Is AWS EDP the answer to your cloud spending woes?

AWS EDP (Amazon Enterprise Discount Program) is a cloud pricing model tailored specifically for organizations that are scaling their businesses over the AWS cloud. The need for such a program could be attributed to the surge in cloud consumption of enterprises. With this surge, the costs of cloud rise spiraled out of control, thus damaging the very economic advantage that the cloud was supposed to provide.

Cloud service providers like AWS realized this long back, so they started offering discounts and incentives to companies based on factors like volume, scale, loyalty, etc. The premise of these discounts is that the more an enterprise commits to spending on AWS, the higher the discounts will be.

These discounts are collectively called the AWS Enterprise Discount Program or simply, AWS EDP. Over time, AWS EDP has become a great boon for enterprises struggling to achieve a balance between cloud investments and profitability, such that, any digital business aiming to scale on the cloud sees AWS EDP as a life-saver when it comes to cloud cost savings. Let us understand how the AWS EDP is the answer to all your cloud spending woes.

AWS EDP eligibility

Companies in order to qualify for AWS EDP must have spent more than $1 million annually on AWS services and must have a similar projection for future spending. The discount increases significantly for larger annual commitments and term lengths, and the spending thresholds range from $1 million to $50 million annually.

The tenure of commitment ranges from 1 to 5 years. As a general rule, customers who commit more dollar spending and for a higher term length will move towards the higher discount tier, and will thus enjoy higher cloud cost savings.

Features of AWS EDP

The AWS Enterprise Discount Program goes beyond simply offering tiered discounts on your AWS spending. The program offers a financial roadmap by laying out predictable pricing structures aligned with your spending commitment. AWS EDP also consolidates all AWS services under one agreement – simplifying procurement processes and reducing administrative overheads, while at the same time offering a dedicated AWS support plan, ensuring prompt and personalized assistance.

Broadly speaking, here are the core features of the AWS EDP program.

1. Volume-based discounts: AWS EDP offers volume-based discounts tailored to the size and scale of an enterprise, enabling organizations to realize significant cloud cost savings.
2. Flexible pricing models: The program provides better choices for enterprises in their cloud cost optimization initiatives by offering flexible pricing models to accommodate the diverse needs of enterprises, including options for reserved instances, spot instances, and pay-as-you-go pricing.
3. Streamlining of procurement: AWS EDP streamlines the procurement process for cloud resources, simplifying contract negotiations, purchasing, and billing procedures. This reduces administrative overhead and accelerates time-to-value for enterprises.
4. AWS Enterprise Support: Enterprises enjoy dedicated AWS technical support once they sign up for the EDP program. This comes at an additional cost.
5. Security: AWS EDP includes advanced security features and compliance protocols to protect sensitive data and workloads by offering encryption, identity and access management (IAM), threat detection, and compliance monitoring tools.
6. Predictability: AWS EDP enables enterprises to accurately budget and forecast their cloud spending because of its predictable pricing options. It brings transparency and offers organizations absolute control over costs.

The Benefits of AWS Enterprise Discount Program

Any organization looking to scale its cloud operations while optimizing costs must evaluate the AWS EDP without fail. Besides direct savings, the program also has several supplementary benefits.

Participating in the AWS Enterprise Discount Program (AWS EDP) offers the following benefits:

1. Discounted Rates: Enterprises sign up for the AWS EDP primarily to save cloud costs through the application of discounted rates. The program offers a framework for enterprises to receive significant cloud cost savings on their AWS usage costs. Based on the customer’s total annual commitment and their growth commitment over time.
2. Commitment Incentives: AWS EDP encourages long-term commitments from customers, typically ranging from 1 to 5 years. Due to the commitment, higher discount rates are rewarded, incentivizing the organizations to engage in sustained partnerships with AWS. The higher the commitment, the higher the savings.
3. Predicted Budgeting: Enrolling in the AWS EDP can enable organizations to budget and plan for their cloud expenses over an extended period of time due to a more predictable pricing structure. Organizations can correctly predict how much they will be spending on AWS for the duration of the agreement, making budgeting and forecasting easier and more accurate.
4. Strategic Partnership with AWS: By participating in AWS EDP, there is an enhanced collaboration, support, and close partnership between the organization and AWS. Being an AWS EDP partner, the organizations demonstrate a strategic and long-term commitment to AWS which unlocks additional benefits and resources, while at the same time, making them eligible for a higher level of AWS support.
5. Versatile Applicability: The discounts provided through the AWS EDP apply to a diverse range of AWS services. This flexibility allows organizations to utilize various cloud solutions while still reaping the benefits of cloud cost savings.

Is AWS EDP the ultimate cost-saving solution?

AWS EDP is designed to help teams scale their cloud operations efficiently and grow their businesses in the cloud. It’s a mechanism to help you get more out of your AWS investments while not having to pay so much to scale up operations. However, any discount that you can get will be a factor in how well you negotiate with the AWS sales team, so, there is no guarantee of your eligibility or even of the exact discount you’ll receive. Hence, negotiating the AWS EDP agreement is the most critical step of the entire program.

Once the EDP agreement is signed, you want it to be applied to all your AWS resources. Hence you must consolidate all of your company’s AWS accounts into one master account which fields the bill and to which the discount will be applied. That way, you will be in a better position to strike a deal owing to the higher commitment and spending and will be saving as much as possible.

AWS EDP rewards long-term commitment with a tiered discount structure, making it an attractive option for enterprises seeking to maximize their cloud investment. It is important to assess your current and projected cloud usage before pursuing AWS EDP, as well as negotiate a favorable EDP agreement.

Partnering with experienced cloud cost management professionals like CloudKeeper can ensure you secure a great AWS EDP deal at the best possible terms. With CloudKeeper as your AWS EDP partner, you get additional discounts on committed usage, lower annual commit, and discounted prices on AWS support.