The European Commission has launched a formal investigation into SAP’s maintenance and support policies for its on-premises enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, raising the prospect of changes to how thousands of European companies service their business systems. The case focuses on the aftermarket and whether SAP’s rules limit choice and inflate costs.
Officials in Brussels say they will examine a few key areas. First, whether SAP requires customers to purchase the identical level of maintenance for all on-premises ERP instances, blocking cost conscious mix-and-match support across different vendors. Additionally, whether SAP extends initial license terms in ways that keep customers locked into support they can’t cancel. Also, whether reinstatement and back-maintenance fees charged to customers returning after a lapse effectively penalize switching.
“Thousands of companies across Europe use SAP’s software to run their business,” Commission Executive Vice President Teresa Ribera said in a statement. “We are concerned that SAP may have restricted competition in this crucial aftermarket, leaving European customers with fewer choices and higher costs.”
SAP: Long-Standing Standards
SAP, a top ERP vendor and one of Europe’s leading tech companies, said its policies adhere to regulations and reflect “long-standing standards” across the software sector. “We take the issues raised seriously and are working closely with the EU Commission to resolve them,” the company said, adding it does not expect a material financial impact from the investigation.
This case focuses on a core operational layer: back-office systems that manage finance, HR, supply chains, and procurement. For many SAP customers running legacy ECC and Business Suite 7 software, timelines add pressure. Standard maintenance for those suites ends in 2027, with paid extended support to 2030 and a limited transition option through 2033. Competitors are vying for these customers (where contracts permit) to offer lower-cost support through the 2030s. The Commission wants to ensure those options are realistically available.
It’s a friction that has occurred often over the last decade: software vendors want to shift customers onto cloud subscriptions, in contrast with many companies, especially large enterprise, which appreciate the lower cost of on-prem, not to mention the greater data sovereignty.
Balancing Sovereignty with Modernization
Those cross-currents are not unique to SAP. The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority reported in 2024 that technical frictions impede switching among cloud providers, underscoring how difficult it can be to re-platform complex workloads. In Europe, those dynamics carry added weight as public and private sectors balance digital-sovereignty goals with modernizing critical infrastructure.
Potential penalties are significant: EU rules allow fines up to 10% of worldwide annual sales for antitrust violations, though similar situations were resolved with revised commercial terms rather than the negative publicity of fines.
For CIOs, the situation calls for routine vigilance. Companies renewing on-prem ERP support, or plotting end-of-life strategies for ECC and Business Suite 7, should document any constraints on partial terminations, switching, or reactivation fees, and quantify the cost differences among SAP and third-party providers. If the Commission ultimately requires changes, those customers will be positioned to renegotiate.
For SAP, the investigation lands amid a multi-year pivot to cloud services, including major planned investments in Europe. The company says cooperation with regulators won’t derail that trajectory. The Commission, for its part, has framed the case narrowly: ensure competition in the ERP support aftermarket so buyers can select service levels that fit their needs. As the two parties resolve the conflict, they will help determine how to preserve choice as tech legacy players modernize business models built in an earlier enterprise era.
