Contact

aws , finops , simplification

There is more to DB savings plans than you think

AWS has loudly dropped a small revolution into the pricing pond. Savings Plans for Database look a natural extension of the past, but there is much more.

Connections

AWS has loudly (at re:invent everything is loud) dropped a small revolution into the pricing pond. Savings Plans for Database look a natural extension of the past, but there is much more. Especially following the recent flat-rate model.

The first surprise is scope. One plan now covers all database services.

The second surprise is even bigger: AWS has discovered something that seemed impossible for a long time: simplicity. Let see this means.

The discounts are the same everywhere I’ve looked. Every region I tested returned the same number. It is always the same discounted per cent off on-demand. No fiddly regional quirks. No oddities by engine. No footnotes for obscure instances in São Paulo on Tuesdays. Reminds me of Google playbook.

And the commitment options, once a carnival of permutations, now look monastic. One year only. No upfront. No partial upfront. No extra discount for prepaying. AWS is effectively saying that cash upfront is no longer worth the operational faff of managing reservations as a quasi-loan book. Reduce the choices; reduce the noise.

This is me trying to showcase that stability.

0:00
/1:02 
    </figure><p>This is new. Radically new. And if it spreads, EC2 Savings Plans could become just as plain: one year 20 per cent, three years 45 per cent, and everyone gets on with their lives. The only thing that moves is the on-demand price, which quietly becomes the lever for everything.</p><p>The changes in AWS pricing seem to guide us to a more mature business. What many would call a day-2 company, but what shareholders would call a good company.</p><p>In short: AWS has taken a complex corner of its catalogue and made it boring and it is already the second time this month.</p>