Table of Content
As a business owner, you’ve probably heard the horror stories about companies that get “locked in” with a specific vendor. It’s a risky position – being stuck with one company for all of your IT needs, and not having any other options if something goes wrong or if you aren’t happy with the service. You can do a few things to avoid vendor lock-in and ensure that you can always switch to another provider if needed.
Reduce host dependencies
Vendor lock-in can often happen when a service is too reliant on a specific host. Eventually, your business may become so dependent on that vendor that it’s difficult – if not impossible – to switch to another provider.
To avoid this problem, ensure your services can run on multiple hosts. For example, you may incorporate services such as Rancher Kubernetes Engine, which works well with various cloud vendors. Doing this allows you to switch hosts if needed without reconfiguring everything from scratch.
Own your data
Most business managers agree that they can’t switch vendors because they’re “locked in” with their data. All their essential information is stored with one company, and they don’t want to start over from scratch with another provider.
To avoid this problem, ensure complete control over your data. If possible, store it in a format you can easily migrate to another service. Additionally, have a backup plan to quickly and easily switch providers if needed.
You may also use open standards to ensure that your data is accessible no matter which provider you use. For example, when you store data in a proprietary format, only the company that created it can access it – meaning you’re effectively locked into their service.
The SDLC methodologies
The software development life cycle (SDLC) is a process businesses use to create and maintain software applications. It includes everything from planning and design to testing and deployment.
Following an SDLC methodology can help you avoid vendor lock-in because it forces you to think about how your application will work with different providers. For example, if you’re using a specific database in your application, ensure that you can easily migrate it to another database.
Additionally, following an SDLC can help avoid vendor lock-in by ensuring that your application design accommodates change. This way, it will be easier to switch providers if needed without having to redesign your application completely.
Don’t over-customize
You can easily get tempted to customize your applications to fit your vendors’ services and styles. However, doing this can often lead to vendor lock-in.
If you over-customize your application to a specific vendor’s services, you may need to reconfigure everything to work with the new vendor’s services.
To avoid this problem, only customize your applications and services when necessary. Document all your customizations so you can easily replicate them if needed.
Final thoughts
Vendor lock-in is a real problem for businesses – but it doesn’t have to be. By following the tips mentioned in this article, you can avoid vendor lock-in and ensure that you’re always able to switch to another provider if needed. Additionally, by using open standards and following an SDLC methodology, you can design your applications for change – making it easier to switch vendors if necessary.
