Run a vendor dependency audit before an automation vendor exits

If an automation vendor exits, the first question is whether the export contains the records your operations rely on. Relay, an AI workflow automation company that started in 2021, is ending service.

The closure was first disclosed in July, and Relay.app's wind-down ends free-user access after August 15, 2026 and paid-customer access after September 14, 2026. Paying customers get 60 days of free usage, and annual customers should receive pro-rated refunds. Part of the team, including founder and CEO Jacob Bank, is moving to Google's Chrome team, where Bank will lead product and developer relations.

When the people who built the tool leave, the roadmap, support, and export behavior become less reliable. Export behavior is the part that determines whether a migration starts from files or from memory. A vendor being absorbed by a larger product team may still honor customers, but the incentives have changed.

Every automation vendor is a priced dependency

Vendor lock-in is an operations story before it is a security story. A shutdown, a 300 percent price jump, or an unannounced API change can erase operational records unless the records can be exported. If the export is missing, the replacement project starts from memory, and memory is the expensive part.

Just one third of organizations continuously monitor every third-party relationship for cyber risk. Most teams treat vendor risk as a legal checkbox. The audit below treats it as a running cost.

The audit should leave artifacts behind

Build the artifacts before you choose a replacement. Start with a data export inventory that lists what the vendor holds, what you can download, and what you cannot. Add a workflow breakage map that names the workflows that stop, the records they create, and the people who notice early. Price the replacement: the new tool, the migration labor, and the downtime you will accept. Set a risk price: the amount you would pay to keep the vendor from becoming a sole failure point.

The audit is short enough to run before a deadline

Relay's export documentation indicates that a workspace download may contain workflow files, run data, prompts, and history. The checklist below is the audit for automation vendor migration. Each item is a quick test, and the order is important because the export tells you what you actually own.

• Export the workspace and open the download to confirm it is complete.
• Use the export to count the workflows and steps.
• Name the workflows that depend on the vendor's core functions.
• Check the contract for a data migration fee clause.
• Open the replacement's import documentation and confirm it accepts the exported files.
• Assign an owner and a deadline for re-running a critical workflow in the new tool.
• Set a recurring reminder to re-test the export on a non-critical workflow.

In one Relay export, AI analysis found 66 active workflows, 371 total steps, and 46 AI steps. That count turns a vague migration into a budget. The breakage map decides what gets rebuilt early. The workflow that touches operational records should be first. The contract check tells you whether the exit has a known cost.

Make the next vendor easier to leave

A data migration fee clause can fix the vendor's assistance cost when a customer switches providers during the first 24 months. If the vendor will not sign it, treat that as a pricing signal. The replacement cost includes software, but the subscription fee is the easy number. The harder number is the work your team does to keep the old tool running, including the hours spent rebuilding the workflows that carried the business. If the export is incomplete, the risk price is higher.

Keep the export, the breakage map, and the replacement cost in the same folder as the contract.