Vendor Lock-in and Concentration Risk
AI programs become fragile when one vendor controls core model access, tooling, and pricing leverage. Lock-in can quickly become a strategic and financial risk.
Lesson: preserve portability and second-source options before renewal pressure arrives.Why this matters in practice
Commercial concentration reduces negotiation power and increases operational exposure to pricing changes, outages, and policy shifts. Architecture choices and contract terms should keep exit routes practical, not theoretical.
What to check in your organization
1. Can critical use cases switch model providers with limited rework?
2. Are data formats, prompts, and evaluation pipelines portable?
3. Do contracts include clear service, pricing, and exit provisions?
4. Is there a tested fallback provider for high-impact workflows?
Learn more
Explain: AI Buy vs Build Decision Framework
Apply: OWASP LLM Top 10 (Supply Chain)
Authority: EBA DORA third-party risk standards
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