5 Security Questions For Your Business
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Thank you for trusting AXIOM, Inc. to provide you with professional information technology services. This Master Services Agreement (this “Agreement”) governs our business relationship with you, so please read this document carefully and keep a copy for your records. This Master Services Agreement (this “Agreement”) is between Innovative Technology Team, Inc. d/b/a Axiom, a Florida corporation with offices located at 111 Rockcreek Drive, Jacksonville, Florida 32259 (“us”, “our”, “we” or “Axiom”), and you, the entity who accepts this document by reference through one or more statements of work (“you”, “your” or “Client”).
1) SCOPE OF SERVICES; SOW. This is a master agreement that governs all services that we perform or provide to you (collectively, the “Services”). The Services will be described in one or more proposals or statements of work that we provide to you (each, a “SOW”). Once you and we mutually agree to a SOW (either by signing it or by electronic acceptance), the SOW will become a part of, and governed under, the terms of this Agreement. If there is a material difference between the language in a SOW and the language in this Agreement, then the language of the SOW will control, except in situations involving warranties, limitations of liability, or termination of this Agreement. Under those limited circumstances, the terms of this Agreement will control unless the SOW expressly states that it is overriding the conflicting provisions of this Agreement.
1. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.
1. System. For the purposes of this Agreement, “System” means, collectively, any computer network, computer system, peripheral or device installed, maintained, monitored, or operated by us pursuant to a SOW. To avoid a delay or negative impact on our provision of the Services, during the term of each SOW you agree to refrain from modifying or moving the System, or installing software on the System, unless we expressly authorize such activity.
2. Requirements. At all times, all software on the System must be genuine and licensed, and you agree to provide us with proof of such licensing upon our request. If we require you to implement certain minimum hardware or software requirements in a SOW (“Minimum Requirements”), you agree to do so as an ongoing requirement of us providing our Services to you.
**Waiver of Liability for Legacy Devices. As used herein, “Legacy Device” means a piece of equipment, device, hardware, or software that is outdated, obsolete, incompatible with industry-standards, and/or no longer supported by its original manufacturer. Legacy Devices may cause vulnerabilities in your network, or they may fail from time to time or cause other parts or processes of the Environment to operate improperly or (in some cases) fail. If a Legacy Device must remain in the Environment, or if we agree to allow a Legacy Device to operate within the Environment, or if you decline to promptly replace a Legacy Device when we request you to do so, then you understand and agree that (i) neither we nor any Third Party Provider will be responsible for the remediation of issues arising from or related to the existence or use of the Legacy Device in the Environment, and (ii) we and our Third Party Providers will be held harmless from and against all issues, claims, and causes of action arising from or related to the existence or use of the Legacy Device in the Environment. We strongly advise you to review your company’s insurance policies to determine the extent to which the existence of Legacy Devices in the Environment would create an exclusion of insurance coverage in the event of a security-related incident.
3. Maintenance; Updates. If patches and other software-related maintenance updates (“Updates”) are provided under a SOW, we will install the Updates only if we have determined, in our reasonable discretion, that the Updates will be compatible with the configuration of the System and materially beneficial to the features or functionality of the affected software or hardware. It is your responsibility to ensure all machines are accessible on a weekly basis during the patch window (at a minimum of two days a week). If a device(s) repeatedly falls outside these requirements, the device(s) will be removed as a managed asset. We will not be responsible for any downtime or losses arising from or related to the installation or use of any Update.
4. Third Party Support. If, in Axiom’s discretion, a hardware or software issue requires vendor or OEM support, we may contact the vendor or OEM (as applicable) on your behalf and pass through to you, without markup, all fees and costs incurred in that process. If such fees or costs are anticipated in advance or exceed $100, we will obtain your permission before incurring such expenses on your behalf unless exigent circumstances require otherwise.
5. Advice; Instructions. From time to time, we may provide you with specific advice and directions related to our provision of the Services or the maintenance or administration of the System. (For example, our advice or directions may include increasing the System’s server or hard drive capacity or replacing obsolete equipment.) You agree to promptly follow and implement any directions we provide to you related to the Services which, depending on the situation, may require you to make additional purchases or investments in the System or the environment in which the System is maintained, at your sole cost. We will not be responsible for any problems or issues (such as System downtime or security-related issues) caused by your failure to promptly follow our advice or directions. If, in our discretion, your failure to follow or implement our advice renders part or all of the Services economically or technically unreasonable to provide, then we may terminate the applicable SOW for cause by providing notice of termination to you. Unless specifically and expressly stated in a SOW, any services required to remediate issues caused by your failure to follow Axiom’s advice or directions, or your unauthorized modification of the System, as well as any services required to bring the System up to or maintain the Minimum Requirements, are not covered under any SOW and will be out-of-scope.
