Exit Management

The following terms are used throughout this document.

Client Leaver Checklist

The checklist of tasks carried out during a Client Exit.

Contract Expiry

The date on which a contract is naturally due to expire.

Exit Plan

The exit, this plan and any checklists and specific plans drawn up to manage the exit.

Exit Request

The point at which a termination is requested, triggering the Notice Period.

Hosted Services

Services, either purchased by the Client or provided as standard by GOSS Interactive, that are hosted by GOSS Interactive or hosted by a supplier to GOSS Interactive but managed and maintained by GOSS Interactive.

Notice Period

The period between Exit Request and Point of Exit.

Point of Exit

The date on which exit takes place.

Post Exit Phase

A defined period after the Point of Exit when certain tasks are carried out. These often relate to the winding down of Hosted services.

Self-Hosted

Services hosted by the Client or their chosen supplier, not directly managed or maintained by GOSS Interactive.

Termination

The act of terminating a contract.

The Exit Plan is managed on behalf of GOSS Interactive by a relevant member of the Account Management Team. Should it not be appropriate for the Client's regular Account Manager to oversee this process then another member of that team will fulfil the role.

In managing this process, the Account Manager will be the main point of contact for the Client. They will coordinate the relevant departments at GOSS Interactive, including, but not limited to, Finance, Project Management, Hosting, Client Support and Sales and Marketing, ensuring that their relevant tasks and responsibilities are completed on time and accurately. These departments will make resource available to carry out the tasks defined in the Client Leaver Checklist.

In carrying out the role as main point of contact the Account Manager will coordinate meetings with the Client as necessary. Attendance at, and the scheduling of, meetings and conference calls may be delegated to the manager of the relevant department to ensure that direct communication is maintained.

The Exit Plan will be monitored by the Account Manager throughout the Notice Period, up to the Point of Exit and during the Post Exit Phase. The aim of Exit Governance is to ensure that all phases of the Exit Plan are carried out, and that the spirit as well as the letter of the plan is followed.

Throughout the Exit Plan the exit will remain confidential.

From the receipt of the Exit Request, throughout the Notice Period, until the Point of Exit is reached, regular contracted services will continue.

Maintained Services

Maintained Services, depending on contract, may include:

• Continued provision of Hosted Services
• Continued adherence to contractual SLAs
• Continued provision of Support and Maintenance
• Continued access to documentation and resources
• Continued access to Subversion (SVN) and/or GitLab
• Continued access to FTP services
• Continued access to stored client data
• Continued status as a Client for access to and receipt of Sales and Marketing material
• Continued access to shared systems such as Jira

Continuity of Relationships

When an Exit Request is received there will be no change in the Teams or Departments at GOSS Interactive that are responsible for service delivery. Clients in the Exit Notice Period are treated as active Clients and can expect the same level of service as delivered prior to the Exit Request.

Parallel Services

Should it be required, GOSS Interactive may be able to offer parallel service provision. This option should be discussed with the Account Manager when the Exit Request is made. Parallel services may include, but are not limited to, the maintenance of an existing website on an alternative URL while transition is made to a new hosting provider, continuation of hosted services which are utilised on an alternate third party site, or the provision of resources and tools in parallel with a new provider to assist with knowledge or data transfer.

The nature of the services offered by GOSS Interactive often involves the storage of client data. GOSS Interactive treats the security and privacy of data during handling and storage with the highest priority.

Data Held in GOSS Systems

Data relating to (but not necessarily owned by) a Client will be present in the systems used by GOSS Interactive. These systems are often specific to the departments at GOSS Interactive that use them. The destruction or archiving of the data held in these systems is the responsibility of the relevant department at GOSS Interactive, overseen by the Account Manager, as set out in the model Client Leaver Checklist.

Data on the GOSS Website or in GOSS Publications

As well as data held in systems used by GOSS Interactive, client data may also be present on the corporate GOSS Interactive website or present in GOSS Publications. This data may be:

• Secure information in the "Client Resource Area"
• Marketing material, such as the "List of GOSS Clients"
• Quotes from the Client used in areas like "Training Feedback"

The GOSS Interactive website is maintained by the GOSS Marketing Department and data within the website will be removed as set out in the model Client Leaver Checklist.

