Customer Request: Instana SaaS Usage Metering and Cost Forecasting Dashboard

There is a need to provide an Instana SaaS usage metering dashboard and a cost forecasting dashboard,
with enhancements requested to reach a comparable level of functionality to what Dynatrace currently provides.

Background for the Feature Enhancement Request : Instana SaaS uses a data ingestion–based pricing model, which means costs can fluctuate depending on usage. Therefore, it is necessary to enhance the related features so that customers can effectively monitor and manage changes in their costs.

Current Customer Situation : The customer is currently using Dynatrace SaaS, and they can monitor their usage and costs in real time through the billing metering dashboard provided by Dynatrace.

In comparison, Instana’s dashboard capabilities for viewing usage and cost metrics are relatively limited. To support the broader adoption of Instana, the customer is requesting a comparable level of functionality to what Dynatrace currently provides.

Instana Feature Enhancement Request : To improve the maturity of the Instana SaaS operating model, it would be beneficial to benchmark the SaaS operational approach provided by Dynatrace. In particular, customers need usage-based metering capabilities to gain clear visibility into fluctuating costs, as well as alert notifications when costs increase significantly compared to normal usage. (Please refer to the attached file for Dynactrace feature details.)

1. Cost events Alert : It also shows how much each feature or module has been used over the course of a month. 

2. Monthly Cost Dashboard by Feature Usage : In Dynatrace, you can view daily usage (cost) on the dashboard, and the Cost Events section highlights when the cost of a specific component increases compared to normal usage. It also sends email notifications so operators can quickly recognize and respond to unusual cost changes.

3. Cost Forecasting : It also provides a cost forecasting feature that predicts the expected cost through the end of the contract based on the current usage pattern.

Using this dashboard, customers can monitor their usage up to the contract end date and adjust consumption as needed. For example, they can manage cost-driving factors such as adjusting the RUM collection rate, changing the agent operating mode, or enabling/disabling vulnerability features, allowing them to optimize overall usage costs efficiently.