6. Prioritization. Unless otherwise stated in a SOW, all Services will be performed on a schedule, and in a prioritized manner, as determined by Axiom.
7. Authorized Contact(s). Axiom will be entitled to rely on any directions or consent provided by your personnel or representatives who are authorized in a SOW to provide such directions or consent (“Authorized Contacts”). If no Authorized Contact is identified in an applicable SOW, then your Authorized Contact will be the person(s) (i) who signed this Agreement, and/or (ii) who signed the applicable SOW. If you desire to change your Authorized Contact(s), please notify Axiom of such changes in writing which, unless exigent circumstances are stated in the notice, will take effect three (3) business days thereafter.
8. Site Visit Travel Fees (from 111 Rockcreek Drive, Jacksonville, Florida 32259). A Site Visit travel fee will be applied based on the mileage from Axiom’s address to the location of the site trip.
- Zone 1: 0-20 miles – flat rate $15.00
- Zone 2: 21-40 miles – flat rate $30.00
- Zone 3: 41-60 miles – flat rate $50.00
- Zone 4: 61-80 miles – flat rate $75.00
- Anything over 80 miles will be billed at the current IRS rate
9. Workstation Installation Disclaimer. We will set up two workstations per month (not to exceed two hours each), under your Full-Service Agreement. Anything that exceeds the number of workstations and/or the time for setup will incur an additional fee.
10. Insurance. If you are supplied with Axiom Equipment (defined below), you agree to acquire and maintain, at your sole cost, insurance for the full replacement value of that equipment. Axiom must be listed as an additional insured on any policy acquired and maintained by you under this Agreement, and the policy will not be canceled or modified during the term of the applicable SOW without prior notification to Axiom. Upon Axiom’s request, you agree to provide proof of insurance to Axiom, including proof of payment of any applicable premiums or other amounts due under the insurance policy.
2. FEES; PAYMENT. You agree to pay the fees described in each SOW. If the SOW does not include a fee schedule, then you agree to pay us on an hourly basis pursuant to our then-current standard hourly rate schedule.
1. Schedule. Unless otherwise stated in a SOW, all undisputed fees will be due and payable in advance of the provision of the Services. If applicable, payments made by ACH will be deducted from your designated bank account on the first business day of the month in which the Services are to be provided.
2. Nonpayment. Fees that remain unpaid for more than fifteen (15) days after the date on the invoice will be subject to interest on the unpaid amount(s) until and including the date payment is received, at the lower of either 1.5% per month or the maximum allowable rate of interest permitted by applicable law. We reserve the right, but not the obligation, to suspend part or all the Services without prior notice to you in the event that any portion of undisputed fees are not timely received by us, and monthly or recurring charges shall continue to accrue during any period of suspension. Notice of disputes related to fees must be received by us within sixty (60) days after the applicable Service is rendered or the date on which you pay an invoice, whichever is later; otherwise, you waive your right to dispute the fee thereafter. A re-connect fee may be charged to you if we suspend the Services due to your nonpayment. Time is of the essence in the performance of all payment obligations by you.
3. ACCESS. You hereby grant us the right to monitor, diagnose, manipulate, communicate with, retrieve information from, and otherwise access the System, on a 24x7x365 basis, for the purpose of enabling us to provide the Services. It is your responsibility to secure, at your own cost and prior to the commencement of any Services, any necessary rights of entry, licenses (including software licenses), permits or other permissions necessary for Axiom to provide Services to the System and, if applicable, at your designated premises, both physically and virtually. Proper and safe environmental conditions must always be provided and assured by you. Axiom shall not be required to engage in any activity or provide any Services under conditions that pose or may pose a safety or health concern to any personnel, or that would require extraordinary or non-industry standard efforts to achieve.
4. LIMITED WARRANTIES; LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY.
1. Hardware / Software Purchased Through Axiom. Unless otherwise stated in a SOW, all hardware, software, peripherals, or accessories purchased through Axiom (“Third Party Products”) are nonrefundable once the applicable purchase order is placed in Axiom’s queue for delivery. We will use reasonable efforts to assign, transfer and facilitate all warranties (if any) and service level commitments (if any) for the Third-Party Products to you, but will have no liability whatsoever for the quality, functionality, or operability of any Third-Party Products, and we will not be held liable as an insurer or guarantor of the performance, uptime, or usefulness of any Third-Party Products. Unless otherwise expressly stated in a SOW, all Third-Party Products are provided “as is” and without any warranty whatsoever as between Axiom and you (including but not limited to implied warranties).
