Freeing up cash is the number one priority for many companies right now. Looking to SAP maintenance contracts for savings is a great place to start -- especially in light of SAP's recent change to its maintenance fee structure, according to one analyst.
SAP announced this summer that it would phase in a price increase over the next four years for its maintenance and support services -- from 17% of net licensing fees to 22%. The cost increase drew a lot of attention, and the ire of some of the world's SAP user groups. SAP has since announced that it will soon release KPIs for customer adoption, customer awareness and customer satisfaction of SAP Enterprise Support, and adjust the continued rollout of SAP Enterprise Support until the quality measures are achieved.
But in the meantime, Ray Wang , vice president and principal analyst at Forrester Research in Cambridge, Mass., has some advice for getting more for your money. In this podcast, he shares his five tips for reducing costs by better negotiating maintenance contracts. Wang also talks about the types of deals SAP customers are getting, and who is opting for third-party maintenance.
| Negotiating maintenance contracts | |
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:90 What's the mood amongst SAP customers right now when it comes to maintenance?
1:38: Explain the first of your five tips for negotiating maintenance contracts -- assembling all the relevant contract information.
3:12: Why is it important to break down the total cost of shelfware?
4:04: What should a customer take into consideration when crafting an overall software strategy?
4:58: Why is it important to determine what your alternatives are?
5:50: Why is it important to engage account representatives at least one quarter before the contract expires?
6:22: What's the biggest mistake customers make when negotiating contracts?
7:45: What are some of the deals SAP customers are getting these days?
