Support from SURF

Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

For handling malfunctions of infrastructure services, SURF has a helpdesk. You can report failures in your institution's network and operational actions there. The helpdesk can be reached 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via:

• 088-SURFNET (+31 88 787 36 38)
• helpdesk@surf.nl

Only for registered helpdesk callers

Please note that only if you are a registered helpdesk caller can you contact the Infrastructure Services Helpdesk. These are:

• the institution contact person (ICP)
• the institution coordinator (ICO)
• the Site Security Contact (SSC)

Additional helpdesk callers can be registered with your institution's ICP.

End users can contact their own helpdesk or their ICP with faults.

Reporting malfunctions and operational actions

You can contact the helpdesk for:

• reporting malfunctions of SURF infrastructure services
• reporting your own operational actions where relevant to the link to the SURF network (power downs, etc.).

The helpdesk does not handle malfunctions in the local network of institutions or malfunctions that do not relate to SURF's infrastructure services. For these, please contact the helpdesk at your own institution.

For other questions, please e-mail SURF Klantsupport at klantsupport@surf.nl.

Registration and processing

The helpdesk registers the malfunction and coordinates its handling. To this end, the helpdesk analyses the information received and forwards it to the appropriate management partners. They take care of the solution, if necessary in direct consultation with the customer. Furthermore, the helpdesk ensures that the customer is kept informed of the fault handling.

Questions or complaints

Questions or complaints about the helpdesk's handling of malfunctions can be reported to SURF Klantsupport: telephone number +31 88 787 30 00 or e-mail klantsupport@surf.nl.

Because it is not feasible for SURF to serve all institutions funded by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, 2 service-provider models have been developed;

• the education service providers (OSP) model for primary and secondary schools
• the cultural service providers (CSP) model for cultural institutions.

An OSP or CSP can request a connection to the SURF network by contacting SURF Klantsupport, at klantsupport@surf.nl. Any Internet service provider (ISP) or other institution or company can act as an OSP or CSP. This party is authorised to put Internet traffic on the SURF network of institutions within SURF's target group on equal terms. OSPs and CSPs are not given access to our other services; they provide their own services to schools and cultural institutions.

The Service Level Specification (SLS) is as a reference point for SURF infrastructure services. In the SLS, we have described these services as clearly and measurably as possible. NetherLight has its own Service Level Specification.

Current version

Service Level Specificatie voor SURF Diensten version 1.1 (Februari 2024)

Previous versions

• SURFnet Service Level Specification SLS version 15.0 (January 2022) (pdf)
• SURFnet Service Level Specification SLS version 14.0 (June 2021) (pdf)
• SURFnet Service Level Specification SLS version 13.0 (August 2020) (pdf)
• SURFnet Service Level Specification SLS version 12.0 (July 2019) (pdf)
• SURFnet Service Level Specification version 11.0 (May 2018) (pdf)
• SURFnet Service level specification version 11.0 (pdf)
• SURFnet Service Level Specification version 9.0 (March 2016) (pdf)
• SURFnet Service Level Specification SLS version 10.0 (October 2016) (pdf)
• SURFnet Service Level Specification version 7.0 (April 2013) (pdf)

NetherLight Service Level Specification

NetherLight has its own Service Level Specification SLS version 9.0 (March 2016) (pdf)

The License Desk Software & Cloud and the License Desk Content help you with questions about licences and products. You can contact them if your institution pays the basic fee Procurement & Digital Platforms for SURF's procurement services.

License Desk Software & Cloud

The SURF License Desk Software & Cloud team is responsible for making the complete portfolio created by the ICT Purchasing Department available correctly and on time. They are primarily the point of contact for staff at the institutions in the role of software contact person, but project managers and ict staff at institutions can also contact them.