2. Third-Party or Proprietary Product Support. Axiom will assist the vendor or manufacturer in addressing issues with third-party or proprietary products. In the event that a vendor or manufacturer support of third-party or proprietary products is not available, Axiom will have limited capability, or will decline to assist with these issues.
3. Warranty Application. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in this Agreement, any warranty offered and provided directly by Axiom for any product shall be deemed null and void if the applicable product is (i) altered, modified or repaired by persons other than Axiom, including, without limitation, the installation of any attachments, features, or devices not supplied or approved by Axiom; (ii) misused, abused, or not operated in accordance with the specifications of Axiom or the applicable manufacturer or creator of the hardware or product, or, (iii) subjected to improper site preparation or maintenance by persons other than Axiom or persons approved or designated by Axiom.
4. Liability Limitations. This paragraph limits the liabilities arising under this Agreement or any SOW and is a bargained-for and material part of this Agreement. You acknowledge and agree that Axiom would not enter into this Agreement unless it could rely on the limitations described in this paragraph. In no event shall either party be liable for any indirect, special, exemplary, consequential, or punitive damages, such as lost revenue, loss of profits (except for fees due and owing to Axiom), savings, or other indirect or contingent event-based economic loss arising out of or in connection with this Agreement, any SOW, or the Services, or for any loss or interruption of data, technology or services, or for any breach hereof or for any damages caused by any delay in furnishing Services under this Agreement or any SOW, even if a party has been advised of the possibility of such damages; however, reasonable attorneys’ fees awarded to a prevailing party (as described below) shall not be limited by the foregoing limitation. Except for your payment obligations and your indemnification obligations described in this Agreement, a responsible party’s (“Responsible Party’s”) aggregate liability to the other party (“Aggrieved Party”) for damages from any and all claims or causes whatsoever, and regardless of the form of any such action(s), that arise from or relate to this Agreement (collectively, “Claims”), whether in contract, tort, indemnification, or negligence, shall be limited solely to the amount of the Aggrieved Party’s actual and direct damages, not to exceed the amount of fees paid by you (excluding hard costs for licenses, hardware, etc.) to Axiom for the specific Service upon which the applicable claim(s) is/are based during the six (6) month period immediately prior to the date on which the cause of action accrued. The foregoing limitations shall not apply to the extent that the Claims are caused by a Responsible Party’s willful or intentional misconduct, or gross negligence. Similarly, a Responsible Party’s liability obligation shall be reduced to the extent that a Claim is caused by, or the result of, the Aggrieved Party’s willful or intentional misconduct, or gross negligence.
5. Waiver of Liability for Admin/Root Access. We strongly suggest that you refrain from providing administrative (or “root)” access to the Environment to any party other than AXIOM, as such access by any person other than an AXIOM employee could make the Environment susceptible to serious security and operational issues caused by, among other things, human error, hardware/software incompatibility, malware/virus attacks, and related occurrences. If you request or require us to provide any non-AXIOM personnel (i.e., non-AXIOM employees, such as in a co-managed situation) with administrative or “root” access to any portion of the Environment, then you hereby agree to indemnify and hold us harmless from and against any and all Environment-related issues, downtime, exploitations, and/or vulnerabilities, as well as any damages, expenses, costs, fees, charges, occurrences, obligations, claims, and causes of action (collectively “Claims”) arising from or related to any activities that occur, may occur, or were likely to have occurred in or through the Environment at an administrative or root level, as well as any issues, downtime, exploitations, vulnerabilities, or Claims that can reasonably be traced back or connected to activities occurring at the administrative or root level (“Activities”) in the Environment provided, of course, that such Activities were not performed or authorized in writing by AXIOM. AXIOM’s business records shall be final and determinative proof of whether any Activities were performed or authorized in writing by AXIOM.
5. INDEMNIFICATION. Each party (an “Indemnifying Party”) agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold the other party (an “Indemnified Party”) harmless from and against any and all losses, damages, costs, expenses, or liabilities, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, (collectively, “Damages”) that arise from, or are related to, the Indemnifying Party’s breach of this Agreement. The Indemnified Party will have the right, but not the obligation, to control the intake, defense and disposition of any claim or cause of action for which indemnity may be sought under this section. The Indemnifying Party shall be permitted to have counsel of its choosing participate in the defense of the applicable claim(s); however, (i) such counsel shall be retained at the Indemnifying Party’s sole cost, and (ii) the Indemnified Party’s counsel shall be the ultimate determiner of the strategy and defense of the claim(s) for which indemnity is provided. No claim for which indemnity is sought by an Indemnified Party will be settled without the Indemnifying Party’s prior written consent, which shall not be unreasonably delayed or withheld.
