Reserved Instances (RIs) can save you a lot of money with Amazon Web Services (AWS). Using RIs, our customers routinely save 30% off the On-Demand price. It's enough to make any company sit up and take notice. But there's a catch. While RIs can yield substantial savings, a misstep can erase your hard-won ROI.

At first glance, RIs can seem extremely complicated, but you don't have to be afraid of them. When used correctly, they can be one of the most powerful cost-saving tools AWS provides. Any company looking to lower their cloud costs should take the time to get truly familiar with RIs.