The European Commission launched an antitrust probe into German software giant SAP Thursday over fears the company’s practices may have distorted competition.
SAP, which offers both traditional software and cloud-based computing services, can now offer commitments to address the commission’s concerns, the EU executive said.
“We are concerned that SAP may have restricted competition… by making it harder for rivals to compete, leaving European customers with fewer choices and higher costs,” EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera said in a statement.
There is no deadline for the EU’s powerful antitrust regulator to complete its investigation and the opening of a probe does not prejudge the outcome.
The investigation is focused on software licensed by SAP known as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), used for the management of firms’ business operations.
The commission said it takes issue with four of SAP’s practices, including the inability of customers to terminate maintenance and support services for unused software licences which may result in them “paying for unwanted services”.
“This is why we want to have a closer look at SAP’s potentially distortive business practices, to make sure that companies that rely on SAP’s software can freely choose the maintenance and support services that best fits their business needs,” Ribera said.
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