The FinOps toolkit provides insights into cost drivers, per-unit pricing, and efficiency metrics to help identify optimization opportunities (e.g., alternative services that offer similar capabilities at lower costs).
Prepurchasing Services (AWS Savings Plans)
Cloud providers commonly offer discounted pricing through committed use agreements, requiring payment for continuous 24/7 service over predetermined periods (up to 1 year).
AWS offers two types of cost-saving plans:
- EC2 Instance Savings Plans (IPs): Reserve specific EC2 instances; typically offer larger discounts.
- Compute Savings Plans (CPs): Cover a broader mix of compute services; offer more flexibility but generally smaller discounts than IPs.
Requirements for Prepurchasing: If prepurchasing is an identified opportunity to save costs, the following rules apply:
- Plans must be prepaid when procured.
- An obligated funds balance must cover the full purchase amount.
- Currently, 1 year is the longest commitment term available.
- Procurement must be done through the Science Cloud FinOps organization in concert with CCS services.
Implementation: PIs must collaborate with the Science Cloud FinOps team to execute a savings plan. Once active, the toolkit provides metrics on the effective utilization of the plans. Note: If new fund obligations are required to purchase the plan, associated overhead costs must be included in the transfer to ARC.
Software as a Service (SaaS) Offerings
The Science Cloud provides SaaS offerings that simplify usage and reduce costs through collective procurement.
- SaaS costs are charged directly to your cloud account.
- These costs are included in all cost and balance computations in the FinOps toolkit.
- Detailed breakdowns of the actual cloud services used within the SaaS are displayed transparently in your cost views.