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I don't think lock-in should be a problem for most startups - in the same sense most startups don't need kubernetes. For almost everyone, I'd say: just pick a

I don't think lock-in should be a problem for most startups - in the same sense most startups don't need kubernetes. For almost everyone, I'd say: just pick a cloud provider, stick to it, and (unless your whole business model is about computing resource management) your time is almost certainly better spent on other things. I'm working at a company that had moved into AWS before I joined and I don't see it ever moving out of AWS. Of course we have some issues with our infrastructure, but "we're stuck at AWS" is the least of my concern. Any project to move stuff out of AWS is not going to be worth the engineering cost.

dijit 5y ago
I guess the context is incredibly different. Usually I’m not working in startups. Usually I’m responsible for 10s-100s of millions of Euro projects. Of course being pragmatic is a large part of what has led me to a successful career; and in that spirit of course whatever works for you is the best and I’m not going to refute it. I would also argue for a single VPS over kubernetes for a startup, it’s incredibly unnecessary for an MVP or a relatively limited number of users. But I wouldn’t argue for the kind of lock-in you describe. I have seen many times how hitching your wagon to another company can hurt your long term goals. Using a couple of VPSs leaves your options open. As soon as you’re buying the kook-aid of something that can’t easily be replicated outside the you’re hoping that none of the scenarios I’ve seen happen again. Things I’ve seen: Locayta: a search system, was so deeply integrated that our SaaS search was permanently crippled. That company went under but we could not possibly move away. It was a multi-year effort. One of our version control systems changed pricing model so that we paid 90x more overall. We could do nothing because we’d completely hitched our wagon on this system. Replacing all build scripts, documentation and training users was a year long effort at the least. So we paid the piper. This happens all the time: Adobe being another example that hasn’t impacted me directly. It’s important in negotiations to be able to walk away.

dijit 5y ago

I guess the context is incredibly different. Usually I’m not working in startups. Usually I’m responsible for 10s-100s of millions of Euro projects. Of course being pragmatic is a large part of what has led me to a successful career; and in that spirit of course whatever works for you is the best and I’m not going to refute it. I would also argue for a single VPS over kubernetes for a startup, it’s incredibly unnecessary for an MVP or a relatively limited number of users. But I wouldn’t argue for the kind of lock-in you describe. I have seen many times how hitching your wagon to another company can hurt your long term goals. Using a couple of VPSs leaves your options open. As soon as you’re buying the kook-aid of something that can’t easily be replicated outside the you’re hoping that none of the scenarios I’ve seen happen again. Things I’ve seen: Locayta: a search system, was so deeply integrated that our SaaS search was permanently crippled. That company went under but we could not possibly move away. It was a multi-year effort. One of our version control systems changed pricing model so that we paid 90x more overall. We could do nothing because we’d completely hitched our wagon on this system. Replacing all build scripts, documentation and training users was a year long effort at the least. So we paid the piper. This happens all the time: Adobe being another example that hasn’t impacted me directly. It’s important in negotiations to be able to walk away.