of the Confluent Cloud Service to conform to the specifications set forth  in the Documentation.
• “Support Services” means the support services purchased by Customer and described in this  Support Services Policy. 

5.0 Changes to Support Services.

This Support Services Policy may be updated from time to time at Confluent’s sole discretion, provided  that any such updates will not materially reduce the level of Support Services during the period for  which Customer has purchased Support Services.