Regulators are intensifying their scrutiny of cloud pricing, focusing on egress fees and switching friction that keep customers locked in. Across the EU, UK, and US, momentum is building for rules that require portability, interoperability, and fair exit terms. Expect enforceable rights to exit and interoperate as the default.

For enterprises, this is a strategic opening. Cloud economics will shift from “discounts for lock-in” to “freedom to move,” altering negotiation leverage, FinOps assumptions, and resilience planning. Now is the time to harden exit rights in contracts, quantify egress exposure, and run switch drills. Architect for portability by default: containerize compute, externalize state, adopt open table formats, and avoid proprietary services where practical. Align governance so legal, procurement, security, and platform engineering share an exit‑readiness playbook and timelines.

Teams that act early will turn compliance into advantage—unlocking multi‑cloud optionality, better pricing, and stronger resilience without last‑minute scrambles. Those that wait may meet new rules with brittle architectures and unfavorable terms. Portability is becoming policy, and strategy should follow.