What engineering leaders get wrong about data stack consolidation

Acquiring open-source data infrastructure vendors can turn neutral tools into proprietary platform features.

IBM’s Confluent deal and earlier DataStax absorption illustrate how integration can accumulate architectural debt and switching costs.

More vendor integrations can erode portability, making future migrations and renegotiations harder and more expensive.

Engineering leaders should treat data stack consolidation as an autonomy and lock-in risk, not just a procurement issue.