Agent Infrastructure and the Platform Trap
Platforms are seductive. They promise convenience, features, and support. But they create a trap: lock-in, dependency, and limited innovation.
The Platform Trap
Platforms create lock-in:
Data lock-in: Your data lives in their database. Moving means losing data.
API lock-in: Your code depends on their APIs. Changing providers means rewriting.
Feature lock-in: You depend on their features. They control what's available.
Pricing lock-in: They control pricing. You're locked into their model.
Why Platforms Do This
Platforms optimize for:
Vendor lock-in: The harder it is to leave, the more revenue they capture.
Control: They control what features to build, what pricing to charge.
Ecosystem capture: They capture value from the ecosystem, not just provide infrastructure.
This works for platforms. It doesn't work for users.
The Protocol Alternative
Protocols avoid the trap:
No data lock-in: On-chain state is yours. You can move to another provider.
No API lock-in: Open protocols work across implementations. Multiple providers compete.
No feature lock-in: Composable services let you mix and match. Use what you need.
No pricing lock-in: Multiple providers compete on price. You choose based on value.
Why This Matters for Agents
Agents operate autonomously. They need infrastructure they can depend on long-term:
Portability: Agents need to move between providers without losing functionality.
Composability: Agents need to use services from multiple providers together.
Innovation: Agents need infrastructure that evolves, not platforms that stagnate.
Trust: Agents need infrastructure they can verify, not platforms they must trust.
The Choice
Teams face a choice:
Platforms: Convenient now, locked in later.
Protocols: More work now, free later.
The teams that choose protocols will build the agent ecosystems that matter. The teams that choose platforms will be rebuilding later.
Why This Matters
The platform trap is real. The teams that avoid it will build the agent applications that last. The teams that fall into it will be rebuilding when platforms change policies or raise prices.
Agent infrastructure must be protocol-based, not platform-based. The question is which teams will build it.
Part of the EchoRift infrastructure series. Learn more about EchoRift architecture.