Last Updated: July 31, 2024 | Previous Versions
This Snowflake Support Policy and Service Level Agreement (“Support Policy”) describes Snowflake’s support and Service level offering in connection with Customer-reported bugs, defects or errors in the Service (“Error(s)”). Snowflake shall provide technical support for the Service (“Support”) in accordance with this Support Policy and the applicable written subscription agreement between Snowflake and Customer for the Service (“Agreement”). Customer shall receive Snowflake’s general Support offering, “Premier Support,” or Snowflake’s enhanced offering, “Priority Support,” as designated in the applicable Order Form (“Support Level”). However, Snowflake may provide more limited support for free trial and evaluation use of the Service in its discretion. Snowflake may update this Support Policy from time to time.
Capitalized terms not defined in this Support Policy have the meaning given to them in the Agreement (including its associated addenda, policies and other terms referenced therein).
I. Support
A. Testing. As further described in the Documentation, Snowflake has processes designed to perform robust testing and validation before each Service release to minimize Errors.
B. General Support Offering (“Premier Support”). Customer shall designate at least one primary contact who will have administrator privileges and may designate additional contacts (“Customer Contact(s)”). Snowflake shall provide English-speaking remote assistance to Customer Contacts for questions or issues arising from any Error, as further described in this Support Policy, including troubleshooting, diagnosis, and recommendations for potential workarounds for the Subscription Term. Snowflake shall also provide the specific entitlements for the corresponding Support Level procured by Customer, as further described in this Support Policy and the tables below. Snowflake’s Support team (“Snowflake Support”) shall implement follow-the-sun case management for handling Severity Level 1 requests for help with Service-related issues (each such request is a “Support Case”) to better facilitate uninterrupted support by utilizing Snowflake Support across multiple time zones. If Customer reasonably believes Snowflake Support is failing to provide timely and commercially reasonable responses in accordance with this Support Policy, Customer may escalate the Support Case using the support escalation process described in the Snowflake Community. Escalated Support Cases will be directed to Snowflake’s management team for consideration.
C. Contacting Snowflake Support. Customer Contacts may contact Snowflake Support for assistance with Support Cases by the following methods: (1) submitting a Support request in the web interface of the Service as described in the Documentation; (2) submitting a Support request to the Snowflake web page hosting the community forums and Support portal located at https://community.snowflake.com (or such successor URL as may be designated by Snowflake; the “Snowflake Community”); or (3) if unable to access the web interface or the Snowflake Community, Customer Contacts may contact Snowflake Support by phone at the intake phone number identified in the Snowflake Community solely for purposes of having the Support request submitted on their behalf. All Customer Contacts must be reasonably proficient in the use and functionality of the Service and familiar with the Documentation, and shall use reasonable diligence to ensure a perceived Error is not an issue with Customer equipment, software, or internet connectivity.
D. Submission of Support Cases. Each Support Case shall: (1) designate the Severity Level of the Error in accordance with the definitions in Table 1; (2) identify the Account that experienced the error; (3) include information sufficiently detailed to allow Snowflake Support to effectively assess the Error (including any relevant error messages, but not export-controlled data, personal data (other than as required herein), sensitive data, other regulated data, or Customer Data); and (4) provide accurate contact information for the Customer Contact(s) most familiar with the issue. The Customer Contact(s) shall also give Snowflake any other important Support Case information in a timely manner. Information submitted pursuant to a Support Case is not Customer Data. Unless Customer expressly designates the Severity Level, the Support Case will have a default designation of Severity Level 4. If Customer believes the issue to be related to Client Software (as defined in the Agreement), then the Support Case shall also include the applicable Client Software log files. If a Customer Contact submits a Support Case related to enhancement or feature requests, Snowflake will deem the Support Case closed once the request has been forwarded internally.
E. Priority Support. If Customer has procured Priority Support, in addition to providing Premier Support, Snowflake Support shall: (i) implement follow-the-sun case management for handling Severity Level 1 and Severity Level 2 Support Cases, to better facilitate uninterrupted support by utilizing Snowflake Support across multiple time zones; and (ii) provide Customer the additional Support described in the “Priority Support Services Description” at www.snowflake.com/legal, which is incorporated herein by this reference.
F. Read-Only Users Support. For clarity with respect to Snowflake’s data-sharing functionality, Read-Only Users may not be designated as Customer Contacts, and any Support Cases related to Customer, in its role as a Provider or with respect to any of its Read-Only Users, shall be submitted solely by Customer’s own Customer Contacts.
