The European Commission is ending an antitrust investigation into SAP after the company made numerous concessions worldwide regarding maintenance and support services for on-premises versions of its ERP solution. The Commission began its investigation in September 2025, concerned that SAP forces customers to buy its services for longer, and for more licenses, than they need.
In accepting SAP’s commitments, the Commission makes them binding on the company. SAP could still face fines if it fails to make good on its concessions over the next ten years. SAP’s promises include:
- Greater freedom of choice in support: Customers can divide their SAP landscape into sub-areas and choose different support and maintenance providers for each area.
- Easier license terminations: Maintenance and support contracts can be terminated in certain cases — such as when products are phased out, SAP projects fail, the company files for bankruptcy, there are staff reductions, or parts of the business are sold.
- More flexible licensing models: SAP is expanding access to so-called “single-metric” contracts as an alternative basis for licensing and maintenance fees.
- Relaxation of contractual obligations: In the future, the purchase of new licenses will no longer automatically extend the minimum term of existing support contracts.
- Easier Re-entry: Customers who resume SAP support after a hiatus will no longer have to pay reinstatement fees; back payments will also be reduced.
In addition, SAP is establishing an internal clearinghouse that customers can contact if they suspect violations of the agreed-upon obligations.
Even though SAP said it welcomed the EU Commission’s decision, the Walldorf-based company is unlikely to be truly happy with the concessions it had to make.
User organizations, though, are happy: Conor Riordan, chair of UKISUG, the UK & Ireland SAP User Group, said, “We welcome the proposed changes to SAP’s support and maintenance policies for on-premise customers. Our members have long called for greater flexibility, transparency and predictability, and these changes appear to be a positive move. This should give organizations more room to adapt to changing business conditions and evolve their SAP estates at a pace that suits them.”
More flexibility with SAP support
Michael Bloch, executive director of licensing, contracts and support at DSAG, the German-speaking SAP User Group, went into greater detail in an interview with Computerwoche, here translated from the German:
How do you assess the European Commission’s decision in general?
Michael Bloch: In principle, we think the decision is a good one for now. Many SAP customers will benefit from it, especially those who continue to run their ERP systems on-premises. Our investment survey shows that numerous companies have still not made the move to the SAP Cloud. They now have significantly more freedom to decide how they want to organize support for their existing software.
Who stands to benefit on the provider side? Does the decision open up new opportunities for third-party providers like Rimini Street? Can the potential demand even be met?
Bloch: That will be interesting to watch. At the moment, third-party maintenance is a total niche business, at least in German-speaking countries. Acceptance is significantly higher in the US, but here in Germany, many companies remain rather skeptical of the model. The EU decision could now give this market a new boost. Customers who do not wish to follow SAP’s current strategy will be able to remain on their existing infrastructure in the future and obtain support from another provider. This certainly opens up opportunities for new business models.
Does this decision undermine SAP’s cloud strategy?
Bloch: For customers, the decision now truly becomes a matter of principle: Do I follow SAP’s strategic direction, or do I consciously choose a different path? Those who aren’t convinced that the cloud strategy is the right one for their own company can now more easily decide to stay on their existing ERP landscape and, for example, use a different support provider.
However, one must be clear about the consequences. Those who remain on their current system landscape — even with an alternative maintenance provider — are forgoing the innovations that SAP is currently developing around the Autonomous Enterprise. There is no middle ground here. Companies would have to develop many of these functions themselves or recreate them at considerable expense.
So is this inevitably an either/or decision?
Bloch: No, that’s exactly the key point. Many companies have heavily customized their ERP systems over the years or decades to fit their industry-specific processes — some customers even refer to “refined” systems. These investments don’t simply have to be written off now.
Instead, companies can continue to operate their proven core systems while simultaneously adding targeted cloud components, such as SAP Cloud ERP for financial processes. This allows them to preserve existing investments while also leveraging new innovations. The EU decision thus opens up additional options for action, but it also makes the strategic decision more challenging for CIOs. They must now define even more precisely what their target architecture should look like for the next five to ten years.
2027 – A pivotal year for SAP support
Does this mean that IT decision-makers will now have to forgo a peaceful summer break?
Bloch: I don’t think this will fundamentally increase the pressure. Extended Maintenance doesn’t start until the end of 2027, so there’s still some time left. But companies now have an additional strategic question to answer. The actual decision year is likely to be 2027. By then, many companies will have to determine which system landscape they’ll use in the future and what their long-term SAP strategy will look like.