6. TERM; TERMINATION. This Agreement begins on the Effective Date and continues until terminated as described in this Agreement. Each SOW will have its own term and will be terminated only as provided herein, unless otherwise expressly stated in the applicable SOW. The termination of one SOW shall not, by itself, cause the termination of (or otherwise impact) this Agreement or the status or progress of any other SOW between the parties.
1. Termination Without Cause. Unless otherwise agreed by the parties in writing or otherwise permitted under this Agreement, no party will terminate this Agreement without cause if, on the date of termination, a SOW is in progress. In addition, no party will terminate a SOW without cause prior to the SOW’s natural expiration date. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if Axiom decides to cease providing a service to all of its customers generally, then Axiom may terminate an applicable SOW without cause by providing no less than one hundred and twenty (120) days prior written notice to you. If you terminate a SOW without cause and without Axiom’s consent, then you will be responsible for paying the termination fee described in Section 7(b), below. If no SOW is in progress, then either party may terminate this Agreement without cause by providing the other party with five (5) days prior written notice.
2. Termination For Cause. In the event that one party (a “Defaulting Party”) commits a material breach under a SOW or under this Agreement, the non-Defaulting Party will have the right, but not the obligation, to terminate immediately this Agreement or the relevant SOW (a “For Cause” termination) provided that (i) the non-Defaulting Party has notified the Defaulting Party of the specific details of the breach in writing, and (ii) the Defaulting Party has not cured the default within twenty (20) days (ten (10) days for non-payment by Client) following receipt of written notice of breach from the non-Defaulting Party. If Axiom terminates this Agreement or any SOW For Cause, or if you terminate any SOW without cause prior to such SOW’s expiration date, then Axiom shall be entitled to receive, and you hereby agree to pay to us, (i) all amounts that would have been paid to Axiom had this Agreement or SOW (as applicable) remained in effect, and (ii) all expenses incurred by us in our preparation and provision of the Services to you, e.g., licensing fees incurred by Axiom, non-mitigatable hard costs, etc. If you terminate this Agreement or a SOW For Cause (defined below), then you will be responsible for paying only for those Services that were properly delivered and accepted by you up to the effective date of termination.
3. Client Activity As a Basis for Termination. In the event that (i) any Client-supplied equipment, hardware or software, or any action undertaken by you, causes the System or any part of the System to malfunction consequently requiring remediation by Axiom on three (3) occasions or more (“System Malfunction”), and if under those circumstances, you fail to remedy, repair or replace the System Malfunction as directed by us (or you fail to cease the activity causing the System Malfunction, as applicable), or (ii) you or any of your staff, personnel, contractors, or representatives engage in any unacceptable act or behavior that renders it impracticable, imprudent, or unreasonable to provide the Services to you, then Axiom will have the right, upon ten (10) days prior written notice to you, to terminate this Agreement or the applicable SOW For Cause or, at our discretion and if applicable, amend the applicable SOW to eliminate from coverage any System Malfunction or any equipment or software causing the System Malfunction.
4. Consent. You and we may mutually consent, in writing, to terminate the SOW or this Agreement at any time.
5. Equipment / Software Removal. Upon termination of this Agreement or applicable SOW for any reason, you will provide us with access, during normal business hours, to your premises or any other locations at which Axiom-owned equipment or software (collectively, “Axiom Equipment”) is located to enable us to remove all Axiom Equipment from the premises. If you fail or refuse to grant Axiom access as described herein, or if any of the Axiom Equipment is missing, broken or damaged (normal wear and tear excepted) or any of Axiom-supplied software is missing, we will have the right to invoice you for, and you hereby agree to pay immediately, the full replacement value of any and all missing or damaged items.
6. Repayment of Discounted Fees. If we give you a discount under a SOW based on your commitment to retain our Services for a minimum term and, under that scenario, we terminate the SOW for cause or you terminate the SOW without cause, then in addition to any other remedy available to us, you agree to immediately pay us the difference between the discounted rates and the non-discounted rates under that SOW, calculated from the effective date of the SOW through the date of termination.
7. Transition; Deletion of Data. In the event that you request Axiom’s assistance to transition away from our services, we will provide such assistance if (i) all fees due and owing to us are paid to us in full prior to Axiom providing its assistance to you, and (ii) you agree to pay our then-current hourly rate for such assistance, with up-front amounts to be paid to us as we may require. For the purposes of clarity, it is understood and agreed that the retrieval and provision of passwords, log files, administrative server information, or conversion of data are transition services, and are subject to the preceding requirements. Unless otherwise expressly stated in a SOW, we will have no obligation to store or maintain any Client data in our possession or control beyond fifteen (15) calendar days following the termination of this Agreement. We will be held harmless for, and indemnified by you against, any and all claims, costs, fees, or expenses incurred by either party that arise from, or are related to, our deletion of your data beyond the time frames described in this Section 7(g).