G. Other Support and Training. Snowflake also offers various support and training resources such as documentation, community forums, FAQs and user guides available on the Snowflake Community. Additionally, Snowflake offers fee-based consultation and training services via Statements of Work.
Table 1: Error Severity Level Definitions |
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Severity Level 1 (Critical Severity) |
An Error that (a) renders the Service completely inoperative, or (b) makes Customer’s use of material features of the Service impossible, with no alternative available. | |
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Severity Level 2 (High Severity) |
An Error that (a) has a high impact to key portions of the Service, or (b) seriously impairs Customer’s use of material features of the Service and Customer cannot reasonably circumvent or avoid the Error on a temporary basis without the expenditure of significant time or effort. | |
Severity Level 3 (Medium Severity) |
An Error that has a medium-to-low impact on the Service, but Customer can still access and use some functionality of the Service. | |
Severity Level 4 (Low Severity) |
An Error that has low-to-no impact on Customer’s access to and use of the Service. |
Table 2: Severity Level Response Times | ||
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Error Severity Level | Initial Response Time Target | |
Premier Support | Priority Support | |
Severity Level 1 (Critical Severity) |
One (1) hour | Fifteen (15) Minutes |
Severity Level 2 (High Severity) |
Two (2) Business Hours | Two (2) Hours |
Severity Level 3 (Medium Severity) |
One (1) Business Day | Four (4) Business Hours |
Severity Level 4 (Low Severity) |
Two (2) Business Days | One (1) Business Day |
H. Error Response. Upon receipt of a Support Case, Snowflake Support will assess the Error based on the information submitted and the definitions in Table 1, and if Snowflake believes Customer’s Severity Level designation is incorrect, Snowflake will promptly notify Customer. If Customer then identifies a reasonable basis for disagreeing with the Severity Level proposed by Snowflake, the parties each will make a good faith effort to promptly discuss, escalate internally, and mutually agree on the appropriate Severity Level designation. Snowflake shall then use commercially reasonable efforts to meet the Initial Response Time Target set forth in Table 2 above for the applicable Severity Level, as measured during the applicable Region (as defined in the Snowflake Service Consumption Table) Snowflake Support hours set forth in Table 3 below (“Business Hours”, and each in-Region day having Business Hours is a “Business Day”).
Table 3: Global Snowflake Support Hours | |||
Snowflake Service Region | Premier & Priority Support Business Hours | ||
Severity 1 (Premier Support) |
Severity 1 & 2 (Priority Support) |
Severity 2-4 (Premier Support) Severity 3-4 (Priority Support) |
|
North America | 24x7x365 | 24x7x365 | 6AM-6PM PT Mon-Fri |
EMEA | 24x7x365 | 24x7x365 | 6AM-6PM CE Mon-Fri |
Asia Pacific | 24x7x365 | 24x7x365 | 6AM-6PM AEDT Mon-Fri |
II. Service Level Agreement
Definitions:
“Average Daily Snowflake Credits” is defined as Customer’s actual Snowflake Credit (as defined in the Snowflake Service Consumption Table) consumption in the calendar month of the Cloud Provider Region in which the Service Level Failure occurred, divided by the number of days in such month.
“Calendar Minutes” is defined as the total number of minutes in a given calendar month.
“Cloud Provider Region” is defined as the Region (as defined in the Snowflake Service Consumption Table) and Cloud Provider selected by Customer on an Order Form or as configured by Customer via the Service.
“Error Rate” is defined as the number of Failed Operations, divided by the total number of Valid Operations. Repeated identical Failed Operations do not count towards the Error Rate.
“Error Rate Threshold” is the value set forth in Table 4 below for each applicable Monthly Availability Percentage. This value represents the maximum Error Rate before a minute is considered Unavailable.
“Failed Operations” is defined as Valid Operations where the Service returns an internal error to Customer, subject to Section III (SLA Exclusions) below.
“Monthly Availability Percentage” is defined as the difference between Calendar Minutes and the Unavailable Minutes using the relevant Error Rate Threshold, divided by Calendar Minutes, and multiplied by one hundred (100).
“Service Level” is defined as a Monthly Availability Percentage of 99.99% when measured with a 10% Error Rate Threshold, and a Monthly Availability Percentage of 99.9% when measured with a 1% Error Rate Threshold.
“Service Level Failure” is defined as the Service failing to meet the Service Level in a given month.
“Service Level Credits” is defined as the number of Snowflake Credits Customer will receive in the event of a Service Level Failure for a given Monthly Availability Percentage and Error Rate Threshold, as indicated in Table 4.
