3. Service Offering Examples : 3.2 Service Offering – Committed : 3.2.3 Service Metering
   
3.2.3 Service Metering
Subscribers to the Committed service offering are charged for the minimum amount of resource capacity guaranteed over time for a given organization virtual datacenter, as negotiated at the point of sale. The time interval used for billing and metering purposes for the amount of guaranteed capacity can vary based on actual service terms set by the provider, but it is most often based on a monthly subscription period, with a minimum enrollment term set to longer than one month. When available, burst capacity may be consumed without specific terms and obligations, but it is up to the provider whether additional charges may be incurred for short-term bursting or temporary scale-out operations on behalf of the subscriber.
Subscribers whose workload requirements have consistently grown beyond their initial resource capacity guarantee should have the option to move into the next band of guaranteed capacity without being penalized in price. Providers, in fact, are encouraged to offer a progressive discount structure that incentivizes active subscribers to consume greater amounts of the Committed service offered as needed and with minimal disruption to service contract terms or operations.
Charges for resource consumption under the Committed service offering typically start when the target organization virtual datacenter has been fully provisioned and made available to the subscriber, with limited exceptions for certain resource types, such as storage, which may be reserved upfront without immediate use.