AWS Marketplace Annual Agreement amendments: Bringing Instance Flexibility to the AWS Marketplace.

From May 31st 2024, AWS now allows customers running SLES for SAP under an annual marketplace subscription to amend annual agreements.  

Since launch, customers have been able to purchase and run SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications (SLES for SAP) from the AWS Marketplace.

Purchasing via the AWS Cloud Marketplace has brought with it many benefits, including:

• Simplified billing via AWS Marketplace purchases
• Optimised Enterprise Discount Program (EDP) spend through annual agreements for SLES for SAP
• Access to the AWS support teams for Operating System support
• Additional software entitlements (SUSE Manager and SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching)

Customers are continually seeking solutions to leverage the cloud’s agility for maximum benefit, while also optimising costs.  By leveraging SLES for SAP on-demand (PAYG) and Annual Agreement amendments, customers gain an agile infrastructure. This agility allows them to easily scale their environment by changing instance types and sizes, or adding instances as needed.  

AWS Marketplace Annual Agreement amendments

What does this mean to me?

Customers with active annual agreements for SLES for SAP in the AWS Marketplace can:

• amend the agreement to change the instance type 
• add instances / instance types to the agreement and have the new instances follow the same term dates 

How does it work?

By going into the AWS Marketplace, selecting ‘Manage Subscriptions’, customers are now presented with a new option ‘Amend agreement’ 

Let’s take a look at three scenarios to see how the agreement can be amended.  Remember, these AWS Marketplace agreements are for the SLES for SAP Software, not infrastructure.  You should always check that you are able to change instance types under your IaaS agreement with AWS.

Annual Agreement amendment Scenarios:

• Change instance type (same software cost)
• Change instance type (increased software cost)
• Adding an annual subscription to an existing agreement

Note: While our examples showcase mid-year amendments for simplicity, these agreements can be amended at any point during the term.

Change Instance Type (same software cost)

In this scenario, you are running SLES for SAP on two m5.xlarge instances. However, due to workload demand halfway through your agreement term, you require larger instances.

An amendment can be made to allow SLES for SAP to be run on two m7i.xlarge instances.

Simply change the running instance to the desired type, then amend the agreement.

Remove the two m5.xlarge instances from the agreement and add the m7i.xlarge instances.

As the software costs for these instance types are the same, there is no additional software cost, the agreement continues on its existing term with the new instance types.

Note: Until the agreement amendment is complete, there will be hourly software charges for the m7i instances.

Change instance type (increased software cost)

In this scenario, you are running SLES for SAP on 2 x m5.xlarge instances. Due to a substantial increase in workload demands halfway through your agreement term, you require a significant upgrade to much larger instance types (r7i.4xlarge). 

Change the instances to the required instance type and amend the agreement.

Remove the 2 m5.xlarge instances from the agreement and add the m7i.4xlarge instances.

The additional software cost for the M7i.4xlarge takes into account when in the year the change is made (in this example, half-way through the existing agreement) – so only 50% of the difference between the software for the m5.xlarge and m7i.4xlarge is added to the bill as there is still half a year remaining on the agreement.

The M7i.4xlarge instances will incur an hourly software charge until the agreement amendment is completed.

Adding an annual subscription to an existing agreement

In this scenario, you have 2 x m5.xlarge instances in the annual agreement and need to add an m7i.2xlarge.  This could be a new SLES for SAP deployment, or it could be an on-demand SLES for SAP instance already in use, but not part of the annual agreement.

Start the m7i.2xlarge instance (if new) and amend the existing agreement.  

Add the m7i.2xlarge.

The additional software cost for m7i.2xlarge is prorated based on the timing of the change within your agreement term. In this scenario (changing halfway through), only 50% of the annual software cost for m7i.2xlarge is added to your agreement. 

The M7i.2xlarge will incur an hourly software charge until the agreement amendment is completed.

Enhanced Flexibility with AWS Marketplace for SLES for SAP

This new AWS Marketplace feature empowers customers to fully leverage the cloud’s agility and optimise costs. Freed from restrictions of annual subscription agreements tied to specific instance types for SLES for SAP, customers can now dynamically scale their instance types and sizes up or down as needed, throughout the year. You can add instances based on demand whilst still being able to keep control of software costs and retain initial agreement terms.

Learn more about this new feature on the AWS Site or contact your AWS Marketplace Team.

Note:

• All prices are for illustrative purposes only. Please check your pricing before committing to or amending an annual agreement.
• Software agreements can be amended so long as the overall software cost is not reduced.

Co-Author:

Special thanks to the co-author for this blog, David Rocha.  David is a Partner Solutions Architect at Amazon Web Services and helped build out the technical content for this blog.