What is vendor lock-in, and how worried should we be?

Lock-in takes several forms: data lock-in (whether your data can be exported in a usable format), process lock-in (the effort of changing established ways of working) and integration lock-in (other systems that depend on the product).

Practical safeguards include testing a data export before signing, confirming that exports include historical data and attachments, preferring standard formats, and keeping regular backups of critical data in your own storage.

For custom software, confirm that the repository belongs to your organisation, the infrastructure runs in your accounts, the documentation would allow another team to take over, and no proprietary components would be lost.

At Panzex, the repository belongs to you from the first commit, infrastructure runs in your accounts and there are no contractual penalties for moving to another supplier.