An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Register: The European Commission has ended an investigation into possible anticompetitive practices after SAP agreed to abolish reinstatement fees and reduce back-maintenance fees. The move could reduce barriers for customers considering third-party support for products nearing the end of their vendor support terms, including thousands of large businesses that rely on SAP ERP Central Component (ECC) to run their business operations. SAP's mainstream support for ECC ends in December 2027, while customers can opt for extended maintenance until December 2030 by paying an additional two percentage points on their maintenance fees. The most recent figures from Gartner showed that in Q4 2024 only 39 percent of worldwide ECC customers -- from a total of 35,000 -- had bought or subscribed to licenses to start their transition to SAP S/4HANA, the replacement ERP product. In September last year, the European Commission launched a formal investigation into SAP's behavior in the aftermarket for maintenance and support services in Europe. It said it was responding to concerns that SAP restricted competition in this crucial aftermarket by making it harder for rivals to compete, leaving European customers with fewer choices and higher costs. In October, SAP published its response. "SAP's commitments aim at improving the financial attractiveness for customers who wish to reinstate SAP maintenance and support services. Thus, future costs associated with reinstatement will not financially prevent customers from choosing to terminate SAP maintenance and support for a given period of time," the document said (PDF). SAP has now agreed to abolish reinstatement fees and reduce back maintenance fees charged to customers who return to SAP's support after a period of absence, the Commission confirmed. It also agreed to clarify conditions that allow customers to choose different maintenance and support service providers and different levels of support from SAP. The agreement is relevant to customers considering third-party support to extend their use of ECC beyond vendor maintenance. For example, last year, European retailer Kingfisher -- owner of well-known UK brands B&Q and Screwfix -- told a Gartner conference it had chosen Rimini Street to support ECC 6.0 because it saw insufficient value in migrating to SAP S/4HANA. [...] The commitments offered by SAP will remain in force globally for ten years.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
President says he won’t sign housing bill without passage of voting legislation, but without veto it will still become law
A major housing bill will go into effect at midnight on Saturday without Donald Trump’s signature, after the president said he would refuse to sign the legislation because Congress has not approved new restrictions on voting nationwide.
The measure, known as the 21st Century Road to Housing Act, is the biggest change to federal policy for buyers, renters and homebuilders in decades, and Congress approved it with large margins last month after lengthy negotiations between Democrats and Republicans.
Continue reading...
There is just one week to go until the winner of the World Cup is crowned, and it has been a memorable tournament, not least due to the extraordinary intervention by Donald Trump this week that shocked the football world. Lucy Hough speaks to global sports business correspondent Matt Hughes
Continue reading...President says he won’t sign housing bill without passage of voting legislation, but without veto it will still become law
A major housing bill will go into effect at midnight on Saturday without Donald Trump’s signature, after the president said he would refuse to sign the legislation because Congress has not approved new restrictions on voting nationwide.
The measure, known as the 21st Century Road to Housing Act, is the biggest change to federal policy for buyers, renters and homebuilders in decades, and Congress approved it with large margins last month after lengthy negotiations between Democrats and Republicans.
Continue reading...A recent study tracked hundreds of soccer fans until their favorite team reached the final of a tournament. Their stress levels skyrocketed, and their heart rates jumped too.
The Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool in Washington DC has hardly been out of the news since April when President Trump vowed to have it renovated, and painted ‘American flag blue’ by 4 July. Despite the pool being stripped, cleaned, coated and refilled, within days the algae that has plagued it for decades was back. To find out why these blooms happen, what makes them so difficult to tackle and what Trump could try next, Ian Sample hears from co-host Madeleine Finlay, and from Dr Linda May, a freshwater ecologist at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.
Clips: Sky News Australia, Reuters, Global News
Continue reading...Finding that Norfolk butterfly has been distinct subspecies for 200,000 years could transform conservation approach
The endangered swallowtail butterfly Papilio machaon britannicus, which is only regularly found breeding in Britain on the Norfolk Broads, has been a distinct subspecies for at least 200,000 years, according to a study.
Smaller, darker in colour and much rarer than the continental swallowtail, britannicus was previously considered to have developed its distinctive form during its confinement in the wetlands of eastern England over the last 8,000 years, after the flooding of Doggerland.
Continue reading...Study finds those who speak two languages have brains that appear around six years younger than those who speak one
Learning another language could slow ageing in the brain by up to 13 years, according to research.
People who speak more than one language seem to have younger brains and the more languages you speak and the earlier you speak them, the better, according to findings from a study being presented at the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies conference in Barcelona.
Continue reading...Are the disappearances or deaths of 11 US scientists really linked in a nefarious plot? Or just a conspiracy theory with roots in a bizarre broadcast that rocked Britain in the 1970s?
In the last few years, 11 people allegedly tied to top secret US research have died or mysteriously disappeared, sparking a conspiracy that a clandestine operation is silencing those who know too much.
As Phil Tinline explains to Nosheen Iqbal, what began as a series of unrelated tragedies has morphed into a mainstream obsession and even triggered a federal investigation.
Continue reading...⚽ All the latest news as the quarter-finals continue
⚽ Player guide | Bracketology| Golden Boot | Email us
A 17-year-old girl fell off a truck and died while celebrating France’s World Cup quarter final win over Morocco, emergency services said Friday.
Celebrations erupted across France after the 2-0 win in the United States with hundreds dancing in the streets of Paris, watched by thousands of police on security duties.
Continue reading...Shop owner Lisa Scobie says Forrest Beach is usually a place where ‘kids go fishing before school’. Then six mysterious objects washed up
Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
When pieces of mysterious space debris washed up on the beach at her sleepy coastal community in north Queensland, Lisa Scobie’s first thoughts were about making sure everyone was safe.
But days later the local takeaway shop owner had settled on another reaction to what had become international news.
Continue reading...