Cloud B2B takes the protection, availability and continuity of customer systems seriously. Live customer systems are hosted on Microsoft Azure virtual machines within the UK South region and supported by core infrastructure across multiple UK regions.

Azure platform resilience is combined with an independent off-site backup service provided through Acronis Cloud Backup. This multi-layer approach is designed to protect customer systems against hardware failure, service disruption and wider recovery scenarios, while our UK-based team provides ongoing support and practical assistance throughout the life of the system.

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Service Levels and Platform Availability

Platform Availability

Live customer systems are hosted on Microsoft Azure virtual machines. Azure provides a 99.9% uptime service level agreement for virtual machines, helping provide a resilient and dependable foundation for Cloud B2B business systems.

Planned maintenance, customer network issues, third-party services and circumstances outside Cloud B2B's reasonable control are not included within this platform availability commitment. Any service levels that apply specifically to your system will be confirmed within your agreement and system specification.

What the Service Covers

The standard Cloud B2B service covers the core application, agreed workflows and the supporting infrastructure required to operate the system.

Access to the core Cloud B2B web application.
Core workflows, approvals, searches and reporting.
Approved API and integration services where included in the customer solution.
Infrastructure monitoring, backup and recovery processes.

Service Exclusions

Some events and issues fall outside the standard service availability commitment because they are not directly controlled by Cloud B2B.

Planned maintenance communicated in advance where practical.
Customer internet, local network or device issues.
Third-party outages or integrations outside Cloud B2B's control.
Issues caused by unauthorised customer changes or use outside the agreed configuration.

Support Response Targets

We categorise support requests into three priority levels so expectations are clear and issues can be addressed according to their operational impact. The priority assigned to a request is based on how significantly it affects the customer's ability to use the system and complete essential business processes.

High Priority

Issues that significantly affect the ability to operate the system or complete core business activities.

Examples may include system errors preventing users from creating or approving transactions, or major functionality not operating as expected.
Target resolution: one working day.
During active incidents, our team prioritises investigation and resolution until service is restored or a confirmed workaround is provided.

Medium Priority

Issues affecting part of the system where users can continue working, potentially with a workaround.

Examples may include individual features not behaving as expected, integration delays or issues affecting a limited number of users.
Target resolution: two working days.
These issues are investigated in priority order after high priority incidents and resolved within the target timeframe wherever possible.

Low Priority

Requests that do not materially affect day-to-day operations or where a straightforward workaround is available.

Examples may include usability questions, minor display issues, configuration advice or general guidance.
Target resolution: within five working days.
These requests are handled through the standard support queue and addressed within the target timeframe wherever possible.

Standard support hours: Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5:00pm UK time, excluding UK public holidays.

What our clients say about us

If you want to work with a team who are innovative, dedicated and listen to your needs then you should talk to Cloud B2B, I'm glad we did.
— Dan Richards, Bimson Haulage

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Secure UK Azure Hosting and Resilience

Primary Hosting Location

All live customer systems are hosted on Microsoft Azure virtual machines within the UK South region. This provides UK-based hosting on established Microsoft cloud infrastructure while allowing Cloud B2B to manage and support each customer environment according to its agreed requirements.

Azure Virtual Machine Hosting

Customer applications and services operate on Azure virtual machines in the UK South region. Azure provides a 99.9% uptime service level agreement for virtual machines.

Multi-Region Infrastructure

Domain controllers and other internal core infrastructure servers are hosted across multiple UK regions to provide additional operational resilience.

Locally Redundant Storage

Azure Locally Redundant Storage maintains three synchronous copies of data within a single data centre, helping protect systems against local hardware failure.

Independent Off-Site Backup Protection

In addition to Azure's built-in platform redundancy, Cloud B2B uses Acronis Cloud Backup as an independent off-site backup service. Backup data is held in physically separate data centres from the primary Azure environment, providing an additional layer of protection for disaster recovery and system restoration.

