CIOs rail against vendor lock-in

There is certainly a sense that enterprises find themselves between a rock and a hard place when it comes to efficient data management. The complex relationships between core business data, database enterprise applications and hardware can be a source of hidden IT complexity, inefficiency and cost - not to mention the licensing issues that are common to so many organisations. This is why many organisations seek single-vendor solutions where possible, only to find themselves locked in from a business perspective.

This is a major concern. The datacentre is not just where data lives, it also has productivity, cost-saving, revenue generation and compliance implications for the enterprise. It is there to make it money, and to serve the business in every respect, both operationally and strategically. Reducing and managing the hidden costs must be important considerations for all IT managers.

Growing frustration

However, the survey suggests that while many may be aware of the potential savings in better managing their corporate data - together with its supporting infrastructure and applications - they do not always have the freedom to access those savings. Certainly they do not feel that they do.

In large enterprises, consolidation, cost reduction and licensing terms are things that need to be well managed, especially as the enterprise becomes more complex through growth, merger or acquisition - which may, of course, also have licensing and contractual implications.

Many IT leaders decide it is easier just to soldier on rather than take a step back and try to address the problems - particularly when those managers find themselves locked into contractual arrangements with a single vendor for their databases, applications and hardware, for example.

However, in pursuit of a less complex, more efficient, better-performing system, many customers then find themselves trapped in monolithic deals that seem too risky and expensive to get out of. In the meantime, newer or alternative technologies are not always accessible without wholesale contract renegotiation.

In time, monolithic deals may also not reflect the day-to-day reality of the business, with a flat fee that does not apply to the actual number of seats in the organisation, nor to the pressures that the organisation faces in terms of productivity, cost savings, revenue generation and compliance.

Whatever the root cause, it is clear that vendor lock-in has created what might be called an “unhappy majority” of businesses that have accepted monolithic deals but find they now lack business and technology agility as a result - the very competitive and strategic elements that they expect vendors to provide.

Given the findings of Computing’s exclusive survey of IT leaders, the time has surely come for vendors to address CIOs’ concerns and look at what can be done to help British business.

The economic chill of fractional growth, sweeping cuts, volatile stock markets and falling consumer demand means that all types of business need support and understanding. Vendors that listen to their customers’ concerns will win their long-term loyalty and respect - and in this day and age, no company should dismiss the importance of that.