# Lock-in

> Lock-in is a customer's dependence on a supplier that makes it less attractive, or harder, to switch to a different one.

Original page: https://t10.de/en/glossary/lock-in
Publisher: total10 GmbH, https://t10.de/en/glossary

EU law takes up the subject in the [Data Act](https://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/2854/oj), Regulation (EU) 2023/2854. Recital 88 states that unnecessarily high data egress charges (fees for moving data out of a service) and other unjustified charges unrelated to actual switching costs inhibit customers from switching. Such charges, it adds, have the potential to limit competition and cause lock-in effects for customers. Chapter VI covers switching between data processing services, meaning cloud-type services rather than bespoke software in general.

In our view, the dependency can also be technical, for instance when the source code stays with the provider, documentation is missing or data cannot be handed over in full. With bespoke software, the freedom to switch therefore depends on who owns the code and the data.

Our own rule is 'no lock-in': code, data and workflows belong to the client, documented and ready to hand over. For software we build on Symfony, the client gets full rights to the versioned source code, which is likewise documented and ready to hand over. There is no vendor lock-in, not even with us. For AI agents our principle is that the model is an interchangeable tool and the system belongs to the client. Ongoing optimisation work in e-commerce comes with no long-term commitment.

## See also

- [API](https://t10.de/en/glossary/api): An API (application programming interface) is a defined set of functions and rules that lets one piece of software use the features or data of another system or service.
- [Symfony](https://t10.de/en/glossary/symfony): Symfony is an open-source PHP framework, a ready-made foundation for web applications, released under the MIT licence and developed by its community to a fixed release schedule.
- [Business application](https://t10.de/en/glossary/business-application): In general terms, a business application is software used to perform or support business functions.

## Where the term appears

- [About us: no lock-in](https://t10.de/en/about-us)
- [Bespoke software with Symfony: who owns the code?](https://t10.de/en/symfony-development)
- [Custom AI agents for businesses](https://t10.de/en/ai-agents)
- [total10 - software for e-commerce and pharma](https://t10.de/en/)

## Sources

1. [Regulation (EU) 2023/2854 (Data Act), recital 88](https://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/2854/oj), Publications Office of the EU (EUR-Lex), accessed 2026-11-07