Terms of Service

• Standard Support
• Pro Support
• Hardware Warranties
• Product Return Policy
• Product Evaluation
• Payments and Late Payment Penalties
• Consulting and Contracting Services
• Software Protection Policies
• Backup Hardware, Software Copies, and Backup Systems
• Changes to Policies

Products purchased from Serengeti include Standard Support for one full year from the date of purchase. Customer may also choose to purchase Pro Support to further ensure their successful deployment and operation of Serengeti products. Standard Support includes the following services:

Technical Support requests must be made via a web site form. Customer will receive a response within one business day of the initial request. The final resolution of the problem may take longer. Support includes assistance with installation, configuration and basic usage, including troubleshooting of hardware and software conflicts. It does not include training, programming or script development. All software and scripts included with Serengeti products or developed for a fee are supported unless provided "as is" or modified by the Customer.

Customer is also entitled to install patches and bug fixes for the version of software licensed. Upgrading to major releases, including new features, requires a Pro Support contract or purchase of an upgrade license.

Technical Support includes troubleshooting of suspected environmental conflicts, protocol errors and product defects. Serengeti staff may require the Customer to assist in diagnostic efforts, including performing tests, enabling diagnostic features and providing diagnostic and data files as needed. In order to provide this level of support, Customer personnel contacting Technical Support must be computer literate and capable of rendering such assistance. Where necessary, support requests will be escalated to senior support staff and development staff.

If a problem is deemed to be a software defect in Serengeti software, Serengeti, at its sole discretion, will do one or more of the following: a. fix the defect and provide a patch or update to the Customer; b. notify Customer that the defect has been fixed in a later version of the software; c. suggest one ore more alternatives or workarounds that will avoid the defect; d. notify the Customer that the defect will not be repaired in the foreseeable future.

Technical Support will be limited to addressing problems in the use and function of Serengeti products. If Serengeti products fail due to a conflict with the operating system, computer or other installed hardware or software, Serengeti’s obligation will be limited to assisting in the identification of the problem or ruling out Serengeti products as the cause of the problem. When problems arise from suspected incompatibilities in the communications protocol between Serengeti products and another system, Serengeti volunteers to discuss and identify the problems with the staff administering the corresponding system.

Serengeti hardware products (devices) are covered by a Hardware Warranty. Hardware is warranted to perform as designed for one year from date of purchase. Serengeti will test any device which is returned under warranty. If the device is determined to be functioning properly it will be returned to the Customer. If the device is determined to be defective, Serengeti will ship a replacement device via a standard delivery service within one business day of receiving the device from the Customer.

Serengeti will not provide support for any product used with an unsupported operating system version, used with unsupported hardware, or used in any manner other than its intended use.

Customer must obtain approval from Serengeti support staff prior to returning any product, including hardware devices.

Response times are based on Serengeti’s standard business hours of Monday through Friday, 9:30am to 6:30pm CST, excluding holidays. The actual resolution of a problem can take longer than the initial response. Shipments to non-U.S. destinations may take longer and will incur additional charges.

Pro Support contracts may be purchased on an annual basis for selected Serengeti products within one year from date of purchase. The initial support term will expire one year from the original date of purchase of the product, regardless of when the support contract was purchased. Pro Support includes all the terms of Standard Support, plus the additional services described below.

Support requests may be made via telephone. A response is guaranteed within four business hours of the initial request. The actual resolution may take longer.

Customer is entitled to upgrade their licensed software to all new releases of that software.

If covered hardware fails, the Hardware Replacement Plan is in effect. Defective hardware will be shipped via overnight delivery within one business day of problem determination for regularly stocked items. Back-ordered items may take longer to ship. Defective hardware will be replaced with identical hardware or, at the discretion of Serengeti Systems Incorporated, current comparable hardware in the event that identical hardware is no longer available.

When identical hardware is unavailable, Serengeti Systems Incorporated makes no guarantee that the replacement hardware will maintain backward compatibility with existing systems. Likewise, the Hardware Replacement Plan specifically does not cover the obsolescence of any covered Serengeti hardware by changes or upgrades in the user's PC hardware environment.

Response time guarantee entitles Customer to a refund of one month of their paid support fee if stated response time was not met.

Pro Support contracts must be purchased concurrently for all licenses of the product owned by Customer. Serengeti may, at its discretion, prorate the contract term for subsequent Pro Support contracts so that all contracts renew at the same time as previously purchased contracts.

All private label hardware sold by Serengeti (i.e., Sync/PCI, SmartSync/DCP) carry a one year part and labor limited Hardware Warranty. Third party products sold Serengeti (e.g., Hayes modems) are covered by the original manufacturer's warranty. Warranty claims for third party products will be directed to the manufacturer. If an optional Pro Level support plan has been purchased, the Hardware Replacement Plan is in force and warranties are handled in accordance to the terms of the plan. See preceding sections for more about technical support and warranty options.

All Serengeti products are warranted to function properly and to serve their represented purpose. If for any reason a Customer elects to return a Serengeti product in good condition within 30 days following purchase, any payment made will be credited, less shipping costs, and any unpaid bill will be adjusted to reverse all charges other than shipping costs. Customer agrees to provide Serengeti's Sales staff with a full explanation of any such return.

Software held by a customer beyond 30 days following licensing may be accepted for return at Serengeti's sole discretion, on a case-by-case basis. Hardware held beyond 30 days, if accepted for return, will be subject to Hardware Restocking Fee (see below).

All amounts paid for annual support plans are non-refundable.

