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This glossary defines key terms used across Cloud Capital’s customer documentation. For context on how these terms relate to the onboarding process, refer to the Commitment Proposal & Onboarding Process page.
A detailed billing data file provided by AWS that records every metered resource charge, hour by hour. Cloud Capital uses CUR data as the primary source of truth when analyzing a customer’s historical spend and building commitment proposals. The current version is 2.0, but there is an older version 1.0 that some exports are still using. Cloud Capital perfers the new 2.0 version as it has a more complete cost information and is the standard now in use.
Customer-provided operational data points — such as headcount, transaction volumes, active users, or seasonal patterns — that Cloud Capital uses to improve the accuracy of the spend forecast. Incorporating business metrics allows commitments to reflect anticipated changes in the business, not just historical trends.
The portion of a customer’s AWS spend that is eligible to be covered by a savings commitment such as a Compute Savings Plan, Database Savings Plan, or Reserved Instance. Not all spend is committable — services like data transfer or support are excluded.
Cloud Capital’s structured approach to building commitment coverage in four incremental steps rather than all at once. Each step covers approximately 50% of the remaining uncommitted spend, allowing the forecast to be refined between steps and giving the customer full visibility into each commitment before it is purchased.
An AWS commitment to a consistent hourly spend on compute usage (EC2, Fargate, Lambda) in exchange for a discount of up to 66% compared to On-Demand pricing. Available in 1-year and 3-year terms. Cloud Capital uses these as the primary commitment vehicle for general compute workloads.
An AWS commitment to a consistent hourly spend on eligible database services (RDS, Aurora) in exchange for discounts of up to 60% compared to On-Demand pricing. Available in 1-year terms. Cloud Capital proposes these alongside Compute Savings Plans for customers with significant database workloads.
Cloud Capital’s projection of a customer’s future AWS spend, derived from historical CUR data and refined over time by incorporating customer-provided business metrics and upcoming initiatives. The forecast directly informs the size and term mix of each ladder step.
A contractual commitment from Cloud Capital that guarantees a customer a minimum level of savings relative to On-Demand AWS pricing. The GSR ensures that customers benefit from long-term commitment discounts while Cloud Capital absorbs the financial risk of holding those commitments. This is a key differentiator of the Cloud Capital service model.
A known upcoming change to a customer’s AWS environment, such as a new product launch, a platform migration, or a planned decommission. Initiatives are factored into the forecast during ladder-up so that commitment levels account for expected future changes rather than relying solely on past spend.
The ongoing review cadence that replaces weekly meetings once the customer’s initial commitment ladder is complete. Monthly reviews focus on commitment performance, forecast updates, and identification of new optimization opportunities as the customer’s environment evolves.
The standard AWS pricing model in which customers pay for compute or database resources by the hour or second with no long-term commitment. Savings Plans and Reserved Instances provide discounts relative to On-Demand rates.
An AWS commitment to a specific instance type, region, and optionally a specific Availability Zone, in exchange for a discount compared to On-Demand pricing. RIs can offer deeper discounts than Savings Plans for predictable, stable workloads but are less flexible. Cloud Capital monitors RI utilization and proposes replacements or conversions as usage patterns evolve.
The structural arrangement by which Cloud Capital absorbs the financial risk of AWS commitments on the customer’s behalf. The commitments themselves are held by Cloud Capital, but the customer does not bear the financial exposure if their usage decreases or shifts. This is paired with the Guaranteed Savings Rate to give customers both certainty and protection.
An umbrella term covering both Compute Savings Plans and Database Savings Plans — AWS’s flexible commitment model where customers commit to a minimum hourly spend rather than a specific resource type. See individual entries for Compute Savings Plan and Database Savings Plan.
The duration of an AWS commitment. 1-year terms offer more flexibility with moderate discounts; 3-year terms deliver the deepest discounts but require a longer commitment horizon. Cloud Capital recommends a mix based on each customer’s risk tolerance, forecast confidence, and savings objectives.
The degree to which a purchased commitment (Savings Plan or Reserved Instance) is being consumed by actual AWS usage. Cloud Capital monitors utilization continuously to ensure commitments remain fully used and to flag any coverage gaps or over-commitment that should be addressed.
A regular meeting held between Cloud Capital and the customer during the ladder-up phase. Each session reviews the current forecast, approves or adjusts the next commitment step, and incorporates any new business information. Once the ladder-up is complete, the cadence transitions to monthly reviews.
Terms and definitions may be updated as Cloud Capital’s service offering evolves. For questions, contact your Cloud Capital account manager.