3 AWS PROGRAMS THAT UNLOCK CLOUD COST SAVINGS
Asyourorganizationmatureitspublic cloud programs, the role of Financial Operations (FinOps) becomesincreasinglyvital.A FinOps approach toIT financial transparency ensureseffectivelymaximizedbudgetsby providing transparency into billing, usage, and overall spend.Tactics likepredictable cost models, internal chargeback/showbackpatterns, and vendor discount and incentive programsunlockcostsavings and overallpublic cloud efficiency.
AWSoffersdiscount and incentiveprograms that can beused to reduce cloud operating costs.Failure to takeadvantage ofapplicableprogramsleavesmoney on the table.
AWS Enterprise Discount Program
The Enterprise Discount Program (EDP) is one of AWS’s best-kept cost-saving secrets. Organizations that commit to apredeterminedannual AWS spend, typically $1 million or more, are eligible for contractually outlined discounts through the EDP. The discount will vary based on spend commitment but is generally ~9%. Qualifying spend can come from leveraging AWS solutions like EC2 on-demand instances, S3, and countless other services. EDP consumption can also be credited via AWS Professional Services,support,training, and the AWS Marketplace. Like traditionalEnterprise Agreementsor Enterprise Licensing Agreements, therisk of an AWS EDPlies infailure to hitthe committed spend threshold. In this case, the user would still be required to pay AWS the committed minimal spend. Thisriskis fundamentally no different thanshelfwarepurchased in an EAfor example. On the other hand, if an organization goes above their contractually committed spend, the discount is applied for any dollar amount over, provided it is not part of anexcluded category. A close relationship with your service partner can help validate the overall progress of EDP consumption and outline the best routes for meeting spend commitments. Note that services or training purchased prior toenteringan EDP will not have the savings applied. Therefore, the generally recommended flow of a large-scale migration project involvesenteringan EDPfirst,then signing up for a specific project or migration program SOW with other opportunities for additional savings.AWS Partner Opportunity Acceleration Program
AWS hasseveralservices programs available to customers based on the size of servicesspend. Theseprograms can be leveraged to reduce overall services spend and provide cost-optimization for onboarding new applications to the AWS platform. Thetwo main programs for achieving service cost savings (and complimenting EDP savings) are the AWS Partner Opportunity Acceleration (POA) program and the AWS Migration Acceleration Program (MAP). The AWS POA program is for specific projectswith well-defined outcomes.Toparticipate inthe POA program, organizations typically work with their strategic services partnertoestablisha specific scope of effort for a new, well-defined project. Total available funding for projectsisbased on projected AWS consumption foreachproject.91ýPOACase Study:
An international organizationimpacted by COVID-19 wanted to avoid spending millions of dollars on a new on-premises VDI deployment. 91ý worked with the client to define a specific scope around Amazon Workspaces and AppStream. By leveraging the AWS POA program, 91ý was able to reduce the organization’s up-front cost of services, therefore accelerating the adoption of Workspaces and AppStream for its global workforce.