In the last decade, "SaaS" (Software as a Service) became the default business model. It sounded perfect: no servers to manage, just a monthly fee. But for many SMEs, this convenience has morphed into a trap.
You are no longer buying software; you are renting your own operational capacity. And unlike a landlord who fixes the roof, proprietary vendors often raise the rent while offering you less control. This is the Proprietary Lock-in Trap.
The Three Layers of Lock-in
Vendor lock-in is not just about difficult data exports. It operates on three distinct layers that stifle your growth:
- Data Gravity: Vendors make it easy to put data in, but excruciatingly hard to get it out. If your customer history is trapped in a format only Salesforce or Oracle can read, you don't own your customers—they do.
- The "Success Tax": Most proprietary licensing models punish growth. As you add employees or revenue, your software costs scale disproportionately. You are fined for succeeding.
- Roadmap Dependency: If a feature is critical to your business but not to the vendor's mass market, it will never get built. You are forced to adapt your unique business process to fit their generic tool.
THE SOVEREIGNTY PRINCIPLE
If you cannot fork the code, you do not own the process. Open Source is not about getting software for "free"; it is about the liberty to modify the tool to fit the hand, rather than breaking the hand to fit the tool.
The Open Source Advantage
At Tactics Solutions, we advocate for an Open Source First strategy. This does not mean you must write code. It means choosing platforms (like PostgreSQL, Linux, Odoo, or n8n) where the underlying engine is transparent and portable.
When you build on Open Source:
- You Own the Data: Your database lives on your terms. You can migrate it, query it, or back it up without asking for permission.
- You Control the Roadmap: If you need a custom integration, you can build it. You are not waiting for a vendor's Q4 update.
- No Artificial Ceilings: You pay for infrastructure, not seat licenses. Adding the 100th employee costs the same as adding the 1st.
Conclusion
Building a company on proprietary software is like building a skyscraper on rented land. It works until the lease is up. We help organisations secure their digital sovereignty by migrating critical infrastructure to open, owned foundations.
SECURE YOUR INFRASTRUCTURE →