Last week, we discussed how to be on the lookout for lock-in vendors when shopping around. But what do you do when you’re already committed to one? Demand a change!
If you’ve made that commitment to a vendor already and recognize these tactics, consider making a change. The pace of change in technology is becoming quicker and quicker, and openness, standards, and portability of data are the counters to manage that pace. Now is the time to start insisting that your vendor implement an API, data format standards, and exportability.
Lest we forget, another reason for your vendor to include these features is adherence industry best practices. Your company should be able to follow the best practices of your peer companies and adopt the latest innovations. Flexibility is the goal. Flexibility means your company has more options to choose from when you respond to competitors, new markets, and changing technology. Flexibility allows your company to maximize the value of its resources.
Openness and standards adoption by your software vendor results in greater control, and control over your assets allows you to adapt to changing business environments. Another benefit? The ease of data distribution throughout your organization. Sales and marketing, IT and executives use standards to share data between their respective support systems, allowing all to communicate quickly and efficiently.
Vendor lock-in has continued to remain a business model and unfortunately it isn’t going anywhere. Just remember that the most sustainable models are true partnerships between customers and vendors. A partner is there to shoulder your burdens and succeeds when you succeed. At Mapcom, partnerships are our model for success. If you feel locked-in, we’re here to help. We’ve got 180 partnerships to draw on for experience and advice.