Gartner advises investigating third-party support

In October 2019, global research and advisory firm Gartner published a market guide regarding third-party support and maintenance services for IBM, Oracle, and SAP software.

IBM, Oracle, and SAP’s software support costs are rising, and they’re increasing the pressure for customers to migrate to Cloud. Sourcing, procurement, and vendor management leaders are becoming more inclined to consider independent third-party maintenance. This increase in demand has therefore led to Gartner’s report on all major players in the third-party support space – in which we are heavily featured.

This report explains the reasons behind the increase in demand for third-party support, why you should strongly consider it for your own organisation, and which providers are considered to be the best options currently available in the market (including ourselves, of course).

Gartner recommends that you investigate third-party support

Software providers such as Oracle and SAP have their own interests at heart, not their customers’. Their prices continue to rise, trapping customers who have been tied into auto-renewal contracts. They de-support legacy products as they bring out new ones. SAP even went so far as to set a 2025 end-of-support deadline*. Both Oracle and SAP want nothing more than to get their customers onto the Cloud, where they have full control of pricing, patches, and upgrades.

All the above costs money, time, effort, and resources. This could be refocused and reinvested elsewhere in organisations to match their objectives.

This led to the development – and subsequent rise – of third-party support providers, such as Support Revolution. It’s a way of cutting costs, avoiding unnecessary upgrades, and taking back control of your ERP needs.

So, when does third-party support make sense?

Third-party support is not just an alternative option for your maintenance provider. There are certain, specific circumstances when third-party support can be particularly beneficial. This is what Gartner refers to as typical scenarios, for cost-saving opportunities:

• Cloud migrations – During a migration process, you’re not going to be upgrading your on-premise software, but you’ll be paying full price for support and maintenance in the interim. Third-party support would serve your support requirements during the change over, and for 50% of the cost.
• Migrating to another vendor – As above, third-party support can be utilised to make savings on maintenance while the migration is going on.
• Reviewing support usage – It’s very possible that you hardly ask for technical support or raise support tickets, yet you’re still paying vast amounts of money for that service unnecessarily. Third-party support helps you save at least 50% on your support bill.
• Support for legacy products – Third-party support lets you keep your legacy products, keeping your system familiar, cheaper to run, and allowing your business to run smoothly.
• Escape rising maintenance costs – Some Oracle/SAP contracts include no price protection for maintenance and support. You can escape these sorts of contracts and be provided with support and maintenance for a much more reasonable rate with third-party support.

Why should I listen to Gartner?

Gartner is the market leader when it comes to providing management and technology advice and guidance. Its reports help educate business leaders on what kinds of services are available in various markets. It helps them to make informed decisions about which resources would best serve their company.

Think of it like this: if you’re planning to visit somewhere new, you might look at travel review websites before you go. If a CIO or IT specialist wanted to know the best strategies or newest technology trends, they’d turn to Gartner.

Join the Support Revolution

So, before your next renewal, see what else is on offer besides your vendor’s support services. We can provide all the services listed above and more to a demonstrably high standard, gratefully proven by the Gartner market guide.

You don’t have to wait until you need us, and you don’t have to put up with Oracle or SAP any longer. Make a change.

Download Gartner’s market guide for free here, or click the button below to discover just how much you could save with third-party support.

*After this post was published, SAP extended the deadline to 2027. See more here.