{"id":25681,"date":"2026-07-09T18:08:54","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T17:08:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/telecomkh.info\/?p=25681"},"modified":"2026-07-09T18:08:54","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T17:08:54","slug":"the-european-commission-accepts-binding-commitments-by-sap-to-address-competition-concerns-about-services-for-its-popular-business-management-software","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/telecomkh.info\/?p=25681","title":{"rendered":"The European Commission accepts binding commitments by SAP to address competition concerns about services for its popular business management software"},"content":{"rendered":"

The European Commission has accepted commitments from SAP to address EU competition concerns relating to its aftermarket support services for on-premises Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software<\/strong><\/p>\n

These commitments are now legally binding under EU antitrust rules.
\nMore specifically, SAP will:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Clarify the conditions for splitting customers’ SAP landscape into separate parts, allowing customers to choose different maintenance and support (M&S) service providers, different levels of support from SAP, or none at all for each part;<\/p>\n

\u2022 Allow customers to terminate their licences and the respective M&S fees in the following specific scenarios:
\no For products in the final M&S stage in which SAP provides reduced services;
\no For failed implementation projects where the responsibility for the failure is on SAP;
\no In case of customers’ insolvency or bankruptcy;
\no In case of workforce reduction of 10% or more over a period of two years customers will have the possibility to reduce 10% of their licences and related M&S costs;
\no In case of divestiture of a business, customers will be able to transfer the licences to the buyer; transfer part of the licences to the buyer and terminate the remainder, or terminate all the licences if the buyer has no need for SAP software;<\/p>\n

\u2022 Give wider access to single-metric contracts, which provide an alternative way for calculating the licence fees based on which M&S fees are calculated in turn;<\/p>\n

\u2022 Clarify its contractual provisions regarding the initial licence term, during which customers cannot terminate their support contracts, and refrain from restarting a new term for every additional licence purchase;<\/p>\n

\u2022 Abolish reinstatement fees and reduce back maintenance fees charged to customers who return to SAP’s support after a period of absence; and<\/p>\n

\u2022 Create an internal clearing structure customers can turn to when they consider that SAP is not applying the commitments correctly.<\/p>\n

\u201cSAP\u2019s software is critical to businesses across Europe, and indeed globally. Today\u2019s decision gives customers using SAP\u2019s popular on-premises business management software more freedom to choose maintenance and support services without unfair restrictions that raised their costs and stifled competition. The legally binding commitments secured by the Commission set a benchmark for the industry more broadly and should serve as a warning against similar practices in the cloud markets, where customers are increasingly moving. This decision sends a strong message: dominant firms in digital markets and beyond should not abuse their power to lock in users at the expense of choice and innovation\u201d, said Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition<\/p>\n

The Commission’s preliminary concerns<\/strong>
\nIn September 2025, the Commission opened a formal investigation and preliminarily found that SAP has been engaging in four practices that could restrict competition in the EEA-wide market for M&S services for SAP’s on-premises ERP software.<\/p>\n

The Commission had indications that SAP may have abused its dominant position by:
\n\u2022 Preventing customers from terminating maintenance and support services for unused software licences, which may have resulted in SAP’s customers paying for unwanted services;
\n\u2022 Charging reinstatement and back-maintenance fees to customers who subscribe to SAP’s maintenance and support after a period of absence. In some cases, these fees corresponded to the amount customers would have paid if they had stayed with SAP all along;
\n\u2022 Systematically extending the duration of the initial term of on-premises ERP licences, during which termination of maintenance and support services was not possible; and
\n\u2022 Requiring its maintenance and support customers to (i) seek maintenance and support services from SAP for all their SAP on-premises ERP software, and (ii) choose the same type of maintenance and support under the same pricing conditions for all their SAP on-premises ERP software. This may have prevented customers from \u201cmixing and matching\u201d maintenance and support services from different suppliers at different price and support levels despite it being more convenient for them.<\/p>\n

The Commission preliminarily found that, by doing so, SAP may have restricted competition on the market for M&S services for SAP’s on-premises ERP software, in breach of Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU and Article 54 of the European Economic Area (‘EEA’) Agreement, which prohibit the abuse of a dominant position that may affect trade and prevent or restrict competition within the Single Market.
\nIn response to the Commission’s concerns, SAP offered commitments. Between November 2025 and December 2025, the Commission market-tested those commitments and consulted all interested third parties to verify whether they would remove competition concerns. In light of the outcome of this market test, SAP adjusted the initial proposal.
\nThe commitments offered by SAP will remain in force globally for ten years. Their implementation will be monitored by a monitoring trustee, who will report regularly to the Commission during the time the commitments are in place.
\nThe Commission concluded that the final commitments adequately address its preliminary competition concerns and has decided to make them legally binding on SAP.<\/p>\n

Background<\/strong>
\nSAP is a German-based multinational corporation which develops software applications for companies to manage their business operations. This includes ERP software, which supports business functions such as managing corporate finances, human resources and project management. SAP’s ERP software can be provided on-premises – when the software runs on the customer’s own servers – or via the cloud, hosted on SAP’s servers and delivered over the internet. SAP also provides M&S services for its ERP software, which include regular updates and technical assistance for its business customers to keep the software operational. Other companies also provide M&S services for SAP’s on-premises ERP software, in competition with SAP, often against better commercial conditions.
\nArticle 9(1) of Regulation 1\/2003 enables companies investigated by the Commission to offer commitments in order to meet the Commission’s concerns and empowers the Commission to make such commitments binding on the companies.
\nIf the company does not honour the commitments, the Commission may impose a fine of up to 10% of its worldwide annual turnover, without having to find an infringement of EU antitrust rules, or a periodic penalty payment of 5% per day of its daily turnover for every day of non-compliance.<\/p>\n

Above, Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition \/ image credited to the EC<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The European Commission has accepted commitments from SAP to address EU competition concerns relating to its aftermarket support services for on-premises Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software These commitments are now legally binding under EU antitrust rules. More specifically, SAP will: \u2022 Clarify the conditions for splitting customers’ SAP landscape into separate parts, allowing customers to … <\/p>\n

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