7. RESPONSE; REPORTING.
1. Response. We warrant and represent that we will provide the Services, and respond to any notification received by us of any error, outage, alarm or alert pertaining to the System, in the manner and within the time period(s) designated in an applicable SOW (“Response Time”), except for (i) those periods of time covered under the Onboarding Exception (defined below), or (ii) periods of delay caused by Client-Side Downtime (defined below), Vendor-Side Downtime (defined below) or (iii) periods in which we are required to suspend the Services to protect the security or integrity of your System or our equipment or network, or (iv) delays caused by a force majeure event.
1. Scheduled Downtime. For the purposes of this Agreement, Scheduled Downtime will mean those hours, as determined by us but which will not occur between the hours of 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM EST (or EDT, as applicable), Monday through Friday without your authorization or unless exigent circumstances exist, during which time we will perform scheduled maintenance or adjustments to our network. We will use our best efforts to provide you with at least twenty-four (24) hours of notice prior to scheduling Scheduled Downtime.
2. Client-Side Downtime. We will not be responsible under any circumstances for any delays or deficiencies in the provision of, or access to, the Services to the extent that such delays or deficiencies are caused by your actions or omissions (“Client-Side Downtime”).
3. Vendor-Side Downtime. We will not be responsible under any circumstances for any delays or deficiencies in the provision of, or access to, the Services to the extent that such delays or deficiencies are caused by third party service providers, third party licensors, or “upstream” service or product vendors.
4. Remedies; Limitations. Except for the Onboarding Exception, if we fail to meet our service level commitment in a given calendar month and if, under such circumstances, our failure is not due to your activities, omissions, or inactivity, then upon receiving your written request for credit, we will issue you a pro-rated credit in an amount equal to the period of time of the outage and/or service failure. All requests for credit must be made by you no later than forty-five (45) days after you either (i) report the outage or service failure to us, or (ii) if applicable, receive a monthly report showing the outage and/or failure. The remedies contained in this paragraph and in Section 7(b) are in lieu of (and are to the exclusion of) any and all other remedies that might otherwise be available to you for our failure to meet any service level commitment during the term of this Agreement.
2. Onboarding Exception. You acknowledge and agree that for the first thirty (30) days following the commencement date of a SOW, the Response Time commitments described in this Agreement will not apply to us, it being understood that there may be unanticipated downtime or delays due to our initial startup activities with you (the “Onboarding Exception”).
8. CONFIDENTIALITY.
1. Defined. For the purposes of this Agreement, Confidential Information means any and all non-public information provided to us by you, including but not limited to your customer data, customer lists, internal documents, and related information. Confidential Information will not include information that: (i) has become part of the public domain through no act or omission of Axiom, (ii) was developed independently by us, or (iii) is or was lawfully and independently provided to us prior to disclosure by you, from a third party who is not and was not subject to an obligation of confidentiality or otherwise prohibited from transmitting such information.
2. Use. We will keep your Confidential Information confidential and will not use or disclose such information to any third party for any purpose except (i) as expressly authorized by you in writing, or (ii) as needed to fulfill our obligations under this Agreement.
3. Due Care. We will exercise the same degree of care with respect to the Confidential Information we receive from you as we normally take to safeguard and preserve our own confidential and proprietary information, which in all cases will be at least a commercially reasonable level of care.
4. Compelled Disclosure. If we are legally compelled (whether by deposition, interrogatory, request for documents, subpoena, civil investigation, demand or similar process) to disclose any of the Confidential Information, we will immediately notify you in writing of such requirement so that you may seek a protective order or other appropriate remedy and/or waive our compliance with the provisions of this Section 9. We will use our best efforts, at your expense, to obtain or assist you in obtaining any such protective order. Failing the entry of a protective order or the receipt of a waiver hereunder, we may disclose, without liability hereunder, that portion (and only that portion) of the Confidential Information that we have been advised, by written opinion from our counsel, that we are legally compelled to disclose.
9. ADDITIONAL TERMS; THIRD-PARTY SERVICES.
1. EULAs. Portions of the Services may require you to accept the terms of one or more third party end user license agreements (“EULAs”). If the acceptance of a EULA is required in order to provide the Services to you, then you hereby grant us permission to accept the EULA on your behalf. EULAs may contain service levels, warranties and/or liability limitations that are different than those contained in this Agreement. You agree to be bound by the terms of such EULAs and will look only to the applicable third-party provider for the enforcement of the terms of such EULAs. If, while providing the Services, we are required to comply with a third-party EULA and the third-party EULA is modified or amended, we reserve the right to modify or amend any applicable SOW with you to ensure our continued compliance with the terms of the third-party EULA.
