Software prices shoot up - Oracle, SAP go for it

By Jayant Mishra @ Thursday, July 17, 2008 11:01 AM

Section - PCs/Software

Business software honchos, SAP and Oracle have raised prices of their software product. SAP, confirmed yesterday that it has raised price for the ongoing support and maintenance, which is a part of software purchase.

SAP's confirmation is a follow up of Oracle’s last month move to raise price for its software. This sudden change from having price competition earlier to price hike now, is because of acquisition wave, that has reduced the number of suppliers and has reduced the pressure on SAP and Oracle to lower their prices, said Brendan Barnicle, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities.

SAP currently charges an annual maintenance fee equal to 17% of the software price. From next year, the fee will be raised to 22% and phased in over four years. SAP could not be reached for the comment.

When The IT Examiner called up Oracle to find their pricing for India, a PR rep refused to comment on price rises.  But its  updated price list shows 15% to 20% hike for US customers. X