How to Avoid the Dreaded “Cloud Lock-In”

With the promise of lower IT costs, improved capabilities, and greater versatility, more companies are being lured to the cloud every day. And while this transition provides most organizations with significant benefits, they also face the possibility of a very challenging situation known as “cloud lock-in.”

Cloud lock-in occurs when the complexities of switching cloud providers are prohibitive or cumbersome. This may be due to time constraints, contractual obligations, compatibility issues, or other factors that make it too unwieldy or expensive to make a transition. If your business requirements change, your cloud provider modifies their service agreement, or the cost of the platform increases, you may not be able to switch vendors so easily.

But with the right preparation and strategy, you can minimize the impact of lock-in and keep your options open. Here’s how:

Strategic Planning

In the rush to jump in to the cloud, many companies do not take the time to fully understand vendor agreements. This is a crucial step, as a mistake at this point could set the stage for lock-in problems down the road.

Rohit De Souza, CEO of Actian Corporation, believes that it is difficult for companies to avoid cloud lock-in. They can, however, maintain their negotiating power, flexibility, and leverage if they read the fine print. He recommends that companies thoroughly review the terms and conditions of their agreements prior to entering into a contract with a cloud provider. He also advises to avoid proprietary data formats so that companies can more easily access their data if they choose to make a transition.

According to De Souza, companies often sacrifice their negotiating leverage for the sake of familiarity and comfort with their existing providers. As time progresses, businesses tend to deepen their commitments to their vendors by expanding their applications and deploying additional data. He says that companies often choose the easiest solution, rather than make a strategic decision, which exacerbates the possibility of vendor lock-in.

Multi-Cloud Solution

According to Ghaurav Dhillon in this piece for inforworld.com, the best solution to avoid lock-in is to implement a multi-cloud strategy. He states that having multiple vendors provides greater flexibility, negotiating power, data sovereignty, and disaster preparedness. He further states that when you diversify your cloud provider base, you can capitalize on cutting-edge technologies and innovations, since different providers tend to specialize in unique areas.

Avoid Consolidating

Tech expert Matt Asay suggest a strategy that is similar to Dhillon’s. In his article in techrepublic.com, Asay discusses how all the major providers have developed their own database services to simplify cloud computing for their customers. And while consolidating everything to one platform may be more convenient and cost-effective, it greatly increases your exposure to cloud lock-in. He says that a more prudent tact would be to separate your data from the infrastructure. Keeping these two components independent will reduce your reliance on a single provider, and make it easier to transition in the future.

Transitioning to the cloud is inevitable for most companies to remain relevant and competitive in today’s marketplace. In doing so, however, they face the possibility of vendor lock-in. But with the right strategy, planning, and due diligence, this threat can be avoided or minimized.

How do you combat cloud lock-in in your company?