# Cloud Commitment Management for Technical and Customer Teams #### Module 1: Rate Optimization in the FinOps Framework **Learning objective:** Place Archera within the broader FinOps landscape. **Key concepts:** * FinOps is the practice of bringing financial accountability to cloud spending through cross-functional collaboration (Engineering, Finance, Business) * Two levers: Rate optimization (what you pay) and Usage optimization (how much you use) * Rate optimization operates at the billing/metering layer — no engineering involvement required * Archera is a rate optimization platform — this distinction matters when positioning to customers with active engineering optimization programs (they're complementary, not competitive) * The Effective Savings Rate (ESR) = discount realized / potential discount available. This is the KPI Archera helps improve. {% hint style="info" %} Key message: Archera doesn't compete with right-sizing tools. {% endhint %} *** #### Module 2: How Insured Commitments Work — The Mechanics **Learning objective:** Understand the mechanics well enough to explain and manage Archera for a customer. {% stepper %} {% step %} #### How it actually works (under the hood) * Archera analyzes customer cost and usage data * Archera recommends an optimal commitment plan * Customer approves; Archera purchases 1- or 3-year commitments in the customer's account * Archera overlays the moneyback guarantee with its own Archera term (30 days or 1 year) * If the customer's usage drops and the commitment goes underutilized after the Archera term, Archera bears the cost {% endstep %} {% step %} #### The guarantee mechanism (varies by cloud and commitment type) * **Marketplace Transfer** (Azure): Archera facilitates transfer of the commitment via marketplace * **Billing Transfer** (AWS): For commitments isolated to a single account with no running infrastructure, the remaining payment obligation transfers to Archera (AWS only) * **Refund** (AWS, Azure, & GCP)**:** Archera refunds the cost of the underutilized commitment — either as a credit toward future Archera premiums (default) or via wire transfer. This refund is issued by Archera directly and does not appear on the cloud invoice. {% endstep %} {% step %} #### Term structure * 30-day insured term → 35 months of flexible coverage after * 1-year insured term → 24 months of flexible coverage after * Customer does NOT need to take action after the lock-in period unless they want to exercise the guarantee {% endstep %} {% step %} #### Premium model * Premium charged only on Insured Commitments — the ones Archera is guaranteeing * Native cloud commitments Archera manages are free * Premium reflects the risk Archera is taking on (shorter term = higher premium, longer term = lower premium) {% endstep %} {% step %} #### Multi-cloud coverage * AWS: EC2, RDS, Lambda, Fargate, SageMaker, ECS, EKS, DynamoDB, ElastiCache, OpenSearch, Redshift (GRIs and GSPs) * Azure: Virtual Machines, SQL DB, Cosmos DB, AKS, Azure OpenAI, and many more (GRIs and GSPs) * GCP: Compute Engine (GCUDs) {% endstep %} {% endstepper %} *** #### Module 3: Deployment and Setup **Learning objective:** Know how to onboard a customer and what permissions are involved. **Deployment overview:** * AWS/GCP: IAM role created in customer account * Azure: Enterprise App registration in customer's Azure tenant * Two deployment modes: * Visibility Role: Read-only; unlocks cost visibility and forecasting (free forever) * Commitment Management Role: Enables Archera to purchase and manage commitments on customer's behalf **What Archera can and cannot do:** * ✅ Read cost and usage data * ✅ Purchase and manage commitments * ✅ Create cost and usage reports/exports * ❌ Cannot modify running infrastructure * ❌ Cannot impact applications * ❌ Does not take over billing or become a reseller **Onboarding time:** \~5 minutes. Dashboard available in 24 hours (AWS) or 48 hours (Azure/GCP). **Key prerequisite:** AWS requires the Management Account. If the customer doesn't have one, they'll need to enable AWS Organizations first. **Under a reseller's consolidated billing?** Usually still works. Most reseller configurations are supported including TD Synnex & Ingram Micro. *** #### Module 4: Using Archera as a Customer Relationship Tool **Learning objective:** Understand how to use Archera to build trust, demonstrate value, and protect net retention. **For SAs — running the platform:** * Archera's recommendation engine analyzes usage data and produces a commitment plan * Review recommendations with the customer before purchasing — they always have final approval * Set up automation rules for recurring purchases once the customer is comfortable * Monitor commitment utilization in the dashboard (note: data is delayed \~1.5 days, a cloud provider limitation) or set up notifications for underutilization * Use segments to organize commitment strategy by instance type, family, region, tag key/value pais, etc. **For AMs and CS — the retention and expansion motion:** In QBRs & Meetings: * Lead with savings realized: "Since we deployed Archera, you've saved $X on cloud commitments" * Show coverage improvement: "Your Effective Savings Rate moved from X% to Y%" * Use the moneyback guarantee as proof of customer protection: "If anything changes in your infrastructure, you're covered" * Flag optimization opportunities: services or accounts with low commitment coverage Building trust: * The moneyback guarantee is a tangible proof point that your partnership protects them, not just optimizes them * Customers who see regular savings reporting stay — they have a quantified reason to keep the engagement * No infrastructure changes = no risk of "you broke something" conversations Expansion signals: * New AWS accounts or Azure subscriptions being added → new commitment coverage opportunity * Workload migration completing → time to commit the newly stable infrastructure * Growth in spend in specific services → higher commitment coverage possible {% hint style="info" %} Every month Archera is saving a customer money, that's a number on a slide in your QBR. {% endhint %} *** #### Module 5: Objection Handling **Learning objective:** Handle the five most common objections with confidence. | Objection | Response | | ------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | "How does Archera make money if the commitment goes unused?" | Insurance model — Archera charges a premium for taking on the risk. Like any insurer, they price it so most commitments are used, but when they're not, they honor the guarantee. | | "Doesn't this encourage wasteful over-committing?" | No — Archera's recommendations are based on actual usage data. And the guarantee removes the downside of being wrong. The result is actually *better* commitment hygiene. | | "We have a PPA/EDP — does this still work?" | Usually yes. The exception is if the customer has a shortfall clause in their agreement — committing more could make that worse. Otherwise, Insured Commitments complement existing agreements. | | "How does billing look?" | Two line items: the commitment itself (same as any native commitment) and a separate Archera premium. If the guarantee is exercised, Archera refunds the unused commitment cost — either as a credit toward future Archera premiums (default) or via wire transfer. This refund does not appear on your cloud invoice. | | "Does this require any infrastructure or code changes?" | Zero. Archera operates entirely at the billing/commitment layer. Your engineering team never needs to touch anything. | *** #### Module 6: Putting It Together **Learning objective:** Know when to recommend which product and how to position Archera in a broader solution. Decision framework: ``` Customer has stable baseline workloads for 1+ year? → Recommend 1-year Insured Commitment (better savings than native 1-year) Customer uncertain about 12-month workload stability? → Recommend 30-day Insured Commitment (only 30-day lock-in) Customer has existing native commitments? → Archera manages those free; can layer Insured Commitments on top for new coverage Customer using a right-sizing / usage optimization tool? → Archera is complementary — rate optimization + usage optimization = full picture Customer on credits? → Archera's credit burndown dashboard is valuable; credits can be used to purchase Insured Commitments ``` {% stepper %} {% step %} #### How to introduce Archera in an active customer engagement * Start with visibility role (free, no commitment) — let the data do the talking * Run the recommendation engine and show the potential savings * Start with one or two commitments to build confidence * Expand coverage over time as trust builds {% endstep %} {% endstepper %} *** #### Ready for the quiz? {% embed url="" %}