In tech contracts, defining the out-of-scope service is crucial from the Provider's perspective. This part outlines what services are not covered under the service levels, limiting the provider's responsibility and potential liability. It's essentially a protective measure for the provider, clarifying the boundaries of their commitment. - One common out-of-scope scenario is services requested outside of the predefined support hours. For example, if the Provider's support hours are from 9 AM to 5 PM local time, any support request received outside of this timeframe would be considered out-of-scope. As a practical example, if a customer experiences a software glitch at 8 PM and requests support, the Provider, as per the defined contract, would not be obligated to provide immediate assistance. - Another common out-of-scope scenario is issues caused by the customer's actions, known as a "Customer Cause." This could include situations where the customer modifies the product in an unsupported way, uses the product inconsistently with its documentation, or causes an issue due to their own technical error. - For instance, if a customer accidentally deletes critical data from a cloud service and requests assistance to recover it, the provider might consider this as out-of-scope. This is because the issue was not due to an inherent flaw in the product but was instead caused by the customer's own action. - In addition to these examples, there might be other specific services that the provider wants to exclude from the service levels, such as support for third-party products or services, or support for older versions of the product that the provider no longer officially supports. - By clearly defining these out-of-scope services in the service levels, the provider can set clear expectations with the customer, avoid misunderstandings, and manage resources more effectively. It also encourages customers to use the product correctly and responsibly, knowing that certain actions might result in out-of-scope support requests.