Backup Coverage

The backup service covers production, development, test and internal infrastructure servers. Backup types include SQL transaction-safe backups and full virtual machine snapshots, helping preserve both application data and the wider server environment required for recovery.

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Backup Frequency, Retention and Recovery

Cloud B2B operates a defined backup schedule to support both short-term recovery and longer-term system resilience. Backups are maintained independently from the primary hosting environment and retained according to the following schedule.

Hourly Backups

SQL transaction-safe backups.
Full server-level snapshots.

Weekly Backups

Weekly recovery points are retained for 12 weeks.
Provides additional protection beyond the short-term hourly backup window.

Monthly Backups

Monthly recovery points are retained for three months.
Supports longer-term recovery requirements within the published retention schedule.

Recovery Point Objective

The Recovery Point Objective (RPO) is up to one hour. This means that, in the unlikely event of a serious failure, the maximum potential data loss is normally limited to the period since the most recent hourly backup.

Recovery Time Objective

The Recovery Time Objective (RTO) is typically four to eight business hours for a full system restore. Actual recovery time may vary depending on the nature, scope and complexity of the incident.

Backup Security and GDPR Data Handling

Encrypted Backups

Backup data is encrypted using AES-256 encryption.
Encryption is applied both in transit and at rest.
Quantum-safe protocols are used within the backup service.

Defined Retention Periods

Hourly backups are retained for 14 days.
Weekly backups are retained for 12 weeks.
Monthly backups are retained for three months.

Secure Data Deletion

Expired backup data is securely deleted in line with GDPR principles.
Following service termination, customer data and backups are deleted after the applicable retention periods.

Customer Responsibilities and Restore Limitations

Cloud B2B backups are maintained for infrastructure resilience, system recovery and disaster recovery. They are not designed to replace application-level version control, document history or customer-managed record retention processes.
Requests to restore files, documents or records following customer error, such as accidental deletion, fall outside the standard backup service. Where technically possible, these restores can be investigated and provided as an additional chargeable service.

Security Controls and Operational Assurance

Data Protection

Customer systems and backup data are protected through UK-based hosting, independent backup storage and strong encryption controls.

Customer systems are hosted within Microsoft Azure's UK South region.
Independent backups are stored separately from the primary Azure environment.
Backup data is encrypted both in transit and at rest.

Access and Accountability

Access to each customer system is controlled through defined permissions, supported by audit trails and UK-based technical management.

System access is controlled according to defined user roles and permissions.
Approvals, changes and key administrative actions can be recorded through system audit trails.
Customer environments are managed by Cloud B2B's UK-based technical team.

Operational Management

System changes, support incidents and recovery processes are managed through controlled operational procedures.

Changes and releases are managed through controlled development and deployment processes.
Support incidents are prioritised according to their operational impact.
Backup restoration is tested through normal support and development activity.

UK Dedicated Support & Development

Support is included at no additional cost with our off-the-shelf packages. In addition to standard support, customers with customised systems maintain an annual Support Bank. This is a pre-purchased allocation of support hours that can be used for assistance falling outside standard system fault resolution.

The Support Bank provides a flexible way to access help, guidance and small system changes without needing to raise a formal change request or establish a separate project for every requirement.

How the Support Bank Works

Our off-the-shelf packages include support at no additional cost. For tailored and customised systems, each customer purchases an agreed number of support hours on an annual basis. The Support Bank renews each year as part of the support agreement. Any unused hours are carried forward to the following year, allowing organisations to build a reserve for future support requirements.

Support time is only deducted when assistance falls outside the scope of standard system fault resolution.

Typical Use Cases

Support Bank hours are commonly used for items such as:

User assistance where an issue is caused by configuration or user error.
Guidance on system usage or administrative tasks.
Small configuration adjustments.
Minor system changes.
Report adjustments or small data tasks.
Chargeable customer-error restore requests where recovery is technically possible.

This approach allows customers to access practical help from the support team without needing to initiate a formal project or change process.

Secure UK Data Storage

Systems hosted on our secure private cloud using Azure UK infrastructure.
Secure access provided through SSL encrypted connections.
Automatic additional backup to the Acronis platform for resilience.

