{"id":321410,"date":"2025-07-03T11:01:25","date_gmt":"2025-07-03T09:01:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcloud.com\/?p=321410"},"modified":"2025-11-17T10:15:52","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T09:15:52","slug":"what-is-vendor-lock-in-the-real-price-of-big-tech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcloud.com\/nl\/blog\/what-is-vendor-lock-in-the-real-price-of-big-tech\/","title":{"rendered":"What is vendor lock-in? The real price of Big Tech"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cIs vendor lock-in stifling your business growth?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between Microsoft\u2019s recurring price hikes and rising geopolitical instability, this question is increasingly entering today\u2019s business conversations with CIOs, IT managers and policymakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What began as a clever sales tactic for razor blades has evolved into a dominant strategy in the world of Big Tech. Vendor lock-in \u2014 the strategy of making customers dependent on a product or service, with high costs or technical hurdles to switch \u2014 has radical consequences for many businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enterprise companies and public organizations that rely on Big Tech to work online, store data, or build their product might feel like their digital sovereignty is imperiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is your tech stack tied to just one or a handful of corporations? Discover what vendor lock-in looks like today, what it might be costing your business, and how to find your freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The evolution of vendor lock-in: from bathroom sales to enterprise IT<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the 1960s, Gillette revolutionized the shaving market with the Trac II, the first twin-blade razor system, marketed as safer and smoother way to shave. But once users adopted the new shaving system, they were locked in. Only Gillette\u2019s blades would fit the handle, ensuring shavers were stuck in the Gillette\u2019s ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, vendor lock-in has come a long way from the bathroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, ensuring that organizations are dependent on your services has become a common practice in enterprise IT. So much so that there is even a dedicated term for making users dependent on a certain tech stack: technology lock-in<\/a>. The idea is that the more people within an organization adopt a certain technology, the less likely they are to switch. Which is why Big Tech is so focused on building dependency on their services with as many organizations as possible, locking them in, one by one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is the price right? The cost of vendor lock-in<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The initial sticker price of enterprise software often looks reasonable. A lot of software vendors even give discounts, knowing that their real profit will come from charging long-term service and support contracts. These can run up to 20%<\/a> of the initial purchase price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And of course, the rates also inflate costs over time. Rising subscription fees are recurring issues, as vendors can up the prices<\/a> at their own will. While vendors have the right to adjust pricing, many seem to exploit this freedom, especially in the case of essential enterprise IT tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between 2009 and 2019, 67 out of 100 business apps raised their prices by an average of 98%<\/a>. Overall, software prices went up 62%<\/a> over the past decade. (That\u2019s three times more than the average inflation rate). The numbers show that reasonable pricing in enterprise software seems to have gone out the window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the price of technology lock-in goes way beyond the monthly invoice that lands on the desk of your accounting team for your cloud services. As already mentioned, Big Tech companies make profits from service and support contracts. But the true \u201ccost of ownership<\/a>\u201d for enterprise software goes way beyond the subscription fees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vendor lock-in isn’t just financial, but also technical and strategic, and includes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n