SAP Makes It Easier For Customers To Shop For Legacy Product Support, Ending EU Antitrust Probe (theregister.com)
(Friday July 10, 2026 @05:00PM (BeauHD)
from the fine-averted dept.)
- Reference: 0184390582
- News link: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/26/07/10/0846241/sap-makes-it-easier-for-customers-to-shop-for-legacy-product-support-ending-eu-antitrust-probe
- Source link: https://www.theregister.com/software/2026/07/09/sap-makes-it-easier-for-customers-to-shop-for-legacy-product-support-ending-eu-antitrust-probe/5269437
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Register:
> The European Commission has ended an investigation into possible anticompetitive practices after SAP [1]agreed to abolish reinstatement fees and reduce back-maintenance fees . The move could reduce barriers for customers considering third-party support for products nearing the end of their vendor support terms, including thousands of large businesses that rely on SAP ERP Central Component (ECC) to run their business operations. SAP's mainstream support for ECC ends in December 2027, while customers can opt for extended maintenance until December 2030 by paying an additional two percentage points on their maintenance fees. The most recent figures from Gartner showed that in Q4 2024 [2]only 39 percent of worldwide ECC customers -- from a total of 35,000 -- had bought or subscribed to licenses to start their transition to SAP S/4HANA, the replacement ERP product.
>
> In September last year, the European Commission launched a formal investigation into SAP's behavior in the aftermarket for maintenance and support services in Europe. It said it was responding to concerns that SAP restricted competition in this crucial aftermarket by making it harder for rivals to compete, leaving European customers with fewer choices and higher costs. In October, SAP published its response. "SAP's commitments aim at improving the financial attractiveness for customers who wish to reinstate SAP maintenance and support services. Thus, future costs associated with reinstatement will not financially prevent customers from choosing to terminate SAP maintenance and support for a given period of time," the document [3]said (PDF).
>
> SAP has now agreed to abolish reinstatement fees and reduce back maintenance fees charged to customers who return to SAP's support after a period of absence, the Commission confirmed. It also agreed to clarify conditions that allow customers to choose different maintenance and support service providers and different levels of support from SAP. The agreement is relevant to customers considering third-party support to extend their use of ECC beyond vendor maintenance. For example, last year, European retailer Kingfisher -- owner of well-known UK brands B&Q and Screwfix -- told a Gartner conference it had chosen Rimini Street to support ECC 6.0 because it saw insufficient value in migrating to SAP S/4HANA. [...] The commitments offered by SAP will remain in force globally for ten years.
[1] https://www.theregister.com/software/2026/07/09/sap-makes-it-easier-for-customers-to-shop-for-legacy-product-support-ending-eu-antitrust-probe/5269437
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/20/sap_sees_little_progress_in/
[3] https://ec.europa.eu/competition/antitrust/cases1/202546/AT_40823_7008.pdf
> The European Commission has ended an investigation into possible anticompetitive practices after SAP [1]agreed to abolish reinstatement fees and reduce back-maintenance fees . The move could reduce barriers for customers considering third-party support for products nearing the end of their vendor support terms, including thousands of large businesses that rely on SAP ERP Central Component (ECC) to run their business operations. SAP's mainstream support for ECC ends in December 2027, while customers can opt for extended maintenance until December 2030 by paying an additional two percentage points on their maintenance fees. The most recent figures from Gartner showed that in Q4 2024 [2]only 39 percent of worldwide ECC customers -- from a total of 35,000 -- had bought or subscribed to licenses to start their transition to SAP S/4HANA, the replacement ERP product.
>
> In September last year, the European Commission launched a formal investigation into SAP's behavior in the aftermarket for maintenance and support services in Europe. It said it was responding to concerns that SAP restricted competition in this crucial aftermarket by making it harder for rivals to compete, leaving European customers with fewer choices and higher costs. In October, SAP published its response. "SAP's commitments aim at improving the financial attractiveness for customers who wish to reinstate SAP maintenance and support services. Thus, future costs associated with reinstatement will not financially prevent customers from choosing to terminate SAP maintenance and support for a given period of time," the document [3]said (PDF).
>
> SAP has now agreed to abolish reinstatement fees and reduce back maintenance fees charged to customers who return to SAP's support after a period of absence, the Commission confirmed. It also agreed to clarify conditions that allow customers to choose different maintenance and support service providers and different levels of support from SAP. The agreement is relevant to customers considering third-party support to extend their use of ECC beyond vendor maintenance. For example, last year, European retailer Kingfisher -- owner of well-known UK brands B&Q and Screwfix -- told a Gartner conference it had chosen Rimini Street to support ECC 6.0 because it saw insufficient value in migrating to SAP S/4HANA. [...] The commitments offered by SAP will remain in force globally for ten years.
[1] https://www.theregister.com/software/2026/07/09/sap-makes-it-easier-for-customers-to-shop-for-legacy-product-support-ending-eu-antitrust-probe/5269437
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/20/sap_sees_little_progress_in/
[3] https://ec.europa.eu/competition/antitrust/cases1/202546/AT_40823_7008.pdf
Customer Service (Score:2)
by Spinlock_1977 ( 777598 )
So sad that huge companies have to be sued or otherwise legally threatened, in order to get them to treat their customers fairly. Makes you wonder how they got so big in the first place, and whether they will stay that way much longer.
So, what did they do? (Score:2)
by sabbede ( 2678435 )
How were they preventing people from using 3rd party support?
God damn the EU (Score:2)
and their crazy probes into American tech! Won't Trump do something to save the American company SAP from the evil EUSSR! Hit the EU with tariffs for going after such an amazing American institution. This attack on American tech is like a war on everything American. Why can't the EU innovate and compete with great American companies! /s
Re: (Score:2)
Last I heard SAP was based in Germany.