8.2. Reinforcing Vendor Support

Software vendors and hardware vendors are necessary elements in the process of building systems and applications. The costs associated with buying preconfigured software, hardware, and services are usually less than building them yourself. Unfortunately, this makes you dependent on a vendor's ability to stay in business.

The following sections discuss service-level agreements and code escrow. These agreements help you protect yourself in the event that a software vendor goes out of business or you have a dispute with a maintenance provider for your systems.

8.2.1. Service-Level Agreements

A service-level agreement (SLA) is an agreement between you or your company and a service provider, typically a technical ...

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