Usage 2.0
Web and SaaS
cloud cost management
SHOW HN2023
135points
63comments
#472of 3,109 in 2023
Top 16%of 2023 by points
How HN took it
CuriousMostly questions and neutral comments
2 positive, 22 neutral or asking, 0 mixed, 11 critical, out of 35 comments about the project. Thread score -0.20.
Idea: 1 for, 6 againstPricing: 1 for, 5 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Useful product for companies that want RI savings without commitment
From 2 comments
If you take 20% of the savings, my max savings are ~45%. Even that assumes my AWS bill is entirely instances. I think you have a product that some companies will really want.…
sokoloff on HNI recently found out that I was overpaying by about 20% by just looking at "Recommendations" tab in AWS Console and buying RIs. It was mostly RDS. I would love a product that…
zer0x4d on HN
Objections
57% savings claim overstates typical savings
From 3 comments
> We buy Reserved Instances on your behalf (a billing layer change only) and bundle them with guaranteed buyback This is by setting your AWS account as the payer account so you…
acdha on HNIf you take 20% of the savings, my max savings are ~45%. Even that assumes my AWS bill is entirely instances. I think you have a product that some companies will really want.…
sokoloff on HNI'm a huge user of RIs, I like the idea of tools to balance them more easily, etc. Totally on board with that but the way the number is presented seems to me like you're setting…
acdha on HN
Buyback and inventory risk for Usage if many customers return RIs
From 3 comments
This is like insurance in a couple of different ways, and makes me happy, but concerned. usage.ai is basically taking a bet that a large number of their customers wont cut back…
sargun on HNFormer AWS employee here, and just generally been in the infra/cloud space for a long time. I've seen a few of these products (or this feature within existing products) over the…
glenngillen on HNIs the inventory risk assumed by usage? Reading through your T&C it looks like you refund us with credits on your platform - sounds like monopoly money to me?
platformarch on HN
Dependence on AWS and risk from AWS price cuts
From 2 comments
They made the new instance type much cheaper. Users already committed to RI cannot change instance types and remain bonded to the contract. Usage.ai and others give you an…
motoboi on HNFormer AWS employee here, and just generally been in the infra/cloud space for a long time. I've seen a few of these products (or this feature within existing products) over the…
glenngillen on HN
Requests
Clearer explanation of how the buyback and account integration works
From 2 comments
This sounds very cool! How does it work technically? I have checked your website but I am still not sure. How do I "buy" the instances using usage.ai instead of AWS? Do you need…
jason_wo on HNHow does the buyback program work for your new releases (RDS, Elasticache, OpenSearch, DynamoDB)? I use the EC2 RI Marketplace but I can't find one for the other products…
platformarch on HN
Support for Google Cloud and Azure
From 2 comments
Any plans to launch this product on Google Cloud?
xur17 on HNIs there a similar service out there for Azure? (Who just put their uk prices up by 9 percent)
simonswords82 on HN
Questions
What happens to reservations if Usage goes out of business
From 2 comments
Curious what happens to resources and reservations if Usage goes out of business? Three years is actually a pretty long horizon to rely on a startup still being around.
femto113 on HNYes I was thinking about this from a customer's perspective. In particular I can't tell if Usage is buying/selling/holding reservations in their account but on their customer's…
femto113 on HN
Alternatives named
Vantage Autopilot
From 2 comments
How does this differ with Vantage Autopilot https://www.vantage.sh/features/autopilot ?
surfmike on HNjust from reading the site, looks like vantage takes a 5% fee vs Usage 20% - but that's a big difference, not sure if it's an apples-to-apples comparison.
andrenotgiant on HN
Archera guaranteed reserved instances
From 1 comment
> We buy Reserved Instances on your behalf (a billing layer change only) > and bundle them with guaranteed buyback. > .. We make money off of a 20% Savings Fee. so this is…
pella on HN
DoiT Flexsave
From 1 comment
How does this compare to what's offered by doit? https://www.doit.com/flexsave/ From my conversations with doit sounds like they offer a similar service in that doit acts as an…
mulmboy on HN
CloudHealth
From 1 comment
For my own curiosity, what's the benefit of a one-time engagement with Usage AI over a continuing engagement with a tool (plus proserv, if merited) like CloudHealth? Much of the…
don-code on HN