The European Commission has opened an investigation for possible anti -competitive practices To the German company SAPthe largest develops EU software. The research is apparently related to the post -sales market in the European Economic Space of Software Maintenance and Support Services. More specifically, with those of its ERP.
The preliminary investigation of the Commission questions four practices applied by SAP in the EEE after -sales market for SAP local ERP maintenance and assistance services. According to the preliminary valuations of the commission, the company occupies a dominant position in it.
To reach this conclusion, the Commission has detected that SAP demands that its customers request maintenance and assistance services for all its local ERP software of SAP, and that they choose the same type of maintenance and assistance under the same Price conditions for all its local ERP software.
This can prevent customers from “mixing and combining” maintenance and assistance services of different suppliers at different prices and levels of assistance, although it is more convenient. In addition, SAP prevents customers from terminating maintenance and assistance services for unused software licenses, which can be paid for services they do not want.
SAP also systematically expands the duration of the initial term of local ERP licenses, and during the same it is not possible to rescind maintenance and assistance services. It also charges restoration and retroactive maintenance rates to customers who subscribe to the maintenance and assistance of SAP after an absence period. In some cases, these rates correspond to the amount that customers would have paid if they had remained with the company during that time.
The Commission indicates that the company may have restricted the competence of third parties providers of maintenance and assistance services for the local ERP software of SAP in the EEE. In addition, he is concerned that SAP applied practices constitute abusive behavior towards their clients that can be described as unfair commercial conditions.
Teresa Ribera, vice president of the European Commission for a clean, fair and competitive transitionhe commented that «Thousands of companies from all over Europe use SAP software to manage their businesses, as well as their related maintenance and assistance services. We are concerned that SAP may have restricted competition in this important after -sales market, making it difficult to compete with their rivals and leaving European customers with fewer options and higher costs. That is why we want to examine SAP commercial practices more close«.
From SAP they have issued a statement in this regard, in which they confirm the investigation and also that They are collaborating with the European Commissionin addition to trusting that the investigation will try to offer a rapid and fair conclusion of the procedure.
They have also pointed out that «This procedure addresses some aspects of our maintenance and support policies, which have been based on norms established for a long time and common throughout the software sector worldwide. SAP considers that its policies and actions fully adjust to the competency standardsa».
