Ask HN: What happens when you remove lock-in from enterprise software economics?
hydrioxstate Friday, January 16, 2026We’ve been experimenting with enterprise systems where the client fully owns the software, data, and governance — no lock-in, no surveillance incentives, no growth-driven design pressure.
The surprising part isn’t technical feasibility, it’s how many standard vendor assumptions break once retention and upsell are no longer the goal.
Curious if others here have seen similar shifts, or if this only works at small scale.
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