Public Cloud Services
Overview
TC2 helps enterprises bring discipline to public cloud decisions where spend is large, pricing is complex, and provider leverage is challenging.
We work with clients to structure workable commitments, conduct robust negotiations, and secure agreements that enable the realization of the promise of cloud services without sacrificing cost control or flexibility.
Bring Buyer-Side Discipline to Public Cloud
Public cloud services—spanning IaaS and PaaS offerings from hyperscalers such as AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure—have become one of the largest and fastest‑growing components of enterprise IT spend. As enterprise adoption of cloud services has increased, cloud providers have adopted more complex pricing models and more rigid commercial positions, making agreements increasingly difficult for enterprise buyers to evaluate and negotiate.
Successful negotiations for public cloud services requires a disciplined, strategic approach that combines clear requirements, realistic growth assumptions, and well‑defined commercial objectives with informed negotiation strategies and planning.
TC2 helps organizations bring buyer‑side rigor to public cloud decisions, ensuring cloud investments deliver the desired speed and innovation without sacrificing cost control, governance, or long‑term flexibility.
How Public Cloud Decisions Stay Disciplined
Strong cloud decisions start with a clear view of pricing mechanics, commitments, credits, incentives, and the terms that will govern cost over time.
The best agreements are grounded in credible forecasts and business needs, not optimistic growth assumptions or provider-led framing.
Hyperscalers operate from established commercial playbooks. Better outcomes come from preparation, defined objectives, and leverage built before the negotiation starts.
A durable cloud deal preserves room to adapt as usage changes, priorities shift, and the environment evolves.
Why Cloud Deals Are Tricky for Enterprise Buyers
Cloud complexity isn’t just technical—it’s commercial. Pricing models are multi‑dimensional: usage, reserved constructs, savings plans, spend and usage commitments and sub-commitments, pricing tiers, service specific pricing, migration incentive plans and a vast range of different types of credits.
This cumulative complexity of cloud pricing and commercial constructs can make agreements difficult to evaluate and manage effectively, and can make it very difficult to assess whether the deal you are offered represents good market value and will serve you effectively in the long term.
Further, hyperscalers operate with well‑defined commercial playbooks and established rules of engagement. Their pricing, commercial constructs and agreements are designed at scale, optimized for provider advantage, and negotiated by teams with deep expertise and extensive negotiation experience. The negotiations can be tough and uncompromising, with seasoned negotiators from the suppliers who push for challenging terms and commercial commitments, while giving little ground on core commercial constructs.
Expert Services to Solve Complex Challenges
TC2 provides solutions to the most complex technology procurement challenges faced by our clients. From setting strategy, executing sourcing processes and supplier negotiations, to compliance, and cost optimization services, our team of experts bring the market knowledge, process discipline, tools, and buyer-side leverage needed to maximize results from your complex technology programs.
TC2 helps enterprises run strategic sourcing and RFx processes that create real leverage, enable clear decisions, and result in contracts that reflect what was actually negotiated.
- Pre‑RFx strategy and alignment.
- Design and execution of disciplined RFx processes.
- Offer evaluation, negotiation, and down‑select support.
- Contracting support through signature.
TC2 helps enterprises run strategic sourcing and RFx processes that create real leverage, enable clear decisions, and result in contracts that reflect what was actually negotiated.
- Pre‑RFx strategy and alignment.
- Design and execution of disciplined RFx processes.
- Offer evaluation, negotiation, and down‑select support.
- Contracting support through signature.
How to Get to Good in Public Cloud
Leading cloud deals do not come from reactive negotiation. Success depends on preparation—understanding where providers are willing to move, where they are not, and how to structure commitments, concessions, and trade‑offs so they align with real consumption patterns and business needs. Enterprises that enter negotiations without this level of readiness often find themselves accepting deals that look attractive on the surface but prove costly or restrictive over time.
Commercially, a good cloud deal must align to the service consumption and spend that the enterprise actually expects to incur. Commitments must be based on credible forecasts, not aspirational growth stories, and should provide flexibility for as yet unknown future developments. This establishes a sound foundation for negotiating pricing, discounts, incentives, and credits aligned with competitive cloud agreements.
How TC2 Helps
TC2 brings seasoned negotiators with deep experience engaging with the cloud providers, navigating their commercial frameworks and, when necessary, dealing with challenging provider negotiators. We apply rigorous analytical discipline to evaluate complex, multi‑layered pricing proposals and commercial constructs, ensuring that all implications—financial, contractual, and operational—are fully understood and clearly articulated.
We support clients in developing realistic, defensible consumption forecasts that reduce the risk of over‑commitment and establish appropriate protections as usage patterns evolve. Throughout the process, we work closely with stakeholders to ensure that negotiated outcomes are accurately and unambiguously documented, translating commercial intent into enforceable contractual terms.
TC2 helped a Fortune 200 company structure and negotiate a longer-term AWS agreement that balanced growth support with commitment discipline. By modeling expected spend, evaluating risk, and negotiating discounts, credits, and key terms, TC2 secured better economics while preserving alignment with realistic cloud migration plans.
Outcomes You Can Expect
Enterprises engage TC2 for public cloud expertise when they need more than generic guidance. The outcomes are practical: a clearer business case, stronger commercial terms, manageable commitments and competitive pricing, discounts and credits.
TC2 works alongside you for all stages of the negotiations, helping to level the playing field with the hyperscalers.
Let’s Connect
If you’re planning a new cloud agreement, facing a pending contract renewal or reassessing commitments, TC2 can help you build and execute a sound, results-driven strategy.
Bring us your current cloud posture and the decision you need to make next. We’ll help you compare options, structure the commercial model, and put governance in place so outcomes hold up over time.