Vendor lock-in is no longer acceptable in the market, as customers are looking for solutions that offer greater flexibility.
This is according to Jaroslav Cerny, CEO of RDB Consulting, who explains that traditionally, many enterprise operating systems (OS) vendors delivered proprietary software tools, making customers dependent on them.
Users are then forced to create homogenous environments by making integration with applications and solutions from other vendors “a nightmare”, he notes.
The vendor lock-in tradition has become increasingly complex and rigid, making it difficult for organisations to incorporate new solutions as business requirements changed, he stresses.
Cerny says as computers have become more and more a part of the modern business world, the infrastructure required to run these systems has become increasingly complex.
“The OS that runs individual computers has become part of a far larger network of applications and data across LANs, WANs and even the Internet,” he explains.
He adds: “Deploying an enterprise-wide network of computers, data, and applications requires the use of an enterprise operating system that has the capacity to deliver high levels of uptime, stability and scalability.
“However, in the past few years, a new requirement has emerged that should be a key consideration when it comes to selecting an enterprise OS - that of third-party support and integration delivered on an open standard platform.”
Lock-in drawbacks
Ettiene Myburgh, team leader of operating systems and open source at RDB Consulting, says businesses now understand the drawbacks of a lock-in type of environment.
“They also now understand the costs associated with implementing new products or switching environments, and are beginning to demand greater flexibility and protection of their initial investment.”
Myburgh also points out that while it is true that integrating third-party solutions into a vendor-homogenous environment was possible in the past, this was a costly exercise that with today's budget-conscious environment, it simply is no longer a viable business practice.
He believes greater interoperability means fewer issues when it comes to updating systems or implementing new solutions, and vendor neutrality allows for a wider range of choice when it comes to selecting the system that would work best for an organisation.
“It also enables more efficient use of existing resources with greater flexibility than a homogenous environment. This, in turn, offers greater opportunities to optimise, because of the wider variety of available solution options, ensuring robustness, durability and high quality of enterprise-wide infrastructure,” states Myburgh.
The business world has changed, and with it the IT world as a result, he adds. “Where once IT managers were simply looking for a solution that would enable their business, there are now hosts of other factors that need to be considered.
“These range from flexibility to the ability to choose from different vendors, ensuring that products from different vendors interoperate, making certain that existing investment is protected, saving costs, lowering total cost of ownership and ensuring that the organisation is not constrained by its IT systems,” Myburgh says.
Kgabo Badimo, MD of Spescom DataVoice, concurs, saying today, unlike a decade ago, there's no need to buy into a huge, multifaceted end-to-end applications and spend endless man hours customising it to suit the business.
“Nor should there be the need to invest in a myriad of standalone proprietary applications,” he notes.
Vendors exposed
According to Badimo, the emergence of open standards and architecture is exposing vendors whose competitive advantage relies on tightly bundling functionality and limiting integration.
Everyone wants to move up the value chain, he says. “That means recognising the power of new technology developments and the potential business value they introduce to the marketplace and leveraging them to the advantage of your customers and your organisation.”
Among the defining next-generation technology trends, he highlights the democratising benefits of the open source movement; the increasing familiarity with, and confidence enterprises are showing in the use of hosted and cloud-based applications and services.
Badimo explains: “The challenge faced by application and product houses is finding a balance between building open systems that allow for seamless integration while preserving proprietary intellectual property developed.”
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