1. Production
   The live system used by clients, students, employers, and other end users.

1. UAT (User Acceptance Testing)
   Accessible to clients and the GTI Customer Support team. Details are outlined below.

1. TEST
   Used exclusively by GTI to validate candidate releases before they move to UAT. This environment is not available to clients.

What is the UAT environment for?

1. Configuration and Setup
   GTI works with new clients to define system configuration, rules, and customisations.

1. Release Validation
   Latest updates are deployed here for testing on real client configurations before moving to Production.

1. Client Testing
   Clients can trial new configurations or unused functionality safely before applying them to Production.

1. Integration Testing
   Validate new technical integrations or changes to existing ones prior to Production deployment.

1. Safe Exploration
   A sandbox for checking features without impacting the live system or sending real emails.

UAT environments are only available between 7am and 7pm GMT/BST. A different UAT environment is configured for Australian clients to ensure they still have access to a sandbox environment.

Deployment Process

1. Initial Setup
   Your first instance is deployed on the Production environment to provide a stable base for configuration.

1. UAT Instance Creation
   Once your Production instance is live, we create a UAT instance using a snapshot of your live configuration.

1. Safe Testing
   You can then use your UAT instance freely without affecting the live system.

Will we always have two environments?

How are emails handled in UAT?

1. You can redirect all emails to a specified address via: Maintenance > System Settings > Email Settings
2. If no redirect is set, all emails will fail by default to ensure they are not sent to real recipients.