I intend this post more as a discussion starter, but I welcome any comments, criticisms, or opposing views.

I would like to draw your attention for a moment to the topic of 'cloud exit.' While this may seem unusual here, I believe that most organizations—whether startups or enterprises—lack an understanding of the vendor lock-in they encounter with a cloud-first strategy, and there are limited tools available on the market to assess these risks.

Due to unfavorable market conditions as a cloud security freelancer, I've had more time over the last couple of months, which is why I started building a unified cloud exit assessment solution that helps organizations understand the risks associated with their cloud landscape and supports them in better understanding the risks, challenges and constraints of a potential cloud exit.

The solution is still in its early stages (I’ve built it without VC funding or other investors), but I would be happy to share it with you for your review and feedback.

The 'assessment engine' is based on the following building blocks: 1) Define Scope & Exit Strategy type: For Microsoft Azure, the scope can be a resource group, while for AWS, it can be an AWS account and region. 2) Build Resource Inventory: List the used resources/services. 3) Build Cost Inventory: Identify the associated costs of the used resources/services. 4) Perform Risk Assessment: Apply a pre-defined rule set to examine the resources and complexity within the defined scope. 5) Conduct Alternative Technology Analysis: Evaluate the available alternative technologies on the market. 6) Develop Report (Exit Strategy/Exit Plan): Create a report based.

I've created a lighweight version of the assessment engine and you can try it on your own: https://exitcloud.io/ (No registration or credit card required)

Example report - EU: https://report.eu.exitcloud.io/737d5f09-3e54-4777-bdc1-059f5f5b2e1c/index.html (for users who do not want to test it on their own infrastructure, but are interested in the output report )

the example report used the 'Migration to Alternate Cloud' exit strategy, which is why you can find only cloud-related alternative technologies.

To avoid any misunderstandings, here are a few notes: - The lightweight version was built on Microsoft Azure because it was the fastest and simplest way to set it up. (Yes, a bit ironic…) - I have no preference for any particular cloud service provider; each has its own advantages and disadvantages. - I am neither a frontend nor a hardcore backend developer, so please excuse me if the aforementioned lightweight version contains some 'hacks.' - I’m not trying to convince anyone that the cloud is good or bad. - Since a cloud exit depends on an enormous number of factors and there can be many dependencies for an application, my goal is not to promise a solution that solves everything with just a Next/Next/Finish approach.

Best regards, Bence.