Coverage
Choosing support coverage across time zones
When your team works in several countries, or your provider is in a different one, the question changes from “are they good?” to “will someone be there when we need them?”. Here is how to choose coverage that fits how your business actually works.
Map your real working hours
List where your people work, when they start and finish, and when your systems are busiest. Online stores and distribution businesses often peak outside office hours. Include weekends if trading continues.
Match a service window to the map
- 8×5: one business-day window. Suits teams in one region with standard hours.
- 16×5: two shifts on weekdays. Suits teams spread across regions, or long trading days.
- Monitoring with on-call: automated monitoring around the clock, plus a named person who responds to defined Priority-1 alerts. This is not the same as a 24-hour help desk.
Be precise about “24/7”
Ask what is staffed and what is automated. Continuous monitoring is common and valuable. Round-the-clock human support is expensive, and when a small provider claims it, check the contract for what it really covers.
Put it in your timezone
Proposals, service windows and invoices should state times in your local timezone, with daylight-saving changes and public holidays covered explicitly. Ambiguity about time is a common source of SLA disputes.
Agree escalation in advance
- Who can declare a P1, and how?
- Who is called if the first responder does not answer?
- How often will you receive updates during a major incident?