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Services Description  – 
Vanilla Collaborative Implementation

Scope of Services: 

Higher Logic, LLC on behalf of its wholly owned subsidiary Vanilla Forums ULC (“HLV”) will provide a guided, collaborative implementation service designed to establish a secure and scalable foundation for the Subscriber’s Vanilla Community on the HLV Vanilla platform (the “Implementation”) set forth on the applicable Order Form. 

This tier is intended for Subscribers with internal technical and/or operational resources who are prepared to actively participate in configuration decisions, content preparation, integration execution, and launch activities. 

Implementation: 

The Implementation will consist of the activities set forth below in the Phases & Activities section. For the avoidance of doubt, the Implementation will begin with the Project Kickoff meeting and upon Subscriber’s confirmation of readiness to begin the Implementation. 

Unless otherwise agreed upon during the Kickoff Call, the launch of Subscriber’s Vanilla Community is expected to take place approximately ninety (90) calendar days from the Kickoff Call (or approximately ninety (90) calendar days from the date Subscriber confirms readiness to begin the Implementation if that date is after the Kickoff Call). HLV will provide personnel to assist Subscriber with the Implementation for a period of one hundred and twenty (120) calendar days from the later of: (i) the date of the Kickoff Call, or (ii) the date that Subscriber confirms readiness to begin the Implementation (the “Implementation Period”). Using proven implementation patterns, HLV will lead discovery and Implementation planning and will facilitate structured training and working sessions to configure supported Vanilla functionality included in Subscriber’s licensed subscription. Subscriber will remain actively engaged throughout the Implementation, providing business decisions, validation, and ownership of integrations, design, and adoption activities. 

HLV will designate a single point of contact to serve as Project Manager and primary point of contact through the duration of the Implementation (the “PM”). Subscriber will designate a single point of contact to facilitate communication and/or escalations during the Implementation (the “POC”). After Implementation, Subscriber’s access to HLV Personnel may cease at HLV’s sole discretion. Should Subscriber request access to HLV’s Personnel beyond Implementation, Subscriber understands that an additional fee may apply and such request is subject to HLV’s sole discretion 

Unless otherwise agreed upon during the Kickoff Call, the target launch timeline will be established during discovery and implementation planning based on Subscriber readiness, internal resourcing, and scope alignment. 

Project Phase: 

Phases  Activities  Estimated Timeframe 
Initiation & Discovery  • Project Kickoff Meeting  1–2 weeks 
Training & Working Sessions   • Core Vanilla platform overview 
• Category structure and primary navigation 
• Roles and permissions
• Style Guide and Layout Editor 
• Settings and Configuration 
• Moderation workflows
• Gamification		 3–4 weeks 
Technical Enablement & Consultation  • One SSO consultation session led by a HLV technical resource  
• One integration consultation session led by a HLV technical resource  
• Custom Widget Builder training and hands-on working session 		 1–2 weeks 
 

Site Configuration & Build Support 

 • Admin and moderator enablement  
• Configuration walkthrough   
• Validation of Subscriber-owned configuration and integrations 		  

Subscriber driven 
Pre-Launch  • Launch readiness validation 
• Go-live planning and checklist review 		 1 week 
Launch  • Go-live support and execution  1 day (as determined by Subscriber) 
Transition to Support  • Post-launch transition meeting and next steps discussion  1 day (up to 30 days after go-live date) 

Subscriber Requirements:  

Subscriber will provide the following personnel for the duration of the Implementation Period. 

Project Owner / Point of Contact (POC): 

Subscriber will assign a single point of contact (“POC”) to function as the project coordinator and primary channel of communication throughout the Implementation. The POC will work directly with the HLV team to coordinate internal efforts, provide timely decisions, and ensure project momentum. 

Subscriber Community Stakeholder(s): 

Responsible for defining community goals, validating configuration decisions, overseeing content readiness, and learning administrative and moderation responsibilities associated with managing the community. 

