Cloud procurement is the route by which a company contracts for cloud services: online on the provider's standard terms, through a contract with private pricing and a spend commitment, through the provider's marketplace (marketplace purchases on the cloud invoice), or through a reseller. The route decides who invoices, which prices the cost data shows, what is due when a commitment is missed, and when something renews or ends. How contract prices appear in billing data is covered in enterprise agreements and private pricing; how a single marketplace product is checked before purchase, in cost in architecture and procurement reviews.
How it works
Online terms are open-ended. The AWS Customer Agreement runs until one side ends it: the customer at any time by notice and by closing the account, AWS with at least 30 days' notice. AWS may raise or add fees for services already in use after at least 30 days' notice. For 30 days after the termination date, termination alone is no reason for AWS to delete content, which the customer can download once nothing is outstanding. The Google Cloud Platform Terms of Service also run until terminated. The customer can end them in writing at any time, subject to financial commitments in an Order Form or addendum; Google can terminate for GCP services with 30 days' notice and change fees at any time unless agreed otherwise. Termination also ends access to customer data unless set out otherwise. A signed offline version replaces the Terms of Service.
| Route | AWS | Azure | Google Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online | AWS Customer Agreement, open-ended | Microsoft Online Services Program through the website; in some regions a Microsoft Customer Agreement | Terms of Service, self-serve account charged automatically to its payment instrument |
| Contract | Private Pricing Agreement or Enterprise Discount Program | Enterprise Agreement with Azure Prepayment, or a Microsoft Customer Agreement signed with a Microsoft representative, either with a MACC | offline agreement or Order Form; invoiced account paid against invoice |
| Marketplace | AWS Marketplace | Microsoft Marketplace | Google Cloud Marketplace |
| Reseller | partner in the Solution Provider or Distribution programme using Billing Transfer | Cloud Solution Provider under a Microsoft Partner Agreement; indirect Enterprise Agreement | reseller whose billing account pays for its customers' subaccounts |
What the review checks
A procurement review records before signature what later decides cost and data:
| Item | Question |
|---|---|
| Term and termination | Open-ended or fixed? Who can terminate, with what notice? |
| Commitment | Amount, milestones, what counts towards it, what is due on a shortfall |
| Renewal | Automatic or active, decision deadline, price afterwards? |
| Price changes | With what notice may the provider raise prices? |
| Invoicing entity and currency | Which company invoices, in which currency? (VAT and reverse charge on cloud invoices, invoice currency and exchange rates) |
| Cost data | Which prices and exports does the route deliver? |
| Data and exit | Switching rights, export scope, periods after the contract ends |
A CSP partner's customers see costs in Azure Cost Management only if the partner turns on the cost visibility policy, off by default, and then at pay-as-you-go rates without the partner's discounts; usage under reservations shows as zero. Under an indirect Enterprise Agreement the partner can publish a percentage markup; Microsoft calls the resulting portal figures an estimate. With AWS Billing Transfer the invoices go to the partner's account, and the customer sees only pro forma costs at the rates the partner sets in AWS Billing Conductor.
For exit, Article 25 of the EU Data Act requires the switching rights in a written contract made available before signing, including a notice period of at most two months to initiate a switch, a transitional period of at most 30 calendar days, which the provider may extend to up to seven months only where it is technically unfeasible, at least 30 calendar days for data retrieval and an exhaustive list of portable data categories. From 12 January 2027 Article 29 bars switching charges (EU Data Act: plan cloud switching costs before 2027).
The renewal calendar
The calendar lists every date on which a price or obligation changes unless someone acts:
| Entry | What happens on the date | Advance warning |
|---|---|---|
| Commitments | renewal or the on-demand rate by programme and setting (exchange, cancellation and expiry of commitments) | per programme |
| Azure Enterprise Agreement | indefinite extended term at retail rates without discount; EA credit expires, according to Microsoft except under the EU programme | lifecycle notifications to the enrolment's contacts |
| MACC and milestones | a missed remainder is charged as an Azure prepayment credit | emails 90, 60 and 30 days ahead to the billing account admins |
| Google contract with milestones | if the period ends with the condition unmet, the milestone is marked missed and the incentive lapses | tracker on the Incentives page, up to three days behind |
| Marketplace SaaS | AWS: renewal chosen at purchase; Azure: ends on the renewal date unless recurring billing is on; Google: renews if the vendor offers it and the customer turns it on | Azure shows the renewal date on the subscription |
Each entry carries its end date, a decision deadline (end date minus notice period minus internal approval time), an owner and the usage forecast to the end. Who signs above which amount is set by the approval thresholds; the calendar is read every month in the monthly cloud cost review.
What it means for your cost
The route sets the price level for budgets, forecasts and unit costs, so a budget states which figure it uses, for a CSP customer the portal's or the partner invoice's. Commitments make part of a variable cost fixed: a missed MACC remainder is charged with no usage behind it. End dates create steps that the annual cloud budget carries with their date, such as an expired commitment at the on-demand rate or an enrolment in its extended term.
Changing route costs history: after an AWS Billing Transfer, historical CUR files are unavailable, and on Azure the costs from before a new partner took over stay with the original billing account. How far billing data otherwise reaches back is covered in history of billing data.
Whether to sign, how to read a clause and whether a Data Act rule applies is for your legal counsel; how prepayments and shortfall charges are booked is for your tax adviser or auditor.
Where it goes wrong
- Prior enrolment number missing. Symptom: after renewal, accounts and subscriptions still sit in the old enrolment. Cause: a renewal under a new enrolment number transfers automatically only if the request names the old number.
- History lost when changing route. Symptom: after a Billing Transfer, CUR exports show as "Unhealthy" and old files are missing. Cause: the transfer makes the configurations inactive, and CUR files and AWS Budgets data were not downloaded first, as AWS recommends.
- SaaS subscription cannot be cancelled. Symptom: an annual Microsoft Marketplace subscription is still charged after the decision to cancel. Cause: after 72 hours, subscriptions with pending payments can be cancelled only once the current billing term ends; turning off recurring billing only stops the renewal.
Sources
Read on 2026-10-16. AWS AWS Customer Agreement, AWS Security Hub pricing (names the Private Pricing Agreement and the Enterprise Discount Program), transfer billing management to external accounts, announcement of 19 November 2025 on Billing Transfer for channel partners and subscribing with SaaS upfront commitments; Microsoft view your billing accounts in the Azure portal, EA billing administration on the Azure portal, Azure EA agreements and amendments, track your MACC, get started with Cost Management for partners and SaaS subscription lifecycle management; Google Cloud Google Cloud Platform Terms of Service, Cloud Billing concepts, track the status of your conditional incentives and manage your accepted offers; EUR-Lex Regulation (EU) 2023/2854 (Data Act).