SAP SE, Europe’s largest software company, has agreed to binding commitments accepted by the European Commission that will make it easier for customers to change service providers or terminate contracts for on-premises software maintenance and support.
The measures, approved on Thursday by EU antitrust regulators, were presented by SAP as a response to a probe launched in September 2025. The European Commission opened that investigation amid concerns that SAP’s practices were obstructing rivals from offering maintenance and support services for its on-premise software, effectively creating hurdles for customers wishing to switch vendors.
Following feedback from third parties collected by the EU competition authority, SAP revised its initial proposal. Those revisions were a factor in securing the Commission’s acceptance of the commitments, according to the regulator’s announcement.
EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera commented on the decision, saying: "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 statement framed the commitments as measures that restore choice for customers and address the competitive concerns identified by regulators.
Under the terms of the agreement, SAP will offer an alternative method to calculate license fees that determine maintenance and service charges. The company also committed to removing reinstatement fees and to reducing back maintenance fees for customers who subsequently return to SAP-based maintenance arrangements.
The commitments accepted by the Commission are global in scope and will remain in force for 10 years. The EU’s approval signals that regulators consider the remedies sufficient to mitigate the specific competition concerns that motivated the investigation.
According to the Commission, these changes are intended to lower the costs and contractual obstacles that previously affected customers seeking third-party maintenance or a change of service provider. The commitments are designed to prevent the imposition of contractual terms or fee structures that could have limited competitive options in the market for on-premises software support.
Context limitations: The announcement and commitments described reflect the content of the EU decision and SAP’s revised proposals as accepted by the Commission. The published commitments set out the concrete measures summarized above and the 10-year worldwide application.