Which contract document defines the legal terms and responsibilities between a customer and a service provider?

• A. MSA
• B. SLA
• C. NDA
• D. SOW

Answer: (A)

In cloud service contracts, the document that sets the overall legal terms and responsibilities between a customer and a service provider is the Master Service Agreement. It creates the framework for the relationship, covering general obligations such as liability, warranties, payment terms, data protection, intellectual property, confidentiality, indemnification, and termination. This umbrella agreement governs how future work is conducted and references other documents like SOWs or SLAs.

A Service Level Agreement, by contrast, focuses on performance expectations—uptime, response times, support levels and credits if those targets aren’t met. A Non-Disclosure Agreement protects confidential information. A Statement of Work specifies the specific tasks, deliverables, scope, and schedule for a particular project. Since the question asks for the document defining the legal terms and responsibilities between customer and provider, the Master Service Agreement is the best fit.