Understanding savings
A savings number is only useful if you know what kind it is. Orbit separates what could be saved from what has been saved, so the figures on the Recommendations page never overpromise.
The savings lifecycle
| Stage | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Potential / Recoverable | Estimated savings from an open finding. Nothing has changed yet. This is the Recoverable / mo KPI. |
| Captured | A finding you've remediated. On the next daily scan the resource no longer meets the sensor's criteria, so the finding clears and its savings move to Already captured / mo. |
| Realized | The saving as it actually shows up in your effective cost over the following billing periods. |
The gap between captured and realized exists because cloud bills settle over time. A change you make today shows up fully in effective cost across the next billing cycle.
How a saving moves through the stages
- A Sensor flags a resource. The finding is potential/recoverable.
- You remediate in your cloud console or pipeline.
- Orbit re-scans daily and the finding auto-clears, so the saving is captured.
- Over the next billing period, the reduction appears in effective cost, and the saving is realized.
Why the distinction matters
- Finance can trust that realized savings are real, bill-verified dollars. They are not projections.
- Engineering can act on potential savings, ranked by impact, without waiting for the accounting to catch up.
FAQ
Why doesn't "captured" instantly equal "realized"?
Because provider bills settle over time. Captured means the resource is fixed; realized means the bill reflects it.
What if I fixed something outside Orbit?
Orbit's next daily scan detects that the resource no longer meets the sensor's criteria and clears the finding automatically.