AWS Savings Plans offer flexible pricing models that help reduce costs on AWS services. By committing to a consistent amount of usage, businesses can enjoy significant savings while maintaining operational efficiency.
| Product | Mindshare (%) |
|---|---|
| AWS Savings Plans | 1.7% |
| IBM Turbonomic | 5.9% |
| Cloudability | 5.4% |
| Other | 87.0% |
AWS Savings Plans allow businesses to optimize cloud expenses efficiently. Offering a flexible spend commitment, it enables users to lower their AWS costs with ease. Whether it’s Compute Savings Plans or EC2 Instance Savings Plans, there are tailored options ensuring users get maximum financial benefits without compromising on scalability or performance. This capability makes it an efficient cost-saving strategy for sustainable growth in cloud usage.
What Key Features Define AWS Savings Plans?AWS Savings Plans find applications in diverse sectors like healthcare, financial services, and retail. In healthcare, firms use it to manage growing data analysis needs with cost efficiency. Financial services leverage it for predictable cloud infrastructure spend, aiding in secure transaction processing. Retailers apply these plans to handle peak shopping seasons without incurring excessive expenses, ensuring resources align efficiently with demand.
| Author info | Rating | Review Summary |
|---|---|---|
| IT Manager at CONCRETOS LA SILLA | 5.0 | We use AWS Savings Plans with SAP S/4 HANA and Linux instances, achieving 25%-30% cost savings. The flexibility in scaling and performance is valuable, though VPN configuration could improve. Overall, AWS offers good ROI due to its scalability. |
| Architect at Nexworld | 4.0 | I use AWS Savings Plans for proof of concepts and budget management. The most valuable feature is the ability to easily manage budgets based on consumption patterns. However, the visibility of Savings Plans could be improved. I previously used an on-premise solution. |
| Chief Technology Officer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees | 5.0 | I use this solution primarily for saving money, finding its cost calculation and easy setup excellent. It scales well and is a no-brainer. My only suggestion is to combine Savings Plans and Reserved Servers for more flexibility. |
I believe we have six instances of Savings Plans.
We have SAP S/4 HANA. This is the name of the ERP. We have instances and we have a Linux instance using database. We are also using application instances for making outbound calls to connect the users to the solution.
So, we have Safety and AWS Lex service that supports communication with the user. Then, if it is a call later on in the total area, it informs a certain instance.
AWS is consistently innovating and releasing new products and features. We have a high awareness of these advancements and often adopt new solutions when they align with our needs. The availability solution in the console is a good example. It's very nice how Amazon prioritizes cost optimization and provides robust analytics tools.
Around the world, we have between 25% and 30% savings (cost reductions) when we change from traditionally reserved instances to Savings Plans. We have experience with existing Reserved Instance commitments.
AWS is, in my personal opinion, a good solution for user environments. AWS is very flexible; we can extend the size of the storage, programmatically scale parts of the system, and change systems. If we change the size of the system, it will still have good performance. AWS has a lot of flexibility.
AWS make it easier to configure the VPN,
I have been using it for two years.
We've been an Amazon user for five years (since 2017, approximately)and haven't experienced any interruptions. Our reliability with AWS has been nearly 100%.
We have a considerable number of users utilizing the solution.
One being the worst and ten being the best, I would rate it a seven out of ten. AWS is direct, and the performance is simple.
Technical support is excellent.
Positive
The setup was generally easy. The most complex aspect was configuring the VPN. While not overly difficult, it was more challenging compared to setting up other VPNs.
However, once we resolved the initial VPN configuration issue, everything has been smooth sailing.
It's a matter of familiarity. Initially, the technology is unfamiliar, but with experience, configuration becomes easier.
Deployment time: We didn't have any problems. We determined the implementation date, considered the transition for ourselves and our users, and it went smoothly.
Maintenance: There isn't much required. If the stability, resolution, and capacity planning are correct for our needs, or if we need to expand storage, then maintenance is mostly handled by our banking team.
We didn't need a big team. We contacted Amazon through their contact center, and I believe a few people from their end were involved in assisting us.
In the beginning, we debated between maintaining our own platform and using AWS. For years, we had a similar resource expenditure with both options.
