…but unlike in the movie Network, don’t open the window, don’t stick your head out and don’t yell “I am mad as hell.”
Instead make a phone call…more about that it a minute.
SAP today announced “that it will reinstate a previous policy of offering customers a choice of application support tiers”. That’s goodness because the forced march to enterprise support at 22% had pushed relations with many customers to the brink.
But all it did was reverse the clock to a certain point when it should have gone much further. It should have announced at least one more tier of base support – basic tax, regulatory support, some level of call support – at the 8 to 10% level.
Rimini and other third party maintenance firms offer that. Thousands of customers evaluate it each year, and the pattern in the Oracle customer base which has had third party maintenance options longer is that hundreds make the move every year. Ergo, that is something customers actively evaluate as a choice. SAP knows that only too well with the TomorrowNow offering, now in litigation. But while it says it listens to its customers, it does so only selectively.
The third tier will not appeal to every customer. But it’s nice to have that choice.
So, as you approach that window, don’t waste your energy yelling at SAP. Call Rimini or a third party maintenance vendor and evaluate what they offer.
It’s about your choice. It may not be right for you. But it should be your choice.