Global CIO: SAP Is Testing Flat-Rate Pricing For Large EnterprisesGlobal CIO: SAP Is Testing Flat-Rate Pricing For Large Enterprises

These new trials being run by SAP come at an interesting time. While SAP officials say publicly that their customers have no problems with SAP's current pricing model of license purchase plus annual support fees, that stance would call into question the recent strategies outlined by Hagemann-Snabe to test some radically different models.

And as I wrote late last week, there is—in spite of SAP's disclaimers—considerable unhappiness among CIOs about the volume and inflexibility of annual support fees from both SAP and Oracle. In that context, I suggested that the market is very likely to reward the first of those two companies that is willing to break with tradition and offer its customers a range of purchase and support choices and options.

So while it's unfortunate that at this time we can't get a crystal-clear translation of Hagemann-Snabe's comments, and that SAP has declined to offer any elaboration upon them, it is very interesting indeed to see that appears to be willing to at least consider claiming to seize that strategic first-mover status.

If SAP does indeed go ahead and expand these tests into full-blown campaigns, the focus on value instead of price to which Hagemann-Snabe refers will surely come to pass. And then we can all watch to see if Oracle decides to follow suit.