"Overall, software maintenance pricing will be under even more pressure next year," he added. "Not just SAP, by the way. [It's] not surprising -- few markets, in tech or elsewhere sustain 90-percent-plus gross margins for more than a few years."

The city of Flint, Michigan, signed a third-party maintenance contract with Rimini Street several years ago for its PeopleSoft human resources application, said database administrator Tom O'Brien.

O'Brien so far has "never had a problem" with Rimini Street and the company's support staff is extremely responsive, he said.

Customers who are considering third-party maintenance but skittish about the potential quality of service should ask the firm for a work sample that could be applied to a test system, according to O'Brien. In Flint's case, it was a tax update for PeopleSoft, he said.

Rimini Street says customers who switch will save at least 50 percent off their current maintenance charges.