Data published in GOSS Publications will be removed as new editions of those publications are produced. This data will typically be of a marketing nature and will generally be limited to Client logos or quotes used with permission.

Hosted Data

As a hosting provider GOSS Interactive stores data owned by the Client. This data may be held in a database, media files, secure storage area or in a shared repository.

The transfer method of this data will be confirmed with the Client during the Exit Plan. The preferred transfer method of GOSS Interactive is secure FTP. Any other secure methods of transfer may incur additional cost and will need to be agreed as part of the Exit Request.

In line with the model Client Leaver Checklist, GOSS Interactive will transfer data from GOSS Hosted Services to the Client at the Point of Exit. This data may include:

• The GOSS iCM database of the hosted Production (Live) website
• Third party databases hosted by GOSS Interactive for the Client
• Media items used by the hosted Production (Live) website uploaded via GOSS iCM
• Files held in website specific storage areas accessible via FTP or GOSS iCM's "File Manager" in the hosted Production (Live) environment
• Files held on the GOSS Interactive Client FTP Server
• Any logs generated by the website (such as HTTPS logs) that may be relevant

For data held in shared repositories that the Client has access to, it will be assumed that the Client retrieves a copy of this data prior to it being archived or destroyed by GOSS Interactive.

Data held in Test, Pre-Production, Development, QA or Local environments are subject to the same data handling procedures as the Production (Live) environment. Unless specifically requested, data in these environments will be destroyed without copies being given to the Client.

Disposal of Data

Anything that contains data is destroyed in line with our ISO27001 procedures. The GOSS ISO27001 certified Security Manual details the processes adopted by the business for the secure disposal of any hardware/software/tapes/data throughout GOSS Interactive. All removable media such as CDROM, USB, flash drive, hard-drive etc is reformatted and/or destroyed before disposal following the GOSS Disposal of Asset procedure. Hard copies of confidential documents are disposed of appropriately when no longer required by secure shredding.

Client Property

Client property held by GOSS Interactive, such as laptops required for remote access or RSA Tokens, will be returned to the Client in line with their own procedures and requirements. The Client will be responsible for arranging the return of client property.

Arrears Owing to GOSS Interactive

The client is responsible for ensuring payment of all outstanding invoices is in accordance with the payment terms, as stated on the invoice(s), and prior to requesting the return of any of their property.

Pre-Paid Services

Depending on the existing contractual agreements between GOSS Interactive and their client, there may be a pro-rata refund due in relation to any part of the services that are partially terminated, as part of the exit request.

The client's Account Manager will liaise with the finance department to establish the amount of the refund.

Throughout the Notice Period the Client will have access to the same resources as they had prior to the Exit Request. Support during the Notice Period will be handled in line with the Client's active Support Contract.

Documentation

All documentation created during a contract remains the property of GOSS Interactive. Copies will be provided to the Client upon request.

Training

The provision of training to replacement suppliers should be discussed with the Account Manager upon the Exit Request. GOSS Interactive typically delivers training on GOSS Products and Services so the requirement for training is unlikely.

Where the Client has given GOSS Interactive access to shared service accounts it will be the Client's responsibility to revoke such access.

Where GOSS Interactive have been given access to services hosted by the Client or one of their suppliers it will be the Client's responsibility to revoke such access.

Examples of GOSS access may include:

• Access to the Client's Google Analytics Data
• User accounts on non-GOSS support systems
• User accounts on third-party systems that integrate with GOSS Products and Services
• The whitelisting of GOSS IP addresses giving access to normally restricted services
• Online discussion forms, social media and other communication channels

Additional Services

The following services are not considered standard deliverables upon Termination of a contract.

Data Extraction

The client will be provided with copies of their GOSS iCM Database. Extracting data from the database will be the responsibility of the client. Assistance may be provided by GOSS Interactive on request.

Data Migration

GOSS Interactive does not provide tools to migrate data from GOSS Products and Services to replacement systems. Assistance may be provided by GOSS Interactive on request.

Certificate of Destruction

On completion of the Exit Plan and Client Leaver Checklist a Certificate of Destruction can be issued if requested. 

Timescales

Notice periods for the Termination of a contract are set out in those contracts. An example of standard timescales is listed in the checklist below.

Example Exit