2. Third-Party Services. Portions of the Services may be acquired from, or rely upon the services of, third party manufacturers or providers, such as data hosting services, domain registration services, and data backup/recovery services (“Third Party Service”). Not all Third-Party Services may be expressly identified as such in a SOW, and at all times we reserve the right to utilize the services of any third-party provider or to change third party providers in its sole discretion as long as the change does not materially diminish the Services to be provided to you under a SOW. We will not be responsible, and will be held harmless by you, for the failure of any third-party provider or manufacturer to provide Third-Party Services to Axiom or to you.
3. Third-Party Contractors. From time-to-time clients may require services that fall outside the scope of Axiom’s support offerings and may require the involvement of Third-Party Contractors. Axiom will notify you in advance when any services would need to be performed by a third-party contractor allowing you the opportunity to perform due diligence before the Third-Party Contractor performs any services. It is the client’s sole responsibility to ensure that any contractors meet any business requirements such as insurance, compliance or business practices. We will not be responsible, and will be held harmless by you, for the failure of any third-party contractor or manufacturer to provide Third-Party Services to Axiom or to you. Unless otherwise specifically outlined in the agreement or SOW you will be responsible for any costs incurred by third-party contractors.
4. Remote Clients / Satellite Offices. In some instances, clients may not be local to Axiom staff, or you may have a satellite office that is not local to Axiom staff. In these instances, it is understood, you will participate with Axiom whenever needed to help complete a service request understanding that it may impact your normal user’s operation. Axiom will take great care in limiting user involvement whenever possible, but it may be required. Additionally, it may be required that third-party contractors be engaged to complete some service requests or installations, such as cabling, hardware swaps, etc. Axiom will always notify you in advance.
5. Data Loss. Under no circumstances will we be responsible for any data lost, corrupted, or rendered unreadable due to (i) communication and/or transmissions errors or related failures, (ii) equipment failures (including but not limited to silent hardware corruption-related issues), or (iii) our failure to backup or secure data from portions of the System that were not expressly designated in the applicable SOW as requiring backup or recovery services. Unless expressly stated in a SOW, we do not warrant or guarantee that any maintained storage device or functionality, data backup device or functionality, or load balancing functionality will operate in an error-free manner.
6. BYOD. You hereby represent and warrant that we are authorized to access all devices, peripherals and/or computer processing units, including mobile devices (such as notebook computers, smart phones, and tablet computers) that are connected to the System, regardless of whether such device(s) are owned, leased, or otherwise controlled by you. Axiom will not be obligated to provide the Services to any mobile device or temporarily connected device unless that obligation is specifically stated in an applicable SOW. Further, unless otherwise stated in a SOW, devices will not receive or benefit from the Services while the devices are detached from, or unconnected to, the System.
7. OWNERSHIP. Each party is, and will remain, the owner and/or licensor of all works of authorship, patents, trademarks, copyrights, and other intellectual property owned or licensed by such party (“Intellectual Property”), and nothing in this Agreement or any SOW shall be deemed to convey or grant any ownership rights or goodwill in one party’s Intellectual Property to the other party.
8. ARBITRATION. Any dispute, claim or controversy arising from or related to this Agreement, including the determination of the scope or applicability of this agreement to arbitrate, shall be determined by arbitration before one arbitrator to be mutually agreed upon by the parties. The arbitration shall be administered and conducted by JAMS pursuant to its Streamlined Arbitration Rules and Procedures (the “Rules”). In the event of any inconsistency between the Rules and the procedures set forth below, the procedures set forth below will control. The arbitrator will be experienced in contract, intellectual property, and information technology transactions. If the parties cannot agree on an arbitrator within fifteen (15) days after a demand for arbitration is filed, JAMS shall select the arbitrator. The arbitration shall take place in the venue described in Section 13, below. The arbitrator shall determine the scope of discovery in the matter; however, it is the intent of the parties that any discovery proceedings be limited to the specific issues in the applicable matter, and that discovery be tailored to fulfill that intent. The cost of the arbitration shall be split evenly between the parties; however, the party prevailing in the arbitration shall be entitled to an award of its reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.
10. MISCELLANEOUS.
1. Disclosure. You warrant and represent that you know of no law or regulation governing your business that would impede or restrict our provision of the Services, or that would require us to register with, or report our provision of the Services (or the results thereof), to any government or regulatory authority. You agree to promptly notify us if you become subject to any of the foregoing which, in our discretion, may require a modification to the scope or pricing of the Services.
