When looking for a software service, the first question that crosses the mind of entrepreneurs is: Do I look for a vendor-dependent service or implement an independent platform? It is a crucial decision for the fate of your project, so you must carefully consider the benefits of each option.
What does an independent platform imply?
When we talk about platform independent, we mean a system that can run on any operating system.
“It is the opposite of platform-dependent, which refers to software that only runs on one operating system or hardware platform. An example of platform-independent software is Microsoft Windows, which also runs on Mac systems. Because platform-independent software works in different computing environments, companies don't have to maintain multiple versions of one type of program", explained this term on Capterra.
Independent software is especially useful for entrepreneurs and small companies that may not have a very high budget to invest in platforms and technologies. They can install the same software on multiple machines and operating systems, instead of buying multiple versions of the same program.
Benefits of an independent platform
- They have a greater scope since there are no limitations so that they do not work on different operating systems.
- The maintenance of these independent platforms is much easier, because the updates apply to all the devices on which the software is running.
- Platform-independent code better conforms to different operating systems, ensuring a consistent look and feel.
How does a vendor-dependent service work?
These are those services that are closely linked to the provider, so much so that it would be very difficult to switch to another provider.
“Vendor lock-in refers to a situation where the cost of switching to another vendor is so high that the customer is practically forced to continue with the original vendor. Due to financial pressures, insufficient personnel or the need to avoid interruptions in business operations, the client has a dependency relationship”, they detailed in this regard on the Cloudflare portal.
This vendor lock-in can be even more so for cloud-hosted systems, raising concerns: “Having data hosted outside of the business environment causes some control over data to be lost. In addition, it may also happen that there is no interoperability or the possibility of porting the data because: they lack integration points with the current system because the provider does not provide it; there are incompatibility problems due to the format of the provider's proprietary data; among others”, they explained in Tic Portal.
One of the main disadvantages of this modality is that companies are tied and forced to continue with a provider, simply because terminating the service would be much more cumbersome and detrimental to the business.
To avoid reaching this point, you can do the following:
- Implement open-source software, since this way the company will have the freedom to work with the code in the way it wants, without depending on a technology provider.
- That all your technological solutions do not come from the same provider. If you have a problem with it, your company is at risk of being completely affected.
- You must pay attention to the contract and the clauses that will govern the employment relationship.
- Always have a local backup of all your data and operations in your company, that way you will not depend solely on the service provider.
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