From internal management, market analysis, and supply chain optimization to product development and customer engagement, data is embedded in every strategic step of modern enterprises. Yet for data to truly unleash its value, it must not only be stored securely but also migrated seamlessly and interoperable across multiple systems. This is the key to ensuring agility in an age where technology evolves at breakneck speed.
One of the greatest barriers enterprises face today is “vendor lock-in” — being tied to a single service provider. When an organization chooses a proprietary storage or cloud platform, its applications, workflows, and datasets are often optimized to function exclusively within that ecosystem. While this may provide convenience in the early stages, it creates long-term dependency that can become a strategic risk.
When businesses attempt to switch providers, they often face significant costs and risks: massive expenses for data migration, potential loss or corruption of data during the process, and even disruptions in daily operations. Technical obstacles such as incompatible data formats, closed APIs, or vendor-specific policies further exacerbate the difficulty. Many international companies have had to maintain dual infrastructures for years just to avoid data loss, creating enormous financial burdens.
In Vietnam, as the migration to cloud accelerates, the risk of lock-in is also a top concern, particularly for SMEs. While these businesses demand flexibility, lower costs, and rapid scalability, becoming dependent on a single provider could severely hinder their growth trajectory.
Integration with enterprise systems
Equally critical is the ability to integrate data with enterprise management software such as ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and CRM (Customer Relationship Management). These platforms form the operational backbone of modern enterprises, managing finance, HR, production, sales, and customer relations.
If data storage systems cannot integrate seamlessly with ERP or CRM, businesses face fragmented datasets, lack of synchronization, and difficulty in making informed decisions. Consider a simple example: the sales team records customer data in CRM, but without integration with the central data warehouse, the finance or production teams cannot align plans accordingly. This slows decision-making and wastes resources.
To avoid this, organizations must prioritize building open data infrastructures with robust APIs and flexible interoperability. Modern solutions increasingly support “plug-and-play” models — enabling new systems to integrate smoothly with existing infrastructure without major overhauls. This approach not only protects past investments but also secures long-term scalability.
Standardizing data formats for interoperability
At the foundation of interoperability lies data standardization. For years, many organizations have stored data in proprietary formats tied to specific software or internal systems. While convenient in the short run, this creates major barriers to sharing, migration, or integration with other platforms.
Adopting open and globally recognized data standards — from SQL, JSON, and XML to specialized formats for big data analytics — is now essential. Standardized data ensures that enterprises can easily migrate between storage platforms and remain prepared for emerging computing models such as hybrid cloud, multi-cloud, and edge computing.
In fact, several advanced economies have introduced legal frameworks requiring organizations to adopt open data standards in certain sectors, building interoperable ecosystems and reducing the risk of vendor monopolies. This is a valuable lesson for Vietnam as it develops its digital ecosystem at rapid pace.
Globally, leading corporations are increasingly embracing multi-cloud strategies to avoid dependency on a single provider. This allows them to leverage the unique strengths of each vendor — for example, advanced AI services from one and top-tier security features from another — while maintaining flexibility amid market changes.
For Vietnamese enterprises, particularly large corporations pursuing digital transformation, this model offers critical lessons. SMEs, too, should adopt clear strategies from the outset, avoiding short-term storage solutions that may complicate future expansion. Meanwhile, local service providers must quickly develop open, standardized, and easily integrable storage solutions to help businesses mitigate dependency risks.
In an age where data is a strategic asset, the ability to migrate data seamlessly and ensure broad interoperability is not just a technical requirement but a competitive necessity. Avoiding vendor lock-in, ensuring smooth integration with enterprise systems, and adopting international standards for data are the pathways for Vietnamese enterprises to move toward a sustainable, open, and future-ready digital ecosystem.