Cloud vendor lock-in! How much should I be scared of?

Originally written at pooyan.info Who is the author? Check out my profile on LinkedIn. What is vendor lock-in? Vendor lock-in refers to a situation where an organization becomes overly dependent on a specific vendor's products or services, making switching to alternatives costly, time-consuming, or technically difficult. Over the years, many companies have experienced frustration when trying to move away from large vendors like IBM, Microsoft, or Oracle due to contractual constraints, proprietary technologies, and sudden pricing changes. A recent example is VMware's acquisition by Broadcom, followed by significant pricing changes that disrupted many businesses. Some examples? In startup environments, it's common to hear voices urging multi-cloud strategies or insisting on only using "cloud-agnostic" tools to avoid a potential lock-in that might never materialize. Some even advocate picking tools that must remain relevant for the next 10–20 years—a nearly impossible task.

May 7, 2025 - 05:30

Cloud vendor lock-in! How much should I be scared of?

Originally written at pooyan.info
Who is the author? Check out my profile on LinkedIn.

What is vendor lock-in?

Vendor lock-in refers to a situation where an organization becomes overly dependent on a specific vendor's products or services, making switching to alternatives costly, time-consuming, or technically difficult. Over the years, many companies have experienced frustration when trying to move away from large vendors like IBM, Microsoft, or Oracle due to contractual constraints, proprietary technologies, and sudden pricing changes. A recent example is VMware's acquisition by Broadcom, followed by significant pricing changes that disrupted many businesses.

Some examples?

In startup environments, it's common to hear voices urging multi-cloud strategies or insisting on only using "cloud-agnostic" tools to avoid a potential lock-in that might never materialize. Some even advocate picking tools that must remain relevant for the next 10–20 years—a nearly impossible task.