Priority reflects operational impact, the number and importance of affected users and systems, security concerns, and available workarounds. Response and progress objectives guide service delivery but do not guarantee resolution within a specific time.
How priorities are assigned
Cloud Core MSP evaluates the business function affected, the number of users or systems involved, the severity of the disruption, security implications, and whether a practical workaround exists. A request can be reprioritized as new information changes the understood impact.
Priority definitions
P1 - Critical
A widespread outage, confirmed or strongly suspected security event requiring immediate containment, or serious interruption affecting a substantial portion of operations.
- Major outage
- Ransomware event
- Core line-of-business platform unavailable for multiple users
- Internet outage at a primary site
- Server failure affecting core operations
P2 - High
A significant service degradation or multi-user issue that affects important operations but does not stop most of the organization from working.
- Shared printer failure affecting a department
- Degraded line-of-business application
- Multiple-user login issue
- Partial phone outage
P3 - Medium
A single-user issue, limited service degradation, or normal operational request that does not stop a critical business function.
- Single-user login issue
- Workstation problem
- Outlook issue
- Minor application support issue
P4 - Low
Routine request, scheduled work item, informational request, minor change, or non-urgent issue.
Response and progress objectives
| Priority | Typical examples | Response objective | Progress objective |
|---|---|---|---|
| P1 - Critical | Security incident, full system outage, unavailable core system, major operational disruption affecting a substantial portion of the organization. | 60 minutes | Containment, workaround, restoration effort, or escalation within 4 hours. |
| P2 - High | Multi-user degradation, important service impaired, business process blocked for a group, or elevated security concern. | 2 hours | Workaround, remediation plan, or vendor escalation within 8 business hours. |
| P3 - Medium | Single-user issue, standard endpoint problem, normal application issue, access issue, non-critical backup warning. | 6 business hours | Target outcome within 2 business days where conditions allow. |
| P4 - Low | Routine request, minor change, information request, planned maintenance question, low-impact issue. | 1 business day | Target outcome within 3 to 5 business days where conditions allow. |
P1 emergency criteria
- A confirmed or strongly suspected cybersecurity incident.
- A core system outage that prevents a substantial portion of operations from functioning.
- A network, internet, voice, or cloud issue that creates major operational disruption and involves a service Cloud Core MSP supports.
- A critical data-loss or backup/recovery issue requiring immediate containment or restore effort.
A single-user problem is normally P3 unless it blocks a time-sensitive critical business function.
Requests that are not normally P1
- Routine password resets, software questions, printer issues, and single-user workstation problems.
- Application errors that do not stop a critical business function.
- A request that is time-sensitive for one person but does not affect critical operations.
- Planned work, new equipment setup, application changes, or project tasks that were not scheduled as emergency work.
- After-hours convenience requests that do not involve a critical outage or security event.
- Third-party failures that do not create major operational disruption. When a vendor, internet provider, carrier, utility, or cloud-platform failure qualifies as P1 by impact, Cloud Core MSP may provide containment, a workaround, coordination, or escalation while restoration remains with the responsible provider.
What the objectives mean
The response objective is the time for Cloud Core MSP to acknowledge the request, assess the available information, and begin appropriate action after a request is submitted through an approved channel with enough information to proceed.
The progress objective is the time for meaningful action toward containment, a workaround, restoration, vendor escalation, or closure. Resolution time depends on diagnosis, system access, user availability, service scope, vendor response, parts, internet providers, carriers, cloud platforms, and software providers.
These objectives guide service delivery and are not guarantees. For a serious incident, appropriate progress may be containment, a workaround, restoration activity, or escalation rather than permanent correction within the objective window.
Request channels and escalation
- Submit requests through the support portal, approved support email, phone, or another channel identified for the client.
- Report a P1 emergency by phone through the published emergency calling process, even when an online request or email has also been submitted.
- Requests are prioritized by business impact, urgency, affected users and systems, security implications, and available information.
- Issues may be escalated when they require deeper technical or security review, vendor coordination, or a client decision.
- Client contacts may be asked to approve downtime, changes, vendor access, purchases, or project scope before work can proceed.
- After-hours emergency response is reserved for P1 matters; routine and non-emergency work remains within the defined service window.
Client responsibilities during support
- Provide accurate issue details, affected users, affected systems, urgency, and recent changes.
- Keep designated contacts reachable for high-priority issues.
- Provide vendor information, account access, facilities access, or approval where needed.
- Avoid making parallel uncoordinated changes during troubleshooting unless coordinated with MSP.