Pricing & Entitlements Explained: Self‑Service vs Full‑Service
By Gwylym Owen — 16–22 min read
Executive Summary
AethergenPlatform offers transparent tiers that map to real‑world needs while avoiding cannibalisation. Compute ownership stays with customers; we price for rights, evidence, and support.
Principles
- Evidence‑first: every claim backed by signed metrics.
- Rights‑based pricing: you pay for usage rights and support, not surprise compute.
- Non‑cannibalising tiers: each tier has a clear reason to exist.
Tiers
- Self‑Service: access to packaged assets, docs, and community support.
- Assisted: guided setup, limited customization, priority support.
- Full‑Service: private listings, custom adapters, SLAs, roadmap input.
Entitlements
- Asset rights (trial, evaluation, production).
- Support response windows (best‑effort → SLA).
- Customization (none → limited → bespoke).
- Update cadence (regular → priority → negotiated).
Compute Ownership
Customers own compute for training/inference. We publish expected costs so budgeting is predictable; we focus pricing on rights and service, not hidden cycles.
Evidence Alignment
- Operating points matched to business capacity.
- Stability and drift thresholds set per deployment.
- Evidence bundles attached to change‑control.
Anti‑Cannibalisation Design
- Each tier unlocks qualitatively different outcomes.
- Higher tiers include governance and risk reductions, not just features.
- Clear upgrade paths without discounting lower tiers’ value.
Billing Scenarios
- Dataset subscription (monthly/annual) with updates.
- Model subscription with support and evidence refresh.
- Project‑based full‑service engagements with milestones.
FAQ
Do you charge for compute?
No—we design for your infra; our pricing is rights and service.
What happens if we outgrow a tier?
Upgrade paths are contractual; we keep evidence continuity across tiers.
Can we do pilots?
Yes—time‑limited pilots with acceptance gates and rollback plans.
Glossary
- Entitlement: the rights a customer has to use assets/services.
- Operating point: threshold where a model is evaluated/used.
- Evidence bundle: signed metrics/configs/hashes.
Checklist
- Choose tier based on outcomes and risk appetite.
- Confirm compute ownership and expected costs.
- Align evidence gates with operations.
Contact Sales →
Why Rights‑Based Pricing
- Predictability: no surprise compute charges from our side.
- Fairness: you pay for value (rights, support, evidence), not cycles.
- Governance: pricing ties to audit‑ready bundles and SLAs.
Tier Matrix (Detailed)
Capability Self‑Service Assisted Full‑Service
Evidence bundles Included Included Included
Private listings – Optional Included
Customization – Limited Extensive
SLAs – Basic Contractual
Refresh cadence Monthly Monthly Negotiated
Support Community Priority Dedicated
Entitlements JSON (Illustrative)
{
"entitlements": {
"self_service": ["samples", "docs", "updates"],
"assisted": ["priority_support", "guided_setup"],
"full_service": ["private_listing", "sla", "customization"]
},
"compute": "customer"
}
Contracts & SOW Templates
SOW:
bundle_ids: ["2025.01-claims", "2025.02-detector"]
slas:
response: "1bd assisted / 4h full"
refresh: "monthly / negotiated"
pricing:
tier: "assisted|full"
amount: "$X/mo"
SLAs (Expanded)
- Evidence regeneration: next business day (assisted), same day (full).
- Incident triage: 1bd (assisted), 4h (full).
- Dashboard export fixes: 24h.
Governance Hooks
- Bundle IDs in contracts and renewal notices.
- Unity Catalog tags reflect subscription tier.
- Deprecation policy and migration notes included.
Budgeting Scenarios (Examples)
Scenario A: Self‑Service
Rights: $X/mo
Compute (customer): $Y/mo
Total: X + Y
Scenario B: Assisted
Rights: $X2/mo (priority, guided setup)
Compute: $Y/mo
Total: X2 + Y
Scenario C: Full‑Service
Rights: $X3/mo (private, SLA, customization)
Compute: $Y/mo
Total: X3 + Y
Evidence Alignment (Deeper)
- Operating points documented; thresholds in config tables.
- Stability bands and refresh cadence declared.
- Evidence manifests included in renewals.
Licensing Notes
- Redistribution restrictions for datasets and models.
- Attribution and usage scopes documented.
- Audit rights for private listings where applicable.
Buyer Journey
- Evaluate with samples and dashboards.
- Trial with OP evaluation notebook.
- Contract referencing bundle IDs and SLAs.
Pricing FAQ (Extended)
Can we pause subscriptions?
Yes—assets remain accessible for archival; updates resume on restart.
Do you offer enterprise discounts?
Yes—based on term length and scope; evidence cadence remains constant.
What if we exceed incident quotas?
We scale support with additional blocks; SLAs still apply.
Comparative Table
Feature Self Assisted Full
Private Listing No Optional Yes
Customization No Limited Full
SLA No Basic Contractual
Evidence Cadence Yes Yes Yes
Unity Catalog Integration
COMMENT ON TABLE prod.ai.asset IS 'Tier:self; Evidence:manifest 2025.01';
Procurement Mapping
- Evidence bundle → contract exhibit attachment.
- SBOM → supply chain clause.
- Refresh cadence → maintenance clause.
Change‑Control
release: 2025.02
changes: threshold=0.74
bundle_id: 9ac...
status: PASS
Renewals
- Evidence continuity across terms.
- Tier upgrades keep historical bundle references.
Public vs Private Listings
- Public: broad reach; self‑service tier common.
- Private: curated access; full‑service tier typical.
Security & Compliance
- SBOM per release; signatures and hashes.
- Optional privacy probes and DP budgets for synthetic content.
Case Studies (Condensed)
- Healthcare buyer adopted assisted tier with monthly refresh, evidence‑driven SLAs.
- Automotive plant chose full‑service for private listings and customization.
Checklist (Extended)
[ ] Tier selected and mapped to outcomes
[ ] Entitlements configured
[ ] Evidence manifests attached
[ ] SBOM verified
[ ] SLAs signed
Closing
Rights‑based pricing keeps costs predictable and governance clean. With AethergenPlatform, tiers map to outcomes and evidence—so subscriptions reflect value, not surprises.
Tier Fit Matrix
Use‑case Self‑Service Assisted Full‑Service
Marketplace eval ✓ ✓ ✓
Private listing – ✓ ✓
Custom adapters – – ✓
SLAs – Limited Comprehensive
Contract Examples
- 12‑month dataset subscription with monthly refresh and support window.
- Model subscription with quarterly evidence refresh and priority tickets.
- Full‑service SOW with milestones, SLAs, and change‑control.
SLAs
- Response: 1 business day (Assisted), 4 hours (Full‑Service).
- Refresh: monthly (Assisted), negotiated (Full‑Service).
- Incident triage: next business day / same day.
Renewals & Upgrades
- Evidence continuity preserved across tier upgrades.
- Pro‑rated adjustments for mid‑term changes.
- Migration notes for breaking updates.
Compliance Alignment
- Evidence bundles support audit readiness.
- SBOM and license controls per release.
- Access auditing via Unity Catalog.
Budgeting Example
Rights (Assisted): $X/mo
Expected compute (customer): $Y/mo
Evidence refresh (quarterly): included
Net TCO: X + Y (predictable)
FAQ (More)
Can we switch between tiers mid‑term?
Yes—subject to contract; we preserve evidence history and entitlements.
How are usage caps enforced?
Entitlements are tracked; private listings and keys can be rotated.