Checkmate saves on Azure Generative AI, serverless, and database usage with Archera

‍

Expanding flexible savings to Azure

Checkmate provides cloud-based ordering solutions designed to boost restaurant sales and enhance customer relationships with their favorite brands. Microsoft Azure is powering new high-growth business lines, for Checkmate, after recognizing success reining in AWS costs, are now deploying Archera’s flexible-term Insured Commitments to Azure.

Checkmate initially experimented with an autonomous discount management provider on AWS that quickly fell short of expectations due to only working with inflexible native RIs and SPs. Some of the limitations Checkmate encountered included:

1. Commitment term inflexibility: Their previous platform simply automated the purchasing of native reservations, locking them into rigid one and three-year terms. Checkmate desired the ability to flex in and out of commitments as required by their evolving infrastructure needs, particularly for large databases.
2. Limited cost and usage visibility and difficulty identifying spend hotspots: Checkmate needed a better solution for tracking the impact of cost management efforts and identifying gaps and unexpected growth. Their prior tool lacked the abilities to properly segment resources and tie usage changes to increasing costs.

Cloud rate management that is “light years ahead” of other approaches

Checkmate began evaluating Archera six months into their unfruitful relationship with their previous rate management tool. The crucial flexibility Archera offers through first-of-a-kind flexible-term Insured Commitments, as well as the transparency and candidness of Archera’s sales team during the engagement process played significant roles in Checkmate’s decision:

1. Unparalleled commitment flexibility: Archera's offered the flexibility that Checkmate required for hypergrowth and evolving architectural needs. This was a key advantage over other solutions which would just lock them into native one and three-year reservation terms.
2. Pricing and sales process transparency: The Archera team clearly explained the value of Insured Commitments and built reports and forecasts illustrating how Archera’s platform exceeds the value of other solutions, fostering trust and confidence.
3. Ease of onboarding: Checkmate fully onboarded in one day and immediately began identifying areas of savings, solidifying their decision to fully transition from their legacy tool. Archera’s alignment with Checkmate’s DevOps practices accelerated value.

“We’re a hypergrowth startup, so we’re making a lot of enhancements and evolving quickly. Archera’s Insured Commitments model allows us to really decompose and LEGO-block-build our cost savings approach. Archera has shifted the landscape for our cost savings, cost visibility, and overall long-term cost strategies.” — Matthias Brooks, Director of DevOps, Checkmate

Savings, flexibility, and control: How Archera helps empower Checkmate’s strategic growth

Using Archera, Checkmate has achieved significant annual savings and gained greater control and visibility over their cloud costs. As Checkmate expands to Azure, the flexibility of Archera's Insured Commitments model avoids lock-in to long-term reservations that are incompatible with frequent, growth-led architectural changes:

1. Flexible savings for Azure: Archera’s Insured Commitments are enabling Checkmate to cover short-term usage with meaningful discounts, while Archera’s Moneyback Guarantee ensures that overcommitment is reimbursed via direct rebate. As Checkmate expands quickly on Azure, Archera's flexible commitments enable savings even as usage evolves quickly.
2. Ease of management and quick cost hotspot remediation: Archera's automated handling of commitment purchasing and adjustments eliminates the need for daily cost and usage monitoring and aligns well with Checkmate’s DevOps cadences. When costs do rise unexpectedly, Archera facilitates quick root-cause identification and enables efficient decision-making.
3. Immediate savings for a broad range of Azure services: Checkmate is expanding its use of Archera on Microsoft Azure with a focus on optimizing significant costs for AI, serverless functions, and database services

Corporate satisfaction with cost management has been recognized from the CEO on down, and Archera-enabled savings has allowed Checkmate to repurpose funds to other strategic infrastructure initiatives and staffing. Checkmate views Archera as an essential partner in their go-forward strategy, especially as they look to penetrate new markets and expand their business.