"The Commission has identified four specific practices that may distort competition. SAP requires customers to purchase maintenance and support for all their on‑premises ERP software directly from SAP. Additionally, they must select the same type of support for all software under the same pricing conditions. According to the Commission, this requirement prevents companies from combining different providers with different prices and support levels. This would be beneficial for many organizations, but SAP's policy does not allow this "mix-and-match" model."
"Other companies also provide maintenance and support for SAP's on‑premises ERP software, often at better commercial terms. SAP's practices are said to hinder this competition. In addition, customers cannot terminate maintenance and support for unused software licenses. This means that they continue to pay for services they do not use. SAP also systematically extends the initial term of ERP licenses, making it impossible to terminate support. Finally, SAP charges recovery costs and backlogged maintenance costs to customers who return after an absence"
"The European Commission has launched a formal investigation into SAP. The investigation will examine the company's practices regarding maintenance and support for on‑premises ERP software. The German software company is alleged to restrict customers' choices and hinder competition with external providers. According to the preliminary assessment, SAP holds a dominant position in the European Economic Area's aftermarket for maintenance and support of on‑premises ERP software. The company is alleged to be abusing this position to restrict competition from external providers."
The European Commission opened a formal investigation into SAP's maintenance and support practices for on‑premises ERP software across the European Economic Area. The Commission's preliminary assessment finds SAP dominant in the aftermarket for such services and alleges abuse to restrict competition from external providers. SAP offers ERP for finance, HR and project management both on‑premises and via cloud, together with maintenance and support. The Commission identified four problematic practices: mandatory purchase of all maintenance and support from SAP under uniform pricing, prohibition of mixing providers, inability to terminate support for unused licenses due to systematic licence term extensions, and charging recovery and backlog costs for returning customers.
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