FAQ

Simulator vs PerfectScale for Commitments

Simulator and PerfectScale for Commitments recommendations answer related but different questions:

	Simulator	Full PerfectScale for Commitments
Availability	All Cloud Intelligence users	Requires PS4C entitlement and signed contract
Purpose	Plan how much to commit	Manage coverage, recommend purchases, optionally auto-buy
Data and analysis	One selected billing month; full cost curve	Rolling 60-day analysis with current inventory and policy
Risk handling	Choose a point below the optimal commitment on the cost curve	Commitment policy (Conservative, Balanced, Max Savings) and laddering
Output and purchase	Cost curve, optimal commitment point, comparison table; analysis only or contact a human expert	Recommended $/hr, Planned Purchases ladder with Requires Approval or Autonomous Execution for onboarded accounts.

Simulator replays one billing month to show the full cost curve and historical optimal point. Recommendation uses a rolling 60-day analysis, your current inventory, commitment policy, and laddering for forward-looking purchase plans. Use Simulator to build intuition and validate a range. Use PS4C recommendations to operationalize purchases with ongoing monitoring.

Simulator vs native cloud provider recommendations

Native tools such as AWS Cost Explorer provide a recommended hourly commitment with limited visibility into how that number was derived or how costs change at other commitment amounts.

Simulator shows the entire cost landscape, a full curve from zero commitment to maximum, the exact point where savings peak, and where overcommitment begins and costs start rising again. This applies to both AWS Savings Plans and Google Cloud spend-based CUDs.

In Simulator, you see the following:

• The complete cost curve from $0/hr to maximum commitment

• A breakdown of covered, uncovered, and wasted spend at every hourly commitment

• All term and payment options compared side by side in a single table

• Flexsave for Compute costs as a baseline for comparison

• Interactive tooltips with exact dollar savings at any point on the curve

Simulator vs Flexsave for Compute

Flexsave for Compute is DoiT's managed savings solution. It reduces costs automatically with no long-term commitment. Simulator shows whether purchasing self-managed commitments would save even more by including Flexsave costs as a baseline in the summary table and charts.

What data does Simulator use, and how often is the data updated?

Simulator uses hourly billing data from DoiT's billing integration, such as AWS CUR data and Google Cloud billing exports. Simulator does not access your cloud accounts directly or make changes to your infrastructure.

Data is updated monthly, on the 5th day of each month. This schedule allows the previous month's AWS Cost and Usage Report (CUR) and Google Cloud billing export data to be available for accurate processing.

Does Simulator account for commitments I've already purchased?

Yes. Simulator excludes usage already covered by existing commitments (Savings Plans and Reserved Instances on AWS, or active CUDs on Google Cloud). It only analyzes the remaining on-demand usage that is still eligible for a new commitment. The optimal commitment it shows is the additional amount you could commit on top of the coverage you already have.

Understanding Simulator results

Should I purchase at the optimal commitment?

Not necessarily. The optimal commitment is the hourly amount that would have minimized costs during the selected month. It is backward-looking, not a forecast.

Committing slightly below the optimal often yields comparable savings with significantly lower risk. See Optimal commitment and Best practices for more information.

Why does the recommended option default to 3 Year No Upfront for AWS?

For AWS Compute and SageMaker, 3-Year No Upfront balances savings depth with financial flexibility: deeper discounts than 1-year terms with no upfront capital required.

For Database, 1-Year No Upfront is highlighted instead (the only available term and payment combination).

The Recommended label identifies the best historical result; it is not a directive to purchase.

What's the difference between "Savings available" and "No savings"?

• Savings available: purchasing a commitment would be cheaper than on-demand and Flexsave (when active).

• No savings: a commitment would not reduce costs below what you're already paying.

How do I minimize commitment risk?

• Commit below the optimal point: this leaves room for usage fluctuations.

• Reassess each month and add incremental commitments as needed.

See Best practices for details.

Does Simulator purchase commitments for me?

No. Simulator is an analysis tool. It shows the full cost curve, the optimal commitment, and savings at every commitment level, so you can make an informed decision.

To automate ongoing commitment purchases, set up PerfectScale for Commitments and use Planned purchases for laddered purchase plans and optional auto-purchase.

What is a Management Account?

In Simulator, Management Account is the account selector for the AWS payer account or Google Cloud billing account you are analyzing.

Usage and costs from linked member accounts are aggregated and billed to that account. By default, commitments purchased there are shared across member accounts, helping optimize overall costs (although sharing can be disabled if needed).