However, after five years with AWS, our technical needs grew, and we needed additional resources. I don't recall the exact figures, but AWS provided new instances, versions, and capacity. We only had to change the box. This led to a good return on investment due to the flexibility and scalability AWS offered.
We have a fixed cost of five thousand, plus an additional six thousand per month. So, it is about seventy-two thousand annually.
Compared to Azure or Google, the solution is much cheaper.
Moreover, the main difference for us is that AWS offers more functionalities and tools compared to the other solutions.
I have recommended it to our friends and colleagues in various settings, such as webcasts and meetings. Some people are unfamiliar with the solution, especially those heavily invested in Microsoft solutions, who might find more savings with Microsoft's specific licensing models.
However, I believe AWS Savings Plans isn't truly competitive in that regard. For instance, running SQL or Microsoft servers on AWS is more expensive than using a dedicated server. This is a concern raised by CIOs who inquire about Azure because it can be more cost-effective in certain scenarios, particularly with Microsoft Hypervisors.
Overall, I would rate the solution a ten out of ten.
The most valuable feature of AWS Savings Plans is we can discuss budgets briefly during our confirmation process since we are aware of our usual consumption patterns. Creating budgets in this regard would be beneficial, as it would allow us to consume only what we need, without including reserve instances that do not serve our purpose.
The visibility of AWS Savings Plans could improve.
I have been using AWS Savings Plans for approximately six months.
There can be some stability issues, such as dropping performance and lag.
I rate the stability of AWS Savings Plans a six out of ten.
We have approximately 10 people using the solution.
I rate the scalability of AWS Savings Plans an eight out of ten.
We did not use the support often.
I rate the support from AWS Savings Plans a nine out of ten.
Positive
We were using an on-premise solution prior to AWS Savings Plans.
The initial setup of AWS Savings Plans was straightforward because we have many developers on the team. The time it took for deployment was a few minutes. However, migration, configuration, and automation can take more time. For example, for some servers, it could take one week.
We have ten architects who can deploy the solution.
The solution is low maintenance.
I rate AWS Savings Plans an eight out of ten.
We primarily use the solution for saving money.
The fact is that it calculates all your costs for a 30 day period is great. And especially in product environments, it makes a lot of sense. The only thing you have to decide now is how much savings do you want and what are you willing to commit.
If you want more savings than what the Savings Plans is offering you, then you can consider going to Reserve Servers which is all built into the same AWS Console.
The initial setup is very easy.
The solution scales well.
It's a solution for people who don't have the deep knowledge of all the activities and the sort of protects them against making decisions that would prohibit them from making changes down the line.
I'm not aware of any issues. It's worked well so far. There are no features that are missing.
In the future, it would be interesting if there could be a combination of Savings Plans and some Reserved Servers. Today they are distinct products. If you combine them, then you can get a better discount. For example, let's say, you have 50 servers, you say, okay, I'm going to commit to 20 servers. That's the one under the Savings Plans because I think my design will change. It would be nice to have the flexibility to have them both in some way.
I've been using the solution for a little more than a year now.
The solution scales very well.
You don't need a lot of people to use it. One person studies it and then he goes back and reviews it with his team, gets the approval to execute it, and goes back and executes it.
You don't really need technical support for this product, however, if your company thinks it might want them, it's possible to buy support coverage.
We did not previously use a different solution.
The initial setup isn't too difficult or complex. It's very simple and straightforward.
This solution is designed to save companies money.
There's nothing called "version". Basically, when you go to the AWS Console and you say you want to have Savings Plans there is someone who comes to you and they calculate. They already calculate everything for you. For example, let's say, you're using 50 servers. The Savings Plans only apply to the servers and basically, that's it. They will say, okay, your run rate is X. They do it over a 30 day period. Then they say, okay, you're not ready for $39 an hour. We recommend you do a $75 an hour. They do all the work for you. Once you actually sign-on, then you have different ways to execute it.
It's part of AWS itself. It can only work within AWS. You cannot use this one for anything else. It's not a standalone product.
I'd recommend the solution. It's a no-brainer, basically, it does all the work for you and gives you the optimum solution you have to accommodate your company even within future variabilities and changes you may do. You can easily adjust the savings versus risk.
I'd rate the solution at a ten out of ten.
