RISE again – this time the SAP Support Fees 2025
As of January 2025, SAP has announced the next increase in maintenance and support fees for existing SAP on-premises software licenses by up to 5%. This increase affects all types of support, including SAP Standard Support, SAP Enterprise Support and SAP Product Support for Large Enterprises (PSLE). We have summarized the reasons for this increase and which points you should check now in our blog post.
Contractual basis for the increase in support fees
The contractual basis for the adjustment of support fees is set out in SAP's General Terms and Conditions for Software Licensing and Maintenance (see version 03/2023 - section 4.1.6).
The index of gross monthly salaries of full-time employees in Germany in the IT services sector (GENESIS table: key: 62361-0016 / code WZ08-62) is decisive for a price adjustment.
Older contracts are still based on the index figures of the Federal Statistical Office's Fachserie 16, Series 2.4, Group J 62. However, the specialist series was discontinued in 2022 and replaced by the aforementioned database.
The increase in support fees may not exceed the percentage change in the index. The period to be taken into account is the index change since the last announcement of the increase in support costs or the time of license purchase if no increase has yet taken place. The initial support term and new license purchases are excluded from the increase.
The index change and the resulting exact increase in support costs for customers in Germany and Austria will not be determined until the index value is published in September. The maximum increase is 5%.
The announcement by SAP must be made in writing and at least two months before January 1, 2025. The notification is sent by email to the commercial contacts stored in SAP for Me or, if required, can be requested from the SAP sales contact or by email to cpinotification@sap.com. If no customer contact is stored, the email may reach the CFO or CEO. Communication takes place without any specific reference to a contract and without taking individual agreements into account. Indirect customers receive the notification via their SAP partner. According to the GTC, customers have a special right of termination for support of two weeks from receipt of the fee adjustment.
Effects and recommendations
The special right of termination is unlikely to be an option for an application as extensive and critical as SAP. Nevertheless, you should check a few points more closely after receiving the announcement about the increase in support fees from SAP at the latest.
- Are there individual regulations for increasing support fees?
- Was the announcement made in due time?
- Which support contracts are affected?
- When was the last increase in support costs announced?
- What is the maximum support increase rate based on the index development since the last support cost increase?
A careful examination often reveals starting points that can ultimately lead to a partial reduction or even complete elimination of the increase in support costs.
Of course, you can also consult our experts for an assessment. Please feel free to contact us.
Author: Felix Baran