Engagement, phase 3
Operate: your system keeps an owner after go-live
A retainer for monitoring, controlled change, and regular reporting. We design it together with the Deliver proposal so responsibility after release is clear from the start.
- Commercial
- Monthly retainer
- Reporting
- Monthly, plus a quarterly review
- SLA
- Agreed together per contract
- Starts
- At go-live or milestone M4
What is and is not included
Included (default)
- Basic monitoring and alert triage for registered systems
- Scheduled patching and maintenance for components we manage
- Backup verification and periodic restore tests
- Incident coordination
- Small changes within an allowance
- Monthly reports and a quarterly roadmap
Not included (default)
- Major rebuilds or new features beyond the allowance
- Hardware procurement and third-party licences
- 24/7 on-site presence without a special contract
- Compliance claims or formal audits
- Incidents caused by changes outside change control
Monthly rhythm
- 1
Week 1: health check
System health check and ticket backlog review.
- 2
Week 2: maintenance
Scheduled patching and maintenance where needed.
- 3
Week 3: review
Rotating between risk, vendors, and cost.
- 4
Week 4: report
Monthly report to the sponsor with proposed priorities.
SLA framework
| Severity | Example definition | Response |
|---|---|---|
| P1 | Production down or critical data corrupted | Agreed per contract |
| P2 | A critical feature is impaired | Agreed per contract |
| P3 | Non-critical disruption | Agreed per contract |
| P4 | Requests or small fixes | Added to the backlog |
Response and resolution times are set with the client in the Operate contract. Escalation runs from the technical lead to the MarkasDev owner to the client sponsor.
Operate versus reactive maintenance
Reactive maintenance waits for something to break. Operate has a rhythm: health checks, change windows, backup verification, and reports that leadership reads. Changes happen on a plan, and risks show up before they turn into incidents.
Questions about Operate
Can Operate cover a system MarkasDev did not build?
Often, after an initial check of the system, documentation, and access. The findings decide what goes on the Operate asset list.
Does Operate mean zero downtime?
No. Operate makes sure incidents are detected, coordinated, and reported to the SLA. Zero downtime is not a realistic promise for any system.
Related services
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