Critical review of vendor lock-in and its impact on adoption of cloud computing

Abstract

Cloud computing offers an innovative business model for organizations to adopt IT services at a reduced cost with increased reliability and scalability. However organizations are slow in adopting the cloud model due to the prevalent vendor lock-in issue and challenges associated with it. While the existing cloud solutions for public and private companies are vendor locked-in by design, their existence is subject to limited possibility to interoperate with other cloud systems. In this paper we have presented a critical review of pertinent business, technical and legal issues associated with vendor lock-in, and how it impacts on the widespread adoption of cloud computing. The paper attempts to reflect on the issues associated with interoperability and portability, but with a focus on vendor lock-in. Moreover, the paper demonstrates the importance of interoperability, portability and standards applicable to cloud computing environments along with highlighting other corporate concerns due to the lock-in problem. The outcome of this paper provides a foundation for future analysis and review regarding the impact of vendor neutrality for corporate cloud computing application and services.