Even companies that want to stick with their existing ERP landscape will only receive official support until 2030. While that does buy some time, it’s by no means a long planning horizon, especially when alternative ERP strategies or successor solutions need to be evaluated.
That’s why I view it as a positive development that the decision has now been made. It provides clarity and gives companies the opportunity to incorporate these new conditions into their strategic considerations at an early stage.
The new regulations also make it easier for companies to dispose of unused licenses and the associated maintenance fees. How significant could the potential savings be?
Bloch: We don’t have specific figures on that. You have to be very careful here, because it depends heavily on the individual case. The key factor is whether a company actually terminates its SAP support entirely, switches to a third-party provider, or simply no longer needs certain products. After all, a system still has to be operated.
Is there at least a rough estimate?
Bloch: No, we don’t have reliable empirical data. If companies have products in use that they no longer use at all, they’ll be able to cancel support for them more easily in the future and, of course, save money as a result. However, we don’t know how large this so-called “shelfware” portion actually is.
For companies that have already migrated to S/4HANA or SAP Cloud ERP, this issue should largely be resolved anyway. It’s particularly relevant for those who still have the transition ahead of them. They can now review which unused licenses and maintenance contracts they can phase out and whether this is possible within the framework of SAP’s concessions, since regulations must be observed here as well. Those who are still paying substantial support fees today for products that are no longer in use can achieve significant savings by doing so.
Take advantage of the options
Does the EU decision improve companies’ negotiating position with SAP?
Bloch: There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to that. What matters is how a company makes use of its options. In my view, the best results are generally achieved by working with SAP to find a path forward.
Why?
Bloch: For example, if you completely cancel SAP support and later sign a new cloud contract, you should expect to forgo certain incentives from SAP. That’s why every decision should be made with all dependencies in mind.
In addition, SAP isn’t the only one offering incentives to move to the cloud. The hyperscalers also have a strong interest in attracting companies to their platforms and, in some cases, offer very attractive incentive programs. This means that companies’ starting points vary greatly.
Does this make decisions easier for CIOs?
Bloch: Quite the opposite, actually. While the new situation expands the range of options, it makes strategic decision-making significantly more complex. CIOs must now ask themselves: Which existing systems continue to provide business value for our company? Added to this are questions such as: Where is it worthwhile to retain the existing landscape? And in which areas will we actually benefit from the innovations that SAP will provide in the cloud in the future? Finding exactly this balance will be the real challenge.
So does this decision primarily mean that companies gain more time, for example, to weather difficult economic periods or to better prepare for a move to the cloud?
Bloch: Yes, especially for companies that haven’t yet found a compelling business case for moving to the SAP Cloud. They can continue to operate their existing landscape for the time being while simultaneously assessing whether there is still potential for cost savings by eliminating unused licenses and maintenance contracts, in other words, “shelfware.” This can certainly help in individual cases and provides more room to maneuver.
Complexity Is Increasing
Has the EU decision resolved the biggest problem in SAP licensing policy, or are there still issues to address?
Bloch: Extended Maintenance remains an important issue for companies that have not yet migrated to S/4HANA. The EU decision also has an impact here. Companies now have significantly more options for organizing their existing system landscape and support in different ways. They no longer have to treat their entire software portfolio uniformly, but can make differentiated decisions depending on the situation.
However, this also increases complexity. Companies now have a whole toolbox of options and must carefully weigh which combination is right for their strategy.
What’s the next crucial step?
Bloch: The key now is the practical implementation of the promised measures. Together with SAP, we need to clarify how the new regulations will be structured in detail and how companies can actually make use of them. The obligations will also be monitored by an independent trustee. I therefore hope that, together with SAP, we can provide more clarity on the operational implementation in the near future.
Does the EU decision now create additional pressure to act?
Bloch: I don’t think that this will immediately increase the pressure. There’s still some time left until Extended Maintenance begins at the end of 2027. That said, companies now face an additional strategic task: they must assess which new opportunities they want to take advantage of and how these fit into their SAP strategy.
When will things get serious?
Bloch: In my view, 2027 will be the decisive year. By then, many companies will need to determine which system landscape they will use to transition to Extended Maintenance and what their long-term SAP strategy should look like. Even companies that decide against moving to the SAP Cloud will gain some time as a result of the EU decision — but official support for their existing systems will end by 2030 at the latest. Especially when alternative ERP solutions are being evaluated in parallel, that’s not a particularly long planning horizon.
Your conclusion?
Bloch: Overall, it’s positive that the decision has now been made. It would have been much more difficult for companies if uncertainty had persisted until early 2027. Now the framework is clear, and companies can incorporate it into their strategic decisions early on.
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