SAP sides with customers by making it easier to switch to rival service providers and end contracts — changes may help dodge possible EU antitrust fine

• SAP commits to a number of legally binding changes to address European concerns
• These 'get out of jail cards' would prevent the company from having to pay a hefty fine
• Ongoing enforcement would ensure SAP continues to adhere to the new policies

The European Commission has accepted new, legally binding commitments from SAP to end the antitrust investigation against it, freeing it of 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 having left it before.

Under the new agreement, customers will be offered a new way of calculating license fees to determine how much they're charged for maintenance and support, ultimately helping them to avoid paying for unused software licenses.

SAP proposes fixes to avoid European antitrust fine

For companies coming back to SAP maintenance after moving away to a different provider, the German software giant has also committed to removing reinstatement 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 raised their costs and stifled competition," the Commission's Clean, Just and Competitive Transition EVP Teresa Ribera wrote.

"The commitments strengthen customer choice and predictability by making policies more transparent, introducing targeted flexibility for exceptional shelfware situations and reinforcing consistent execution through improved guidance, training and independent oversight," SAP added.

While the changes address the investigation's concerns and could prevent the company from having to pay a fine on this occasion, failure to adhere to its own revisions in the future could end up in later fines because the changes would be legally binding.