Subscriber Marketing / Design Stakeholders: 

Responsible for providing branding guidelines, design assets, copy, and any visual customization applied to the community. HLV does not provide visual or UX design services as part of this Implementation. 

Subscriber IT and Data Stakeholders: 

Responsible for execution and ownership of technical work, including SSO configuration, API development, and integrations. HLV will provide consultation and guidance but will not perform custom development. 

Subscriber Responsibilities: 

Single Sign-On (SSO): 

Vanilla Community supports multiple SSO methods, including SAML (cloud-only), OAuth 2, JWT (JSON Web Tokens), and jsConnect. This Implementation includes one SSO consultation session led by a HLV technical resource, but Subscriber is responsible for configuration and execution of SSO using provided guidance and documentation, including ensuring compatibility of these SSO options with their requirements. 

Integrations: 

This Implementation includes one integration consultation session led by a HLV technical resource. Subscriber is responsible for all integration and API development, execution, and testing. 

Integration consultation is limited to advisory guidance regarding supported Vanilla APIs, authentication methods, and general best practices. Consultation sessions do not include custom code development, field mapping execution, data transformation design, third-party system configuration, live troubleshooting of external systems, or ongoing integration management. 

Vanilla is not responsible for delays, failures, performance issues, or compatibility limitations arising from systems or services beyond Vanilla’s control.  

 Subscriber Training: 

HLV will provide structured core platform training, admin and moderator enablement, and working sessions aligned to Implementation activities. Subscriber will continue to have access to HLV knowledge base documentation and training resources. Additional meetings may be scheduled as needed based on availability and scope alignment. 

Custom Domain: 

Subscriber is solely responsible for any custom domain configuration and ensuring that domains are registered to the Subscriber (as needed/required). HLV is not a domain registrar and is not responsible for managing Subscriber domain names. 

Delays: 

HLV reserves the right to reassign resources, reschedule, and/or re-prioritize the Implementation or any milestone in the event Subscriber is not responsive, does not meet readiness requirements, or requests a delay. If Subscriber inactivity exceeds thirty (30) consecutive days, HLV may suspend the Implementation and require a Change Request to resume services. 

 Assumptions: 

  • All services will be performed remotely by HLV. 
  • Services will be performed Monday through Friday during HLV’s regular business hours. 
  • Subscriber has internal resources for SSO and integrations, with documentation guidance from HLV. 
  • Subscriber will provide no fewer than two (2) business days’ notice for scheduled meetings unless otherwise agreed. 
  • All visual design, branding, and user experience (UX) responsibilities for the community are owned and executed by the Subscriber. 
  • Implementation success is dependent on Subscriber participation, timely decision-making, and completion of Subscriber responsibilities. 
  • HLV staff will not communicate with Subscriber points of contact via the Subscriber’s internal intranet or chat (ex: Slack, Teams) unless mutually agreed upon. 
  • HLV does not guarantee any specific launch date, business outcome, adoption level, engagement metric, or integration performance as part of this Implementation. 

 Out-of-Scope Services: 

The parties acknowledge and agree that the activities listed below are outside the scope of this Implementation and are not provided by HLV as part of this service tier. Any request for out-of-scope services (“Change Requests”) may be reviewed by HLV and, if approved, delivered under a separate statement of work (SOW) at an additional cost. HLV reserves the right to decline any Change Request in its sole discretion. 

Examples of Out-of-Scope Services include, but are not limited to: 

  • API creation or custom integration development 
  • Ongoing or indefinite standing meetings such as weekly status or working sessions 
  • Custom front-end or backend development 
  • Custom code, including CSS, JavaScript, or HTML 
  • Visual or UX design services 
  • Experimental, non-standard, or one-off configurations 
  • Custom reporting 
  • Product changes or enhancements 
  • Data migration, content migration, or bulk data imports 
  • Post-launch configuration changes, enhancements, optimization, or refinement beyond initial Implementation deliverables