In order to future-proof your business and protect it from potential vendor lock-in problems, it is essential that business leaders understand the issues posed by these challenges and equip themselves with the knowledge to counter them. Here are six essential tips to prevent your business from falling into the vendor lock-in trap:
1. Consider portability whilst designing an application. This means that, at the design phase, any layer of the application must be abstracted away from any vendor-specific implementations and feature a layer of portability. This strategy has seen successful implementation in the past for overcoming challenges of vendor lock-in.
2. Cloud-based applications generally have four components to their stack: a security layer, an application logic layer, a data tier, and the infrastructure (hardware) tier. To avoid vendors’ data gravity challenges, prioritize the data tier, which should be chosen independently of the cloud provider.
3. Adopting an open standards approach is a MUST. This approach will allow more flexibility when switching to different vendors and give customers the chance to create bespoke solutions with different technologies. Popular vendor-neutral open standards include JSON, REST, HTTP, LDAP, OAuth, gRPC and SQL.
4. Secondly, organizations need to make sure their knowledge workers are aware of the different cloud services and solutions in order to make informed decisions on a vendor-neutral basis.
5. Multi-cloud and hybrid cloud architectures can create greater opportunities to choose vendors that are cloud agnostic, permitting free mixing and matching of tools and services.
6. Lastly, it is vital that the fine print of the contract with vendors is reviewed carefully. Make sure to assess whether the offered service allows for easy migration of applications and whether it is within budget. Also, keep an eye out for auto-renewal terms and negotiate ownership of data when possible.
In conclusion, as the cloud-based solutions become more and more available and reliable, the need to safeguard against unwanted and complex vendor lock-in situations and data gravity challenges becomes a priority for many business leaders. By following the above tips, you can help make sure that your business remains agile and future-proof for years to come.
