Microsoft has announced that – as from 4 September 2019 – customers can now opt to pay for Azure Reserved Instances monthly, while still taking advantage of the discount previously offered only on an upfront payment basis.
If you are new to reserved instances, then the premise is simple. Microsoft offer a discount to clients who commit to consuming a certain amount of resource over a one or three year period. However, the catch to that was you would need to pay for that commitment upfront.
This change is fantastic news, as the commitment to pay upfront at the time of purchase has put people off adopting Reserved Instances or indeed moving to Azure at all.
The option to pay upfront for Azure Reserved Instance remains, and some customers will prefer to continue with this method. However the option to choose the monthly payment option will no doubt be an attractive one, as it moves the expense from CAPEX to OPEX, and removes the burden of the initial outlay.
The one-year and three-year commitment options also remain, with their respective discounts of (as at September 2019) approximately 20% and 50%.
To confirm, the details of the change are –
Prior to 4 September 2019, Azure reservations were available as follows:
- 1-year commitment – paid upfront at the time of purchase
- 3-year commitment – paid upfront at the time of purchase
As from 4 September 2019*, Azure reservations are available as follows:
- 1-year commitment – payment upfront at time of purchase, or monthly billing
- 3-year commitment – payment upfront at time of purchase, or monthly billing
More information can be found here but do give us a call if you have any questions on Reserved Instances or the recent change announcement.