2. Assignment. Neither this Agreement nor any SOW may be assigned or transferred by a party without the prior written consent of the other party. This Agreement will be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto, their legal representatives, and permitted successors and assigns. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we may assign our rights and obligations hereunder to a successor in ownership in connection with any merger, consolidation, or sale of substantially all of the assets of our business, or any other transaction in which ownership of more than fifty percent (50%) of our voting securities are transferred; provided, however, that such assignee expressly assumes our obligations hereunder.
3. Amendment. Unless otherwise expressly permitted under this Agreement, no amendment or modification of this Agreement or any SOW will be valid or binding upon the parties unless such amendment or modification is originated in writing by Axiom, specifically refers to this Agreement or applicable SOW, and is accepted in writing by one of your Authorized Contacts.
4. Time Limitations. The parties mutually agree that, unless otherwise prohibited by law, any action for any matter arising out of this Agreement or any SOW (except for issues of nonpayment by Client) must be commenced within six (6) months after the cause of action accrues or the action is forever barred.
5. Severability. If any provision hereof or any SOW is declared invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such provision will be ineffective only to the extent of such invalidity, illegibility or unenforceability so that the remainder of that provision and all remaining provisions of this Agreement or any SOW will be valid and enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.
6. Other Terms. We will not be bound by any terms or conditions printed on any purchase order, invoice, memorandum, or other written communication supplied by you unless such terms or conditions are incorporated into a duly executed SOW, or unless we have expressly acknowledged the other terms and, thereafter, expressly, and specifically accepted such other terms in writing.
7. No Waiver. The failure of either party to enforce or insist upon compliance with any of the terms and conditions of this Agreement, the temporary or recurring waiver of any term or condition of this Agreement, or the granting of an extension of the time for performance, will not constitute an Agreement to waive such terms with respect to any other occurrences.
8. Merger. This Agreement, together with any and all SOWs, sets forth the entire understanding of the parties and supersedes any and all prior agreements, arrangements or understandings related to the Services, and no representation, promise, inducement or statement of intention has been made by either party which is not embodied herein. Any document that is not expressly and specifically incorporated into this Agreement or SOW will act only to provide illustrations or descriptions of Services to be provided and will not modify this Agreement or provide binding contractual language between the parties. We will not be bound by any of our agents’ or employees’ representations, promises or inducements if they are not explicitly set forth in this Agreement.
9. Force Majeure. Neither party will be liable to the other party for delays or failures to perform its obligations under this Agreement or any SOW because of circumstances beyond such party’s reasonable control. Such circumstances include, but will not be limited to, any intentional or negligent act committed by the other party, or any acts or omissions of any governmental authority, natural disaster, act of a public enemy, acts of terrorism, riot, sabotage, disputes or differences with workmen, power failure, communications delays/outages, delays in transportation or deliveries of supplies or materials, cyberwarfare, cyberterrorism, or hacking, malware or virus-related incidents that circumvent then-current anti-virus or anti-malware software, and acts of God.
10. Non-Solicitation. You acknowledge and agree that during the term of this Agreement and for a period of one (1) year following the termination of this Agreement, you will not, individually or in conjunction with others, directly or indirectly solicit, induce or influence any of Axiom’s employees or subcontractors to discontinue or reduce the scope of their business relationship with Axiom, or recruit, solicit or otherwise influence any employee or agent of Axiom to discontinue such employment or agency relationship with Axiom. In the event that you violate the terms of the restrictive covenants in this Section 13(j), you acknowledge and agree that the damages to Axiom would be difficult or impracticable to determine, and you agree that in such event, as Axiom’s sole and exclusive remedy therefore, you will pay Axiom as liquidated damages and not as a penalty an amount equal to fifty percent (50%) percent of that employee or subcontractor’s first year of base salary with you (including any signing bonus). In addition to and without limitation of the foregoing, any solicitation or attempted solicitation for employment directed to any of our employees by you will be deemed to be a material breach of this Agreement, in which event we shall have the right, but not the obligation, to terminate this Agreement or any then-current SOW immediately For Cause.
11. Survival. The provisions contained in this Agreement that by their context are intended to survive termination or expiration of this Agreement will survive. If any provision in this Agreement is deemed unenforceable by operation of law, then that provision shall be excised from this Agreement and the balance of this Agreement shall be enforced in full.
12. Insurance. Axiom and you will each maintain, at each party’s own expense, all insurance reasonably required in connection with this Agreement or any SOW, including but not limited to, workers compensation and general liability. We agree to maintain a general liability policy with a limit not less than $1,000,000 per occurrence. All the insurance policies described herein will not be canceled, materially changed or renewal refused until at least thirty (30) calendar days written notice has been given to the other party by certified mail.
13. Compliance/Regulatory Requirements/Insurance. Axiom is not responsible for Compliance unless specifically outlined in the Agreement or Scope of Work, Regulatory Requirements and/or Insurance.
