Laut *Computer-Englisch. Ein Fachwörterbuch* werden beide Termini gleich übersetzt.
Ich bin mir nicht sicher, aber ich nehme an, der/die Autoren dachten bei Wartung eventuell an *software integrity checking* oder auch Schutz (*~ protection*), Zuverlässigkeit (*reliability test*) oder auch Prüfung (*verification*).

I agree with Claudia´s term but not with her interpretation (and my explanation was too long for the "agree" box). My interpretation is based on experience in London with Shell International, CSFB, etc.. The terms are fuzzy, but many forms adopt differentiated senses for them because there are two separate processes that require names.

One is the process of change and enhancement, the other is the process of keeping the software running. These are often distinguished with "maintenance" and "support" respectively. Sometimes two corresponding groups are set up: one does what is then called "scheduled maintenance", working basically normal hours, carrying out scheduled changes. The other provides 24-hour cover in case something breaks down. The skills and knowledge required are rather different.

Equally, where continuing development (e.g. of further, related systems) goes on, these teams doing this also do the maintenance. This is not ideal, but often more effective than having a separate "support group" (!!!) to do the maintenance. In some cases it is difficult to impossible to differentiate.

It is also sometimes the case that overnight support is also provided by the development group. This is in conceptually disastrous, and sometimes personally as well: you have to think conceptually during the day, and get called up in the middle of the night because something has broken. It has the advantage that the development teams know the software, so are the ideal people to do the support (as long as they don´t want to have private lives, sleep, or anything uncommitted like that).

As I indicated, maintenance can be called support. Overnight support also sometimes comes under the heading of maintenance. But if I want to refer to the whole, I can safely say "maintenance and support". And I think this is exactly what your German phrase is intending.

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Note added at 2002-12-18 02:50:55 (GMT)
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\"Software checking\" is not known to me as an organisational term.

Your supplier of \"Softwarepflegeleistungen, insbesondere die Lieferung von Updates and Upgrades, und wesentliche Änderungen der Software ....\" will probably be translated as \"software support services ... \", but is probably going to exclude the emergency support services. The two English terms are extremely imprecise, and I don´t think there German ones are much different - it is in the nature of the processes. To write a contract of this sort, you have to state in the detail what you offer, headings like \"support services\" and \"maintenance and support\" have no fixed meanings.

Support / online servicing involves ensuring that the existing software runs properly on site, including training, installation, correction to the database, but without changes to the code. Maintenance involves continued support through debugging, changes/ modification in the code, updating, installing new versions etc.