Customers may request products for evaluation for a finite period. Serengeti will evaluate each request on a case-by-case basis to determine if an evaluation is appropriate. Serengeti may at any time demand return of product under evaluation. Evaluation product not returned within 30 days or within the agreed upon period or following a request by Serengeti for its return will be considered to have been purchased and an invoice will be issued accordingly.

Customers paying on credit terms agree that the meaning of "Net 30" is that Serengeti is to receive payment within 30 days OR LESS from date of delivery. Failure to pay within 30 days subjects Customer to loss of credit approval and loss of discounts for future orders, even if committed in writing. Serengeti may further withhold Technical Support and/or disregard Hardware Warranty commitments on behalf of customers in arrears, until their accounts are brought current.

If payment is not received within 30 days following product delivery, Serengeti reserves the right to press for collection of the full value of the invoice at list price, with any discounts being forfeited, plus interest or late fee equal to 1.5% of the unpaid balance for each 30 days or fraction thereof during which it remains unpaid, retroactive to original billing date. If use of a collection agency or formal legal action are required in order to recover payment, Customer is further liable for reimbursement to Serengeti of all collection agency fees, attorneys’ fees and/or court fees, plus any additional expenses incurred in preparation of testimony and/or travel to testify before a court, to the fullest extent allowed by prevailing law in force at Customer’s location.

Serengeti retains experienced Consulting, Technical Support, and Development personnel qualified to assist users in areas ranging from communications network design through hands-on development of scripts, application programs, and in some cases customization of Serengeti products. Hourly rates are available for consulting and contract staff, either onsite or offsite, in units of no less than eight hours. Many projects can be performed in Serengeti’s offices without travel, at hourly billable rates or under firm fixed price contract based on specifications. For onsite consulting, the Customer must agree to bear reasonable costs of Travel and Living plus one staff day for travel time within the U.S. Central time zone, two days elsewhere in North or South America, and three days in all other locations.

Serengeti used various means to protects its software assets from unauthorized replication and piracy both deliberate and inadvertent. This is accomplished through three methods: (1) linking software to specific hardware required for the software to function; (2) keying the software to the host machine on which it runs where there is no Serengeti hardware to link the software to; or (3) linking the software to a "dongle", a physical device that must be installed on the computer in order for the software to function.

In keying software, Serengeti issues a key based on the host machine’s characteristics. This key cannot be used to enable the software on a different machine without the issuance of a replacement key. Serengeti permits a user to transfer the software from one machine to another by invalidating the prior key and issuing a new key. The user is obligated to provide Serengeti with a valid removal key generated by the software before a replacement key will be issued. Customers with environments where frequent reinstallation makes software keying overly inconvenient may elect to purchase dongles as an alternative. Dongles are an added cost item. In installations where either a Serengeti hardware component or a dongle accompany the software, the tangible product, available from Serengeti alone, is adequate protection for Serengeti.

Serengeti recognizes that many organizations using its products cannot afford to be without data transfer capability for even a single day, and that lost time can represent an unacceptable hardship. Serengeti encourages Customer contingency planning, and underwrites it by discounting product used for backup purposes and encouraging software media protection. Serengeti cannot be responsible for lack of appropriate contingency planning on the Customer’s part. Therefore Serengeti encourages its customers to maintain backup product and software copies appropriate to their needs, subject to definitions and limitations described below:

System Backup: A customer who loses a hardware board or the machine on which a Serengeti product runs is unable to process until he has installed a replacement board and/or brought up an entire new machine and reinstalled the Serengeti software, preceded by reinstallation of Serengeti hardware if applicable. Serengeti does not claim that its hardware boards can never fail. Communication board failures, however, are statistically rare in comparison to other computer failures. Because a computer is dependent on ALL of its components parts, it can fail due to failure of any one: a power source, memory chip, hard drive, motherboard, video adapter, etc.

Although a machine reinstallation can be accomplished within as little as a half day provided all goes well, it can occur at an inopportune time and sometimes may take two days or more to resolve. For this reason, combined with the fact that Serengeti’s hardware boards are "key" to Serengeti’s complete product, Serengeti maintains a policy of NOT selling "shelf backup" hardware boards without software. For most customers, that solution is only marginally of benefit. Instead, a customer for whom backup is essential is encouraged to maintain a full system backup on a separate PC, installed and tested and "ready to go", and although not used for regular processing, available to be pressed into service instantly if and when required.

Backup product may be purchased at a discount from list price. The Customer must commit to use a Backup product for reserve backup purposes only and not for either additional processing capacity nor for "peak processing" capability. Except for testing, it should not be placed in service while the machine with the original software installed is running.

Software Copies: Serengeti software is supplied with a key code that uniquely identifies the software. It is delivered either by download or on CD media. The Customer is authorized to make as many backup copies of Serengeti software as is necessary to ensure recovery, on whatever media he selects.

Customers who delete or overwrite a software installation for any reason whatsoever, or who lose the hard disk on which it is installed, and who do not have the original media or adequate backup, will need to approach Serengeti for replacement software. If the same release is still shipping or if it is within one year of its original licensing, Serengeti will make the software available for download at no cost to Customer. A customer in the same situation who requires replacement media on CD will be charged a Lost Media fee of $45. More than one year from the Customer’s original licensing, if the currently shipping release has been upgraded from the release originally licensed to the Customer, the Customer will be required to pay a software upgrade fee (see Software Upgrade Policy above), whether or not the Customer actually requires such upgrade for any functional purpose. The same policy applies if the Customer has the original media but it has been damaged in such a way as to make it unusable. For this reason Serengeti Systems strongly encourages all customers to back up their media.

Serengeti reserves the right to change prices and policies at any time. Under normal circumstances, Serengeti will honor the prices and policies in effect at the time of licensing for 30 days following licensing.