LogDNA Helps Developers Adopt the AWS Billing Model for Cost-Effective Logging

(LogDNA is now Mezmo but the product you know and love is here to stay.)

Amazon Web Services (AWS) uses a large scale pay-as-you-go model for billing and pricing some seventy plus cloud services. LogDNA has taken a page from that same playbook and offers similar competitive scaling for our log management system. For most companies, managing data centers and a pricey infrastructure is a thing of the past. Droves of tech companies have transitioned into cloud-based services. This radical shift in housing backend data and crucial foundations has completely revolutionized the industry and created a whole new one in the process.

For such an abrupt change – one would think that an intelligent shift in pricing methods would have followed. For the majority of companies this is simply not the case.

New industries call for new pricing arrangements. Dynamically scalable pricing is practically a necessity for data-based SaaS companies. Flexible pricing just makes sense and accounts for vast and variable customer data usage.

AWS, and for that matter, LogDNA, have taken the utilities approach to a complex problem. The end user will only pay for what they need and use. Adopting this model comes with a set of new challenges and advantages that can be turned into actionable solutions. There is no set precedent for a logging provider using the AWS billing model. We are on the frontier of both pricing and innovation of cloud logging.

LogDNA Pricing Versus a Fixed System

The LogDNA billing model is based on a pay-per-gig foundation. That means that each GB used is charged on an individual basis before being totaled at the end of the month. What follows then is for each plan: low minimums, no daily cap, and scaling functionality. Here is an example of a fixed tiered system with a daily cap. For simplicity’s sake, here is a four day usage-log (no pun intended) of a log management system with a 1 GB /day cap. Monthly Plan: 30 GB Monthly - $99Day 1: 0.2 GBDay 2: 0.8 GBDay 3: 1 GBDay 4: 0.5 GB This four day usage is equivalent to 2.5 GB logged. That’s an incredible amount of waste because of a daily cap and variable use. Let’s dive into a deeper comparison of the amount of money wasted compared to our lowest tiered plan. LogDNA’s Birch Plan charges $1.50 per GB. If we had logged that same amount of usage with our pricing system it would cost roughly $3.75. While the fixed system doesn’t show us the price per GB – we can compare it to LogDNA with some simple math. If a monthly plan at a fixed rate of $99 per month is equal to 30 GB usage per month then you can reasonably say that each GB is equal to about $3.30 in this situation. Can you spot the difference in not only pricing, but cloud waste as well? With a daily cap, the end-user isn’t even getting to use all of that plan anyhow. A majority of cloud users are underestimating how much they’re wasting. Along with competitive pricing, our billing model cuts down tremendously on wasted cloud spend.    

Challenges of the Model

It’s important again to note that our model is unique amongst logging providers. This unearths a number of interesting challenges. AWS itself has set a great example by publishing a number of guides and guidelines. The large swath of AWS services (which seems to be growing by the minute) are all available on demand. For simple operations, this means that only a few services will be needed without any contracts or licensing. The scaled pricing allows the company to grow at any rate they can afford, without having to adjust their plan. This lessens the risk of provisioning too much or too little. Simply put, we scale right along with you. So there’s no need to contact a sales rep. LogDNA as an all-in-one system deals with a number of these same challenges. The ability to track usage is a major focus area to us so that we can ensure you have full transparency into what your systems are logging with us. Our own systems track and bill down to the MB, so that the end-user can have an accurate picture of the spend compared to usage rates. This is not only helpful, but allows us to operate in a transparent manner with no hidden fees. Though it is powered by a complex mechanism internally, it provides a simplified, transparent billing experience for our customers.LogDNA users have direct control over their billing. While this may seem like just another thing to keep track of, it’s rather a powerful form of agency you can now use to take control of your budget and monetary concerns. Users can take their methodical logging mentality and apply that to their own billing process, allowing greater control over budgets and scale.   Say, for example, that there is an unexpected spike in data volume. Your current pricing tier will be able to handle the surge without any changes to your LogDNA plan. As an added bonus, we also notify you in the event of a sudden increase in volume. Due to the ever-changing stream of log data – we even offer the tools of ingestion control so that you can even exclude logs you don’t need and not be billed for them. Our focus on transparency as part of the user experience not only builds trust, but also fosters a sense of partnership.

