Resources: models, data and budget|INEMA.CLUB-PRO

Lesson 6 · 20 min

Vendor and lock-in

AI tools get discontinued, change prices and change rules within months. Whoever finds out on the day of the notice pays more. Lock-in is being stuck with a vendor because leaving costs too much. In this lesson you separate what belongs to the company from what belongs to the vendor, write the exit triggers, and build the switch plan before you need it.

Start the lesson
A meeting table with a printed contract, a pen and a highlighter; a manager and the company owner follow a video call on a large screen.

In this lesson you will

  1. 1What belongs to the company and must live outside the platform
  2. 2The signs that you're getting stuck
  3. 3Exit triggers written before the notice
  4. 4Switch plan with cost, owner, deadline and a rehearsal

Goal: plan the switch of a model or tool before you need to: what is yours, what changes, how much it costs, who does it and how long it takes.

01From what is yours to the exit plan

Knowing what's yours comes first; the plan only works if these files exist outside the tool. Tap each part.

Click each block in the diagram to see what it does.

Principle of the Gestoria method (INEMA): choose models by evidence on real tasks, without depending on one vendor. Horizonte: fictional study company.

02How not to get stuck

Four steps. The plan is cheap to write and expensive to improvise.

1. Take what's yours off the platform

Export to a company file everything you wrote and measured. Text and spreadsheets work in any tool; configuration in a proprietary format only works in that one.

Also check that the history (conversations, action logs) comes out in a format you can read outside the platform. History that won't export is the most common form of lock-in.

At Horizonte (fictional)Hora's constitution only existed typed into the WhatsApp platform's dashboard. Now it's in the company file, version 2.0, with Patrícia as its owner; the dashboard gets a copy.

03Template to copy: exit plan

One plan per key vendor. The tab next to this one shows the exit plan for the vendor of Hora's model.

Vendor exit plan
EXIT PLAN · vendor <...> · what it provides <model/platform/connector>
Processes that depend on it: <...> · plan owner: <name> · date <...>

WHAT IS OURS (copy outside the platform, open format)
[ ] constitution / instructions   v<...>  in <folder>
[ ] context package              v<...>  in <folder>
[ ] authority limit matrix and tool contracts
[ ] 20 cases with the right answer (folder the agent does not read)
[ ] records and history: can it export? [ ] yes, format <...>  [ ] no -> risk

WHAT IS THEIRS: <model/version, configuration format, connector, current price
                checked on <date>>

EXIT TRIGGERS (any one activates the plan)
- notice of discontinuation or end of version
- price rises by more than <...>% or cost per completed task goes above R$ <...>
- terms start allowing use of our data for training
- <n> critical errors in the test cases after a version change
- serious incident / contract expires on <date>

ALTERNATIVE: <vendor/configuration> · last rehearsal: <date> · result <...>

SWITCH
| What changes | Who does it | Hours | R$ | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| <...> | <name> | <...> | <...> | <...> |
DURING THE SWITCH: affected actions go back to yellow; test cases run again
TOTAL ESTIMATED COST: R$ <...> · TIMELINE: <...> · APPROVED BY: <name>
NEXT REHEARSAL: <date>
Prompt · what locks us in
You are a technology contracts consultant. Below is a description of
how a company uses an AI vendor and the exit plan it wrote.
Do not recommend a vendor: point out lock-in risks.

1. Which part of the company's work exists only inside the platform?
2. Which data or history does not leave in an open format?
3. Which exit trigger is missing or has no number?
4. Did the cost of the switch forget anything (credentials, history,
   team training, manual approval period)?

Vendor use:
"""<paste>"""
Plan:
"""<paste>"""
Simulation: illustrative example

Exit plan · Hora's model vendor · Horizonte, fictional study company · owner: Patrícia · technical lead: Rafael · approves: Carlos

  • Ours, outside the platform: constitution v2.0, context package v3, matrix and contracts v1, the 20 cases (folder "testes-hora"). Conversation history: export to a spreadsheet, once a month.
  • Theirs: the mid-tier model and its version; the price, checked on the website on 10/15.
  • Triggers: discontinuation; price +30%; cost per request above R$ 8; data terms of use changing; more than 1 critical error in the 20 cases after a version change.
  • Alternative: another mid-tier configuration, from another vendor · trial run on 10/16: 15 correct, 4 acceptable, 1 incorrect, 0 critical.
  • Switch: Rafael reconfigures and tests (16 h, R$ 1,440); Patrícia approves everything in yellow for 2 weeks (5 extra hours, R$ 400). Estimated total R$ 1,840, 3 weeks.
  • Next trial run: October 2027.

04Practice

Hora's model vendor plan to practice on; the plan for one of your own vendors for real.

1 · Hora's plan

30 min

Fill in the exit plan for the vendor of Hora's model, using the pieces from lessons 2 to 4 as "what is ours". Then write one extra line for the daily summary service: which trigger has already fired and what the first step of the switch is. Run the prompt and answer each point.

Done when: the plan has at least 5 items under "what is ours" with the folder for each, at least 4 triggers with a number or an event, the alternative with a rehearsal date, the switch table with owner, hours, R$ and timeline on each line, and the daily summary line with the trigger that fired.

2 · One of your vendors

45 min

Choose the AI vendor your process depends on most. Find out with IT what it can export and what it cannot. Write the plan, set the date of the first rehearsal, and take the triggers to whoever approves the purchase.

Done when: the plan is saved with what is yours outside the platform (or the list of what still needs to be exported, with a deadline), the triggers with numbers, the estimated cost of the switch with owner and timeline, and the rehearsal date on the calendar.

Lab pieces: Hora's configuration and customer service summary (F10).

05Quick quiz

4 questions. The explanation appears after you try.

Question 1 of 4

The agent's constitution exists only typed into the platform's panel. What is the risk?

06Summary

What is yours, outsideInstructions, context, contracts, cases and history in open format.
Signs of lock-inHistory you can't export, a proprietary format, a price with no cap.
Triggers with numbersWritten before the notice, reviewed with the inventory.
Rehearsed planWhat, how much, who, when. Annual rehearsal with the 20 cases.

To go further

Horizonte Lab: the service summary on a free service (F10, fictional study company)AI Management Area: the nine management objects of the 2027 managerProfessional 2030 Base: the vendor and where the data can go
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