“Unavailable” is defined as an Error Rate greater than the relevant Error Rate Threshold over a one-minute interval calculated across all Accounts within each applicable Cloud Provider Region. The Error Rate is 0 when an Account is inactive, i.e., when there are no Valid Operations in the one-minute interval.
“Unavailable Minutes” is defined as the total accumulated minutes when the Service is Unavailable using the relevant Error Rate Threshold.
“Valid Operation” is defined as an operation that conforms to (a) the Documentation; or (b) Service-use recommendations provided by Snowflake Support personnel.
In the event of a Service Level Failure, Customer, as its sole and exclusive remedy, shall receive Service Level Credits credited against Customer’s usage in the applicable Cloud Provider Region in the immediately succeeding calendar month following the Service Level Failure, provided that Customer requests such Service Level Credits within twenty-one (21) days of the calendar month in which the Service Level Failure occurred. The number of Service Level Credits credited to Customer will be calculated using the Monthly Availability Percentage and Error Rate Threshold combination that provides Customer with the largest number of Service Level Credits set forth in Table 4. Service Level Credits may not be exchanged for, or converted to, monetary amounts.
Table 4: Service Level Credit Calculation | ||
Monthly Availability Percentage | Error Rate Threshold | Service Level Credit |
Under 99.99% but greater than or equal to 99.0% | 10% | 1 x Average Daily Snowflake Credits |
Under 99.9% but greater than or equal to 99.0% | 1% | 1 x Average Daily Snowflake Credits |
Under 99.0% but greater than or equal to 95.0% | 1% | 3 x Average Daily Snowflake Credits |
Under 95.0% | 1% | 7 x Average Daily Snowflake Credits |
Example Calculation – Customer has two Accounts (SFE1, SFE2) in the AWS US East Region. Each Account submits Valid Operations at a steady rate of 50 Valid Operations per minute. In the month of April, in each minute of a 250-minute period, all 50 Valid Operations submitted by SFE1 succeeded, whereas SFE2 experienced 2 Failed Operations out of a total of 50 Valid Operations. For the month of April, the Customer experienced an Error Rate of 2% across SFE1 and SFE2 Accounts in the AWS US East Region ((2 Failed Operations / 100 Valid Operations) * 100) during the 250-minute period. In this example, the Service was Unavailable for the period of 250 minutes because the Error Rate exceeded the 1% Error Rate Threshold across both Accounts even though it does not exceed the 10% Error Rate Threshold. There are 43,200 Calendar Minutes in the month of April (30 days x 24 hours x 60 minutes). This results in a Monthly Availability Percentage of 99.4% calculated as ((43,200 – 250)/43,200 * 100). According to Table 4, a customer experiencing a 99.4% Monthly Availability Percentage with an Error Rate of 2% will receive 1 x Average Daily Snowflake Credits. If Customer used a total of three hundred (300) Snowflake Credits across both Accounts in April, then Customer’s Average Daily Snowflake Credits for April would be ten (10) Snowflake Credits (300 / 30 days in April). Since the Monthly Availability Percentage is 99.4%, Customer would be entitled to request a Service Level Credit of ten (10) Snowflake Credits (1 x 10 Average Daily Snowflake Credits), which would be credited against Customer’s usage of the Service in May.
III. SLA Exclusions
Snowflake will have no liability for any failure to meet the Service Level to the extent arising from:
A. Customer’s failure to process Customer Data in the Service in accordance with Snowflake’s recommendations for use of the Service — though, upon being notified of such a case, Snowflake will endeavor to help Customer address the failure (e.g., with additional recommendations);
B. Customer or User equipment;
C. Third-party acts, or services and/or systems not provided by or on behalf of Snowflake. For the avoidance of doubt, this exclusion (C) does not apply to the acts, services or systems of any Cloud Providers;
D. Force Majeure events – i.e., any cause beyond such party’s reasonable control, including but not limited to acts of God, labor disputes or other industrial disturbances, systemic electrical, telecommunications, or other utility failures, earthquake, storms or other elements of nature, blockages, embargoes, riots, public health emergencies (including pandemics and epidemics), acts or orders of government, acts of terrorism, or war;
E. Evaluation, free trial, or proof-of-concept use of the Service; or
F. Use of Service features or functionality that are subject to Preview Terms (e.g., beta functionality not intended for production use).
G. With respect to the feature of the Service known as “Snowpark Container Services” (as further described in the Documentation), periods during: (i) any scheduled maintenance as described in the Documentation, or (ii) implementation of any critical upgrades.