The reflex
A tool or a supplier answers the immediate need. You sign. Its cost in three years and the price of getting out, nobody has looked at.
The builder’s reflex
“Before we commit, how does the cost move with volume, and how long does it take to get out?”
Why
A service billed per message costs little at launch. Two years later it is wired into sign-up, reminders and receipts, volume has tripled, and switching would take six months. A vendor’s real price is what it costs the day you want to leave.
Currency counts too. A vendor billing in dollars when your income is in another currency makes you carry the exchange risk. Put it in the calculation.
Not every choice deserves this analysis. A small tool you can replace in a day, no. Whatever carries your customers, your data or your payments, yes.
The people who use, integrate, pay for and maintain the service each see a different risk. Ask them before you sign.
Try this
For an upcoming choice, write three lines:
Cost at current volume and at three times the volume, with the currency: …
What happens with a price rise or an outage, and the fallback: …
The work of getting out: data, integrations, training, time: …
Share them before you sign. Test an export of your data in the first week. If it is hard now, it will be worse in three years.
To discuss
Which vendor would hurt us most by doubling its price tomorrow?