insured commitments.md
Insured Commitments
Archera’s Guaranteed Commitments (GRIs & GSPs) offer a revolutionary approach to cloud cost optimization by providing short-term, insured commitments that eliminate the traditional risks associated with cloud reservations.
What are Guaranteed Commitments?
Guaranteed Commitments are Archera’s solution to the inflexibility of traditional cloud commitments. They provide:
Guaranteed Reserved Instances (GRIs): Short-term reserved instances with insurance protection against underutilization
Guaranteed Savings Plans (GSPs): Flexible compute commitments with guaranteed utilization across multiple services
Key Benefits
| :clock: Shorter Terms | 30-Day Minimum Terms |
- Start with 30-day commitments instead of 1-3 years
- Maintain infrastructure flexibility
- Perfect for dynamic workloads | | :shield: Insurance Protection | Commitment Loss Protection
- Archera insures against underutilization
- No risk of paying for unused capacity
- Guaranteed savings realization | | :gear: Easy Management | Automated Optimization
- Set automation policies for continuous optimization
- Configurable savings thresholds
- Weekly, monthly, or quarterly cadence | | :money-bill: No Hidden Fees | Transparent Pricing
- What you see is what you get
- No hidden fees deducted from savings
- Clear, upfront pricing structure |
How Guaranteed Commitments Work
Traditional Commitment Challenges
Traditional cloud commitments present several challenges:
- Long-term commitments (1-3 years) reduce infrastructure flexibility
- Utilization risk - you pay for capacity whether you use it or not
- Technology changes can make commitments obsolete
- Business changes may alter infrastructure needs
Archera’s Solution
Guaranteed Commitments address these challenges through:
- Insurance Layer: Archera insures your commitments against underutilization
- Flexible Terms: Start with 30-day terms and scale as needed
- Professional Management: Expert optimization and ongoing management
- Risk Transfer: Archera takes on the utilization risk, not you
Commitment Types Available
| Guaranteed Reserved Instances (GRIs) | Guaranteed Savings Plans (GSPs) |
|---|---|
| Instance-Specific Commitments |
- AWS: Individual EC2 instances, RDS, ElastiCache, DynamoDB
- Azure: Virtual Machine Reserved Instances, SQL Database, Cosmos DB
- Google Cloud: Compute Engine instances, Cloud SQL
- Term Options: 30-day minimum, up to 3 years
- Coverage: Specific instance types and sizes
- Best For: Predictable, instance-specific workloads | Flexible Compute Commitments
- AWS: Broad compute services (EC2, Lambda, Fargate, ECS/EKS)
- Azure: Compute services across VM families and App Service plans
- Google Cloud: Spend-based and resource-based Committed Use Discounts
- Term Options: 30-day minimum, flexible duration
- Coverage: Dollar-per-hour commitment across compute services
- Best For: Dynamic workloads with varying compute needs |
Commitment Comparison Matrix
When evaluating commitment options, use this comparison to understand the trade-offs:
Important Metrics
When evaluating commitment performance using both Archera and native cloud tools, focus on these key metrics:
Coverage Amount
Definition: What percentage of your reservable infrastructure has a commitment applied
Target: Generally, higher coverage is better as it maximizes cost savings across your infrastructure
Measurement: (Reserved Capacity / Total Reservable Capacity) × 100
Net Savings Rate
Definition: The aggregate impact of all your commitments relative to the on-demand rate
Target: Higher savings rates indicate more effective commitment strategies
Measurement: Total discount percentage achieved across all commitments
Utilization
Definition: How much of your purchased commitments you’re actually using
Target: As close to 100% as possible for maximum ROI
Measurement: (Used Commitment Hours / Purchased Commitment Hours) × 100
Commitment Planning Options
Archera provides three default commitment strategies:
Recommended Plan - Start Here
Focus: 30-day GRIs and compute instances
Philosophy: Maximum flexibility with immediate savings
Best For: Organizations prioritizing flexibility over maximum savings
Balanced Plan - Most Popular
Focus: All reservable services with mixed terms
Philosophy: Balance of savings and flexibility
Features: Combines 30-day and 1-year commitments across all services
High Savings Plan - Maximum Discount
Focus: Maximum discount through longer terms
Features: Includes 3-year commitments and upfront payments
Consideration: Higher savings but reduced flexibility
Automation Policies
Archera offers fully optional automation policies that:
- Monitor your infrastructure continuously
- Apply new commitments when savings thresholds are met
- Operate on your preferred cadence (weekly, monthly, quarterly)
- Cancel anytime with full control retained
Policy Configuration
Set Savings Threshold
Define minimum savings amount required to trigger automation
Choose Cadence
Select how frequently the system should evaluate new opportunities
Monitor Performance
Track automated savings and adjust thresholds as needed
Maintain Control
Cancel or modify policies anytime through the platform
Getting Started
Ready to implement Guaranteed Commitments? Here’s how to begin:
| :user-plus: Sign Up with Archera | Create your account and connect your cloud environments. |
| :chart-line-up: Platform Access | Access the Archera platform to start managing commitments |
Why Choose Guaranteed Commitments?
Traditional commitments require you to predict your infrastructure needs months or years in advance. Guaranteed Commitments let you optimize costs today while maintaining the flexibility to adapt tomorrow.
Benefits Summary
| Immediate Savings | Start saving immediately with 30-day terms |
| Zero Risk | Zero utilization risk through insurance protection |
| Expert Management | Professional management and optimization |
| Transparent Pricing | Transparent pricing with no hidden fees |
| Automation | Automated policies for hands-off optimization |
| Full Control | Full control and cancellation rights |
Remember: The only time to consider native 3-year commitments over Archera is when you have completely predictable workloads that will run unchanged for 3 years AND you can get maximum upfront discounts. In all other scenarios, Archera’s guaranteed commitments provide superior value.