OpenAI just announced a major partnership with Amazon Web Services. Many people see this as the end of OpenAI’s exclusive relationship with Microsoft Azure. They think the lesson is that every company needs a multi-cloud strategy.
I do not think that is the case at all, I will tell you why.
For most founders, entrepreneurs, business leaders and owners, a multi-cloud strategy is a costly distraction. The OpenAI deal points to a much bigger problem. It shows the danger of being trapped by a single vendor. But the real prison for your business is not your cloud provider. It is your software.
A Partnership That Changes the Game
First, here are the simple facts. OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, will now use Amazon Web Services for its work. This is a big change.
- Who: OpenAI and Amazon Web Services (AWS).
- What: A multi-billion dollar deal to run AI models on AWS servers.
- Why: OpenAI wants to avoid relying on a single company. This move gives them more flexibility and security.
This deal shows that even the world’s top AI company wants to control its own destiny. They are avoiding vendor lock-in at the highest level.
The Lock-In You Don’t See
You should also avoid vendor lock-in, but the threat looks different for your business. Chasing a multi-cloud strategy is complex and expensive. It solves a problem you probably do not have. The real trap is the software you use every day.
Your business likely runs on several SaaS (Software as a Service) platforms. These tools run your sales, marketing, and operations. You are locked into their features, their prices, and their plans. You cannot control the roadmap. You cannot change the software to meet your specific needs. This is the lock-in that kills your ability to innovate and grow.
The lesson from OpenAI is to own your core technology. For most businesses, this means escaping the trap of SaaS lock-in by building custom software. This gives you full control over your features, your roadmap, your destiny, and most of all your software expendature.
However, owning your software is only half the battle. You must also ensure you don’t trade one prison for another by getting locked into your cloud provider. This is where the distinction between your application and your infrastructure becomes critical.
This is why we use Google Cloud as the foundation on which we build and run our custom solutions. By architecting our software to leverage its powerful, open-standard services like Kubernetes and Cloud SQL, we get the best of both worlds, decoupling applications from the underlying infrastructure.
Application Ownership: You own the custom software that runs your business. Infrastructure Freedom: Your application is portable. You can move it to another cloud provider without a major overhaul, because it’s built on open standards.
What to Do Next
This news should make you rethink your software, not your cloud provider. The conversation is changing.
The focus is shifting from the infrastructure to the application. Founders will realize that renting software from another company is not a long-term solution. Owning your core software is how you build a lasting business. People will stop asking which cloud is cheapest. They will start asking which cloud is the best platform to build and own their technology.
This is the kind of analysis I focus on daily. My goal is to cut through the noise and give you the clarity you need to build a business where you truly own your technology. If that’s your goal too, subscribe to the newsletter for exclusive insights.
