EC2 continues to make up the bulk of most customers’ AWS bills, and has always been the focus for cost optimization efforts. Cost savings can be made either through more efficient usage, or by accessing a better discount rate.
When AWS introduced the original Reserved Instance, an opportunity opened up for Strategic Blue to specialize in AWS rate optimization, leveraging its founders' backgrounds in commodity price risk management. AWS soon introduced different types of Reserved Instances, with different types of embedded financial optionality, as well as an RI Marketplace.
AWS also introduced different prepayment options with different discounts. Later they introduced Savings Plans, which complement RIs through an option to apply discounts to other compute services, such as Lambda & Fargate. Customers crave simplicity, but complexity drives superior returns and lower risk, as every good commodity trader knows.
Strategic Blue strives to deliver its customers the best of all worlds: a simple engagement, with superior savings, while retaining maximum flexibility to make technical changes without notice and without paying a penalty.