Today's stable software platforms require less support and a different approach, yet software vendors continue to offer a one-size-fits all approach, to increase maintenance fees, and to report record profits. Oracle, SAP, and other major software vendors view maintenance revenue as an entitlement, enforcing onerous contract terms to preserve revenue without regard for customer cost containment needs.

Support Costs Are Too High

• Rising annual maintenance fees even as software vendors report record support revenues with profit margins of 90%¹
• Costly forced upgrades
• Inability to drop unused products from maintenance and realize any savings
• IT entitlement costs consume nearly 70% of total annual IT budgets
• Lifetime vendor support programs cost more but offer less service over time

Current Platforms Are Stable and Meet Business Needs

• Highly functional and extremely stable
• Scalable technology and field tested
• Customized to meet your unique needs and requirements
• Mature releases meet the needs of many clients for up to a decade without requiring any costly upgrades

Disappointing Customer Service

• Up to 70% users are dissatisfied with current service levels
• Slow response times and limited access to technical experts
• Bug fixes delivered in the "next release"
• High-value enhancements packaged as new licensed product
• Generic, one-size fits all approach

Funding Risky New Development

• Maintenance fees fund next-generation systems that customers may never use
• Significant uncertainty in viability of next-generation systems
• Decade or more before next-generation systems are tested and viable
• Customers risk vendor and technology stack lock-in by pre-funding next-generation systems

With a compelling value proposition and concerns with the current state of software support, alternative support is rapidly growing by filling an important need in the enterprise software market. Clients of alternative support and maintenance have achieved proven benefits for many years, validating the industry and eliminating the perceived risks that have been perpetuated by software vendors.

Even SAP and Oracle have now introduced programs that include discounted maintenance programs to each other's customers, but not for their own customers.

Is Alternative Support and Maintenance Right for You?

¹ Oracle Corporation; Q4 Fiscal 2006 Quarter to Date Financial Results, Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations