Why there is no lock-in

Because the standard is open and many providers can implement it, no single supplier holds the data or the integration, and every exchange stays traceable. Here, avoiding lock-in is built into the open standard itself. The specification is public and any conforming provider can implement it, so continuity comes from the architecture and stays in place even when a supplier changes its terms.

Why lock-in happens by default

Cross-organisational data exchange usually routes through an intermediary: a platform, a hub, or a clearinghouse. Whoever holds that position sets the format and holds the routing table, and switching means re-integrating everyone. Even per-vendor integrations lock you in a quieter way: each connection carries its own integration to negotiate and maintain, so the cost of leaving grows with every partner you add.

What the open standard changes

When the addressing scheme, the message format, and the audit trail are specified openly, no single supplier can take back the guarantees that follow.

Any conforming provider can implement the same standard, so you can move between providers, or run your own node, without re-integrating your counterparties. The audit trail sits on the public audit layer, where no single party controls it, so who shared what, when, and on what basis can be checked independently of any provider. And because every record and proof is portable and exportable, if one provider stops operating, another conforming provider, or you, can retrieve the data and keep serving it. Nothing you build or adopt is trapped.

Open and paid, without a lock

Everything needed to build, host, and operate an interoperable implementation is source-available and free to self-host, with no licence fee and no required integration with any managed service. The paid route is managed provisioning: a provider operates an implementation for organisations that would rather not run the infrastructure themselves. Paying for provisioning covers running the infrastructure and the service guarantees around it. The specification remains open to everyone and participation needs no one's permission, so what you pay for is operation, and the standard itself stays outside the deal. The standard is identical whether you run it yourself or pay someone to operate it.

Where to go deeper

• The governance that keeps it open: Governance and working group.
• The technical basis: What this adds beyond Kafka and Anchoring and the audit log.
• The wider argument: The base layer.