When 62% of IT decision-makers express concern about vendor lock-in with digital platforms, it's clear this isn't just a technical worry; it's a strategic risk that keeps leaders up at night. And if you're in the low-code space, that concern intensifies. Why? Because the very features that make low-code platforms attractive, speed, ease of use, and rapid deployment, can also create the tightest dependencies.
Organizations adopt low-code and other platforms to gain agility and speed up digital transformation. But according to recent BCG research, while 79% of companies say their platform's value justifies the cost, 70% are actively scanning the market for alternatives. That's not a vote of confidence; that's a sign of constraint.
The reality is that vendor lock-in has evolved. It's no longer just about long-term contracts or switching costs. Today's lock-in is architectural. It's woven into proprietary runtime engines, non-standard code generation, and closed ecosystems that make your applications inseparable from the vendor's infrastructure.
Vendor lock-in transforms what should be operational expenditure into a future capital expense. When you need to exit a locked-in platform, you're not just migrating, you're rebuilding from scratch. Research shows that 83% of enterprise data migration projects fail or overrun their budgets. That's not a risk; that's a liability waiting to happen.
Consider this: the cost of failure for a typical large-scale tech program can exceed $20 million annually. And with 75% of enterprises using four or more low-code platforms, the complexity multiplies. Each platform becomes a potential point of failure in your governance framework.
Think about the intellectual property you're creating. When you build on a platform with proprietary DSLs (domain-specific languages) and closed runtime engines, your code isn't truly yours; it only runs in that ecosystem. Your skills become platform-specific rather than transferable. And when business needs change, you're stuck rebuilding rather than adapting.
Lock-in means your innovation speed is tied to your vendor's roadmap. If they don't prioritize the features you need, you wait. If a competitor launches something game-changing on a different platform, you're stuck watching. The agility you thought you gained becomes the constraint holding you back.
BCG's research identifies three critical concerns when organizations consider switching platforms:
But here's what's often overlooked: these concerns exist because of how deeply platforms lock you in. The switching costs aren't accidental, they're structural. Proprietary platforms create applications that can only run in their environment. When you want to leave, you face the most expensive modernization strategy: complete rebuild.
This is why 77% of organizations insist on retaining their own data models rather than adopting platform-native schemas. They understand that data portability is the first line of defense against lock-in. But data is only part of the equation - what about your application logic, integrations, and workflows?
Traditional low-code pricing models compound the lock-in problem. You're paying for apps you built yourself. Costs climb with every user, every app, every deployment. The complexity makes it nearly impossible to predict your actual spend, and migrating away becomes prohibitively expensive.
This creates a trap: the more successful your low-code initiatives become, the more locked in you are. Growth becomes a liability rather than an asset.
The shift is already happening. Forward-thinking organizations are prioritizing platforms that build bridges, and not walls.
Code ownership and portability
Can you export your applications in standard, reusable formats like React or standard JavaScript? If your code only runs on the vendor's platform, that's a red flag.
Open standards
Platforms built on open standards, such as WebAssembly for runtime logic and React for interfaces, give you flexibility. Your applications can be deployed anywhere: on-premise, in your preferred cloud environment, or across multiple clouds.
Cloud sovereignty
True enterprise control means choosing where and how you deploy. On-premises, hybrid, or cloud - your data, your infrastructure, your control. This isn't just about compliance; it's about strategic autonomy.
Transparent pricing
Pricing models that separate building from hosting give you predictability. You shouldn't face exponential cost increases just because your applications are successful.
Architectural flexibility
Can you adopt a hybrid approach? The best strategy often means using low-code where it makes sense while retaining the ability to integrate with high-code environments when needed.
The conversation is shifting from "how do we avoid lock-in?" to "how do we build with openness by design?" This means platforms that generate standard code, support hybrid development models, and treat portability as a feature, not an afterthought.
It's about choosing platforms that embrace transparency. Where the code you create is genuinely yours. Where WebAssembly components can be exported and reused in different contexts. Where React-based applications aren't trapped behind proprietary walls.
This isn't theoretical. Betty Blocks is already pioneering this approach - treating code ownership, open standards, and deployment flexibility as foundational rather than optional. Organizations adopting this approach are proving that you don't have to sacrifice speed for control, or agility for independence.
Because when your business needs change (and they will), your technology architecture should enable adaptation, not require reconstruction.
Vendor lock-in doesn't have to be the price of low-code speed. As the market matures, we're seeing a fundamental rethinking of what "platform" means - moving from closed, proprietary systems to open, composable architectures.
The question isn't whether your organization should care about lock-in. It's whether your current approach treats it as the strategic risk it truly is.
Ready to see how the low-code industry is being disrupted? Join Chris Obdam on December 4th for "Breaking Low-Code" - a deep dive into cloud sovereignty, transparent pricing, and the end of vendor lock-in. Discover why traditional low-code is holding enterprises back and explore the migration path away from legacy platforms. Register here.