AWS EDP Negotiation, Part 2: Negotiation Prep, from the Baseline to the Corridor

Transcript

Full narration of the briefing. Click a section heading to jump the player to that moment.

Call one: framing 0:00

Part one gave the talking points. Now the three calls. I am Claire, Tom is with me, and this is part two of the VendorBenchmark AWS EDP prep. Call one, six to nine months out, controls the process, extracts the pricing structure in writing, and establishes that the commit is sized from your baseline, not their model.

Open with it: we are running this as a formal sourcing event, alongside an optimization program and a portability review; all commercial communication routes through me; and today I need the discount structure by commit level and term in writing, exactly what counts toward the commitment, and how shortfall is handled.

Five questions 0:44

Five questions, in order. Send the discount bands by commit size and term, with eligible and excluded services. What counts toward the commitment: Marketplace purchases at what percentage, and credit funded usage. What shortfall flexibility is available: carry forward, term extension, rollover into renewal.

What are the support requirements and what caps or tier improvements exist at our scale. And which credit programs apply this cycle: migration funding, signing credits, proof of concept funding, capacity programs. Question three matters most and is asked least: shortfall flexibility is cheap for AWS to grant at signature and nearly impossible to obtain at term end.

Call two: the first moves 1:32

Call two, after the first proposal, and never react to numbers in the meeting where you receive them. Open with the commit: your model assumes X per year; our optimized baseline is Y, and the commit will be ramped from Z; walk me through the structure at that number, one line at a time. Six moves. Size from your baseline, ramped by tranche; growth beyond it lands in your revenue without sitting in our contract.

Go after the service rates: on top of the cross service discount, private rates on our top services and on data transfer, where the spend actually sits and where the deal is decided.

Call two: the remaining moves 2:09

Turn the cliff into a corridor: shortfall converts to carry forward or a term extension, in the agreement; a commitment with no flexibility is priced as risk. Stack the credits: migration funding, signing credits, and proof of concept funding itemized in writing alongside the discount, not instead of it; credits and rate are different budgets on their side, and we take both. Make Marketplace work: our ISV spend routes through Marketplace at a counting percentage we agree now, retiring commitment and changing what commit we can sign. And summon the desk: bring whoever owns private pricing for this account.

Close with no counteroffer today.

Call three: the close 2:53

Call three, aligned to their quarter end if the terms are ready, or calmly not. Open with the complete list and the rule that nothing gets added after today. The checklist, read aloud: commit at our number, ramped by annual tranche. The cross service discount plus named private rates on our top services and data transfer, in the schedules.

Shortfall flexibility in writing, exercisable without renegotiation. Marketplace counting at the agreed percentage. All credits itemized in signed writing. Support fees capped for the term.

Renewal protection on a flat commit. And exit and transfer terms acknowledged, including data transfer treatment if the estate ever leaves.

Customize the script 3:36

Customize it. First commitment with modest spend: do not sign early; Savings Plans capture most of the value with none of the lock. Renewal with flattening usage: hold the discount on a flat commit and take the carry forward. Heavy data transfer: the egress line is the lock in tax and the biggest private rate win available; negotiate it by name and put exit transfer treatment in writing while you have a signature to trade.

Big AI plans: capacity access now, consumption commitments later, after baselines exist. More briefings at redresscompliance dot com slash research videos.