You can contact the License Desk Software & Cloud with all your questions about:

• The My SURFmarket portal, supply, portfolio and statuses of placed orders, offers and deliveries.
• The Basic fee procurement and digital platforms, participation in contracts and tenders, templates model contracts and processing agreements and how a mini-competition works.
• The annual number registration completed by the institutions via the customer portal on the numbers of employees, students and end users.
• The terms and conditions, through a product information management system (PIM), the products and associated contracts are entered.
• The product descriptions, updates and news about the often complex licence structures and licence models.
• The product and/or functionality changes or extensions to the range. There is daily contact with providers and suppliers about this.
• Choosing the right licences, products and/or services.

Accessibility License Desk Software & Cloud

• Via our customer portal My SURFmarket
• By e-mail to software@surfmarket.nl
• By telephone on working days via +31 88 787 37 01
  • from 09:00 to 12:00 hours
  • from 13.00 to 17.00 hours

License Desk Content

• Via the customer portal ConsortiaManager
• By e-mail: c ontent@ surfmarket.nl
• By phone on working days: +31 88 787 37 02
  • from 09:00 to 12:00
  • from 13.00 to 17.00 hours

SURF reception can be reached by phone from 09.00 to 17.00 via +31 88 787 30 00. They will forward your callback request to us by e-mail.

For detailed information, see My SURFmarket page contact, questions and advice.

Do you want to buy licences for software, cloud services and content from us? Register at My SURF.

Register for education

You can register your institution to make use of our services and range of licences for software, cloud services and content. Be sure to send the necessary proof to show that your institution meets all the criteria. View the conditions.

Register an institution

Depending on the conditions, please send us a copy of the following original documents for this purpose:

• recent annual report
• recent annual accounts
• recent annual plan
• articles of association
• letters and/or statements from the ministry stating roles, subsidies, et cetera.

If you provide complete data for the proof after your registration via aanmelden@surfmarket.nl, this will significantly speed up your registration.

Register for institutions >>

SURF strives to continuously improve its services. Customer complaints play an essential role in this.

Complaint is an opportunity for improvement

Complaints provide an opportunity to change existing inaccuracies and improve existing procedures. The complaint can be a signal that the efficiency of the method used is not optimal.

A complaint about procurement services

You can submit a complaint by e-mail or by telephone to any employee of SURF. You can also use the form on our website or contact customer manager Maaike Hazewinkel directly at klachten@surfmarket.nl. We ask you to submit your complaint as soon as possible after the event that caused the complaint took place. We would like to receive the following information:

• the event(s) that gave rise to the complaint
• where and when these events took place
• why you disagree with what happened
• if possible, who the employees involved were
• your request or proposal

Complaints procedure for tenders

Do you have a complaint about a tender? First read the SURF tendering complaints procedure:

• SURF Procurement Complaints Procedure (valid from 15 April 2021).

You can submit your complaint via klachtencommissie.aanbestedingen@surf.nl.

Processing your complaint

As soon as SURF has received your complaint, you will receive confirmation thereof. SURF staff will then do their utmost to resolve your complaint. We aim to send you a response within two days. Naturally, your complaint will be dealt with confidentially.

Appeal

If you are not satisfied with the procedure and/or substantive handling of the complaint, you can lodge an appeal. You can submit your appeal to team manager Customer Management Sandra Passchier at sandra.passchier@surf.nl. She will then investigate and handle your appeal. Depending on the situation, the Customer Management team manager may assign an independent person within SURF to investigate and deal with the complaint.

SURF NOC and Helpdesk Infrastructure Services

The SURF NOC (Network Operations Centre) and Infrastructure Services Helpdesk are invested with our management partner Quanza Engineering. Quanza is responsible for operational network management.

When to call whom?

• At the Infrastructure Services Helpdesk you report malfunctions and operational actions related to the SURFnet network and SURFnet services. The SURFnet Helpdesk is always the first point of contact for institutions.
• The SURF NOC is available for questions about pending changes (changes or incidents) for which a ticket number already exists. You can reach the SURFnet NOC during office hours via noc@surf.nl and +31 88 787 36 60. Via the ticket number you can directly reach the appropriate NOC employee.

Please note: For disruptions in the local network and for disruptions not related to SURF services, please contact the helpdesk at your own institution.

