Last Updated: January 21, 2026
Purpose
This Support Engagement Policy defines how Approved Systems provides IT support services in a modern, fast-changing technology and security landscape. It exists to ensure clarity, fairness, sustainability, and effectiveness for both Approved Systems and its customers.
This policy is not designed to limit support — it is designed to ensure that support is delivered appropriately, professionally, and in a way that protects mission-critical operations and security outcomes.
Scope
This policy applies to all customers receiving services from Approved Systems, including but not limited to:
- Managed Services clients
- Ad-hoc support customers
- Project-based engagements
- Security and compliance services
Definition of Support vs Non-Support Activities
In-Scope Support Activities
The following activities are generally considered in-scope for standard support agreements, subject to service level agreements (SLAs):
- Incident response and fault resolution
- Service restoration for outages or degraded services
- Security incident investigation and remediation
- Monitoring alerts and proactive remediation
- Backup monitoring and recovery (where contracted)
- Vendor-related fault escalation
- Infrastructure stability and health-related tasks
These activities are prioritised based on business impact, security risk, and operational urgency.
Out-of-Scope or Billable Activities
The following activities are not considered standard helpdesk support and may be billable or require a separate engagement:
- End-user training or coaching
- Step-by-step guidance for routine or basic IT tasks
- Repeated explanations of vendor interface changes
- Creation of custom how-to documentation
- Consultancy or advisory requests
- Workflow redesign or optimisation
- Non-critical convenience-based requests
- Assistance unrelated to operational or security impact
Approved Systems reserves the right to classify work appropriately to ensure resources are allocated effectively.
Priority and Triage Model
All support requests are triaged based on:
- Security Risk – Threats to data, systems, or compliance
- Operational Impact – Business interruption or service degradation
- Urgency – Time sensitivity relative to impact
Requests that do not present a material security or operational risk may be deprioritised in favour of mission-critical work.
Response Expectations
Approved Systems operates on a professional services model, not an on-demand or immediate-response model.
- Support is not provided on a “drop everything” basis
- Not all requests are urgent
- Response times are governed by agreed SLAs
- After-hours support is limited to critical incidents unless otherwise contracted
Instant response expectations are not realistic and are not supported under standard agreements.
Financial and Commercial Considerations
Approved Systems employs skilled technicians and subject matter experts whose time represents a real and finite cost.
Where support requests:
- Fall outside contracted scope
- Require extended effort
- Provide no operational or security benefit
- Are repeated or training-related
…Approved Systems may propose:
- Billable time-based support
- A scoped consultancy engagement
- Formal training or documentation services
Work may be deferred until commercial alignment is agreed.
Customer Responsibilities
Customers are expected to:
- Raise requests through approved support channels
- Provide accurate and complete information
- Respect prioritisation decisions
- Maintain internal basic IT competency
- Engage in training where appropriate
- Understand that professional services are not unlimited
A collaborative partnership requires shared accountability.
Acceptable Use and Conduct
Approved Systems maintains a zero-tolerance stance on:
- Abusive or disrespectful communication
- Unrealistic demands or pressure tactics
- Attempts to bypass agreed processes
- Repeated requests for free out-of-scope work
A professional working relationship is mandatory.
Policy Review and Enforcement
Approved Systems reserves the right to:
- Update this policy as technology and security landscapes evolve
- Reclassify support agreements where usage patterns are unsustainable
- Decline or defer requests that fall outside scope
- Terminate services where engagement becomes unviable
This policy exists to protect service quality, security outcomes, and long-term partnership value.