SAP Reforms On-Premise Maintenance & Support Policies

Summary of the EU Commission commitment decision and SAP’s resulting policy changes (Case AT.40823)

On July 9, 2026, SAP announced that the European Commission had concluded a competition investigation into SAP’s on-premise maintenance and support (M&S) practices for its ERP software, closing the matter through a formal commitment decision under EU competition law (Case AT.40823).

• 1. Executive Summary
• 2. Background: The EU Investigation
• 3. SAP’s Key Commitments
• 3.1 Greater choice in maintenance and support
• 3.2 More flexibility on unused licenses (“shelfware”)
• 3.3 Simpler contract terms and policies
• 3.4 Easier terms for returning customers
• 4. Governance, Oversight & Timing
• 5. Stakeholder Reactions
• 6. Implications for Customers
• 7. Source Articles

1. Executive Summary

The investigation, opened in September 2025, examined whether SAP’s policies unfairly restricted customers’ ability to choose alternative maintenance providers or reduce/terminate unused licenses and support obligations.

Rather than contest the findings, SAP offered a package of binding commitments, which the Commission accepted. These commitments took effect globally on July 10, 2026, apply to all current and future SAP on-premise customers, and remain legally binding for 10 years.

SAP may face fines if it fails to honor them. The changes affect only on-premise maintenance and support; SAP’s cloud offerings (S/4HANA Cloud, RISE with SAP, etc.) are unaffected.

2. Background: The EU Investigation

• Opened: September 2025, by the European Commission, based on concerns that SAP’s on-premise ERP maintenance and support practices could restrict competition in the aftermarket for M&S services.

• Core concerns: customers were effectively required to buy SAP support for their entire SAP estate under uniform terms, limiting their ability to use third-party or mixed support providers for different parts of their landscape, and facing high costs to terminate unused licenses or return to support after a lapse.

• Process: SAP stated throughout the proceedings that it believed its policies complied with competition rules, but engaged constructively with the Commission rather than litigate. The Commission published SAP’s proposed commitments for public market-testing before formal adoption.

• Outcome: On July 9, 2026, the Commission accepted SAP’s commitments as legally binding, closing the investigation without a finding of infringement or fine — but with a 10-year compliance obligation.

EU Commission Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera noted that SAP’s software is critical to businesses across Europe and globally, underscoring the significance of ensuring fair competition in the related support-services market.

3. SAP’s Key Commitments

3.1 Greater choice in maintenance and support

Customers can now split their SAP system landscape into separate parts (“commercial installations”) and select different levels of support for each — including full SAP support, no SAP support, or third-party/self-support — rather than being locked into uniform, estate-wide support terms.

3.2 More flexibility on unused licenses (“shelfware”)

SAP is expanding programs that let customers reallocate or terminate unused on-premise licenses. New, objectively justified termination scenarios include:

• Severe workforce reductions (10%+ reduction in headcount over two years allows a proportional reduction in licenses and related fees)

• Products in customer-specific (legacy/end-of-life) maintenance

• Bankruptcy or insolvency

• Divestitures (licenses can transfer to the buyer, be split, or terminated if unneeded)

• Failed implementation projects where SAP bears responsibility

SAP is also broadening access to single-metric contracts — a simpler licensing model where maintenance fees scale with one usage metric, giving customers clearer and more predictable cost management.

3.3 Simpler contract terms and policies

SAP committed to clarifying key contractual provisions and policies so customers can plan support obligations with greater predictability as they expand their SAP deployments.

3.4 Easier terms for returning customers

• No administrative/reinstatement fee for customers resuming SAP maintenance and support after a lapse.

• Back-maintenance fees capped at the lower of: six (6) months of fees, or 50% of the fees that would have been due for the period off support.

• A defined set of outdated/legacy products will trigger no back-maintenance fee at all.

4. Governance, Oversight & Timing

• Effective date: July 10, 2026 — applies globally, to all current and future SAP on-premise customers, across all on-premise products.

• Duration: Commitments are binding for 10 years from the Commission’s decision.

• Enforcement: As accepted commitments (not voluntary guidance), SAP could face European Commission fines if it fails to implement them properly.

• Clearing structure: SAP is setting up an internal clearing structure, independent of sales teams, so customers can contest how the new rules are being applied to their account.

• Customer support: SAP account executives and customer-facing teams are being briefed to apply the new commitments fairly and consistently; full details are published on the SAP Support Portal (see references).

5. Stakeholder Reactions

• SAP: Framed the changes as one of the most customer-friendly maintenance and support approaches in the industry, describing them as the product of constructive dialogue with both the European Commission and customer groups, and stressing that flexibility will not come at the cost of business continuity or reliability.

• DSAG (German-speaking SAP User Group): Chairman Jens Hungershausen called it “an important step in the right direction,” saying the added flexibility helps customers make the right architectural decisions and reflects sustained dialogue between SAP and the customer community.

• UKISUG (UK & Ireland SAP User Group): Chair Conor Riordan welcomed the changes, noting members had long called for greater flexibility, transparency, and predictability.

• European Commission: Positioned the decision as giving customers more freedom to choose maintenance and support services without unfair restrictions that had raised costs and limited competition.

• Industry press (CIO, CIO Dive, ERP Today): Broadly characterized the outcome as a concession by SAP, noting the company is legally bound for 10 years and could still face fines for non-compliance, even though SAP publicly “welcomed” the decision.

6. Implications for Customers

• More room to run mixed support models — e.g., third-party support for stable, legacy parts of the landscape while keeping SAP support for actively evolving systems.

• Reduced financial exposure from shelfware — unused or redundant licenses tied to workforce changes, divestitures, or failed projects can be shed more easily.

• Lower barriers to returning to SAP support after a lapse, which may reduce the perceived risk of experimenting with alternative support arrangements.

• More predictable long-term cost planning via broader access to single-metric contracts and clearer contract language.

• No change to cloud strategy — organizations evaluating SAP S/4HANA Cloud, RISE with SAP, or broader cloud migration should note these commitments apply only to on-premise M&S and do not alter cloud commercial terms.

• Action point: CIOs and sourcing/procurement teams should review current SAP contracts against the new framework and engage SAP account teams (or the clearing structure, if disputes arise) to determine which commitments apply to their landscape.

7. Source Articles

This blog post synthesizes the following three primary sources:

1. SAP Support Portal — commitment details and policy documents: https://support.sap.com/en/release-upgrade-maintenance/maintenance-information/on-premise-maintenance-and-support.html

2. SAP News Center — “Evolving Our Maintenance and Support Practices to Deliver Greater Flexibility for SAP Customers” (Stefan Steinle, July 9, 2026): https://news.sap.com/2026/07/evolving-maintenance-support-practices-greater-flexibility-sap-customers/

3. SAP News Center — “SAP Welcomes European Commission Decision Concluding the Investigation Into On-Premise Maintenance and Support Policies” (July 9, 2026): https://news.sap.com/2026/07/sap-welcomes-european-commission-decision-concluding-investigation-on-premise-maintenance-support-policies/

Additional context on the European Commission’s formal case (AT.40823) is publicly available on the Commission’s competition website.