Team Expert Network Management

Complex network management and special projects on the network are carried out by the Team Expert Network Management (TEN). Complex network management includes, for example, monitoring network capacity and responsibility for security. Major network renovations and complex changes at institutions affiliated to SURF are also carried out by the TEN, in consultation with Quanza.

Need support using our data or computing services or have a comment? If so, please contact us via the Service Desk.

Reach

• Service desk portal

Availability

Our helpdesk is available Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, except on the following public holidays:

• New Year's Day
• Good Friday
• Easter Monday
• King's Day (27 April)
• Ascension Day
• Whit Monday
• Christmas Day and Boxing Day
• New Year's Day

Information requested

You help us greatly by giving us as much information as possible when you submit your support request or complaint. We need at least the following information:

• your name
• your user or login name
• your e-mail address and/or telephone number

and, depending on the problem:

• the name of the computer system concerned
• the location of the jobscript
• the identification number of the batch job

Guaranteed response times

If you send your question or complaint to our service desk portal, you will receive a confirmation of receipt from us within 2 hours. You will then receive an answer or solution within 16 hours of receiving our acknowledgement. If this is not feasible, we will let you know within 16 hours. We will also give you an estimate of the time we will need to address your query or complaint.

Other response times

The guaranteed response times only apply to questions and complaints received via the service desk. If you submit your question or complaint via another e-mail address or telephone number, we will of course answer it too, but not within the guaranteed response times.

Please do not hesitate to contact us. We try to handle every question, complaint or request to the best of our ability!

ISO 27001 certification

Customers of our data and computing services must be confident that research data and other confidential information stored and processed at SURF are in safe hands. SURF is ISO 27001-certified. This means that we meet the high requirements of this international standard on information security.

General terms and conditions for data and computing services

Version 1 (pdf, May 2016) of the SURF general terms and conditions apply to agreements concluded before 16 October 2019.

Version 1.3 (pdf, 23 April 2021) of the SURF general terms and conditions apply to all agreements (including renewals) concluded from 16 October 2019 onwards.

What is tendering?

In short, tendering is the process by which a client announces that it wants to purchase a particular service from a supplier. Interested suppliers can then submit tenders. On a set date, the tender closes and the client selects the supplier that best suits the task and requirements and awards the contract to this supplier. Tendering takes place only when the value of the contract is above the tender limit.

Purchasing cooperation benefits

Jointly tendering ict contracts provides institutions with a number of advantages:

• you can be confident that all contracts purchased through SURF comply with the most up-to-date legislation and regulations;
• because of the large volume and the sharing of knowledge, capacity and experience, we guarantee an optimum contract with the best price and conditions;
• joint tendering saves you costs on your own procurement process;
• contract management can largely be left to SURF.

Tender calendar

On My SURF you can view the procurement calendar (login). After logging in, the calendar is visible to contact persons at SURF's affiliated institutions. It shows all current and future tenders. This allows you to decide in advance which tenders are interesting. This calendar shows, per ICT category, which tenders will start in the next four years and what stage current tenders are in.

Complaint about tender

Are you participating in a SURF tender procedure and do you have a complaint about it? Read the procedure for dealing with complaints about tendering:

• SURF Procurement Complaints Procedure (pdf) - valid from 15 April 2021

SURF's service covered by the outsourcing relationship is the mediation for members, enabling them to purchase services and software on the best terms. However, these services and software themselves are not covered by the procurement relationship. An institution may therefore be obliged to tender for services and software for which SURF mediates.

In the case of software and cloud services from SURF's core package, it has been agreed with institutions that SURF will take over responsibility for legality from the institutions.

Institutions pay for the performance of all activities relating to the purchase of this core package. A large part of the services are paid for on the basis of the rate set for each institution in SURF's service provision agreement. For a number of services in the core package, institutions are charged an additional amount if they purchase them.

No. SURF is not a market player and will not bid for a public tender, regardless of whether the tenderer is a member of SURF.

Yes.