- SAP commits to making series of legally binding changes to address European concerns
- These ‘get out of jail cards’ would prevent the company from having to pay a large fine
- Continuous enforcement would ensure that SAP continues to comply with the new policies.
The European Commission has accepted new legally binding commitments from SAP to end the antitrust investigation against it, freeing it from a fine.
Regulators were concerned that SAP’s business practices made it difficult for customers to switch to third-party support providers, reduce or end their maintenance contracts, and return to SAP support after previously abandoning it.
Under the new agreement, customers will be offered a new way to calculate license fees to determine how much they are charged for maintenance and support, ultimately helping them avoid paying for unused software licenses.
SAP proposes solutions to avoid the European antitrust fine
For companies returning to SAP maintenance after switching providers, the German software giant has also committed to waiving reinstallation fees.
Although the fixes address a European antitrust investigation, all customers will benefit from the changes because SAP will implement them globally for a period of 10 years.
“Today’s decision gives customers using SAP’s popular on-premises business management software more freedom to choose maintenance and support services without unfair restrictions that have raised their costs and stifled competition,” wrote the Commission’s Executive Vice President of Clean, Fair and Competitive Transition, Teresa Ribera.
“Commitments strengthen customer choice and predictability by making policies more transparent, introducing specific flexibility for exceptional shelving situations, and reinforcing consistent execution through better guidance, training, and independent oversight,” SAP added.
While the changes address the concerns of the investigation and could prevent the company from having to pay a fine this time, failure to comply with its own reviews in the future could result in subsequent fines because the changes would be legally binding.
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