Which scenario occurs when a vendor's product design leads to integration challenges with other vendor products?

Vendor lockout occurs when a vendor's product is designed in such a way that it complicates or prevents effective integration with products from other vendors. This situation can arise when proprietary technologies or unique standards are implemented that do not align with industry norms or other vendors' offerings, leading to challenges in using multiple solutions together.

For example, if a vendor develops a software product that uses a proprietary data format, it could make it difficult for organizations to use that software alongside other applications that utilize different formats unless significant additional development work is carried out. Thus, vendor lockout not only restricts choices for consumers but also can limit overall interoperability in a multi-vendor ecosystem.

In contrast, vendor lock-in usually refers to a situation where a customer becomes dependent on a vendor for products and services, leading to high switching costs and a reluctance to move away from that vendor. Vendor viability addresses the stability and longevity of a vendor business rather than integration issues. Source code escrow is a mechanism to protect against vendor failure by having access to the source code, but it does not directly relate to integration challenges.