Scaling for All Sizes & Purposes

Our distinctly tiered system takes into account how many team members (users) will be using LogDNA on the same instance and length of retention (historical log data access for metrics and analytic purposes.) Additionally we also have our scaled pricing tier – HIPAA compliant for protected health information (which includes a Business Associate Agreement, or BAA, for handling sensitive data). Pictured here is a brief chart of some basic scaled prices for our three initial individual plans. The full scope of the plans is listed here. This is a visualization of a sample plan per each tier.

Plan Estimator

BIRCH - $1.50 /GB - Retention: 7 Days - Up to 5 UsersMonthly GB Used1GB4GB16GB30GBCost Per Month$1.50$6$24$45Monthly Minimum: $3.00 MAPLE - $2.00 /GB - Retention: 14 Days - Up to 10 UsersMonthly GB Used10GB30GB120GB1TBCost Per Month$20$60$240$2000Monthly Minimum: $20.00OAK - $3.00 /GB - Retention: 30 Days - Up to 25 UsersMonthly GB Used50GB60GB150GB1TBCost Per Month$150$180$450$3,000Monthly Minimum: $100.00

Custom Solutions for All & Competitive Advantages

Many pricing systems attempt to offer a one size fits all model. Where they miss the mark, we succeed with a usability that scales from small shops to large enterprise solutions. Our WIllow (Free) Plan is a single user system that allows an individual to see if a log management system is right for their individual project or eventual collaborated team effort into a paid tier. High data plans are also customized and still retain the AWS billing model. We also offer a full-featured 14-day trial.The adoption of this model creates a competitive advantage in the marketplace for both parties. LogDNA can provide services to all types of individuals and companies with a fair transparent pricing structure. The end user is given all relevant data usage and pricing information along with useful tools to manage it as they see fit. For example, imagine you are logging conservatively, focusing only on the essentials like poor performance and exceptions. In the middle of putting out a fire, your engineering team realizes that they are missing crucial diagnostic information. Once the change is made, those new log lines will start flowing into LogDNA without ever having to spend time mulling over how to adjust your plan. Having direct control over your usage and spending without touching billing is enormously beneficial to not only our customers, but also reduces our own internal overhead for managing billing.

Competitive Scenario - Bridging the Divide Between Departments

Picture this scenario; there has been an increased flux of users experiencing difficulty while using your app. The support team has been receiving ticket after ticket. Somewhere there is a discrepancy between what the user is doing and what the app is returning. The support team needs to figure out why these users are having difficulty using the app. These support inquiries have stumped the department – the director needs to ask the engineering team how they can retrieve pertinent information to remedy a fix.  LogDNA helps bridge the divide by providing the support team with relevant information to the problem at hand. For this particular example, the engineering team instruments new code to log all customer interactions with API endpoints. The support team has a broader vision of how users are interacting with the interface. They’ve now been equipped with a new tool in their arsenal from the engineers. There was nothing lost in translation between the departments during this exchange.  After looking through the new logged information, the support team is able to solve the problem many of its users were experiencing. The support team has served its purpose by responding to these inquiries and making the end-user happy. All it took was some collaboration between two different departments.   The log volume has increased due to new logs being funneled through the system. But the correlation between increased log volume and better support is worth it. During this whole process no changes are required to your current account plan with LogDNA. Future issues that may arise will be easily fixed as a result of this diagnostic information being readily available. The cost of losing users outweighs the cost of extra logs.LogDNA places the billing model on an equal level of importance as the actual log management software itself. It can be used to make decisions all across the board. LogDNA’s billing model allows itself to adapt to budgetary concerns, user experience and a better grasp of your own data all at once.