By Greg Schulz

I’m always interested when I hear or read a software vendor or their value added reseller (VAR) or business partner claim that their solution eliminates vendor lock-in.

More often than not, I end up being amazed if not amused over the claims which usually should be rephrased as ‘eliminating hardware vendor lock-in.’

What is also amazing (or amusing) is that while some vendors make claims of eliminating (hardware) vendor lock-in, there is also some misdirection taking place.

While some solutions may be architected to cut hardware vendor lock-in, how they are sold or packaged can force certain vendors technology into your solution.

For example, the EMC Centera software in theory and architecture is hardware vendor independent, however it is sold as a solution (hardware and software), similar to how Dell sells the DX which uses software from Caringo and – you guessed right – Dell hardware, among …