14. Governing Law; Venue. This Agreement and any SOW will be governed by, and construed according to, the laws of the state of Florida. You hereby irrevocably consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the state courts in Duval County, Florida, for any and all claims and causes of action arising from or related to this Agreement.
15. No Third-Party Beneficiaries. The Parties have entered into this Agreement solely for their own benefit. They intend no third party to be able to rely upon or enforce this Agreement or any part of this Agreement.
16. Usage in Trade. It is understood and agreed that no usage of trade or other regular practice or method of dealing between the Parties to this Agreement will be used to modify, interpret, supplement, or alter in any manner the terms of this Agreement.
17. Business Day. If any time period set forth in this Agreement expires on a day other than a business day in Duval County, Florida, such period will be extended to and through the next succeeding business day in Duval County, Florida.
18. Notices; Writing Requirement. Where notice is required to be provided to a party under this Agreement, such notice may be sent by U.S. mail, overnight courier, fax or email as follows: notice will be deemed delivered three (3) business days after being deposited in the United States Mail, first class mail, certified or return receipt requested, postage prepaid, or one (1) day following delivery when sent by FedEx or other overnight courier, or one (1) day after notice is delivered by fax or email. Notice sent by email will be sufficient only if (i) the sender emails the notice to the last known email address of the recipient, and (ii) the sender includes itself in the “cc” portion of the email and preserves the email until such time that it is acknowledged by the recipient. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any notice from you to Axiom regarding (a) any alleged breach of this Agreement by Axiom, or (b) any request for indemnification, or (c) any notice of termination of this Agreement or any SOW, must be delivered to Axiom either by U.S. mail or fax, unless such requirement is expressly and specifically waived by Axiom. All electronic documents and communications between the parties will satisfy any “writing” requirement under this Agreement.
19. Independent Contractor. Axiom is an independent contractor, and is not your employer, employee, partner, or affiliate.
20. Subcontractors. Generally, Axiom does not utilize subcontractors for to perform onsite services; however, should Axiom elect to subcontract a portion of those services, Axiom will guarantee the work as if Axiom performed the subcontracted work itself.
21. Data Access/Storage. Depending on the Service provided, a portion of your data may occasionally be accessed or stored on secure servers located outside of the United States. You agree to notify us if your company requires us to modify our standard access or storage procedures.
22. Counterparts. The parties intend to accept this Agreement by reference through one or more SOWs. Each party may sign and deliver any SOW electronically (e.g., by digital signature and/or electronic reproduction of a handwritten signature), and the receiving party will be entitled to rely upon the apparent integrity and authenticity of the other party’s signature for all purposes.L
23. Meetings with Axiom. We recognize and honor our client’s time, so we focus on being very intentional with meetings. Based on client size, network architecture, security posture, etc. we will reach out to schedule Quarterly Business Reviews, Annual or Biannual Meetings. We also track those dates and provide them on monthly health reports with reminders to schedule if applicable. There are specific tasks Axiom performs in preparation for these meetings. If a client does not attend, the tasks are not performed. These tasks include, but are not limited to, Back Up Restorations, Back Up Validations, IRP Document Review, CIS v8 Security Review (Basic Hygiene), Company specific ticket templates, and more. It’s extremely important to attend these meetings to maintain communication, efficiency and security when it comes to your business.
24. Training and Campaigns. The greatest security risk to our clients is its people. Axiom understands this risk, and partners with its clients to help lower that risk. Throughout the year, Axiom offers virtual security training and campaigns to keep your staff trained in the latest threats, etc. The campaigns are designed to “test” your staff throughout the year as well. Because the risk is so high, Axiom offers these trainings at no charge. We encourage you to make this part of your company policy to do at least one security training per year.
25. Breach/Cyber Security Incident Recovery (not included). Breach/Cyber Security Incident Recovery Unless otherwise expressly stated in the Quote, the scope of the Services does not include the remediation and/or recovery from a Security Incident (defined below). Such services, if requested by you, will be provided on a time and materials basis under our then-current hourly labor rates. Given the varied number of possible Security Incidents, we cannot and do not warrant or guarantee (i) the amount of time required to remediate the effects of a Security Incident (or that recovery will be possible under all circumstances), or (ii) that all data or systems impacted by the incident will be recoverable or remediated. For the purposes of this paragraph, a Security Incident means any unauthorized or impermissible access to or use of the Environment, or any unauthorized or impermissible disclosure of Client’s confidential information (such as user names, passwords, etc.), that (i) compromises the security or privacy of the information or applications in, or the structure or integrity of, the managed environment, or (ii) prevents normal access to the managed environment, or impedes or disrupts the normal functions of the managed environment.