Open vs. Closed: Why Your Evidence Should Never Be Held Hostage

LensLock Uses Open Standards. Many Vendors Don’t. Here’s Why That Matters.

Here’s a question: What happens when you need to export videos for a court case and your vendor charges you per file to access your own evidence?

Or when your contract ends and you discover that moving to a different system means leaving behind years of body camera footage because it’s locked in a proprietary format?

This is the reality with closed ecosystem vendors. They use proprietary systems that can lock you in. LensLock built our platform differently, using open-standard architecture that keeps your data under your control.

Open standards here means standard video formats, export without penalties, and APIs that let you integrate with your existing systems.

Here’s exactly why that matters to your department.

How Vendor Lock In Works

Vendors with closed source platforms play a simple game: Get you in. Make it expensive to leave. Raise prices.

How closed ecosystem systems lock you in:

• Proprietary File Formats

Your videos aren’t in standard formats. They’re in custom formats that only work with their software. Want to switch vendors? Good luck migrating 10 years of evidence.

• Export Fees

Some vendors charge per video to export your own evidence. Others make it technically difficult enough that you need to hire outside help just to get your data out.

• API Restrictions

Want to integrate with your CAD system? That’ll be extra. Need to share with the DA’s office? Pay for the premium tier. Looking to add AI analytics? Better hope they offer it, or you’re stuck.

• Forced Upgrades

Software updates aren’t optional when everything’s in the cloud. They push changes. You adapt. Pay for new features you didn’t ask for. Deal with interfaces that change every six months.

What Open Standards Mean in Evidence Management

We built our system on open standards because we’ve seen what happens when departments lose control of their own evidence. While some vendors use proprietary systems that lock you in, LensLock uses open-standard architecture that sets you free.

Your Data Stays Yours

• Standard Video Formats

MP4, AVI, standard formats that work with any player, any system, any future vendor. Your evidence isn’t held hostage by proprietary technology.

• Free Export

Need to pull videos for discovery? Download them. All of them. No fees. No restrictions. It’s your evidence.

• Open APIs

Integrate with whatever system makes sense for your department. CAD, RMS, court systems, AI analytics tools. If it exists, you can connect it.

Learn more about how LensLock helps you integrate with CAD and RMS and other systems.

• Microsoft Azure Government Cloud

FBI CJIS-compliant storage that you can access, export, and migrate. No proprietary cloud infrastructure that locks you in.

Learn more about LensLock evidence management on Azure Government.

What This Actually Means for Your Department

Budget Protection

When you control your data, you control your negotiating position. No vendor can raise prices significantly and know you’re stuck because migration is impossible.

We’ve seen departments using closed systems report:

• Substantial price increases at contract renewal

• High migration costs to switch vendors

• Per-video export fees that add up fast

Legal Compliance Made Simple

Discovery requests shouldn’t require IT consultants and vendor fees. With standard formats:

• Defense attorneys get what they need in hours, not weeks

• Public records requests don’t require specialized software

• Chain of custody remains clear and verifiable

Future-Proof Technology

With new AI video analysis tools becoming available, closed systems make you wait. You end up hoping your vendor adopts them. Open standards let you integrate what works best for your department.

Real Interoperability

Your body cameras should work with:

• Your CAD system

• Your in-car cameras

• Your DA’s evidence portal

• Your court system

• Any future tool your department needs

Closed systems? You get what the vendor allows. Open standards? You get what works best for your department.

Procurement Checklist (Copy Into Your RFP)

Place these requirements in writing. Do not accept vague answers.

• Export the full evidence library at any time, at no cost

• Export in standard formats (MP4 or equivalent), without proprietary playback

• Provide documented APIs for CAD, RMS, courts, and prosecutors

• Define migration process, timelines, and costs in writing

• Confirm the department owns all data and metadata

  
  

The Questions You Should Ask Any Vendor

Before you sign anything, ask these questions:

• “Can I export my entire evidence library in standard video formats without fees?” If the answer is anything other than “yes, immediately, at no cost,” you’re looking at vendor lock-in.

• “If I switch vendors in 5 years, what does migration cost?” Get it in writing. Include data export, format conversion, and technical support.

• “Do you use proprietary file formats or standard formats?” Standard formats (MP4, AVI, MOV) mean freedom. Proprietary formats mean dependence.

• “What APIs do you provide, and are there usage limits or fees?” Open APIs mean integration. Restricted APIs mean vendor control.

• “Who owns the data, me or you?” Seems obvious, but read the fine print. Some vendors claim rights to your evidence.

The Real Cost of Closed Systems

Here’s what vendor lock-in actually costs departments:

Financial

• Higher renewal prices when they know you can’t leave

• Export fees that add up with every court case

• Integration fees for basic functionality that should be standard

• Migration costs that make switching vendors difficult

Operational

• Delays on public records requests

• Complicated discovery processes that slow investigations

• Inability to adopt new technology without vendor approval

• Forced software updates that change workflows overnight

Strategic

• Limited negotiating leverage at contract renewal

• Dependence on a single vendor’s innovation roadmap

• Risk of vendor acquisition changing everything overnight

• Potential data loss if vendor goes out of business

Why Some Vendors Go Closed Ecosystem

It’s not about better technology. It’s about business model.

Closed systems create captive customers. Once you’re in, switching costs more than staying, even when prices keep rising.

They’ll talk about “ecosystem integration” and “seamless experience.” What they mean is: “We control everything, and you’re not going anywhere.”

The LensLock Approach

We make money by being better partners, not by holding your data hostage.

Our Model

• Competitive pricing based on value, not captivity

• Open standards that let you leave anytime

• APIs that work with whatever systems you need

• Evidence management you control completely

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The result: We have to earn your business every year by delivering better service, better support, and better technology. Not by making it impossible to leave.

Many of our new customers come from referrals and from departments switching away from competitors. That doesn’t happen when you’re holding departments hostage with proprietary systems.

What This Means in Practice

Court Case Tomorrow

Download all relevant videos in minutes. Standard formats work with any presentation software. No vendor fees. No delays.

New DA System

Your IT team integrates it via API in a few hours. No vendor approval. No integration fees. Just works.

Contract Renewal

You have options. Real options. Export your data anytime. Competitive pricing because we know you could leave. That’s how it should be.

Ten Years From Now

Your evidence from 2025 is still accessible, still usable, still yours. Regardless of which vendor you’re using.

FAQ

What is evidence vendor lock-in?

It’s when export, formats, integrations, or contract terms make switching platforms expensive or impractical.

What should an agency require to prevent lock-in?

Standard formats, export without penalties, open APIs, and written migration and data ownership terms.

Do open APIs matter if the vendor already has integrations?

Yes. APIs protect flexibility when systems change and when new tools are introduced.

Does vendor lock-in affect budgets?

Yes. If leaving is hard, renewal pricing is not disciplined by competition.

The Bottom Line

Your evidence should never be a bargaining chip in a vendor relationship.

Standard formats. Open APIs. Your data under your control. That’s not a nice-to-have feature. It’s the foundation of fiscal responsibility and data sovereignty.

When you own your data in accessible formats, you own your future. When a vendor controls your data through proprietary systems, they control your budget, your options, and your timeline.

Simple question: Who should control evidence from your department, you or your vendor?

We think the answer is obvious.

Ready to talk about evidence management that respects your sovereignty?We’ll show you exactly how our open-standard architecture works, what migration looks like from closed systems, and why departments that value fiscal control choose LensLock.

Talk to LensLock