Plan the Vendor Exit Before It Becomes Urgent

A vendor dependency is easier to manage before a renewal, outage, or price change makes the choice for you.

For one essential service, create a one-page exit card:

• What work depends on this vendor—and who owns that dependency?
• Can you retrieve the data and configuration you would need to continue?
• What is the simplest temporary fallback if the service becomes unavailable?

Then, at the next renewal or major change, verify the answers with the people responsible. If the fallback exists only in someone’s memory, or the data cannot be moved in a usable form, that is useful evidence to address—not a reason to add another tool immediately.

Continuity is not always about leaving. It is about keeping the choice to stay or change in your hands.