I'm only making a very general reference to the fact that long-term visibility and predictability entails lower cost and therefore lower price, and that business owners are likely more empowered to determine that outlook than the cloud provider, either AWS or Google. Ergo - some kind of customer oriented long term lock-in would likely, in the long run, produce the cheapest prices in the system. That's all.
Ahh, I misunderstood your point! Yes, it’s certainly easier for us providers if you provide a clear demand signal. RIs, CUDs, SUDs, and even general contracting terms each provide some measure of information between customer and provider.
We actually had an interesting debate about this topic at the NSF Workshop on Cloud Economics [1]. The AWS person sadly had to cancel, but both some Google people and MSFT people were present along with CS and Economics academics. There are lots of industries where similar behavior exists, e.g., airlines or hotels. If you book in advance, or commit to a room block, you get a discount in exchange for certainty. We had lots of amusing debate about how similar cloud actually is to say energy markets (which turn out to be incredibly distorted, regulated, and confusing). Hopefully David and the rest of the organizers will have their summary report out within a few months.
