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Key points#
- A managed database that runs on more than one cloud (MongoDB Atlas, Snowflake, Databricks, Confluent Cloud) can be bought five ways: a direct commit with the vendor, a private offer through a cloud marketplace, pay-as-you-go, bring your own license for the self-managed edition, or through a reseller or consulting partner.
- Only a marketplace purchase can retire an existing cloud commitment: a Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment (MACC), an AWS private pricing agreement (EDP or PPA), or a Google Cloud commitment.
- On Azure, 100 percent of the purchase price of an offer marked Azure benefit eligible counts toward MACC. On AWS and Google Cloud, the commitment agreement itself sets how marketplace spend counts, and some agreements cap it.
- Azure Databricks is a first-party Azure service billed by Microsoft, so it draws down MACC with no marketplace transaction at all.
- The consumption unit does not change with the procurement model. Credits, DBUs, cluster hours, and eCKUs are priced the same way; the model decides who invoices, which budget pays, and which cloud seller gets credit.
The five procurement models#
| Model | How it works | Counts against a cloud commitment | Best when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct commit | Annual or multi-year capacity contract with the vendor, invoiced by the vendor | No | You have budget outside the cloud commitment and want the vendor's deepest commit discount |
| Marketplace private offer | Price negotiated with the vendor, transacted through AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Marketplace, invoiced on the cloud bill | Yes, under the commitment's rules | A cloud commitment has headroom, or procurement wants one supplier on the paper |
| Pay-as-you-go | On-demand rates, direct or through a public marketplace listing | Eligible public listings count too | Usage is new, small, or hard to forecast |
| Bring your own license | License bought from the vendor for the self-managed edition, run on your own cloud infrastructure | The infrastructure does; the license does not | You need control the managed service does not give |
| Reseller or channel private offer | A partner resells the product, usually through AWS Channel Partner Private Offers, Azure multiparty private offers, or Google Cloud channel private offers | Yes, when transacted through the marketplace | You want services, consolidated billing, or a partner discount in the same contract |
How each platform is sold on each cloud#
| Platform | AWS | Microsoft Azure | Google Cloud | What you consume |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MongoDB Atlas | Marketplace or direct | Marketplace or direct | Marketplace or direct | Cluster hours by tier, plus storage and data transfer |
| Snowflake | Marketplace or direct | Marketplace or direct | Marketplace or direct | Credits for compute, plus storage per TB per month |
| Databricks | Marketplace or direct | Azure Databricks, a first-party Azure service | Marketplace or direct | DBUs by workload type, plus the cloud compute underneath |
| Confluent Cloud | Marketplace or direct | Marketplace or direct | Marketplace or direct | eCKUs or CKUs by cluster type, plus throughput and storage |
Databricks is the exception that changes the math on Azure. Because Azure Databricks is billed by Microsoft as an Azure service, its consumption counts toward MACC the way virtual machines do, and Microsoft sells prepaid Databricks Commit Units on one or three year terms. On AWS and Google Cloud, Databricks follows the same marketplace or direct choice as the other three platforms. Pricing detail by platform is in Snowflake pricing, Databricks pricing, MongoDB pricing benchmarks, and Confluent pricing benchmarks.
Commitment drawdown: what counts and what to check#
A marketplace purchase only helps if the commitment accepts it. Check three things before you assume drawdown.
- The listing's eligibility. On Azure, look for the Azure benefit eligible badge on the offer; a private offer inherits it from the plan it is built on. On AWS and Google Cloud, read the marketplace terms in your commitment agreement, including any cap on the share of the commitment that marketplace spend can retire.
- Which discount applies. The vendor's private offer discount and your cloud commitment discount are separate. A cloud commitment discount usually applies to the cloud provider's own services, not to third-party marketplace charges, so model the private offer price as the price you pay.
- The term alignment. A three year private offer against a commitment that renews in fourteen months leaves the last twenty-two months without drawdown. Align the private offer end date with the commitment, or split the term.
The mechanics of each commitment are in AWS EDP, Azure MACC, and Google Cloud CUD compared, the MACC definition, the AWS EDP definition, and cloud marketplace procurement.
Choosing a model: four questions#
- Does a cloud commitment have headroom that will otherwise go unused? If it does, a marketplace private offer turns that headroom into the database contract, and the budget is already approved.
- Is the vendor's price better direct? Get the direct quote and the private offer at the same commit size and term. Vendors often match through the marketplace because they absorb the marketplace fee to keep the deal.
- Who needs the credit? A marketplace transaction is visible to the cloud provider's field team, which can bring co-sell support, funding programs, and executive attention to the account. That matters most when the database is one workload inside a larger migration. The partner side of that motion is in marketplace co-sell.
- How predictable is usage? Commit only the baseline you can forecast from current consumption, keep growth on pay-as-you-go or a ramped commitment, and write true-up and rollover terms into the private offer.
Frequently asked questions#
Does a Snowflake or MongoDB Atlas purchase count toward my Azure MACC?#
It counts when you buy through Azure Marketplace from an offer marked Azure benefit eligible, and then the full purchase price retires MACC. A direct contract with the vendor does not count.
Is Azure Databricks a marketplace purchase?#
No. Azure Databricks is a first-party Azure service billed by Microsoft, so its consumption is Azure consumption and retires MACC without a marketplace transaction. Databricks on AWS and Google Cloud is bought through those marketplaces or directly from Databricks.
Can a reseller or consulting partner sell through the marketplace?#
Yes. AWS Channel Partner Private Offers, Azure multiparty private offers, and Google Cloud channel private offers let a partner set the price and transact on the customer's cloud bill, so the purchase can still count against the cloud commitment.
What does bring your own license mean for a managed database?#
Managed services such as Atlas, Snowflake, and Confluent Cloud bill for consumption, so there is no license to bring. Bring your own license applies to self-managed editions, such as MongoDB Enterprise Advanced or Confluent Platform, running on infrastructure you operate in your own cloud account.
Which model gives the lowest price?#
At the same commit size and term, the vendor's price direct and through a private offer usually lands close together. The difference comes from the budget: spend that retires a commitment you would otherwise forfeit is cheaper in practice than new money.