What could result from vendor lock-out?

Vendor lock-out refers to a situation where a customer is unable to move their data or applications away from a specific vendor's platform due to proprietary systems, compatibility issues, or technical limitations. The correct answer indicates that a potential consequence of vendor lock-out can be the permanent loss of data access. This situation often arises when data is stored in a format that is not easily transferable or exportable to other systems, or when a vendor goes out of business or stops supporting a particular product. As a result, if the customer can no longer access their data, it could lead to significant operational challenges and loss of information critical to the business.

While increased costs of operations could be another possible outcome of vendor lock-out—especially if a business needs to pay higher prices due to a lack of competition—the most direct and severe risk is the permanent loss of access to data. Improved service options and enhanced data backups do not typically emerge from vendor lock-out, as these scenarios would suggest a flexibility and freedom to select from multiple vendors and solutions, which is contrary to the nature of being locked into a single vendor.