Lock-In: Let Me Count the Ways

We've all heard the term "Vendor Lock-in," but many don't know about the wide variety of ways in which this stealthy lock-in takes place. Rigidity and frustration caused by this lock-in can mean high costs for enterprises and unhappiness for developers. With new technologies like virtualization and cloud computing, vendors are finding more ways to force users to stay on their platform and purchase their offerings.  The following list describes the different kinds of lock-in that have been seen in the IT industry.