Lock-in
The condition of being unable to leave a vendor at acceptable cost. It comes in technical (proprietary interfaces, trapped data), economic (prepaid commitments, reset discounts, migration cost), and organizational (skills and processes shaped around one vendor) forms.
Defined in 2 GAGE programs, which carry 3 distinct definitions of it. The wording above is taught in Certified AI Transformation Professional (CATP).
How each discipline defines it
The same term does different work depending on who is using it. These are the definitions as each program teaches them, unedited.
The condition of being unable to leave a vendor at acceptable cost. It comes in technical (proprietary interfaces, trapped data), economic (prepaid commitments, reset discounts, migration cost), and organizational (skills and processes shaped around one vendor) forms.
The degree to which an option ties you to something, a vendor, a specific model version, or your own maintenance burden and team knowledge, and how costly and possible it is to leave. An option you cannot exit is a decision you cannot reverse.
The cost and difficulty of switching away from a system once you depend on it, especially a bought one. High lock-in raises the true cost of a buy verdict and should be weighed at the decision, before the dependence exists.
Where it is taught
The exact lessons this term appears in. The first module of every program is free with a free account.
- Build, buy, or wrap: the decision framework with your organization's real budget · Shipping AI and Surviving the Incident, Certified AI Governance Professional (CAIGP)
- Build, buy, or kill: the quarterly portfolio review with real numbers · The Money: Budgets, ROI, and Risk, Certified AI Governance Professional (CAIGP)
- Vendor Management and Contracts · Technology, Platforms and Vendors, Certified AI Transformation Professional (CATP)
Where it shows up at work
A definition is where Lock-in starts. The lessons above teach it inside the competencies below, which are what job descriptions ask for and what the GAGE credential records. Every link here is drawn from the same careers map that builds a role's readiness check.
Writes requirements, runs a fair evaluation, pilots within limits, and refuses a demo as evidence.
2 lessons on this page teach it as a primary outcome.
Tiers vendors by use and impact, requests evidence instead of promises, tests in the customer's context, and plans monitoring and exit.
One lesson on this page teach it as a primary outcome.
Decides where AI should be used, where it should not, and which use cases create measurable value, tied to the organization's priorities.
One lesson on this page teach it as a primary outcome.
Roles that hire for it
Each role page shows the full competency set, what the seat decides, and a readiness check against your own evidence.
- Chief Information Officer, technology leadership editionneeds it at depth
- AI Vendor Risk Managerneeds it at depth
- Third-Party AI Risk Analystneeds it at depth
- Third-Party Cyber Risk Managerneeds it at depth
- Chief AI Officerneeds it at depth
- Chief Audit Executive, AI audit editionneeds working knowledge
How job descriptions say it
Postings rarely use the textbook word. These are the phrases the careers map reads as asking for the competencies above.
Where the frameworks place it: CISA software acquisition guidance; NIST AI RMF GOVERN 6 and MANAGE 3; ISO/IEC 42001 Annex A supplier controls.
One interview question about it
How do you buy an AI product well, from writing the requirement to the questions you ask in the demo?
Asked of candidates for buying ai well. Answering it in your own words is exactly how a GAGE topic is passed, and the credential records the pass where an employer can check it.
If you come from another field
Some backgrounds already carry this competency, and the readiness check gives credit for it.
- Privacy and data protection carries it as a claim to back up: Processor and vendor review is routine privacy work.
- Cybersecurity and IT carries it as a claim to back up: Supplier security assessment is routine.
- Nonprofit program and grants oversight carries it as a claim to back up: Reviewing grant and vendor agreements for data terms is vendor review.
Terms it appears with
Not an alphabetical neighbourhood: these are the terms taught in the same lessons, ranked by how often they appear together.