Access Anywhere

Access the full, web-based software from any internet enabled device, including smartphones and tablets.
No equipment or software installations needed, allowing for quick and simple implementation.

Concurrent User Licensing

More cost effective than assigning individual licenses, helping reduce costs as staff change.
Licenses are shared across users based on active sessions, giving greater flexibility for your business.

Full UK Support

Cloud B2B delivers UK-based support through a secure web portal.
Dedicated support access is provided for your power users.
Use the portal to view account details and billing information.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where are Cloud B2B customer systems hosted?

All live customer systems are hosted on Microsoft Azure virtual machines within the UK South region. Core infrastructure servers are also distributed across multiple UK regions to provide additional resilience.

What uptime service level applies to the hosting platform?

Microsoft Azure provides a 99.9% uptime service level agreement for the virtual machines used to host live customer systems. Any service levels applying specifically to your Cloud B2B system will be confirmed in your agreement and system specification.

How does Azure protect against hardware failure?

Azure Locally Redundant Storage maintains three synchronous copies of data within a single data centre. This provides resilience against local hardware failure within the primary hosting environment.

Does Cloud B2B use an independent off-site backup service?

Yes. Cloud B2B uses Acronis Cloud Backup as an independent backup service. Backup data is stored in physically separate data centres from the primary Microsoft Azure environment, providing an additional layer of recovery protection.

How frequently are customer systems backed up?

SQL transaction-safe backups and full server-level snapshots are taken hourly and retained for 14 days. Weekly backups are retained for 12 weeks, and monthly backups are retained for three months.

What systems are included in the backup service?

Backup coverage includes production, development, test and internal infrastructure servers. The service uses both SQL transaction-safe backups and full virtual machine snapshots.

What is Cloud B2B's Recovery Point Objective?

The Recovery Point Objective, or RPO, is up to one hour. This is the maximum amount of recent data, measured in time, that could potentially be lost in the unlikely event of a serious system failure.

What is Cloud B2B's Recovery Time Objective?

The Recovery Time Objective, or RTO, is typically four to eight business hours for a full system restore. Actual restoration times can vary according to the nature and scope of the incident.

Are backup restores tested?

Yes. Client system-level test restores are performed as part of normal support and development processes to help verify that systems and data can be recovered when required.

How are backups encrypted?

Backups are encrypted using AES-256 encryption with quantum-safe protocols. Encryption is applied both while backup data is being transferred and while it is stored.

How long is backup data retained?

Hourly backups are retained for 14 days, weekly backups for 12 weeks and monthly backups for three months. Once the applicable retention period ends, the backup data is securely deleted in line with GDPR principles.

What happens to customer data when a service ends?

Following termination of services, associated customer data and backups are securely deleted after the applicable retention periods have expired.

Can backups be used to restore accidentally deleted records?

Backups are primarily maintained for system recovery and infrastructure resilience rather than document-level versioning or individual record restoration. Customer-error restores, such as recovery following accidental deletion, can be investigated as an additional chargeable service where technically possible.

What happens if there is a service interruption?

Support incidents are prioritised according to their operational impact. High priority issues are investigated as a priority, with the team working to restore service or provide a confirmed workaround as quickly as possible.

What support hours are available?

Standard support is available Monday to Friday, from 8:30am to 5:00pm UK time, excluding UK public holidays.

How quickly are support requests resolved?

Resolution targets depend on operational impact. High priority incidents have a target resolution of one working day, medium priority issues two working days and low priority requests within five working days, wherever possible.

What is the Support Bank?

The Support Bank is a pre-purchased allocation of annual support hours, applicable to custom and tailored systems, that can be used for guidance, configuration assistance, small system changes, report adjustments, data tasks and other non-fault-related requests.

Off-the-shelf systems include support at no extra cost, and therefore do not require a support bank.

Do unused Support Bank hours expire?

Unused Support Bank hours are carried forward into the following year as part of the ongoing support agreement.