What is vendor lock-in in cloud computing?

Global InfoSec Solution Pvt. Ltd. is an IT company that develops mobile-based software and applications. For smooth, secure, and cost-effective facilitation of business, the organization uses public cloud services. Now, Global InfoSec Solution Pvt. Ltd. is encountering a vendor lock-in issue.

What is vendor lock-in in cloud computing?
A . It is a situation in which a cloud consumer cannot switch to another cloud service broker without substantial switching costs
B . It is a situation in which a cloud consumer cannot switch to a cloud carrier without substantial switching costs
C . It is a situation in which a cloud service provider cannot switch to another cloud service broker without substantial switching costs
D . It is a situation in which a cloud consumer cannot switch to another cloud service provider without substantial switching costs

View Answer

Answer: D

Explanation:

Vendor lock-in in cloud computing refers to a scenario where a customer becomes dependent on a single cloud service provider and faces significant challenges and costs if they decide to switch to a different provider.

Dependency: The customer relies heavily on the services, technologies, or platforms provided by one cloud service provider.

Switching Costs: If the customer wants to switch providers, they may encounter substantial costs related to data migration, retraining staff, and reconfiguring applications to work with the new provider’s platform.

Business Disruption: The process of switching can lead to business disruptions, as it may involve downtime or a learning curve for new services.

Strategic Considerations: Vendor lock-in can also limit the customer’s ability to negotiate better terms or take advantage of innovations and price reductions from competing providers.

Reference: Vendor lock-in is a well-known issue in cloud computing, where customers may find it difficult to move databases or services due to high costs or technical incompatibilities. This can result from using proprietary technologies or services that are unique to a particular cloud provider12. It is important for organizations to consider the potential for vendor lock-in when choosing cloud service providers and to plan accordingly to mitigate these risks1.