Glossary
Vendor Lock-in
Dependency on a vendor making switching to an alternative difficult or costly.
Vendor lock-in occurs when a customer becomes dependent on a particular vendor's product or service, making it difficult or expensive to switch to a competitor. In SaaS, lock-in can be caused by proprietary data formats, deep integrations, contractual obligations, or the high cost of migrating data and retraining staff. Assessing vendor lock-in risk before purchasing enterprise software is important for long-term flexibility.