Question #826
An organization manages several AWS accounts hosting mission-critical applications that require continuous operation. They aim to achieve cost savings through AWS billing discounts based on aggregated service usage across all accounts. Which AWS billing solution should they implement?
Resource tagging
Consolidated billing
On-Demand pricing
Reserved Instances
Explanation
The correct answer is B. Consolidated billing. Consolidated billing, part of AWS Organizations, combines usage from all linked AWS accounts into a single bill. This aggregation allows the organization to qualify for volume-based discounts (e.g., AWS Compute Optimizer or tiered pricing for services like S3 and EC2) by treating all accounts' usage as a single entity. It also simplifies cost tracking and management.
Why other options are incorrect:
- A. Resource tagging: While tagging helps track costs per project or department, it does not provide billing discounts.
- C. On-Demand pricing: This is the default pay-as-you-go model with no discounts unless combined with Reserved Instances or Savings Plans.
- D. Reserved Instances (RIs): RIs offer discounts for committed usage but apply to specific accounts/regions. Consolidated billing enables RI sharing across accounts but does not directly provide aggregated usage discounts.
Key Points: Consolidated billing is essential for organizations with multiple accounts to maximize AWS volume discounts and streamline billing.
Answer
The correct answer is: B